21.2. Checking for the Existence of Header Files

Testing the existence of a header file requires knowing what language the header file is. A configure context has a CheckCHeader method that checks for the existence of a C header file:

    env = Environment()
    conf = Configure(env)
    if not conf.CheckCHeader('math.h'):
        print 'Math.h must be installed!'
        Exit(1)
    if conf.CheckCHeader('foo.h'):
        conf.env.Append('-DHAS_FOO_H')
    env = conf.Finish()
    

Note that you can choose to terminate the build if a given header file doesn't exist, or you can modify the construction environment based on the existence of a header file.

If you need to check for the existence a C++ header file, use the CheckCXXHeader method:

    env = Environment()
    conf = Configure(env)
    if not conf.CheckCXXHeader('vector.h'):
        print 'vector.h must be installed!'
        Exit(1)
    env = conf.Finish()