MORE INFORMATION
The WINDOWS.H and WINDOWSX.H header files provide the following
features:
- New data types and their associated definitions
- A preprocessor variable, STRICT, which enforces the strictest
possible type checking by the compiler
- Macros to simplify many common operations in Windows programming
- Control macros to simplify communication with Windows controls
- Message crackers (which are a convenient, portable, and type-safe
method to handle messages) and their associated parameters and
return values in the Windows environment
The new types and STRICT type checking are implemented in the
WINDOWS.H file; the macros, control macros, and message crackers are
implemented in WINDOWSX.H. The Windows SDK installation program copies
each of these files into the include directory (by default,
C:\WINDEV\INCLUDE).
The SDK also provides the following resources:
- WINDOWS.TXT, which explains the new types and STRICT features
provided by WINDOWS.H.
- WINDOWSX.TXT, which explains the macros, control macros, and
message crackers provided by WINDOWSX.H.
- MAKEAPP sample application, which uses all the new features of
WINDOWS.H and WINDOWSX.H. MAKEAPP can create application templates
that use all the new features.
- MAKEAPP.TXT, which explains how to use MAKEAPP as an application
template generator.
Any new code developed for Windows should use the new data types and
define the STRICT preprocessor variable. Doing so provides powerful
type checking and enables the C compiler to find many problems at
compile time.
Using the macros, control macros, and message crackers assists in the
process of finding errors and increases code portability; however,
using these features is a matter of taste. Some developers like them
and find them useful, others do not.
The simplest way to become familiar with the new features is to review
the WINDOWS.H and WINDOWSX.H header files, the associated WINDOWS.TXT
and WINDOWSX.TXT text files, and the MAKEAPP sample application. Each
of the new features is implemented in one of the header files (usually
as a fairly simple macro) and is explained in one of the text files.
Each of the new features is designed to address three goals:
- Make the source code for an application easier to read
- Enable the C compiler to catch programming errors
- Ease porting to 32-bit Windows
In general, the new features can be used as appropriate throughout an
application. Some of the code can use traditional methods and other
code can use various combinations of the new features. The one
exception to this is the STRICT preprocessor variable--if STRICT is
defined in any source module, the entire module must be "STRICT
compliant" before it will compile successfully.
Each of the new features is compatible with Windows 3.0. You can use
the new features in an application that will run under version 3.0 and
you can modify existing code to use the new features.
The remainder of this article provides an introduction to each of the
new features.
New Data Types, Type Definitions, and Helper Macros
The new data types are implemented in WINDOWS.H and described in
WINDOWS.TXT. Examples of new data types are WPARAM, LPARAM, and UINT.
Examples of new handle types are HINSTANCE, HMODULE, and HTASK. Using
the new data types can make source code easier to read and simplify
porting to 32-bit Windows.
STRICT Preprocessor Variable
The STRICT preprocessor variable is implemented in WINDOWS.H and
described in WINDOWSX.TXT. When an application defines STRICT, the C
compiler enforces the highest possible level of type checking, which
enables the compiler to find as many errors as possible. It is much
more productive to find errors at compile time than to find them later
using a debugger.
While an application can use the new data types described above
without defining STRICT, it must use the new types if STRICT is
defined.
To enable STRICT type checking, an application must define the STRICT
environment variable before including WINDOWS.H, as follows:
#define STRICT
#include windows.h
The STRICT environment variable and the new data types are compatible
with Windows 3.0, C++, the Microsoft C Compiler's highest warning
level (specified by the -W4 option switch), and ANSI C.
An Example of Using STRICT
The ReleaseDC function is prototyped as follows:
int WINAPI ReleaseDC(HWND, HDC);
In an application, a programmer might mistakenly switch the two
parameters to the ReleaseDC function, as follows:
ReleaseDC(hDC, hWnd);
Traditionally, the compiler will not catch this error because both the
HDC and HWND data types are defined to be UINT variables. However, if
STRICT is enabled, the HDC and HWND data types are defined as
completely different types, which enables the compiler to catch the
error at compile time. (For more information about how the HWND and
HDC data types are defined, see the DECLARE_HANDLE macro in
WINDOWS.H.)
The WINDOWS.TXT file contains step-by-step instructions for writing
STRICT-compliant Windows code. WINDOWS.TXT also lists the most common
compiler errors generated while compiling an application with STRICT
defined, and methods to address these errors.
Converting Existing Code to STRICT
WINDOWS.TXT describes how to convert existing Windows code to be
compatible with STRICT. However, this conversion requires a fair
amount of effort. If the existing code is stable and not modified very
often, the effort to convert the code may not be worthwhile.
Macros
The macros are implemented in WINDOWSX.H. Each one is listed and
described in WINDOWSX.TXT.
The macros can be used to simplify many common Windows programming
operations. Macros are designed to make code easier to read and write.
They can eliminate much typing and prevent type casting errors. The
macros are compatible with 32-bit Windows.
As an example, the traditional method to subclass a window involves
code such as the following:
lpfnOldWndProc = SetWindowLong(hwnd, GWL_WNDPROC,
(LPARAM)(WNDPROC)lpfnNewWndProc);
The following code, which uses a new macro, accomplishes the same
task:
lpfnOldWndProc = SubclassWindow(hwnd, lpfnNewWndProc);
Other macros include: GlobalAllocPtr, DeletePen, SelectBitmap, and
GetWindowID.
Control Message Macros
The control message macros are implemented in WINDOWSX.H. Each one is
listed and described in WINDOWSX.TXT.
The control message macros simplify dealing with Windows controls
(edit controls, list boxes, and so forth). Using the control message
macros makes code smaller, potentially more readable, and handles all
type casting required. When used in conjunction with the STRICT
preprocessor variable, the control message functions prevent type
errors and incorrect parameter passing.
Examples of control message macros are: Static_Enable,
Button_GetCheck, Edit_GetLineCount, and ScrollBar_SetRange.
Each control message macro corresponds to an existing control message
or window manager function. For example, Button_GetCheck can be used
in place of the BM_GETCHECK message and Button_SetText can be used in
place of SetWindowText.
A Control Message Macro Example
The following example illustrates the power of the control message
macros.
The following code uses traditional SendMessage calls to retrieve all
the lines of text from an edit control:
void PrintLines(HWND hwndEdit)
{
int line;
int lineLast = (int)SendMessage(hwndEdit, EM_GETLINECOUNT,
0, 0L);
for (line = 0; line < lineLast; line)
{
int cch;
char ach[80];
*((LPINT)ach) = sizeof(ach);
cch = (int)SendMessage(hwndEdit, EM_GETLINE,
line, (LONG)(LPSTR)ach);
printf(ach); // or whatever ...
}
}
The following code uses control message macros to perform the same
task, retrieving all the lines of text from an edit control:
void PrintLines(HWND hwndEdit)
{
int line;
int lineLast = Edit_GetLineCount(hwndEdit);
for (line = 0; line < lineLast; line++)
{
int cch;
char ach[80];
cch = Edit_GetLine(hwndEdit, line, ach, sizeof(ach));
printf(ach); // or whatever ...
}
}
Message Crackers
The message crackers are implemented in WINDOWSX.H. The message
crackers are described in WINDOWSX.TXT, which also explains in some
detail how to use them. WINDOWSX.TXT does not list all message
crackers; the list is available in WINDOWSX.H.
The two biggest advantages to using message crackers are:
- Data type safety, because the message crackers perform a great deal
of type casting
- Simplified porting to 32-bit Windows
An application can use message crackers whether or not it defines
STRICT. Also, an application can use message crackers to process some
messages and traditional code to process others.
Using message crackers radically alters the appearance of a window
procedure (see the example below). Whether or not this change of
appearance is a desirable side effect depends on the coding tastes of
the application developer.
Typically, a window procedure will handle many messages, with code in
the procedure to process each message. This often leads to the source
code for a window procedure continuing on for many pages. When an
application uses message crackers, almost any window procedure can be
listed very concisely. The bulk of the code is transferred to message-
handling functions that the message crackers call.
A Simple Message Cracker Example
The following code sample demonstrates using the HANDLE_WM_* message
crackers in a window procedure:
LRESULT _export CALLBACK Template_WndProc(HWND hwnd, WORD msg,
WPARAM wParam,
LPARAM lParam)
{
switch (msg)
{
case WM_MOUSEMOVE:
return HANDLE_WM_MOUSEMOVE(hwnd, wParam, lParam,
Template_OnMouseMove);
case WM_LBUTTONDOWN:
return HANDLE_WM_LBUTTONDOWN(hwnd, wParam, lParam,
Template_OnLButtonDown);
case WM_LBUTTONUP:
return HANDLE_WM_LBUTTONDUP(hwnd, wParam, lParam,
Template_OnLButtonUp);
case WM_CTLCOLOR:
return HANDLE_WM_CTLCOLOR(hwnd, wParam, lParam,
Template_OnCtlColor);
default:
return Template_DefProc(hwnd, msg, wParam, lParam);
}
}
The application must also contain the following message-handling
functions that are called by the message crackers:
void Template_OnMouseMove(HWND hwnd, int x, int y, UINT keyFlags)
{
// code to handle WM_MOUSEMOVE...
}
void Template_OnLButtonDown(HWND hwnd, BOOL fDoubleClick, int x,
int y, UINT keyFlags)
{
// code to handle WM_LBUTTONDOWN...
}
void Template_OnLButtonUp(HWND hwnd, int x, int y, UINT keyFlags)
{
// code to handle WM_LBUTTONUP
}
HBRUSH Template_OnCtlColor(HWND hwnd, HDC hdc, HWND hwndChild,
int type)
{
// code to handle WM_CTLCOLOR
}
While the window procedure code given above is compact, the HANDLE_MSG
macro simplifies the code even further. For example:
LRESULT _export CALLBACK Template_WndProc(HWND hwnd, WORD msg,
WPARAM wParam,
LPARAM lParam)
{
switch (msg)
{
HANDLE_MSG(hwnd, WM_MOUSEMOVE, Template_OnMouseMove);
HANDLE_MSG(hwnd, WM_LBUTTONDOWN, Template_OnLButtonDown);
HANDLE_MSG(hwnd, WM_LBUTTONDBLCLK, Template_OnLButtonDown);
HANDLE_MSG(hwnd, WM_LBUTTONUP, Template_OnLButtonUp);
default:
return Template_DefProc(hwnd, msg, wParam, lParam);
}
}
Message Cracker Basics
If a window procedure uses a message cracker to process a particular
message, it must also implement a function to process that message.
This function must have a specific "signature" (the order and types of
parameters and the function's return type). The correct signature for
each function is listed in WINDOWSX.H next to the corresponding
message cracker.
For example, if the window procedure in the example above uses the
HANDLE_WM_MOUSEMOVE message cracker, it must also implement the
Template_OnMouseMove function, which the message cracker calls.
Once the application implements Template_OnMouseMove, the message
cracker processes the message as follows:
- Splits wParam and lParam into component parts
- Type casts the parts correctly
- Passes the values as parameters to the application-supplied
function (in this case, the Template_OnMouseMove function)
- Returns an appropriate value from processing the message
For more information on the inner workings of the message crackers,
see the section titled "How Message Crackers Work" in WINDOWSX.TXT.
Message Crackers Have Many Uses
The WINDOWSX.TXT text file explains and illustrates how to use message
crackers in many different application programming situations,
including the following:
- Passing messages to DefWindowProc, CallWindowProc, and so forth.
- Private and registered window messages.
- Windows with instance data.
- Dialog box procedures.
- Window subclassing.
- Another way to create dialog box procedures that allows a dialog
box procedure to return an LRESULT data type. This method allows an
application to bypass the traditional limitation that dialog box
procedures must return a BOOL data type.