FIX: Non-U.S. English DevStudio Typelibs Improperly Registered (186882)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition 5.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition 5.0
This article was previously published under Q186882

SYMPTOMS

Macro constants in Visual Basic Scripting Edition are not defined in non- U.S. English installations, and the OLE/COM Object Viewer fails to display the four Visual C++ type libraries.

CAUSE

The Visual C++, version 5.0 type libraries are compiled for the U.S. English locale and the installation registers them under that locale code.

RESOLUTION

To access the original type libraries programmatically, use LoadRegTypeLib(), and specify U.S. English as the locale ID (LCID). The LCID for U.S. English is 0x409.

To use VBScript macro constants, temporarily change the Regional Settings in Control Panel to English (United States). Change the settings back to the desired locale after using Visual C++.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

183813 Developer Studio Macro Constants Not Defined

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Visual C++, version 6.0.

MORE INFORMATION

Visual C++ 5.0 introduced a new Automation Model that gives access to a variety of internal data and functions. Four type libraries describe the interfaces to the objects exposed by this model. Installing Visual C++ registers these type libraries with OLE/COM under globally unique IDs (GUIDs). The installation saves the paths to the type libraries under the U.S. English locale code, the code under which they were compiled.

The four libraries and their GUIDs are: 
   DSDebugger (devdbg.pkg)       {34C63000-AE64-11CF-AB59-00AA00C091A1}
   DSProjectSystem (devbld.pkg)  {96961265-A819-11CF-AD07-00A0C9034965}
   DSSharedObjects (devshl.dll)  {B3CF8E20-19B6-11CF-8E4D-00AA004254C4}
   DSTextEditor (devedit.pkg)    {2A6DF200-8240-11CF-AB59-00AA00C091A1}
Several OLE interfaces (for example, ITypeLib, ITypeLib2) return object and method documentation from type libraries. The following code gets the ITypeLib interface for Visual Studio Shared Objects (Devshl.dll): 
   #include <atlbase.h>
   const GUID guidShl
               = { 0xB3CF8E20L, 0x19B6, 0x11CF,
                 { 0x8E, 0x4D, 0x00, 0xAA, 0x00, 0x42, 0x54, 0xC4 } }
   CComPtr<ITypeLib> pTLib;
   HRESULT hr  = LoadRegTypeLib(
      &guidShl,   // REFGUID rguid.
      1,          // Unsigned short wVerMajor.
      0,          // Unsigned short wVerMinor.
      0x409,      // LCID lcid.
      &pTLib );   // ITypeLib FAR* FAR* pptlib.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

  1. In OLE/COM Object Viewer, click View and verify that Expert Mode is selected.
  2. In the left pane, expand the Type Libraries node.
  3. Find the four Visual C++ type libraries:

    Visual Studio 97 Debugger (Ver 1.0): devdbg.pkg
    Visual Studio 97 Project System (Ver 1.0): devbld.pkg
    Visual Studio 97 Shared Objects (Ver 1.0): devshl.dll
    Visual Studio 97 Text Editor (Ver 1.0): devedit.pkg

    The Visual C++, version 6.0 type libraries that work properly are:

    Visual C++ Debugger (Ver 6.0): devdbg.pkg
    Visual C++ Project System (Ver 6.0): devbld.pkg
    Visual C++ Shared Objects (Ver 6.0): devshl.dll
    Visual C++ Text Editor (Ver 6.0): devedit.pkg

  4. Double-click the name of the type library.
RESULT: In non-U.S. English systems, OLE/COM Object Viewer fails to display the type library.

REFERENCES

Platform SDK: COM and ActiveX Object Services; Automation; Exposing ActiveX Objects; Type Libraries; Registering a Type Library

Platform SDK: COM and ActiveX Object Services; Automation; Type Description Interfaces; Overview of Type Compilation and Library Functions; LoadRegTypeLib

Visual C++ Online Books; search on "LoadRegTypeLib"; search on "Registering a Type Library"
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/17/2003
Keywords:kbAutomation kbBug kbcode kbfix kbide kbRegistry kbVC600fix KB186882
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.