TheOutkastDev
Knight
WORD, DWORD vs. short and int
What's the purpose of using WORD or DWORD over shorts or ints in C++?
What's the purpose of using WORD or DWORD over shorts or ints in C++?
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WORD, DWORD vs. short and int
- Thread starter TheOutkastDev
- Start date
There isn't a reason that they have to be used or anything of the sort. They're used for essentially two reasons:
But, I basically just lied, they're mostly used because people see them in Microsoft's example code, in the tutorials for the WIN32 API, in the headers and in Intellisense™, so people use them just in case or to be consistent (or, once in a blue moon, for the bullets above).
And, they are interchangeable in general, but it's still a better idea to use the API's types when working with it (if just for consistency, assurance of correct types or superstition).
- That using them expresses the intent of the value better (for example, this parameter isn't meant to be a number, but a certain bit sequence [in the case of a WORD/DWORD] or this is meant to be a pointer to a sequence of values in memory [that could be anything; in the case of a WORD */DWORD *]).
- That using them allows your code to be more easily ported to different architectures with different sizes for WORD's/DWORD's (which, of course, is likely something that's never going to happen with an average programmer's code, but it is a possibility nonetheless).
But, I basically just lied, they're mostly used because people see them in Microsoft's example code, in the tutorials for the WIN32 API, in the headers and in Intellisense™, so people use them just in case or to be consistent (or, once in a blue moon, for the bullets above).
And, they are interchangeable in general, but it's still a better idea to use the API's types when working with it (if just for consistency, assurance of correct types or superstition).
gilgamash
Knight
Main purpose: Different bit lengths => different intervals of numbers
The main usage of those things is to make clear the sequence WORD - DWORD - QWORD etc. The BIG problem is the inconsistency in their amount of bits due to the lack of standardization. This especially poses a problem presently when switching from 32bit to 64bit systems. Take any 32bit linux proggy that for instance wrote some integers to a binary file using the sizeof(int) operator. Reread the file with the code compiled on a 64bit system - BANG!
Advise here: use cstdint or sys/inttypes headder with standardized widths (such as uint16_t, int64_t etc.)
The main usage of those things is to make clear the sequence WORD - DWORD - QWORD etc. The BIG problem is the inconsistency in their amount of bits due to the lack of standardization. This especially poses a problem presently when switching from 32bit to 64bit systems. Take any 32bit linux proggy that for instance wrote some integers to a binary file using the sizeof(int) operator. Reread the file with the code compiled on a 64bit system - BANG!
Advise here: use cstdint or sys/inttypes headder with standardized widths (such as uint16_t, int64_t etc.)