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  4. convert const wchar* to const byte*

convert const wchar* to const byte*

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  • R Rakesh5

    Hi, i am trying to convert const wchar* to const byte*. but its not converting fully...can anyone help me out to solve this issue... ------------------------------------- code snippet: const WCHAR* test = L"hello"; const BYTE* test1 = (const BYTE*) test; AfxMessageBox((CString)test1); ---------------------------------------------- thanks, rakesh

    C Offline
    C Offline
    Cedric Moonen
    wrote on last edited by
    #2

    Rakesh5 wrote:

    const WCHAR* test = L"hello"; const BYTE* test1 = (const BYTE*) test; AfxMessageBox((CString)test1);

    :doh: What are you trying to do in fact ? It seems you are a bit lost with the different character encoding, so I'm going to suggest this excellent article[^], you'll get a much better understanding after having read it.

    Cédric Moonen Software developer
    Charting control [v2.0] OpenGL game tutorial in C++

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    • R Rakesh5

      Hi, i am trying to convert const wchar* to const byte*. but its not converting fully...can anyone help me out to solve this issue... ------------------------------------- code snippet: const WCHAR* test = L"hello"; const BYTE* test1 = (const BYTE*) test; AfxMessageBox((CString)test1); ---------------------------------------------- thanks, rakesh

      C Offline
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      CPallini
      wrote on last edited by
      #3

      Why do you need such a conversion? :)

      If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler. -- Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile.
      This is going on my arrogant assumptions. You may have a superb reason why I'm completely wrong. -- Iain Clarke
      [My articles]

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      • C CPallini

        Why do you need such a conversion? :)

        If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler. -- Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile.
        This is going on my arrogant assumptions. You may have a superb reason why I'm completely wrong. -- Iain Clarke
        [My articles]

        R Offline
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        Rakesh5
        wrote on last edited by
        #4

        i want to check whether its possible to do like that.. am learning vc++ now...that is why asked .. if it is possible, pls enlighten me how to do that one.. thanks, rakesh

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        • R Rakesh5

          Hi, i am trying to convert const wchar* to const byte*. but its not converting fully...can anyone help me out to solve this issue... ------------------------------------- code snippet: const WCHAR* test = L"hello"; const BYTE* test1 = (const BYTE*) test; AfxMessageBox((CString)test1); ---------------------------------------------- thanks, rakesh

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          Rajesh R Subramanian
          wrote on last edited by
          #5

          :wtf: Are you aware of the fact that a BYTE is 8 bits and A WCHAR is 16 bits?

          It is a crappy thing, but it's life -^ Carlo Pallini

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          • R Rakesh5

            i want to check whether its possible to do like that.. am learning vc++ now...that is why asked .. if it is possible, pls enlighten me how to do that one.. thanks, rakesh

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            R Offline
            Rajesh R Subramanian
            wrote on last edited by
            #6

            Carlo asked you what would you be doing with the const BYTE buffer after such a "conversion".

            It is a crappy thing, but it's life -^ Carlo Pallini

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            • R Rajesh R Subramanian

              :wtf: Are you aware of the fact that a BYTE is 8 bits and A WCHAR is 16 bits?

              It is a crappy thing, but it's life -^ Carlo Pallini

              R Offline
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              Rakesh5
              wrote on last edited by
              #7

              Hi Rajesh, I am not aware of it...so does it mean that its not at all possible to convert??

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              • R Rakesh5

                i want to check whether its possible to do like that.. am learning vc++ now...that is why asked .. if it is possible, pls enlighten me how to do that one.. thanks, rakesh

                C Offline
                C Offline
                CPallini
                wrote on last edited by
                #8

                Your code performs the conversion (i.e. the cast) of the pointer, not of the string. In other words the string buffer remains unchanged, it is just interpreted diffently. Since that maybe fine or maybe a plain catastrophe, I need to know what is the purpose of your 'conversion'. :)

                If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler. -- Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile.
                This is going on my arrogant assumptions. You may have a superb reason why I'm completely wrong. -- Iain Clarke
                [My articles]

                R 1 Reply Last reply
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                • R Rakesh5

                  Hi Rajesh, I am not aware of it...so does it mean that its not at all possible to convert??

                  R Offline
                  R Offline
                  Rajesh R Subramanian
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #9

                  Sure, you can reinterpret a pointer to a dialog as a pointer to a socket. It is possible to achieve that. But WHY?! After such a conversion (assuming you did it), what will you want to be doing with the BYTE buffer?! Answer that.

                  It is a crappy thing, but it's life -^ Carlo Pallini

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                  • C CPallini

                    Your code performs the conversion (i.e. the cast) of the pointer, not of the string. In other words the string buffer remains unchanged, it is just interpreted diffently. Since that maybe fine or maybe a plain catastrophe, I need to know what is the purpose of your 'conversion'. :)

                    If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler. -- Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile.
                    This is going on my arrogant assumptions. You may have a superb reason why I'm completely wrong. -- Iain Clarke
                    [My articles]

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                    R Offline
                    Rajesh R Subramanian
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #10

                    CPallini wrote:

                    I need to know what is the purpose of your 'conversion'.

                    Just noticed t hat we both have put that word in quotes. Fits the context perfectly. Subtly expressing something, ya know. :-D

                    It is a crappy thing, but it's life -^ Carlo Pallini

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                    • R Rajesh R Subramanian

                      Sure, you can reinterpret a pointer to a dialog as a pointer to a socket. It is possible to achieve that. But WHY?! After such a conversion (assuming you did it), what will you want to be doing with the BYTE buffer?! Answer that.

                      It is a crappy thing, but it's life -^ Carlo Pallini

                      R Offline
                      R Offline
                      Rakesh5
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #11

                      Hi All, I am actually learning vc++.. i just want to know whether it can be converted or not.. whether it is feasible or not.. my seniors have used a functions in which they have typecast like wat i have mentioned in the first message..they are sending type-cast parameter as an arugment to other functions..but it is not casting properly....its taking the first character alone.. if i say, const wchar* test = L"hello"; const BYTE* test1 = (const BYTE*)test; o/p will be 'h' alone.. Hence raised in this forum whether you people can enlighten me about this issue.. thanks, rakesh.

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                      • R Rakesh5

                        Hi All, I am actually learning vc++.. i just want to know whether it can be converted or not.. whether it is feasible or not.. my seniors have used a functions in which they have typecast like wat i have mentioned in the first message..they are sending type-cast parameter as an arugment to other functions..but it is not casting properly....its taking the first character alone.. if i say, const wchar* test = L"hello"; const BYTE* test1 = (const BYTE*)test; o/p will be 'h' alone.. Hence raised in this forum whether you people can enlighten me about this issue.. thanks, rakesh.

                        C Offline
                        C Offline
                        CPallini
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #12

                        Rakesh5 wrote:

                        if i say, const wchar* test = L"hello"; const BYTE* test1 = (const BYTE*)test; o/p will be 'h' alone..

                        If you do need to convert the wide char string into a char one, then use a conversion macro instead, for instance (assuming a ANSI build, like yours):

                        const wchar_t * wstrTest = L"Hello";
                        CW2A strTest( wstrTest );
                        AfxMessageBox( strTest);

                        Rakesh5 wrote:

                        my seniors have used a functions in which they have typecast like wat i have mentioned in the first message..

                        I hope your seniors know what they are doing. :)

                        If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler. -- Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile.
                        This is going on my arrogant assumptions. You may have a superb reason why I'm completely wrong. -- Iain Clarke
                        [My articles]

                        R 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • R Rakesh5

                          Hi All, I am actually learning vc++.. i just want to know whether it can be converted or not.. whether it is feasible or not.. my seniors have used a functions in which they have typecast like wat i have mentioned in the first message..they are sending type-cast parameter as an arugment to other functions..but it is not casting properly....its taking the first character alone.. if i say, const wchar* test = L"hello"; const BYTE* test1 = (const BYTE*)test; o/p will be 'h' alone.. Hence raised in this forum whether you people can enlighten me about this issue.. thanks, rakesh.

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                          Rajesh R Subramanian
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #13

                          A BYTE is an 8 bit data type. A WCHAR is a 16 bit data type. Now, you can cast a BYTE pointer to a WCHAR pointer or vice versa. However, since these data types are of different sizes, and if you cast an array of BYTES to an array of WCHARs, the conversion will succeed, but the resultant buffer will be unusable (the code "won't work"). In other words, you only casted the pointer. You can call a horse a dog, but however, it won't bark. OK, I know. That's not a good example, but you get the drift. :)

                          Rakesh5 wrote:

                          my seniors have used a functions in which they have typecast like wat i have mentioned in the first message..they are sending type-cast parameter as an arugment to other functions..but it is not casting properly....its taking the first character alone..

                          I have a feeling that your seniors are not the brightest sparks for you to learn from. Or ask them to give you an explanation of what they're trying to achieve and ask them how such a "conversion" could make sense.

                          It is a crappy thing, but it's life -^ Carlo Pallini

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                          • R Rakesh5

                            Hi, i am trying to convert const wchar* to const byte*. but its not converting fully...can anyone help me out to solve this issue... ------------------------------------- code snippet: const WCHAR* test = L"hello"; const BYTE* test1 = (const BYTE*) test; AfxMessageBox((CString)test1); ---------------------------------------------- thanks, rakesh

                            K Offline
                            K Offline
                            KarstenK
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #14

                            const BYTE* test1 = (const BYTE*) test; is a type cast, it means your are changing the pointer type. Search for "String Conversion". It is a wide area. There are some fine ATL-macros: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/87zae4a3%28VS.80%29.aspx[^] :suss:

                            Press F1 for help or google it. Greetings from Germany

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                            • C CPallini

                              Rakesh5 wrote:

                              if i say, const wchar* test = L"hello"; const BYTE* test1 = (const BYTE*)test; o/p will be 'h' alone..

                              If you do need to convert the wide char string into a char one, then use a conversion macro instead, for instance (assuming a ANSI build, like yours):

                              const wchar_t * wstrTest = L"Hello";
                              CW2A strTest( wstrTest );
                              AfxMessageBox( strTest);

                              Rakesh5 wrote:

                              my seniors have used a functions in which they have typecast like wat i have mentioned in the first message..

                              I hope your seniors know what they are doing. :)

                              If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler. -- Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile.
                              This is going on my arrogant assumptions. You may have a superb reason why I'm completely wrong. -- Iain Clarke
                              [My articles]

                              R Offline
                              R Offline
                              Rakesh5
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #15

                              Hi, Actually i have made my character set as unicode and not as multibyte in the project settings.. so its not converting fully.. is there any way to do by keeping the current settings? thanks, rakesh.

                              C 1 Reply Last reply
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                              • R Rakesh5

                                Hi, Actually i have made my character set as unicode and not as multibyte in the project settings.. so its not converting fully.. is there any way to do by keeping the current settings? thanks, rakesh.

                                C Offline
                                C Offline
                                CPallini
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #16

                                Then use

                                const wchar_t * wstrTest = L"Hello";
                                CW2A strTest( wstrTest );
                                AfxMessageBox( (CString) strTest);

                                If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler. -- Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile.
                                This is going on my arrogant assumptions. You may have a superb reason why I'm completely wrong. -- Iain Clarke
                                [My articles]

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • R Rakesh5

                                  Hi, i am trying to convert const wchar* to const byte*. but its not converting fully...can anyone help me out to solve this issue... ------------------------------------- code snippet: const WCHAR* test = L"hello"; const BYTE* test1 = (const BYTE*) test; AfxMessageBox((CString)test1); ---------------------------------------------- thanks, rakesh

                                  D Offline
                                  D Offline
                                  David Crow
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #17

                                  Simply casting an 8-bit type to a 16-bit type is not going to produce the expected result. Consider:

                                  8 8 8 8 8
                                  ╓─╥─╥─╥─╥─╖
                                  ║H║e║l║l║o║
                                  ╙─╨─╨─╨─╨─╜

                                  16 16 16 16 16
                                  ╓─┬─╥─┬─╥─┬─╥─┬─╥─┬─╖
                                  ║H│0║e│0║l│0║l│0║o│0║
                                  ╙─┴─╨─┴─╨─┴─╨─┴─╨─┴─╜

                                  In the top figure, each character uses 1 byte or 8 bits. In the bottom figure, each character uses 2 byte or 16 bits. The second byte holds a \0 character. Casting will not magically add that character.

                                  "Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw later in life what you have deposited along the way." - Unknown

                                  "Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons

                                  R 1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • D David Crow

                                    Simply casting an 8-bit type to a 16-bit type is not going to produce the expected result. Consider:

                                    8 8 8 8 8
                                    ╓─╥─╥─╥─╥─╖
                                    ║H║e║l║l║o║
                                    ╙─╨─╨─╨─╨─╜

                                    16 16 16 16 16
                                    ╓─┬─╥─┬─╥─┬─╥─┬─╥─┬─╖
                                    ║H│0║e│0║l│0║l│0║o│0║
                                    ╙─┴─╨─┴─╨─┴─╨─┴─╨─┴─╜

                                    In the top figure, each character uses 1 byte or 8 bits. In the bottom figure, each character uses 2 byte or 16 bits. The second byte holds a \0 character. Casting will not magically add that character.

                                    "Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw later in life what you have deposited along the way." - Unknown

                                    "Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons

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                                    Rajesh R Subramanian
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #18

                                    Nice illustration, David. But the Unicode string in the figure seem to have been terminated by a single '0' character, whereas it should be 2 '0's. :)

                                    It is a crappy thing, but it's life -^ Carlo Pallini

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                                    • R Rajesh R Subramanian

                                      Nice illustration, David. But the Unicode string in the figure seem to have been terminated by a single '0' character, whereas it should be 2 '0's. :)

                                      It is a crappy thing, but it's life -^ Carlo Pallini

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                                      David Crow
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #19

                                      Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:

                                      But the Unicode string in the figure seem to have been terminated...

                                      Actually, neither is terminated. I didn't deem that important.

                                      "Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw later in life what you have deposited along the way." - Unknown

                                      "Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons

                                      R 1 Reply Last reply
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                                      • D David Crow

                                        Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:

                                        But the Unicode string in the figure seem to have been terminated...

                                        Actually, neither is terminated. I didn't deem that important.

                                        "Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw later in life what you have deposited along the way." - Unknown

                                        "Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons

                                        R Offline
                                        R Offline
                                        Rajesh R Subramanian
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #20

                                        Oh yeah. I only looked at the Unicode text. :-O And yes, the illustration serves the purpose well.

                                        It is a crappy thing, but it's life -^ Carlo Pallini

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