Win32(3pm) Perl Programmers Reference Guide Win32(3pm)NAMEWin32 - Interfaces to some Win32 API Functions
DESCRIPTION
The Win32 module contains functions to access Win32 APIs.
Alphabetical Listing of Win32 Functions
It is recommended to "use Win32;" before any of these functions;
however, for backwards compatibility, those marked as [CORE] will
automatically do this for you.
In the function descriptions below the term Unicode string is used to
indicate that the string may contain characters outside the system
codepage. The caveat If supported by the core Perl version generally
means Perl 5.8.9 and later, though some Unicode pathname functionality
may work on earlier versions.
Win32::AbortSystemShutdown(MACHINE)
Aborts a system shutdown (started by the InitiateSystemShutdown
function) on the specified MACHINE.
Win32::BuildNumber()
[CORE] Returns the ActivePerl build number. This function is only
available in the ActivePerl binary distribution.
Win32::CopyFile(FROM, TO, OVERWRITE)
[CORE] The Win32::CopyFile() function copies an existing file to a
new file. All file information like creation time and file
attributes will be copied to the new file. However it will not
copy the security information. If the destination file already
exists it will only be overwritten when the OVERWRITE parameter is
true. But even this will not overwrite a read-only file; you have
to unlink() it first yourself.
Win32::CreateDirectory(DIRECTORY)
Creates the DIRECTORY and returns a true value on success. Check
$^E on failure for extended error information.
DIRECTORY may contain Unicode characters outside the system
codepage. Once the directory has been created you can use
Win32::GetANSIPathName() to get a name that can be passed to system
calls and external programs.
Win32::CreateFile(FILE)
Creates the FILE and returns a true value on success. Check $^E on
failure for extended error information.
FILE may contain Unicode characters outside the system codepage.
Once the file has been created you can use Win32::GetANSIPathName()
to get a name that can be passed to system calls and external
programs.
Win32::DomainName()
[CORE] Returns the name of the Microsoft Network domain or
workgroup that the owner of the current perl process is logged
into. The "Workstation" service must be running to determine this
information. This function does not work on Windows 9x.
Win32::ExpandEnvironmentStrings(STRING)
Takes STRING and replaces all referenced environment variable names
with their defined values. References to environment variables
take the form "%VariableName%". Case is ignored when looking up
the VariableName in the environment. If the variable is not found
then the original "%VariableName%" text is retained. Has the same
effect as the following:
$string =~ s/%([^%]*)%/$ENV{$1} || "%$1%"/eg
However, this function may return a Unicode string if the
environment variable being expanded hasn't been assigned to via
%ENV. Access to %ENV is currently always using byte semantics.
Win32::FormatMessage(ERRORCODE)
[CORE] Converts the supplied Win32 error number (e.g. returned by
Win32::GetLastError()) to a descriptive string. Analogous to the
perror() standard-C library function. Note that $^E used in a
string context has much the same effect.
C:\> perl -e "$^E = 26; print $^E;"
The specified disk or diskette cannot be accessed
Win32::FsType()
[CORE] Returns the name of the filesystem of the currently active
drive (like 'FAT' or 'NTFS'). In list context it returns three
values: (FSTYPE, FLAGS, MAXCOMPLEN). FSTYPE is the filesystem type
as before. FLAGS is a combination of values of the following
table:
0x00000001 supports case-sensitive filenames
0x00000002 preserves the case of filenames
0x00000004 supports Unicode in filenames
0x00000008 preserves and enforces ACLs
0x00000010 supports file-based compression
0x00000020 supports disk quotas
0x00000040 supports sparse files
0x00000080 supports reparse points
0x00000100 supports remote storage
0x00008000 is a compressed volume (e.g. DoubleSpace)
0x00010000 supports object identifiers
0x00020000 supports the Encrypted File System (EFS)
MAXCOMPLEN is the maximum length of a filename component (the part
between two backslashes) on this file system.
Win32::FreeLibrary(HANDLE)
Unloads a previously loaded dynamic-link library. The HANDLE is no
longer valid after this call. See LoadLibrary for information on
dynamically loading a library.
Win32::GetANSIPathName(FILENAME)
Returns an ANSI version of FILENAME. This may be the short name if
the long name cannot be represented in the system codepage.
While not currently implemented, it is possible that in the future
this function will convert only parts of the path to FILENAME to a
short form.
If FILENAME doesn't exist on the filesystem, or if the filesystem
doesn't support short ANSI filenames, then this function will
translate the Unicode name into the system codepage using
replacement characters.
Win32::GetArchName()
Use of this function is deprecated. It is equivalent with
$ENV{PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE}. This might not work on Win9X.
Win32::GetChipName()
Returns the processor type: 386, 486 or 586 for x86 processors,
8664 for the x64 processor and 2200 for the Itanium. Since it
returns the native processor type it will return a 64-bit processor
type even when called from a 32-bit Perl running on 64-bit Windows.
Win32::GetCwd()
[CORE] Returns the current active drive and directory. This
function does not return a UNC path, since the functionality
required for such a feature is not available under Windows 95.
If supported by the core Perl version, this function will return an
ANSI path name for the current directory if the long pathname
cannot be represented in the system codepage.
Win32::GetCurrentProcessId()
Returns the process identifier of the current process. Until the
process terminates, the process identifier uniquely identifies the
process throughout the system.
The current process identifier is normally also available via the
predefined $$ variable. Under fork() emulation however $$ may
contain a pseudo-process identifier that is only meaningful to the
Perl kill(), wait() and waitpid() functions. The
Win32::GetCurrentProcessId() function will always return the
regular Windows process id, even when called from inside a pseudo-
process.
Win32::GetCurrentThreadId()
Returns the thread identifier of the calling thread. Until the
thread terminates, the thread identifier uniquely identifies the
thread throughout the system.
Win32::GetFileVersion(FILENAME)
Returns the file version number from the VERSIONINFO resource of
the executable file or DLL. This is a tuple of four 16 bit
numbers. In list context these four numbers will be returned. In
scalar context they are concatenated into a string, separated by
dots.
Win32::GetFolderPath(FOLDER [, CREATE])
Returns the full pathname of one of the Windows special folders.
The folder will be created if it doesn't exist and the optional
CREATE argument is true. The following FOLDER constants are
defined by the Win32 module, but only exported on demand:
CSIDL_ADMINTOOLS
CSIDL_APPDATA
CSIDL_CDBURN_AREA
CSIDL_COMMON_ADMINTOOLS
CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA
CSIDL_COMMON_DESKTOPDIRECTORY
CSIDL_COMMON_DOCUMENTS
CSIDL_COMMON_FAVORITES
CSIDL_COMMON_MUSIC
CSIDL_COMMON_PICTURES
CSIDL_COMMON_PROGRAMS
CSIDL_COMMON_STARTMENU
CSIDL_COMMON_STARTUP
CSIDL_COMMON_TEMPLATES
CSIDL_COMMON_VIDEO
CSIDL_COOKIES
CSIDL_DESKTOP
CSIDL_DESKTOPDIRECTORY
CSIDL_FAVORITES
CSIDL_FONTS
CSIDL_HISTORY
CSIDL_INTERNET_CACHE
CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA
CSIDL_MYMUSIC
CSIDL_MYPICTURES
CSIDL_MYVIDEO
CSIDL_NETHOOD
CSIDL_PERSONAL
CSIDL_PRINTHOOD
CSIDL_PROFILE
CSIDL_PROGRAMS
CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES
CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES_COMMON
CSIDL_RECENT
CSIDL_RESOURCES
CSIDL_RESOURCES_LOCALIZED
CSIDL_SENDTO
CSIDL_STARTMENU
CSIDL_STARTUP
CSIDL_SYSTEM
CSIDL_TEMPLATES
CSIDL_WINDOWS
Note that not all folders are defined on all versions of Windows.
Please refer to the MSDN documentation of the CSIDL constants,
currently available at:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/shellcc/platform/shell/reference/enums/csidl.asp
This function will return an ANSI folder path if the long name
cannot be represented in the system codepage. Use
Win32::GetLongPathName() on the result of Win32::GetFolderPath() if
you want the Unicode version of the folder name.
Win32::GetFullPathName(FILENAME)
[CORE] GetFullPathName combines the FILENAME with the current drive
and directory name and returns a fully qualified (aka, absolute)
path name. In list context it returns two elements: (PATH, FILE)
where PATH is the complete pathname component (including trailing
backslash) and FILE is just the filename part. Note that no
attempt is made to convert 8.3 components in the supplied FILENAME
to longnames or vice-versa. Compare with Win32::GetShortPathName()
and Win32::GetLongPathName().
If supported by the core Perl version, this function will return an
ANSI path name if the full pathname cannot be represented in the
system codepage.
Win32::GetLastError()
[CORE] Returns the last error value generated by a call to a Win32
API function. Note that $^E used in a numeric context amounts to
the same value.
Win32::GetLongPathName(PATHNAME)
[CORE] Returns a representation of PATHNAME composed of longname
components (if any). The result may not necessarily be longer than
PATHNAME. No attempt is made to convert PATHNAME to the absolute
path. Compare with Win32::GetShortPathName() and
Win32::GetFullPathName().
This function may return the pathname in Unicode if it cannot be
represented in the system codepage. Use Win32::GetANSIPathName()
before passing the path to a system call or another program.
Win32::GetNextAvailDrive()
[CORE] Returns a string in the form of "<d>:" where <d> is the
first available drive letter.
Win32::GetOSDisplayName()
Returns the "marketing" name of the Windows operating system
version being used. It returns names like these (random samples):
Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Windows XP Professional
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Windows Home Server
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems
Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit)
Windows Small Business Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)
The display name describes the native Windows version, so even on a
32-bit Perl this function may return a "Windows ... (64-bit)" name
when running on a 64-bit Windows.
This function should only be used to display the actual OS name to
the user; it should not be used to determine the class of operating
systems this system belongs to. The Win32::GetOSName(),
Win32::GetOSVersion, Win32::GetProductInfo() and
Win32::GetSystemMetrics() functions provide the base information to
check for certain capabilities, or for families of OS releases.
Win32::GetOSName()
In scalar context returns the name of the Win32 operating system
being used. In list context returns a two element list of the OS
name and whatever edition information is known about the particular
build (for Win9X boxes) and whatever service packs have been
installed. The latter is roughly equivalent to the first item
returned by GetOSVersion() in list context.
The description will also include tags for other special editions,
like "R2", "Media Center", "Tablet PC", or "Starter Edition".
Currently the possible values for the OS name are
WinWin32s
Win95
Win98
WinMe
WinNT3.51
WinNT4
Win2000
WinXP/.Net
Win2003
WinHomeSvr
WinVista
Win2008
Win7
This routine is just a simple interface into GetOSVersion(). More
specific or demanding situations should use that instead. Another
option would be to use POSIX::uname(), however the latter appears
to report only the OS family name and not the specific OS. In
scalar context it returns just the ID.
The name "WinXP/.Net" is used for historical reasons only, to
maintain backwards compatibility of the Win32 module. Windows .NET
Server has been renamed as Windows 2003 Server before final release
and uses a different major/minor version number than Windows XP.
Similarly the name "WinWin32s" should have been "Win32s" but has
been kept as-is for backwards compatibility reasons too.
Win32::GetOSVersion()
[CORE] Returns the list (STRING, MAJOR, MINOR, BUILD, ID), where
the elements are, respectively: An arbitrary descriptive string,
the major version number of the operating system, the minor version
number, the build number, and a digit indicating the actual
operating system. For the ID, the values are 0 for Win32s, 1 for
Windows 9X/Me and 2 for Windows NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista/2008/7. In
scalar context it returns just the ID.
Currently known values for ID MAJOR and MINOR are as follows:
OS ID MAJOR MINOR
Win32s 0 - -
Windows 95 1 4 0
Windows 98 1 4 10
Windows Me 1 4 90
Windows NT 3.51 2 3 51
Windows NT 4 2 4 0
Windows 2000 2 5 0
Windows XP 2 5 1
Windows Server 2003 2 5 2
Windows Server 2003 R2 2 5 2
Windows Home Server 2 5 2
Windows Vista 2 6 0
Windows Server 2008 2 6 0
Windows 7 2 6 1
Windows Server 2008 R2 2 6 1
On Windows NT 4 SP6 and later this function returns the following
additional values: SPMAJOR, SPMINOR, SUITEMASK, PRODUCTTYPE.
The version numbers for Windows 2003 and Windows Home Server are
identical; the SUITEMASK field must be used to differentiate
between\ them.
The version numbers for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 are
identical; the PRODUCTTYPE field must be used to differentiate
between them.
The version numbers for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are
identical; the PRODUCTTYPE field must be used to differentiate
between them.
SPMAJOR and SPMINOR are are the version numbers of the latest
installed service pack.
SUITEMASK is a bitfield identifying the product suites available on
the system. Known bits are:
VER_SUITE_SMALLBUSINESS 0x00000001
VER_SUITE_ENTERPRISE 0x00000002
VER_SUITE_BACKOFFICE 0x00000004
VER_SUITE_COMMUNICATIONS 0x00000008
VER_SUITE_TERMINAL 0x00000010
VER_SUITE_SMALLBUSINESS_RESTRICTED 0x00000020
VER_SUITE_EMBEDDEDNT 0x00000040
VER_SUITE_DATACENTER 0x00000080
VER_SUITE_SINGLEUSERTS 0x00000100
VER_SUITE_PERSONAL 0x00000200
VER_SUITE_BLADE 0x00000400
VER_SUITE_EMBEDDED_RESTRICTED 0x00000800
VER_SUITE_SECURITY_APPLIANCE 0x00001000
VER_SUITE_STORAGE_SERVER 0x00002000
VER_SUITE_COMPUTE_SERVER 0x00004000
VER_SUITE_WH_SERVER 0x00008000
The VER_SUITE_xxx names are listed here to crossreference the
Microsoft documentation. The Win32 module does not provide
symbolic names for these constants.
PRODUCTTYPE provides additional information about the system. It
should be one of the following integer values:
1 - Workstation (NT 4, 2000 Pro, XP Home, XP Pro, Vista)
2 - Domaincontroller
3 - Server (2000 Server, Server 2003, Server 2008)
Note that a server that is also a domain controller is reported as
PRODUCTTYPE 2 (Domaincontroller) and not PRODUCTTYPE 3 (Server).
Win32::GetShortPathName(PATHNAME)
[CORE] Returns a representation of PATHNAME that is composed of
short (8.3) path components where available. For path components
where the file system has not generated the short form the returned
path will use the long form, so this function might still for
instance return a path containing spaces. Returns "undef" when the
PATHNAME does not exist. Compare with Win32::GetFullPathName() and
Win32::GetLongPathName().
Win32::GetSystemMetrics(INDEX)
Retrieves the specified system metric or system configuration
setting. Please refer to the Microsoft documentation of the
GetSystemMetrics() function for a reference of available INDEX
values. All system metrics return integer values.
Win32::GetProcAddress(INSTANCE, PROCNAME)
Returns the address of a function inside a loaded library. The
information about what you can do with this address has been lost
in the mist of time. Use the Win32::API module instead of this
deprecated function.
Win32::GetProductInfo(OSMAJOR, OSMINOR, SPMAJOR, SPMINOR)
Retrieves the product type for the operating system on the local
computer, and maps the type to the product types supported by the
specified operating system. Please refer to the Microsoft
documentation of the GetProductInfo() function for more information
about the parameters and return value. This function requires
Windows Vista or later.
See also the Win32::GetOSName() and Win32::GetOSDisplayName()
functions which provide a higher level abstraction of the data
returned by this function.
Win32::GetTickCount()
[CORE] Returns the number of milliseconds elapsed since the last
system boot. Resolution is limited to system timer ticks (about
10ms on WinNT and 55ms on Win9X).
Win32::GuidGen()
Creates a globally unique 128 bit integer that can be used as a
persistent identifier in a distributed setting. To a very high
degree of certainty this function returns a unique value. No other
invocation, on the same or any other system (networked or not),
should return the same value.
The return value is formatted according to OLE conventions, as
groups of hex digits with surrounding braces. For example:
{09531CF1-D0C7-4860-840C-1C8C8735E2AD}
Win32::InitiateSystemShutdown
(MACHINE, MESSAGE, TIMEOUT, FORCECLOSE, REBOOT)
Shutsdown the specified MACHINE, notifying users with the supplied
MESSAGE, within the specified TIMEOUT interval. Forces closing of
all documents without prompting the user if FORCECLOSE is true, and
reboots the machine if REBOOT is true. This function works only on
WinNT.
Win32::IsAdminUser()
Returns non zero if the account in whose security context the
current process/thread is running belongs to the local group of
Administrators in the built-in system domain; returns 0 if not. On
Windows Vista it will only return non-zero if the process is
actually running with elevated privileges. Returns "undef" and
prints a warning if an error occurred. This function always
returns 1 on Win9X.
Win32::IsWinNT()
[CORE] Returns non zero if the Win32 subsystem is Windows NT.
Win32::IsWin95()
[CORE] Returns non zero if the Win32 subsystem is Windows 95.
Win32::LoadLibrary(LIBNAME)
Loads a dynamic link library into memory and returns its module
handle. This handle can be used with Win32::GetProcAddress() and
Win32::FreeLibrary(). This function is deprecated. Use the
Win32::API module instead.
Win32::LoginName()
[CORE] Returns the username of the owner of the current perl
process. The return value may be a Unicode string.
Win32::LookupAccountName(SYSTEM, ACCOUNT, DOMAIN, SID, SIDTYPE)
Looks up ACCOUNT on SYSTEM and returns the domain name the SID and
the SID type.
Win32::LookupAccountSID(SYSTEM, SID, ACCOUNT, DOMAIN, SIDTYPE)
Looks up SID on SYSTEM and returns the account name, domain name,
and the SID type.
Win32::MsgBox(MESSAGE [, FLAGS [, TITLE]])
Create a dialogbox containing MESSAGE. FLAGS specifies the
required icon and buttons according to the following table:
0 = OK
1 = OK and Cancel
2 = Abort, Retry, and Ignore
3 = Yes, No and Cancel
4 = Yes and No
5 = Retry and Cancel
MB_ICONSTOP "X" in a red circle
MB_ICONQUESTION question mark in a bubble
MB_ICONEXCLAMATION exclamation mark in a yellow triangle
MB_ICONINFORMATION "i" in a bubble
TITLE specifies an optional window title. The default is "Perl".
The function returns the menu id of the selected push button:
0 Error
1 OK
2 Cancel
3 Abort
4 Retry
5 Ignore
6 Yes
7 No
Win32::NodeName()
[CORE] Returns the Microsoft Network node-name of the current
machine.
Win32::OutputDebugString(STRING)
Sends a string to the application or system debugger for display.
The function does nothing if there is no active debugger.
Alternatively one can use the Debug Viewer application to watch the
OutputDebugString() output:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/debugview.mspx
Win32::RegisterServer(LIBRARYNAME)
Loads the DLL LIBRARYNAME and calls the function DllRegisterServer.
Win32::SetChildShowWindow(SHOWWINDOW)
[CORE] Sets the ShowMode of child processes started by system().
By default system() will create a new console window for child
processes if Perl itself is not running from a console. Calling
SetChildShowWindow(0) will make these new console windows
invisible. Calling SetChildShowWindow() without arguments reverts
system() to the default behavior. The return value of
SetChildShowWindow() is the previous setting or "undef".
The following symbolic constants for SHOWWINDOW are available (but
not exported) from the Win32 module: SW_HIDE, SW_SHOWNORMAL,
SW_SHOWMINIMIZED, SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED and SW_SHOWNOACTIVATE.
Win32::SetCwd(NEWDIRECTORY)
[CORE] Sets the current active drive and directory. This function
does not work with UNC paths, since the functionality required to
required for such a feature is not available under Windows 95.
Win32::SetLastError(ERROR)
[CORE] Sets the value of the last error encountered to ERROR. This
is that value that will be returned by the Win32::GetLastError()
function.
Win32::Sleep(TIME)
[CORE] Pauses for TIME milliseconds. The timeslices are made
available to other processes and threads.
Win32::Spawn(COMMAND, ARGS, PID)
[CORE] Spawns a new process using the supplied COMMAND, passing in
arguments in the string ARGS. The pid of the new process is stored
in PID. This function is deprecated. Please use the
Win32::Process module instead.
Win32::UnregisterServer(LIBRARYNAME)
Loads the DLL LIBRARYNAME and calls the function
DllUnregisterServer.
perl v5.14.2 2011-09-19 Win32(3pm)
