DLL exporting a class without adding its header file

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Hi,

I want to dllexport a class for acessing its pointers and member functions.Is there any way of doing it without adding that class's header file?

Posted 30-Mar-11 20:07pm

Omrd

Updated 30-Mar-11 20:14pm

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Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov · Answer 1 · 2011-03-30T20:40:00

Solution 2

You don't really need a header file to export a class, but you need the class declaration to import it, in the form of header file or not. Not using header files makes no sense and would be extremely inconvenient is you need to use the declaration in more then one C++ file.

—SA

Posted 30-Mar-11 20:40pm

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov

Comments

Albert Holguin 31-Mar-11 17:29pm

very right, my 5

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 31-Mar-11 17:35pm

Thank you, Albert.
--SA

CPallini · Answer 2 · 2011-03-31T12:09:00

Solution 4

Yes: you might invent COM.

Posted 31-Mar-11 12:09pm

CPallini

User 7429338 · Answer 3 · 2011-03-30T20:26:00

Solution 1

You don't specifically need the header file, but you do need the class definition which is typically in the header file (without this, you can't compile).
Usually, the header file contains additional includes which are required for the class definition, f.e. windows.h if one of the member variables has type HWND.

If the reason you can't add the header file is that it gives a compile error, you could try copy the class definition and include only the files needed for that and skip the rest.

Posted 30-Mar-11 20:26pm

User 7429338

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Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 31-Mar-11 2:44am

You apparently understand it all correctly and all your advice is correct, but maybe you misread the OP question, who asks about header file for export. It is useful for import, but not really for export... I suggest you make it more clear.

Please see my Answer.
--SA

[no name] 31-Mar-11 3:06am

Although the word export is indeed mentioned, I do not think this is the question.
Your answer is valid though if you choose to interpret the question like that.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 31-Mar-11 3:13am

Sure. Well, then this is an error in formulation of the Question, which is explainable. By the way, I answered the way which fits any interpretation -- just the fact, so there is not "if". That was the reason I was careful in wording an tried to suggest the same for you.
--SA

Yanick Salzmann · Answer 4 · 2011-03-31T11:20:00

If you just want to hide all the private and protected members and possible inlined functions in the header inside intellisense (given your IDE has that) you may think about making the class visible trough an interface and provide the header of that interface. Then you can stick to the public members and nothing is shown that is not public (or any kind of implementation).

Is that what you are aiming for?

Yanick