How can I include a standard C header file in my C++ code?, C++ FAQ

C++ FAQ / Section 32 / FAQ 32.2

Section 32:

32.1	What do I need to know when mixing C and C++ code?
32.2	How can I include a standard C header file in my C++ code?
32.3	How can I include a non-system C header file in my C++ code?
32.4	How can I modify my own C header files so it's easier to `#include` them in C++ code?
32.5	How can I call a non-system C function `f(int,char,float)` from my C++ code?
32.6	How can I create a C++ function `f(int,char,float)` that is callable by my C code?
32.7	Why is the linker giving errors for C/C++ functions being called from C++/C functions?
32.8	How can I pass an object of a C++ `class` to/from a C function?
32.9	Can my C function directly access data in an object of a C++ `class`?
32.10	Why do I feel like I'm "further from the machine" in C++ as opposed to C?

[32.2] How can I include a standard C header file in my C++ code?

To #include a standard header file (such as <cstdio>), you don't have to do anything unusual. E.g.,

// This is C++ code

#include <cstdio>                // Nothing unusual in #include line

int main()
{
  std::printf("Hello world\n");  // Nothing unusual in the call either
  ...
}

If you think the std:: part of the std::printf() call is unusual, then the best thing to do is "get over it." In other words, it's the standard way to use names in the standard library, so you might as well start getting used to it now.

However if you are compiling C code using your C++ compiler, you don't want to have to tweak all these calls from printf() to std::printf(). Fortunately in this case the C code will use the old-style header <stdio.h> rather than the new-style header <cstdio>, and the magic of namespaces will take care of everything else:

/* This is C code that I'm compiling using a C++ compiler */

#include <stdio.h>          /* Nothing unusual in #include line */

int main()
{
  printf("Hello world\n");  /* Nothing unusual in the call either */
  ...
}

Final comment: if you have C headers that are not part of the standard library, we have somewhat different guidelines for you. There are two cases: either you can't change the header, or you can change the header.