The _export Keyword Only Works to Export Functions

 Last reviewed: July 17, 1997
Article ID: Q70248
5.10 6.00 6.00a 6.00ax 7.00 | 5.10 6.00 6.00a | 1.00 
MS-DOS                      | OS/2            | WINDOWS
kbprg

The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft C for MS-DOS, versions 5.1, 6.0, 6.0a, and 6.0ax
  • Microsoft C for OS/2, versions 5.1, 6.0, and 6.0a
  • Microsoft C/C++ for MS-DOS, versions 7.0 and 8.0

In Microsoft C versions 5.1, 6.0, 6.0a, and 6.0ax, the _export keyword was defined to alleviate the need to specify all the exported references for an executable (.EXE) file or dynamic-link library (DLL) in a module definition (.DEF) file for a Windows or OS/2 application. However, _export only works for function entry points. If you want to export data, you must use a .DEF file to list the symbol name.

This also applies under Microsoft C/C++ version 7.0 and Visual C++ version 1.0. In these versions the keyword is __export (two underscore characters).

Additional reference words: kbinf 5.10 6.00 6.00a 6.00ax 7.00 1.00
KBCategory: kbprg
KBSubcategory: CLngIss
Keywords : kb16bitonly

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Last reviewed: July 17, 1997
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