Talk:Include directive

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The content of copybook (programming) was merged into Include directive on 19 February 2014. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists. For the discussion at that location, see its talk page.

The content of header file was merged into Include directive on 19 February 2014. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists. For the discussion at that location, see its talk page.

Expand with other uses

Include directives/statements are often used in configuration files as well as in computer programming. C's #include should definitely be mentioned here, too. --Pnm (talk) 04:24, 9 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Merger proposal

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.

The result of this 'discussion' was to proceed with the merger under the principle of silent consensus. EdwardH (talk) 19:03, 19 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I propose merging include directive, header file and copybook (programming) into one article. Copybooks and header files are different words for the same thing and all the articles describe how they are implemented in various languages. EdwardH (talk) 20:15, 6 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

probably a file 'vector.h'

Where does this "probably" come from?
In GCC, one of the most popular C++ compilers, "vector" is actually a file in "/include/std" subdirectory. This has further includes for the STL including "#include <bits/stl_vector.h>" but no file called "vector.h".
In XCode, another most popular C++ compiler, vector is also a file in the XCode package "include/C++/v1/vector", XCode uses LLVM which is one of the most popular C++ compilers.
87.102.44.18 (talk) 12:31, 26 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

A request for history

When and where did this paradigm get started? I was specifically wondering if it was around before Ritche got C going. 147.105.3.203 (talk) 17:46, 13 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Header file

IMO, the merger of header file into this article was not good. Clearly include directive and header file are related in the context of C/C++, but they are two separate things. Over-merge.

As this article seems to be wider in scope than C/C++, an include directive could operate on a file other than a header file (in a context other than C/C++). Even in C/C++, one can include non-header files! Further, articles that link to header file come to this page which is less than a direct path to the topic of the link. Stevebroshar (talk) 14:30, 18 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yep. The include directive refers exclusively to a particular directive, which doesn't even make sense when compared to the header file.

Please, unmerge it QuantumNinus (talk) 21:23, 26 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Include vs. import

IMO, include is notably different than import/use/using. Include is a text operation of inserting the text of one file into the text of another. Import is a higher-level operation -- allowing the constructs defined in one file to use the constructs defined in another file. It's an important distinction that should not be glossed over.

I removed items from the other languages list if the language only supports import; not include. I removed Java and C# for example. For langs that I wasn't sure about (i.e. D) I left them in the list even if suspect that don't really support include. Stevebroshar (talk) 14:36, 18 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Many ... computer files have a directive

WRT "many ... computer files have a directive". Yeah, but that's not interesting. The interesting thing about a directive is that it's defined in the context of a processor; it has a certain meaning that causes a certain behavior in the processor. That they are in a file is IDK ... secondary/obvious/uninteresting. Stevebroshar (talk) 14:45, 18 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

These included files are called header files or copybooks

WRT "These included files are called header files or copybooks" ... in C/C++ and COBOL. Is this article about import in general? Or only C, C++ and COBOL?

I re-worded the intro to be more general; making it clear that what a directive includes has names based on context. Stevebroshar (talk) 14:48, 18 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Recent additions

I have again reverted additions by QuantumNinus and urge them to explain their efforts rather than reverting again.

The addition to the lead is a confusing way of essentially saying the same thing. The offered source says nothing about a "directive file specification" and it doesn't seem to me to help the reader describing things this convoluted way.
The addition of a "why" template is misuse of it. What has been added here is not a request for clarification, but is instead QuantumNinus taking issue with what the article says. If there is a factual error in the article then it should be fixed. A "why" template is not somewhere for editors to voice disagreement with article content. As it stands the problem seems to be that the include does not "ensure", it only, when used correctly, helps ensure. A simple rewording fixes the problem.

Escape Orbit ^(Talk) 14:37, 29 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]