README.md

Windows API Data types

Windows API routines often require data types not used by VB. This is a text doc that explains the use of non-VB data types to help in converting C declarations to Visual Basic.

The procedures in DLLs are most commonly documented using C language syntax. To call these procedures from Visual Basic, you need to translate them into valid Declare statements and call them with the correct arguments.

As part of this translation, you must convert the C data types into Visual Basic data types and specify whether each argument should be called by value (ByVal) or implicitly, by reference (ByRef).

This text doc lists common C language data types and their Visual Basic equivalents for 32-bit versions of Windows, and includes some examples.

Also goes into some detail in explaining defined types such as LPDWORD, LPHWND, LPVOID and BSTR, and explains dealing with Strings and passing Null pointers.

Also covers the conversion of Large Integers to Currency. Windows and COM sometimes use 64-bit integers, and Visual Basic actually provides a 64-bit integer type - Currency.

Much of this information comes from Hard Core VB by Bruce McKinney, (else is part of the Win API documentation), from the MSDN Library.