How Do #include Files Work?

[creeping]

I'm not to sure how the #include statement works in autoit.

When I program in C (see below) the code from the header file is inserted into the .exe file at compile time. Autoit does not seem to do this.

C source code example

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void)
{
    printf("hello");

    return 0;
}

Autoit source code example

#include <IE.au3>

$oIE = _IECreate()

Referring to the C code above, the stdio.h file would not need to be the the same directory as the running program file to access its functions.

Referring to the Autoit code above, the IE.au3 file would have to be the the same directory as the running program file to access its functions or it generates an error.

Right now the question, do I always have to put the header file in the same directory as the running program to access its functions, I know I could just copy the code from the header file into my program, but just wondering if there is a better way.

Thanks

[BigDod]

If you lookup #include in the help file it explains it in detail.

[MHz]

Beta Helpfile include page

There is a special registry value that can be created at "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AutoIt v3\AutoIt" called "Include". It should be a REG_SZ (string) value. The contents of this value are a semi-colon delimited list of directories that should be searched for files when resolving #include's in addition to the standard locations.

[creeping]

hmmm yea ok, thanks. Sounds funny, but I never thought of that as I assumed all #include files would work the same. :">

[PsaltyDS]

I'm not to sure how the #include statement works in autoit.

When I program in C (see below) the code from the header file is inserted into the .exe file at compile time. Autoit does not seem to do this.

C source code example

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void)
{
    printf("hello");

    return 0;
}

Autoit source code example

#include <IE.au3>

$oIE = _IECreate()

Referring to the C code above, the stdio.h file would not need to be the the same directory as the running program file to access its functions.

Referring to the Autoit code above, the IE.au3 file would have to be the the same directory as the running program file to access its functions or it generates an error.

Right now the question, do I always have to put the header file in the same directory as the running program to access its functions, I know I could just copy the code from the header file into my program, but just wondering if there is a better way.

Thanks

The include file only need be available if you don't compile the script.

For a really informative experiment, code an AutoIT script with a simple "Hello, world!" GUI that uses one of the constants in #include<guiconstants.au3>, like $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE.

Compile the script, then decompile it an look at the resulting source. That explained a lot to me, including the importance of #include-once in your own include files.

My impression is "compile" is somewhat too strong a term for what AutoIT does. It's more like zipping the script text and the interpreter together, as described in the help file. Perl scripts can be packaged the same way by Perl2Exe.

P.S. Even better use an include file with lots of functions your current scipt doesn't need. An example:

#include<array.au3>
#Dim $Doubles[5]
For $n = 0 to 4
     $Doubles[$n] = $n * 2
Next
_ArrayDisplay("Doubles", $Doubles)

Compile that, then decompile it an look at the resulting script.

Edited April 25, 2006 by PsaltyDS