What Data Type Is HRESULT?

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Scott Campbell

In this tutorial, we will explore the data type HRESULT and understand its significance in programming.

What is HRESULT?

HRESULT stands for Handle to Result and is a data type used in Microsoft Windows programming. It represents the outcome of a function call and is typically used to indicate the success or failure of an operation.

The HRESULT data type is a 32-bit value that consists of three fields:

  • Severity: This field indicates whether the result is a success, information, warning, or error.
  • Facility: The facility field specifies the source of the error or success code.
  • Code: This field contains the actual error or success code.

The severity field can have four possible values:

  • SUCCESS: Indicates that the operation succeeded.
  • INFORMATIONAL: Provides additional information about a successful operation.
  • WARNING: Indicates that the operation completed with a warning but did not fail completely.
  • ERROR: Indicates that the operation failed.

HRESULT Structure

The structure of an HRESULT value is as follows:

Bits:   31                           30 - 16                 15 - 0
        +-------------------------------+-----------------------+
Fields: | Severity (1 bit)              | Facility (15 bits)    |
        +-------------------------------+-----------------------+
        | Code (16 bits)                                        |
        +-----------------------------------------------------+

HRESULT Usage

HRESULT values are commonly used in COM (Component Object Model) programming, where functions return HRESULT values to indicate success or failure. Developers can then check the HRESULT value and take appropriate actions based on the result.

For example, a function may return an HRESULT value of S_OK to indicate success or E_FAIL to indicate failure. By checking the returned HRESULT value, developers can handle errors gracefully and provide meaningful error messages to users.

Common HRESULT Values

Here are some commonly used HRESULT values:

  • S_OK: The operation completed successfully.
  • E_FAIL: The operation failed.
  • E_INVALIDARG: One or more arguments passed to the function are invalid.
  • E_OUTOFMEMORY: The system is out of memory resources.
  • E_ACCESSDENIED: Access is denied for the requested operation.

In Conclusion

HRESULT is a crucial data type in Windows programming that allows developers to handle function outcomes effectively. By understanding the structure and usage of HRESULT, programmers can write more robust and error-resistant code. Remember to always check the returned HRESULT values and handle them appropriately to ensure smooth execution of your programs.

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