Including files into an executable at compile/link time

[mezarashi]

I have a program that opens a very large .txt data file. This data file remains unchanged, but is always required to run the program. What I want to do is include this .txt into the .exe so that when I distribute the program I don't need to distribute two files, but only one instead.

I'm using Visual C++ with MS Visual Studio 2005. I've played around with some of the resources, but to no avail. I tried adding it as an HTML resource and then loading the resource, but the pointer to this resource apparently is invalid whether I treat it as a string of character bytes or as a file pointer.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[chroot]

You should be able to make it a large statically initialized char* and stick it in your program.

e.g.

char* file = "stuff that's in the file";

- Warren

 

[ravenprp]

There are a few different ways to include files into an executable at compile/link time, depending on your specific development environment and tools. One option is to use a resource file, which can be added to your project and then compiled into the executable. This can be done in Visual Studio by right-clicking on your project and selecting "Add" and then "Resource" from the menu. From there, you can add your .txt file as a resource and then access it from your code using the appropriate resource functions.

Another option is to use a tool called "embed" which allows you to embed any type of file into your executable at compile time. This tool is available for use with Visual Studio and can be found on GitHub. Once you have the tool set up, you can simply add a command to your build process that will embed your .txt file into your executable.

Regardless of which method you choose, the key is to make sure that your program is able to access the embedded file at runtime. This may require some adjustments to your code, depending on how you are currently accessing the .txt file. By embedding the file into your executable, you will be able to distribute a single file instead of two, making it more convenient for users to run your program.

I hope this helps and best of luck with your project!