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I am working on using boost C++ libraries for my next project and the documentation says that it is a header only library.

Most Boost libraries are header-only: they consist entirely of header files containing templates and inline functions, and require no separately-compiled library binaries or special treatment when linking.

So my question is does it mean I do not need to link the library for these boost libraries and including the header is the only requirement ?

what are header only libraries and how are they different from the standard libraries that require building and linking to the binary ?

The Vivandiere
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cmidi
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    Yes, only header files, no source files. Just include the headers you need and you should be good. – Banan May 05 '15 at 14:28
  • Headers are source files. It's just that there is nothing to link to because the compiler inlines everything or handles it for you. – Joseph Willcoxson May 05 '15 at 14:31

1 Answers1

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A header-only library, as the name hints, is only made of headers. That actually means you don't have to link against binaries, because the whole code of this library is contained in headers, and this code will be compiled when you include them in your project.

This kind of libraries is sometimes the only way, for example when dealing with templates.

JBL
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