Why in C++ do we use DWORD rather than unsigned int? [duplicate]

DWORD is not a C++ type, it’s defined in <windows.h>.

The reason is that DWORD has a specific range and format Windows functions rely on, so if you require that specific range use that type. (Or as they say “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”) For you, that happens to correspond to unsigned int, but that might not always be the case. To be safe, use DWORD when a DWORD is expected, regardless of what it may actually be.

For example, if they ever changed the range or format of unsigned int they could use a different type to underly DWORD to keep the same requirements, and all code using DWORD would be none-the-wiser. (Likewise, they could decide DWORD needs to be unsigned long long, change it, and all code using DWORD would be none-the-wiser.)

Also note unsigned int does not necessary have the range 0 to 4,294,967,295. See here.

Related Posts:

  1. “X does not name a type” error in C++
  2. What is uintptr_t data type
  3. “X does not name a type” error in C++
  4. What is uintptr_t data type
  5. WMI processor SerialNumber not found (To Be Filled By O.E.M.)
  6. What does int & mean
  7. What is a Windows Kernel Driver?
  8. What does LPCWSTR stand for and how should it be handled with?
  9. Can I output a one channel image acquired from camera into a winAppi window?
  10. What does CreateFile(“CONIN$” ..) do?
  11. “X does not name a type” error in C++
  12. What does int & mean
  13. When is SeTcbPrivilege used? (“Act as part of the operating system.)
  14. Screen area vs Work area rectangle
  15. What is the source of the data for the ProgramFiles, ProgramW6432Dir, ProgramFilesDir (x86), CommonProgramFiles environment variables?
  16. Incomplete type is not allowed: stringstream
  17. Finding the type of an object in C++
  18. What is a `char*`?
  19. Declaration is incompatible with type
  20. -Error reading characters of string
  21. Passing Arrays to Function in C++
  22. Return array in a function
  23. Regular cast vs. static_cast vs. dynamic_cast
  24. What is an unsigned char?
  25. C++ std::priority_queue uses the lambda expression
  26. When to use reinterpret_cast?
  27. Expression must be a modifiable lvalue
  28. How to read a file line by line or a whole text file at once?
  29. How to print elements in a vector c++
  30. Graphics Library for C++
  31. ‘cout’ was not declared in this scope
  32. What is the difference between const int*, const int * const, and int const *?
  33. how does the ampersand(&) sign work in c++?
  34. What does purpose use #ifdef and #if in C++
  35. How to solve munmap_chunk(): invalid pointer error in C++
  36. TranslateName() function doesn’t work on win10
  37. How to use the PI constant in C++
  38. How to concatenate two strings in C++?
  39. YAML equivalent of array of objects in JSON
  40. How to get current time and date in C++?
  41. where is the official c++ documentation
  42. Calculating Standard Deviation & Variance in C++
  43. warning: ISO C++ forbids variable length array
  44. cin >> “no operator matches these operands”
  45. C++ Structure Initialization
  46. expression preceding parentheses of apparent call must have (pointer-to-) function type
  47. Enum to String C++
  48. Random float number generation
  49. C++ terminate called without an active exception
  50. MinGW: “gcc is not recognized as an internal or external command”
  51. Convert Python program to C/C++ code?
  52. How to debug ‘Stack smashing detected’?
  53. basic_string::_M_construct null not valid after constructing subvector of strings
  54. Does C++ have a Garbage Collector?
  55. Is “argv[0] = name-of-executable” an accepted standard or just a common convention?
  56. warning: control reaches end of non-void function [-Wreturn-type]
  57. Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault
  58. gcc/g++: “No such file or directory”
  59. Error: expected type-specifier before ‘ClassName’
  60. General way of solving Error: Stack around the variable ‘x’ was corrupted
  61. error MSB3073: How do I fix this?
  62. Error “system” is ambiguous?
  63. Is dependency injection useful in C++
  64. What does “Permission denied” “Id returned 1 exit status” mean?
  65. When does an Incomplete Type error occur in C++
  66. std::cin input with spaces?
  67. extended initializer lists only available with
  68. how to initialize an empty integer array in c++
  69. C: using strtol endptr is never NULL, cannot check if value is integer only?
  70. use of class template requires template argument list
  71. Why would this give a Use of uninitialised value of size 8
  72. C++ Error: Type Name is Not Allowed
  73. Where to find the complete definition of off_t type?
  74. Is Python faster and lighter than C++?
  75. Case insensitive string comparison C++
  76. C++ Exception thrown: read access violation. this was nullptr
  77. C++ getInt() function (have a java equivalent attached)
  78. Simple string parsing with C++
  79. member access within null pointer of type ‘struct ListNode’
  80. How does c++ represent negative value
  81. mkdir c++ function
  82. plotting package for c++
  83. Passing as const and by reference – Worth it?
  84. Understanding Recursion to generate permutations
  85. In C++ what does template<> mean?
  86. Determining type of an object in ruby
  87. Incrementing in C++ – When to use x++ or ++x?
  88. Use of undefined type [duplicate]
  89. Using cin to input a single letter into a char
  90. C++ calling base class constructors
  91. Why am I getting an ‘Else without previous if’ error within a for loop?
  92. Dynamic and static Scoping program differences
  93. How to fix the error “Windows SDK version 8.1” was not found?
  94. Is C++ Array passed by reference or by pointer?
  95. Compiling C++11 with g++
  96. set head to NULL (‘NULL’ : undeclared identifier)
  97. ERROR C2039: ‘vector’: is not a member of ‘std’
  98. Finding square root without using sqrt function?
  99. How do you clear a stringstream variable?
  100. Differences between unique_ptr and shared_ptr

Leave a Comment