What is the difference between #include <file> and #include “file”?

When writing your C program, you can include files in two ways. The first way is to surround the file you want to include with the angled brackets < and >. This method of inclusion tells the preprocessor to look for the file in the predefined default location. This predefined default location is often an INCLUDE environment variable that denotes the path to your include files. For instance, given the INCLUDE variable INCLUDE=C:COMPILERINCLUDE;S:SOURCEHEADERS; using the #include version of file inclusion, the compiler first checks the C:COMPILERINCLUDE directory for the specified file. If the file is not found there, the compiler then checks the S:SOURCEHEADERS directory. If the file is still not found, the preprocessor checks the current directory.  The second way to include files is to surround the file you want to include with double quotation marks. This method of inclusion tells the preprocessor to look for the file in the current directory first, then look for it in the predefined locations you have set up. Using the #include “file” version of file inclusion and applying it to the preceding example, the preprocessor first checks the current directory for the specified file. If the file is not found in the current directory, the C:COMPILERINCLUDE directory is searched. If the file is still not found, the preprocessor checks the S:SOURCEHEADERS directory. The #include method of file inclusion is often used to include standard headers such as stdio.h or stdlib.h. This is because these headers are rarely (if ever) modified, and they should always be read from your compiler’s standard include file directory.  The #include “file” method of file inclusion is often used to include nonstandard header files that you have created for use in your program. This is because these headers are often modified in the current directory, and you will want the preprocessor to use your newly modified version of the header rather than the older, unmodified version.  
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supriya ahire

  • Mar 19th, 2006
 

hi,

     #include<file> searches the file in the specified list of directories while,

    #include"file" searches the file in the current working directory as wel as in the specified list of directories.

jintojos

  • Jun 9th, 2008
 

if you used #include" filename.h" for including header files then the compiler will check only in the current directory.but if you used #include<filename.h> for including header files then the compiler will checks all directories specified in the directory options of turbo c

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