This tar file expands two files: ourhdr.c & ourhdr.h ourhdr.h -- contains declarations ourhdr.c -- contains implementations To expand tar file: 1) cd to the directory where you want the files to reside (the tar file expands in that same directory) 2) type: tar -xvf ourhdr.tar To use: 1) compile with ~> g++ -c ourhdr.c 2) compile along with your program. For example, let's say you have the following myProg.c file: #include "ourhdr.h" ... int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { ... } You could execute it by going: ~> g++ myProg.c ourhdr.o