Helper.h File in C
In C programming, a .h file is called a header file, which contains function declarations, variables, and other information that can be shared between multiple source files. The contents of a header file are typically included in one or more source files using the preprocessor directive #include
.
A “helper.h” file is simply a convention used to name a header file that contains helper functions and definitions that are meant to be shared between multiple source files. These helper functions are not directly part of the main program, but are called by functions in the main program to perform specific sub-tasks.
The contents of a “helper.h” file can include function prototypes, global variables, macro definitions, and other declarations that will be used by multiple source files in a program. For example, a helper.h
file may contain a function prototype for a helper function that performs a specific task such as reading data from a file, or validating user input.
The advantage of using a “helper.h” file is that it helps to organize the code and make it more reusable. This allows we to write helper functions in a single location and then include that file in multiple source files as needed, rather than copying and pasting the same code into multiple files.
A sample helper.h
file may look like this:
#ifndef HELPER_H
#define HELPER_H
void print_hello();
int add_numbers(int x, int y);
int read_file(const char *file_name);
#endif
And we can use it in our source files as:
#include "helper.h"
int main() {
print_hello();
int result = add_numbers(5, 10);
printf("The result is: %d\n", result);
return 0;
}
This way, the helper functions like print_hello()
or add_numbers(x,y)
can be reused in any other source files as well, by just including the helper.h
file.
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