| Platform SDK: Win32 API |
The data types supported by the Microsoft® Win32® API are used to define function return values, function and message parameters, and structure members. They define the size and meaning of these elements
The following table contains the following types: character, integer, Boolean, pointer, and handle. The character, integer, and Boolean types are common to most C compilers. Most of the pointer-type names begin with a prefix of P or LP. Handles refer to a resource that has been loaded into memory.
| Type | Definition |
|---|---|
| ATOM | Atom (a reference to a character string in an atom table). |
| BOOL | Boolean variable (should be TRUE or FALSE). |
| BOOLEAN | Boolean variable (should be TRUE or FALSE). |
| BYTE | Byte (8 bits). |
| CALLBACK | Calling convention for callback functions. |
| CHAR | 8-bit Windows (ANSI) character. For more information, see Character Sets Used By Fonts. |
| COLORREF | Red, green, blue (RGB) color value (32 bits). See COLORREF for information on this type. |
| CONST | Variable whose value is to remain constant during execution. |
| CRITICAL_SECTION | Critical-section object. |
| CTRYID | Country identifier. |
| DWORD | 32-bit unsigned integer. |
| DWORD_PTR | Unsigned long type for pointer precision. Use when casting a pointer to a long type to perform pointer arithmetic. |
| DWORD32 | 32-bit unsigned integer. |
| DWORD64 | 64-bit unsigned integer. |
| FLOAT | Floating-point variable. |
| FILE_SEGMENT_ELEMENT | 64-bit pointer to a buffer. |
| HACCEL | Handle to an accelerator table. |
| HANDLE | Handle to an object. |
| HBITMAP | Handle to a bitmap. |
| HBRUSH | Handle to a brush. |
| HCOLORSPACE | Handle to a logical color space. |
| HCONV | Handle to a dynamic data exchange (DDE) conversation. |
| HCONVLIST | Handle to a DDE conversation list. |
| HCURSOR | Handle to a cursor. |
| HDC | Handle to a device context (DC). |
| HDDEDATA | Handle to DDE data. |
| HDESK | Handle to a desktop. |
| HDROP | Handle to an internal drop structure. |
| HDWP | Handle to a deferred window position structure. |
| HENHMETAFILE | Handle to an enhanced metafile. |
| HFILE | Handle to a file opened by OpenFile, not CreateFile. |
| HFONT | Handle to a font. |
| HGDIOBJ | Handle to a GDI object. |
| HGLOBAL | Handle to a global memory block. |
| HHOOK | Handle to a hook. |
| HICON | Handle to an icon. |
| HIMAGELIST | Handle to an image list. |
| HIMC | Handle to input context. |
| HINSTANCE | Handle to an instance. |
| HKEY | Handle to a registry key. |
| HKL | Input locale identifier. |
| HLOCAL | Handle to a local memory block. |
| HMENU | Handle to a menu. |
| HMETAFILE | Handle to a metafile. |
| HMODULE | Handle to a module. |
| HMONITOR | Handle to a display monitor. |
| HPALETTE | Handle to a palette. |
| HPEN | Handle to a pen. |
| HRGN | Handle to a region. |
| HRSRC | Handle to a resource. |
| HSZ | Handle to a DDE string. |
| HWINSTA | Handle to a window station. |
| HWND | Handle to a window. |
| INT | 32-bit signed integer. |
| INT_PTR | Signed integral type for pointer precision. Use when casting a pointer to an integer to perform pointer arithmetic. |
| INT32 | 32-bit signed integer. |
| INT64 | 64-bit signed integer. |
| IPADDR | IP address. To convert this value to the "a.b.c.d" string form of an IP address, map the high-order byte to a, the low-order byte to d, and so on. |
| IPMASK | Subnet mask. Uses the same format as IPADDR. |
| LANGID | Language identifier. For more information, see Locales. |
| LCID | Locale identifier. For more information, see Locales. |
| LCSCSTYPE | Color space type. |
| LCSGAMUTMATCH | Gamut-matching method. |
| LCTYPE | Locale information type. For a list, see Locale and Language Information |
| LONG | 32-bit signed integer. |
| LONG_PTR | Signed long type for pointer precision. Use when casting a pointer to a long to perform pointer arithmetic. |
| LONG32 | 32-bit signed integer. |
| LONG64 | 64-bit signed integer. |
| LONGLONG | 64-bit signed integer. |
| LPARAM | Message parameter. |
| LPBOOL | Pointer to a BOOL. |
| LPBYTE | Pointer to a BYTE. |
| LPCOLORREF | Pointer to a COLORREF value. |
| LPCRITICAL_SECTION | Pointer to a CRITICAL_SECTION. |
| LPCSTR | Pointer to a constant null-terminated string of 8-bit Windows (ANSI) characters. For more information, see Character Sets Used By Fonts. |
| LPCTSTR | An LPCWSTR if UNICODE is defined, an LPCSTR otherwise. |
| LPCVOID | Pointer to a constant of any type. |
| LPCWSTR | Pointer to a constant null-terminated string of 16-bit Unicode characters. For more information, see Character Sets Used By Fonts. |
| LPDWORD | Pointer to a DWORD. |
| LPHANDLE | Pointer to a HANDLE. |
| LPINT | Pointer to an INT. |
| LPLONG | Pointer to a LONG. |
| LPSTR | Pointer to a null-terminated string of 8-bit Windows (ANSI) characters. For more information, see Character Sets Used By Fonts. |
| LPTSTR | An LPWSTR if UNICODE is defined, an LPSTR otherwise. |
| LPVOID | Pointer to any type. |
| LPWORD | Pointer to a WORD. |
| LPWSTR | Pointer to a null-terminated string of 16-bit Unicode characters. For more information, see Character Sets Used By Fonts. |
| LRESULT | Signed result of message processing. |
| LUID | Locally unique identifier. |
| PBOOL | Pointer to a BOOL. |
| PBOOLEAN | Pointer to a BOOL. |
| PBYTE | Pointer to a BYTE. |
| PCHAR | Pointer to a CHAR. |
| PCRITICAL_SECTION | Pointer to a CRITICAL_SECTION. |
| PCSTR | Pointer to a constant null-terminated string of 8-bit Windows (ANSI) characters. For more information, see Character Sets Used By Fonts. |
| PCTSTR | A PCWSTR if UNICODE is defined, a PCSTR otherwise. |
| PCWCH | Pointer to a constant WCHAR. |
| PCWSTR | Pointer to a constant null-terminated string of 16-bit Unicode characters. For more information, see Character Sets Used By Fonts. |
| PDWORD | Pointer to a DWORD. |
| PFLOAT | Pointer to a FLOAT. |
| PHANDLE | Pointer to a HANDLE. |
| PHKEY | Pointer to an HKEY. |
| PINT | Pointer to an INT. |
| PLCID | Pointer to an LCID. |
| PLONG | Pointer to a LONG. |
| PLUID | Pointer to a LUID. |
| POINTER_32 | 32-bit pointer. On a 32-bit system, this is a native pointer. On a 64-bit system, this is a truncated 64-bit pointer. |
| POINTER_64 | 64-bit pointer. On a 64-bit system, this is a native pointer. On a 32-bit system, this is a sign-extended 32-bit pointer. |
| PSHORT | Pointer to a SHORT. |
| PSTR | Pointer to a null-terminated string of 8-bit Windows (ANSI) characters. For more information, see Character Sets Used By Fonts. |
| PTBYTE | Pointer to a TBYTE. |
| PTCHAR | Pointer to a TCHAR. |
| PTSTR | A PWSTR if UNICODE is defined, a PSTR otherwise. |
| PUCHAR | Pointer to a UCHAR. |
| PUINT | Pointer to a UINT. |
| PULONG | Pointer to a ULONG. |
| PUSHORT | Pointer to a USHORT. |
| PVOID | Pointer to any type. |
| PWCHAR | Pointer to a WCHAR. |
| PWORD | Pointer to a WORD. |
| PWSTR | Pointer to a null-terminated string of 16-bit Unicode characters. For more information, see Character Sets Used By Fonts. |
| REGSAM | Security access mask for registry key. |
| SC_HANDLE | Handle to a service control manager database. |
| SC_LOCK | Handle to a service control manager database lock. |
| SERVICE_STATUS_HANDLE | Handle to a service status value. |
| SHORT | Short integer (16 bits). |
| SIZE_T | The maximum number of bytes to which a pointer can point. Use for a count that must span the full range of a pointer. |
| SSIZE_T | Signed SIZE_T. |
| TBYTE | A WCHAR if UNICODE is defined, a CHAR otherwise. |
| TCHAR | A WCHAR if UNICODE is defined, a CHAR otherwise. |
| UCHAR | Unsigned CHAR. |
| UINT | Unsigned INT. |
| UINT_PTR | Unsigned INT_PTR. |
| UINT32 | Unsigned INT32. |
| UINT64 | Unsigned INT64. |
| ULONG | Unsigned LONG. |
| ULONG_PTR | Unsigned LONG_PTR. |
| ULONG32 | Unsigned LONG32. |
| ULONG64 | Unsigned LONG64. |
| ULONGLONG | 64-bit unsigned integer. |
| UNSIGNED | Unsigned attribute. |
| USHORT | Unsigned SHORT. |
| VOID | Any type. |
| WCHAR | 16-bit Unicode character. For more information, see Character Sets Used By Fonts. |
| WINAPI | Calling convention for the Win32 API. |
| WORD | 16-bit unsigned integer. |
| WPARAM | Message parameter. |