C/C++ header and implementation files: How do they work?

Question

This is probably a stupid question, but I\'ve searched for quite a while now here and on the web and couldn\'t come up with a clear answer (did my due diligence goo

Answer 1

As suggested in Matthieu M.'s comment, it is the linker job to find the right "function" at the right place. Compilation steps are, roughly:

1. The compiler is invoked for each cpp file and translate it to an object file (binary code) with a symbol table which associates function name (names are mangled in c++) to their location in the object file.
2. The linker is invoked only one time: whith every object file in parameter. It will resolve function call location from one object file to another thanks to symbol tables. One main() function MUST exist somewhere. Eventually a binary executable file is produced when the linker found everything it needs.