Directory structure for a C++ library

Question

I am working on a C++ library. Ultimately, I would like to make it publicly available for multiple platforms (Linux and Windows at least), along with some examples and Pytho

Answer 1

One thing that's very common among Unix libraries is that they are organized such that:

./         Makefile and configure scripts.
./src      General sources
./include  Header files that expose the public interface and are to be installed
./lib      Library build directory
./bin      Tools build directory
./tools    Tools sources
./test     Test suites that should be run during a `make test`

It somewhat reflects the traditional Unix filesystem under /usr where:

/usr/src      Sometimes contains sources for installed programs
/usr/include  Default include directory
/usr/lib      Standard library install path
/usr/share/projectname   Contains files specific to the project.

Of course, these may end up in /usr/local (which is the default install prefix for GNU autoconf), and they may not adhere to this structure at all.

There's no hard-and-fast rule. I personally don't organize things this way. (I avoid using a ./src/ directory at all except for the largest projects, for example. I also don't use autotools, preferring instead CMake.)

My suggestion to you is that you should choose a directory layout that makes sense for you (and your team). Do whatever is most sensible for your chosen development environment, build tools, and source control.