Project directory structure

[bbguimaraes]

One of my "curiosity posts": How do you structure the files on your projects? I mean the physical structure, nothing related with code structures. Example:

Code: Select all

project
    Makefile
    include
        some_header.h
        other_header.h
    src
        some_soruce.cpp

If you can provide explanations on why you structure it that way, even better.

[Nokurn]

For me, it depends on the project. I use a different structure for Nam than I use for my internal projects, and I don't always use the same structure for all of my internal projects.

The game that I am currently working on uses a structure like this:

Code: Select all

Assets/                 Sources for asset files (psd, ai, blend, etc).
Binaries/               Serves as the working directory when debugging under
                        Windows/Linux. On Windows/Linux, the files in this
                        directory will be installed in the same folder as the
                        executable. On Mac OS X, the files in this directory
                        will be copied into the bundle's Resources folder.
    Assets/             Final asset files (png, xml, 3ds, etc).
Builds/                 Files for building the project.
    Visual Studio/      Files for building the project under Visual Studio.
        .sln            Visual Studio solution file.
        .vcxproj        Visual Studio project file.
        Headers/        Third-party header files.
        Libraries/      Third-party library files.
            Debug/      Debug versions of third-party libraries.
            Release/    Release versions of third-party libraries.
    Linux/              Files for building the project under Linux.
        Makefile        Solution build script.
        Headers/        Third-party header files.
        Libraries/      Third-party library files.
    Xcode/              Files for building the project under Xcode.
        .xcworkspace    Xcode solution file.
        .xcodeproj      Xcode project file.
        Headers/        Third-party header files.
        Libraries/      Third-party library files.
Sources/                Sources for code files (cpp, hpp, etc).

The structure under the Assets/ and Binaries/Assets/ folders is typically mirrored. If there are multiple projects in the solution (maybe an Editor, an Engine, and a Game), there will be more .vcxproj/.xcodeproj files under the Builds/ trees, as well as corresponding folders under the Sources/ tree. I also like to organize my Sources/ folder into multiple logical directories (such as Assets, Game, Interfaces, Managers, Maths, States, and Tools) to avoid the 100-file clusterfuck that most projects degenerate into.