Question: How do I use FASTER (C++) headers without filename collisions?

[boinst]

How do I use FASTER (C++) headers without filename collisions?

Sorry if this is a silly question. I have compiled the C++ version using CMake per the build directions. Now I'm working on integrating it with my project. The samples include FASTER headers as follows:

#include "core/faster.h"
#include "core/utility.h"
#include "device/file_system_disk.h"

Which is OK, but then "faster.h" includes a bunch of internal headers like "alloc.h" and "record.h" with no "core" or "device" prefix, as follows:

#include "alloc.h"
#include "record.h"
#include "guid.h"

Now surely this means I need the "core" and "device" header directories in my include paths? Surely the generic names like "alloc" and "record" have a strong risk of having the same name as another library or the same name as my own headers? Am I missing something obvious? Is this by design? The build system in my own project is Visual Studio C++, the intricacies of CMake are somewhat foreign to me.

Thanks sincerely in advance for any guidance you can provide.

[badrishc]

See this issue and PR, perhaps something similar would work?

• Issue: [C++] "using namespace" in header file causes ambiguous reference #266
• PR: Remove using namespace from header file #276

[boinst]

Thank you @badrishc those linked issues are relevant, but not quite the same issue. In this case I'm concerned about the collision of the header filename rather than the symbol. If I have "guid.h" in my own code (I don't, this is hyperthetical), I won't be able to successfully compile against FASTER. The compiler will resolve one or the other header but not both.
The only real fix for this, I would think, would be a significant change to the code base. Every #include "guid.h" in public headers would have to become #include "core/guid.h". Even better, #include "faster/core/guid.h". Before making such an intrusive PR though, I wonder if it would be welcome, or possibly against the design philosophy of this library?

[badrishc]

Any thoughts @dongx-psu ?

[dongx-psu]

I would put all faster header files under a directory called faster. And then include the upper-level directory as the root include directory. In this case, it forces you to add something like faster/core/faster.h in your program

[boinst]

Thank you @dongx-psu .

If I could simply include faster/core/faster.h as you suggest, that would be ideal.

I was surprised to find that when I #include "faster/core/faster.h", then guid.h on line 27 at least is correctly resolved. Today I learned that the current directory of the header being parsed is included in the search path for subsequent headers.

The first error I encounter is this one:

1>persistent_memory_malloc.h(13,10): fatal error C1083: Cannot open include file: 'device/file_system_disk.h': No such file or directory

That leads me to conclude that I still need to have the root faster directory in my include paths, and then I can include core/faster.h, but at least I don't need the core, device, etc sub-directories in my include paths. That's something, and that really resolves the larger fraction of my concern overall. Thank you for your guidance. Happy to close the ticket here if you're also happy.

[badrishc]

I think it can be closed.