The GlobalDeleteAtom function decrements the reference count of a global string atom. If the atom's reference count reaches zero, GlobalDeleteAtom removes the string associated with the atom from the global atom table.
ATOM GlobalDeleteAtom(
ATOM nAtom // atom to delete
);
If the function succeeds, the return value is zero.
If the function fails, the return value is the nAtom parameter. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.
A string atom's reference count specifies the number of times the string has been added to or removed from the atom table. The GlobalAddAtom function increments the reference count of a string that already exists in the global atom table each time it is called.
The only way to ensure that an atom has been deleted from the atom table is to call this function repeatedly until it fails. When the reference count is decremented to zero, the next GlobalFindAtom or GlobalDeleteAtom function call fails.
GlobalDeleteAtom has no effect on an integer atom (an atom created by using the MAKEINTATOM macro). The function always returns zero for an integer atom.
Windows NT: Requires version 3.1 or later.
Windows: Requires Windows 95 or later.
Windows CE: Unsupported.
Header: Declared in winbase.h.
Import Library: Use kernel32.lib.
Atoms Overview, Atom Functions, AddAtom, DeleteAtom, FindAtom, GlobalAddAtom, GlobalFindAtom, MAKEINTATOM