Some people prefer single-header libraries, some don't. pntr provides both options to make everyone happy.
The single-header file is automatically generated by the build system whenever a contributing file changes, so it should always be identical to the regular headers. All unit tests are executed with both versions to make sure that the single-header file is correct.
The MIT license is embedded in the single-header file, so you really only need to copy one file.
The generator simply executes these steps:
- Wrap the license into C++ comments.
- Write a
#pragma oncedirective. - For each header file
- Skip everything until and inclusive the
#pragma oncedirective. - Find the first non-empty line which doesn't start with
#include <pntr/. - Write a comment with the original header file name.
- Copy all lines starting with the line found before.
- Skip everything until and inclusive the
Yes, this does require that all header files must have the correct preprocessor directives in the correct order, and that the build system passes the headers in the correct order to the generator. That's less effort than writing a fancy preprocessor with dependency tracking.