How to Convert std::string to LPCSTR and LPWSTR in C ?

Converting std::string to LPCSTR and LPWSTR

In C , it is sometimes necessary to convert a std::string to LPCSTR or LPWSTR for use with certain APIs. This can be achieved using the c_str() method.

Converting to LPCSTR

To convert a std::string to LPCSTR (a pointer to a constant null-terminated character array), simply use the c_str() method:

<code class="cpp">std::string str = "Hello, world!";
LPCSTR lpcstr = str.c_str();</code>

Converting to LPWSTR

Converting to LPWSTR (a pointer to a constant wide-character array) is slightly more complex as it requires using the WCHAR type:

<code class="cpp">std::string str = "Hello, world!";
size_t length = str.length();
WCHAR* buffer = new WCHAR[length + 1];
MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8, 0, str.c_str(), -1, buffer, (int)length);
LPWSTR lpwstr = buffer;</code>

Understanding LPCSTR, LPSTR, LPWSTR, and LPCWSTR

These acronyms stand for:

• LPCSTR: Long Pointer to Constant STRing (a pointer to a constant character array)
• LPSTR: Long Pointer to STRing (a pointer to a character array)
• LPWSTR: Long Pointer to Wide STRing (a pointer to a wide-character array)
• LPCWSTR: Long Pointer to Constant Wide STRing (a pointer to a constant wide-character array)

In general, LPCSTR and LPCWSTR are used with constant strings, while LPSTR and LPWSTR are used with mutable strings. Note that the "L" in these names is a legacy from 16-bit Windows and can be ignored.

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