CODEWITHSUNDEEP
winapi
0x90
0x90

Reputation: 40972

what is the winapi function declaration conventions?

what is the diffrence between these six functions?

LoadLibrary
LoadLibraryA
LoadLibraryEx
LoadLibraryExA
LoadLibraryExW 
LoadLibraryW

what is the meaning of each suffix in the winapi and what is the difference between all of those functions?

Upvotes: 3

Views: 381

Answers (3)

Andrey
Andrey

Reputation: 4356

LoadLibrary and LoadLibraryEx are macros which are defined depending on whether your project is compiled with unicode support. If so, they point to LoadLibraryW and LoadLibraryExW, otherwise they point to LoadLibraryA and LoadLibraryExA.

Typically, you are expected to write code using versions without A or W in the end and let compiler definitions make all the magic for you.

The Ex suffix is a standard way of denoting an "EXtended" function: one that is similar to the regular version, but provides additional functionality. Generally, they were added in a newer version of Windows and may not always be available (although most of them are so old now that they were added back in Windows 3.1 or 95).

The exact difference between functions, as mentioned before, should always be checked on MSDN.

Upvotes: 6

designerrr
designerrr

Reputation: 322

A - ansi W - unicode Ex - extended version of same function, for example some additional parameters

Upvotes: 1

SLaks
SLaks

Reputation: 887195

A means ANSI; W means Wide (Unicode).
The A versions do not support Unicode strings; they're relics from Win9X.

The suffix-less version will expand to the A or W versions at compile-time, depending on whether the symbol UNICODE is defined.

The Ex versions are newer versions of the API method with additional functionality; consult the documentation for more details.

Upvotes: 4

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