*.h or *.hpp for your class definitions

Question

I've always used a *.h file for my class definitions, but after reading some boost library code, I realised they all use *.hpp. I've always had an aversion to that file extension, I think mainly because I'm not used to it.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using *.hpp over *.h?

Answer 1

Here are a couple of reasons for having different naming of C vs C++ headers:

• Automatic code formatting, you might have different guidelines for formatting C and C++ code. If the headers are separated by extension you can set your editor to apply the appropriate formatting automatically
• Naming, I've been on projects where there were libraries written in C and then wrappers had been implemented in C++. Since the headers usually had similar names, i.e. Feature.h vs Feature.hpp, they were easy to tell apart.
• Inclusion, maybe your project has more appropriate versions available written in C++ but you are using the C version (see above point). If headers are named after the language they are implemented in you can easily spot all the C-headers and check for C++ versions.

Remember, C is not C++ and it can be very dangerous to mix and match unless you know what you are doing. Naming your sources appropriately helps you tell the languages apart.