Article #17720: Typecasting a PChar to a longint.

 Question and Answer Database
FAQ2720D.txt Typecasting a PChar to a longint.
Category :Windows API
Platform :All
Product :All 32 bit
Question:
Many Windows functions claim to want PChar parameters in the
documentation, but they are defined as requiring LongInts.
Is this a bug?
Answer:
No, this is where "typecasting" is used. Typecasting allows you to
fool the compiler into thinking that one type of variable is of
another type for the ultimate in flexibility. The last parameter of
the Windows API function SendMessage() is a good example. It is
documented as requiring a long integer, but commonly requires a PChar
for some messages (WM_WININICHANGE). Generally, the variable you are
typecasting from must be the same size as the variable type you are
casting it to. In the SendMessage example, you could typecast a PChar
as a longint, since both occupy 4 bytes of memory:
Example:
var
s : array[0..64] of char;
begin
StrCopy(S, 'windows');
SendMessage(HWND_BROADCAST, WM_WININICHANGE, 0, LongInt(@S));
end;
Pointers are the easiest to typecast, and are the most flexible since
you can pass anything to the called procedure, and the most dangerous
for the same reason. You can also use untyped variable parameters for
convenience, although var parameters are really pointers behind the
scenes.
Example:
type
PBigArray = ^TBigArray;
TBigArray = Array[0..65000] of char;
procedure ZeroOutPointerVariable(P : pointer; size : integer);
var
i : integer;
begin
for i := 0 to size — 1 do
PBigArray(p)^[i] := #0;
end;
procedure ZeroOutUntypedVariable(var v, size : integer);
var
i : integer;
begin
for i := 0 to size — 1 do
TBigArray(v)[i] := #0;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
s : string[255];
i : integer;
l : longint;
begin
s := 'Hello';
i := 10;
l := 2000;
ZeroOutPointerVariable(@s, sizeof(s));
ZeroOutPointerVariable(@i, sizeof(i));
ZeroOutPointerVariable(@l, sizeof(l));
s := 'Hello';
i := 10;
l := 2000;
ZeroOutUntypedVariable(s, sizeof(s));
ZeroOutUntypedVariable(i, sizeof(i));
ZeroOutUntypedVariable(l, sizeof(l));
end;
7/16/98 4:31:28 PM

Last Modified: 01-SEP-99