Template Function Difficulties

[Terekane]

Hi there, I am trying to create a global template function that can be used anywhere in my project. I have currently declared the function in a header file "tools.h" inside of a namespace as follows:

namespace dgTools
{
template <typename type> std::string realToString(type real);
}

The function is then defined in "tools.cpp" (which does include tools.h) as follows:

template <typename type> std::string dgTools::realToString(type real)
{
std::stringstream convert;
convert << real;
return convert.str();
}

However, when I try to call this function from another piece of code in the project, I get a Linker error (LNK2019) saying that the function (when used as a parameter in another function) is undefined. I've tried several things but I'm not sure what might be causing this error. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

[guestgulkan]

Template declarations and definitions must be in the same file - not split across seperate files.

namespace dgTools
{
    template <typename type> std::string realToString(type real)
    {
        std::stringstream convert;
        convert << real;
        return convert.str();
    }

}

Refer to the reference documentation from this very site (see towards
the bottom of the page):
http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/templates.html