Difference between external dependency and dependencies

Hi,

I am new to VC ++. I am a bit confused with the build process and have a few questions.

1. What does it mean to put a file in the external dependency folder within a project

2. What does it mean to mark a project dependency in the Project > Dependencies tab

3. What does it mean to actually create a new folder within say project1 and copy some files from project2 into this folder within project1 because some files in project1 require the files in project2.

What is the difference between the above three

Thanks,
Karthik

Answer this question

Difference between external dependency and dependencies

Karl Madges
Kev,

Thanks a lot . It was really helpful. Just a little bit of clarification regarding point 3. You mentioned that if they are headers, then they are treated as items that may cause rebuilding. So you mean for headers, it is exactly like the first case right I mean, it is same as the header being present in the external dependency folder (except that the external dependency folder is populated by Visual Studio but in the 3rd case, we are actually putting the header into the folder that we create).

Thanks once again,
KarthikR
rguez_18
#1 - An external dependency will make the project system check the last modified time/date stamp on the external dependency, and will rebuild the project if the time/date is later than the last build time.

#2 - This indicates for a multi-project solution that if Project A depends on Project B, and Project B requires rebuild, Project A must also be rebuilt.

#3 - I believe can be used as a way around #2. If their headers, they're treated as items that may cause rebuilding. If they're sources, however, they'll be built & linked as part of both projects.

Hope that helps!

-Kev
Ivan Hou
Yes, you understand. Glad to help...

-Kev
Difference between external dependency and dependencies

Answer this question