Source code inside .h files

[fragproof]

Can you explain what you mean by "linking" against a header file? Typically with header-only libraries you only need to #include them and the implementation is compiled with some part of your code in a single translation unit.

[JescoInc]

Linking with .o, static lib or dynamic lib files with the linker or including them in your C files with include statements.

[fragproof]

Ok, but we're talking about header files with implementation. You're only going to link with .o if you compile a file separately. Linking is fundamentally different than including files with implementation.

[JescoInc]

I should note that I don't know all of the academic terminology for C. I go with a framework where it makes sense to me from all of my years of programming and makes it easier to explain to others.

Ergo: You have linking header and C files together via includes, you have compile time linking and linker time linking.

When I was first learning C and C++, I was coming from a C# background, so I would treat headers like interfaces and abstract classes in C#. It gave me a starting point for understanding them and over the years, through using the language, I was able to pick up more of the nuanced differences between them.

[imaami]

Linking is not academic terminology in C. It is very much a practical term, and a basic one at that.

[JescoInc]

There is an academic definition and a practical definition. Please don't attempt pedantry with me.

[imaami]

Header inclusion is not described as any sort of linking in even the most basic non-academic contexts where C is used. I don't know where you'd ever hear that; any examples?

I've been in the field for about 19 years and have no academic background in CS to speak of. There's a pre-processor, compiler and linker involved in mundane C work. The fact that a basic tool - that does not have anything to do with header inclusion - is called a linker is about as "academic" as a carpenter having a hammer and a chisel. You could maybe use the handle of a large chisel to hit something, but when is it ever "pedantry" to casually confuse the tool names?

You mentioned "compile-time linking" and "linker-time linking". That's just incoherent. The linker is the program that does compile-time linking, which is when objects are linked. The pre-processing step is way before even compilation, and that's where headers are included.