What are TCHAR, WCHAR, LPSTR, LPWSTR, LPCTSTR (etc.)?

Ajay Vijayvargiya

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19 Apr 2012CPOL12 min read

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Many Windows C++ programmers get confused over what bizarre data type identifiers like TCHAR and LPCTSTR are. Here, in brief, I will try to clear out the fog.

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This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

Written By

Ajay Vijayvargiya

Software Developer (Senior)

India

Started programming with GwBasic back in 1996 (Those lovely days!). Found the hidden talent!

Touched COBOL and Quick Basic for a while.

Finally learned C and C++ entirely on my own, and fell in love with C++, still in love! Began with Turbo C 2.0/3.0, then to VC6 for 4 years! Finally on VC2008/2010.

I enjoy programming, mostly the system programming, but the UI is always on top of MFC! Quite experienced on other environments and platforms, but I prefer Visual C++. Zeal to learn, and to share!

What are TCHAR, WCHAR, LPSTR, LPWSTR, LPCTSTR (etc.)?

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