I understand the difference between
#include "xyz"
and
#include <xyz>
in terms of what location is searched in each case.
I would like to know whether there is an ordering according to which searching and linking is done. Are files using
#include "xyz" //as this is done in current working directory
linked before linking of files using
#include <xyz>
Preprocessor includes have nothing to do with linking. This is a common misconception.
There is no assumption anywhere that one include corresponds to something being linked. Notice that the standard library has lots of headers, but generally only consists of a single library when the linking happens.
With e.g. gcc (and most other compilers) you can compile a C file first, then compile a bunch of other C files, then finally do the linking of all the object files with any required external libraries. When you do the linking, you're operating on already-compiled files (object files and libraries); these files know nothing about the order in which the preprocessor directives appeared in the original source, that is long gone.
#include "file" will search in current directory before searching in include path. There is no mechanism to specify the order of linking of object files.
#include file directive tells the preprocessor to treat the contents of a specified file as if it appears in the source program at the point where the directive appears.
It is not related to linking.
