What's the difference between cstdlib and stdlib.h?

c++ std
Free Wildebeest picture Free Wildebeest · May 25, 2010 · Viewed 32.3k times · Source

When writing C++ code is there any difference between:

#include <cstdlib>

and

#include <stdlib.h>

other than the former being mostly contained within the std:: namespace?

Is there any reason other than coding standards and style to use one over the other?

Answer

Brendan Long picture Brendan Long · May 25, 2010

The first one is a C++ header and the second is a C header. Since the first uses a namespace, that would seem to be preferable.

Related questions

How to find out if an item is present in a std::vector?

All I want to do is to check whether an element exists in the vector or not, so I can deal with each case. if ( item_present ) do_this(); else do_that();

Read More
Why is "using namespace std;" considered bad practice?

I've been told by others that writing using namespace std; in code is wrong, and that I should use std::cout and std::cin directly instead. Why is using namespace std; considered a bad practice? Is it inefficient or does …

Read More
printf with std::string?

My understanding is that string is a member of the std namespace, so why does the following occur? #include <iostream> int main() { using namespace std; string myString = "Press ENTER to quit program!"; cout << "Come up and …

Read More