What the difference between LPCSTR, LPCTSTR and LPTSTR?
Why do we need to do this to convert a string into a LV_ITEM structure variable pszText:
LV_DISPINFO dispinfo;
dispinfo.item.pszText = LPTSTR((LPCTSTR)string);
views:
2852answers:
4
+5
A:
quick and dirty:
LP == long pointer. Just think pointer or char*
C = const in this case i think they mean the character string is a const, not the pointer being const.
STR is string
the T is for a wide character or char (TCHAR) depending on compile options.
Tim
2008-11-26 17:09:35
T is not for wide character, it is for varying character type. W is for wide (as in WCHAR). If UNICODE is defined, TCHAR == WCHAR, otherwise TCHAR == CHAR.So if UNICODE is not defined, LPCTSTR == LPCSTR.
jalf
2008-11-26 17:56:58
that is why I wrote "depending on compile options"
Tim
2008-11-26 18:37:11
I really love this type of explaining :) . Thanks so much
nXqd
2010-03-19 15:54:34
+7
A:
To answer the first part of your question:
LPCSTR is a const string
LPCTSTR is a const TCHAR string, (TCHAR being either a wide char or char depending on whether UNICODE is defined)
LPTSTR is a (non-const) TCHAR string
This is a great codeproject article describing C++ strings (see 2/3 the way down for a chart comparing the different types)
John Sibly
2008-11-26 17:09:48
I quickly scanned that article - seems great, adding it to my bookmarks and will read it as soon as I have time.
nothingMaster
2008-11-26 17:26:55
+1
A:
Adding to John and Tim's answer.
Unless you are coding on Win98, there are only two of the 6+ string types you should be using in your application
- LPWSTR
- LPCWSTR
The rest are meant to support ANSI platforms or dual compiles. Those are not as relevant today as they used to be.
JaredPar
2008-11-26 17:12:55
@BlueRaja, I was mainly referring to C based strings in my answer. But for C++ I would avoid `std::string` because it is still an ASCII based string and prefer `std::wstring` instead.
JaredPar
2010-05-12 17:25:49