C++11 filesystem (VS2012)

Question

I am having a lot of trouble finding any documentation on the header included with vs2012. I see that it is mentioned here but they don't provide a link on how to use it. What I am really looking for is documentation for how to use it, with the visual studio implementation being preferred. Thanks

Solution

The <filesystem> header is not part of C++11; it is a proposal for C++ TR2 based on the Boost.Filesystem library. Visual C++ 2012 includes an implementation of the proposed library.

See the MSDN documentation for the <filesystem> header and the C++ TR2 proposal on which the implementation is based (the latest TR2 proposal is N3335 from January, but I don't know what has changed or whether the Visual C++ 2012 implementation includes any of the most recent changes).

Comments

[Mranz]

Thanks. I don't know why this was so hard to search for... I will accept as soon as I am allowed to.

[ildjarn]

Note that it's based on Boost.FileSystem v2, which is no longer included in current Boost distributions (v3 has replaced it altogether). So, if one is going to use the Boost documentation, they'll need to use the Boost 1.49.0 docs at latest.

[Benjamin Lindley]

I wish VC's compiler team was as dedicated as its library team. STL is a machine.