include string or string.h

Question

To use memset(), what is the difference between

#include <string>       //did not work

and

#include <string.h>     //worked

Thanks!

RushPL · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-29T04:05:44.050

35

<string> is a C++ standard library include, and <string.h> is C standard library include.

The equivalent of <string.h> in C++ is <cstring>, although both will work.

The difference is: <cstring> wraps everything in the std namespace whereas <string.h> puts everything in the global namespace.

Also, expect some stricter type safety rules from <cstring>.

edited Mar 29 '18 at 04:05

answered Oct 06 '11 at 11:30

RushPL

What does "both work" mean? Is it "both are guaranteed to work by the standard" or "both happen to work in typical real-world environments, for [reasons]"? – Mark Amery Mar 27 '18 at 11:47
Updated the answer with some extra info. – RushPL Mar 29 '18 at 04:06

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 06 '11 at 11:29

6

In a modern C++ environment, you would #include <cstring> to get memset().

answered Oct 06 '11 at 11:29

5

Technically, You're only guaranteed `std::memset`, but all popular implementations just pull in the C header and add a `using` statement... – rubenvb Oct 06 '11 at 11:38

2 Answers2