CRelativePaths

CRelativePaths is a C++ class that is designed to be a class to convert relative to absolute paths and vice versa. The class works in a similar manner as Visual Studio stores filenames in the workspace and hence enables you to seamlessly copy the project to a distinct drive and recompile them.

Generally speaking, the first benefit of relative paths is that it accommodates the staging of distro packages when you are using a standard file system layout. In other words, regardless of where the binary of your project is stored, it can be installed anywhere and can locate its data without any problems. Since all files are stored in a single directory, it means that you can quickly establish links between these files or pages, for example.

On the other hand, the absolute paths contain the complete URL and this also means the protocol, the website's domain name and possibly a specific file, subfolder or page name, for instance. While a browser may allow you to enter the URL without the protocol, the truth is that it should always be included when coding as otherwise, visitors would be unable to access it. The absolute path can come in handy when you want to include more information to a link.