LoadModule
The LoadModule
function loads and executes a Windows-based application or creates a new
instance of an existing Windows-based application.
This function
is provided for compatibility with earlier versions of Windows. Win32-based
applications should use the CreateProcess function.
DWORD LoadModule(
|
LPCSTR lpModuleName, |
// address of
filename to load |
|
LPVOID lpParameterBlock |
// address of
parameter block for new module |
|
); |
|
Parameters
lpModuleName
Points to a
null-terminated string that contains the filename of the application to run. If
the lpModuleName parameter does not contain a directory path, Windows
searches for the executable file in this order:
1. The directory from which the application loaded.
2. The current directory.
3. Windows 95: The Windows system directory. Use the GetSystemDirectory function to get the path
of this directory.
Windows NT:
The 32-bit Windows system directory. Use the GetSystemDirectory function
to get the path of this directory. The name of this directory is SYSTEM32.
4. Windows NT: The 16-bit Windows system directory. There is no
Win32 function that obtains the path of this directory, but it is searched. The
name of this directory is SYSTEM.
5. The Windows directory. Use the GetWindowsDirectory function to get the path
of this directory.
6. The directories that are listed in the PATH environment variable.
lpParameterBlock
Points to an
application-defined LOADPARMS32 structure that defines the new
application s parameter block.
The LOADPARMS32
structure has the following form:
typedef struct tagLOADPARMS32 {
LPSTR
lpEnvAddress; // address of environment strings
LPSTR
lpCmdLine; // address of command line
LPSTR
lpCmdShow; // how to show new program
DWORD
dwReserved; // must be zero
} LOADPARMS32;
|
Member |
Description |
|
lpEnvAddress |
Points to
an array of null-terminated strings that supply the environment strings for
the new process. The array has a value of NULL as its last entry. A value of
NULL for this parameter causes the new process to start with the same
environment as the calling process. |
|
lpCmdLine |
Points to a
Pascal-style string that contains a correctly formed command line. The first
byte of the string contains the number of bytes in the string. The remainder
of the string contains the command line arguments, excluding the name of the
child process. If there are no command line arguments, this parameter must
point to a zero length string; it cannot be NULL. |
|
lpCmdShow |
Points to a
structure containing two WORD values. The first value must always be
set to two. The second value specifies how the application window is to be
shown and is used to supply the wShowWindow member of the STARTUPINFO structure to the CreateProcess function. See the
description of the nCmdShow parameter of the ShowWindow function for a list of
acceptable values. |
|
dwReserved |
This
parameter is reserved; it must be zero. |
Set all
unused members to NULL, except for lpCmdLine, which must point to a
null-terminated string if it is not used.
Return Values
If the
function succeeds, the return value is greater than 31.
If the
function fails, the return value is an error value, which may be one of the
following:
|
Value |
Meaning |
|
0 |
The system
is out of memory or resources. |
|
ERROR_BAD_FORMAT |
The .EXE
file is invalid (non-Win32 .EXE or error in .EXE image). |
|
ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND |
The
specified file was not found. |
|
ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND |
The
specified path was not found. |
Remarks
Win32-based
applications should use the CreateProcess function. In the Win32 API, the implementation
of the LoadModule function calls CreateProcess. The following
section describes how each parameter for CreateProcess is formed:
|
CreateProcess
parameter |
Value |
|
lpszImageName |
LoadModule lpModuleName parameter. |
|
lpszCommandLine |
LoadModule lpParameterBlock->lpCmdLine. |
|
lpsaProcess |
NULL. |
|
lpsaThread |
NULL. |
|
fInheritHandles |
FALSE. |
|
fdwCreate |
0. |
|
lpvEnvironment |
LoadModule lpParameterBlock->lpEnvAddress. |
|
lpszCurDir |
NULL. |
|
lpsiStartInfo |
The
structure is initialized to zero. The cb member is set to the size of
the structure, and the wShowWindow member is set to the value of the
second word of the LoadModule lpParameterBlock->lpCmdShow
parameter. |
|
lppiProcInfo.hProcess |
The handle
is immediately closed. |
|
lppiProcInfo.hThread |
The handle
is immediately closed. |
See Also