Summary of file types

The file types involved with resource file usage are defined in the following diagram:

These files work together as follows:

• the C++ compiler and linker, together, take .cpp source files and produce .exe output (or .dll, or .app, or another such extension)

• the resource compiler takes a .rss source file containing RESOURCE statements and converts it into a .rsc resource file which contains the resources the executable program will use. It also produces a .rsg generated header file, which contains the symbolic ids of these resources.

• the .rsg file is #included by the .cpp file, so that the C++ compiler has access to the symbolic ids of the resources that will be used

• C++ class definitions are specified in a .h file; a typical application will include several system header files and usually one or more of its own

• resource structs are specified in a .rh file. A typical application will use system-provided resource headers, which define standard controls etc. Only if the application requires its own structs, will it include its own .rh file

• flag values are #defined in a file which must be available to both the C++ compiler and the resource compiler: the .hrh extension is used for this and .hrh files are typically #included into the .h file that defines the classes (for C++) and the .rh file that defines the structs (for the resource compiler)