[Mingw-users] C code fix up in g++ in a mixed C/C++ project

[Clive M. <Cli...@ms...>]

My project is almost entirely C code but I need to add on a couple of C++ 
modules (one is the freetype-6 library). In similar circumstances, with my 
previous compiler, I just marked the interface wrapper-module's cpp file 
with C code tucked inside the usual: #ifdef __cpluplus extern "C" { 
...   } stuff and slapped it in a cpp file and off it went.

I need to use g++ now, and somehow it doesn't grasp that a C file (called, 
for example my_hello_world_file.c) should have an object file with just 
plain C symbols. According to the g++ help the -x option, with nothing 
specified, should set g++ to figure things out as best it can and that this 
is also the default. My guess was that g++ would then emit a object file 
with regular C symbols. I tried to build my code with g++ changing nothing. 
I did this before I began the task of integrating a C++ module to keep 
things simple (change only one thing at a time). It doesn't link -- none of 
the inter-file symbols line up.

I can see that the linker doesn't mind the g++ symbols when the source code 
has the extern "C" stuff and g++ dutifully make the symbols right.

I'm reluctant to patch-up each C code file and the header files just to add 
a couple of C++ modules to make things kosher with g++. The IDE I'm using 
doesn't have provision for using a different compiler for each source file. 
I could build an independent module just to get it all to play and then peel 
the C++ modules into a separate library with just a C interface... but that's 
even more work.

There has to be an easier way and I just don't see it. Advice please?

Clive McCarthy.