Description

This is a wrapper for Win32::API that simplifies various idioms typically
used by people who use Win32::API.

Synopsis

require 'windows/api'
include Windows
# Defaults to 'V' prototype, 'L' return type and 'kernel32' library
GetVersion = API.new('GetVersion')
# Defaults to 'L' return type and 'kernel32' library
CloseHandle = API.new('CloseHandle', 'L')
# Defaults to 'kernel32' library
GetWindowsDirectory = API.new('GetWindowsDirectory', 'LI', 'I')
# Explicitly state every argument
GetComputerNameEx = API.new('GetComputerNameEx', 'PPP', 'I', 'kernel32')
# Use long data type names
GetUserName = API.new('GetUserName',['LPTSTR','LPDWORD'],'BOOL','advapi32')
# Attributes for possible inspection
puts GetVersion.dll_name      # 'kernel32'
puts GetVersion.function_name # 'GetVersion'
puts GetVersion.prototype     # ['V']
puts GetVersion.return_type   # 'L'
# Automatic method generation
# This code....
module Windows
   module Foo
      API.auto_namespace = 'Windows::Foo'
      API.auto_constant  = true
      API.auto_method    = true
      API.auto_unicode   = true
      API.new('GetComputerName', 'PP', 'B')
   end
end
# Is the same as this code...
module Windows
   module Foo
      GetComputerName  = Win32API.new('kernel32', 'GetComputerName', 'PP', 'I')
      GetComputerNameA = Win32API.new('kernel32', 'GetComputerNameA', 'PP', 'I')
      GetComputerNameW = Win32API.new('kernel32', 'GetComputerNameW', 'PP', 'I')
      def GetComputerName(p1, p2)
         GetComputerName.call(p1, p2) != 0
      end
      def GetComputerNameA(p1, p2)
         GetComputerName.call(p1, p2) != 0
      end
      def GetComputerNameW(p1, p2)
         GetComputerName.call(p1, p2) != 0
      end
   end
end

Advantages over plain Win32::API

* Automatic constant generation.
* Automatic definition of ANSI and Unicode method wrappers, including
  special handling for boolean methods.
* Ability to use more familiar Windows data types, e.g. DWORD.
* Automatic handling of msvcrt vs msvcrXX via MSVCRT_DLL constant.

More documentation

See the RDoc documentation, which should have been automatically generated
if you installed this as a gem.

Future Plans

Add an auto_private method that is true by default.
Replace or drop this library in favor of FFI.

Bugs

None that I'm aware of. Please submit any bugs to the project page at
http://www.rubyforge.org/projects/win32utils.

Copyright

(C) 2007-2012, Daniel J. Berger

License

Artistic 2.0

Author

Daniel Berger