visual C++ Glossary

& (ampersand)

1. Bitwise-AND operator. Two ampersands (&&) denote the logical-AND operator.
2. In C++, the reference operator, as in void AddIt(int&x). This indicates that the address of x is used directly, and changes in value affect the original variable. Java does not allow reference operators. See also parameter passing.
3. In C/C++, the address-of operator, as in pPtr = &nArray[2]. Java does not allow address-of operators.
4. Indicates special characters in HTML code.

.APS

A binary version of the current resource file that is created by the Microsoft Visual C++ and used for quick loading of resources. Microsoft Visual C++ gives this file an .APS filename extension.

.BAT

An unformatted text file that contains one or more commands, either internal operating-system commands or program names. A batch file is executable and can be run from the command line.

.BMP

A file that contains a collection of structures that specify or contain the following elements:

• A header that describes the resolution of the device on which the rectangle of pixels was created, the dimensions of the rectangle, the size of the array of bits, and so on.
• A logical palette.
• An array of bits that defines the relationship between pixels in the bitmapped image and entries in the logical palette.

Bitmap files usually have a .BMP filename extension. See also bitmap, device-independent bitmap file.

.BSC

A file created from source browser information (.SBR) files, using the Microsoft Browse Information File Maintenance Utility (BSCMAKE). Browse information files can be examined in browse windows and usually have a .BSC extension.

.bss

A predefined data section of an executable file that contains uninitialized data, including all variables declared as static within a function or source module. The linker combines all the .bss sections in the object (.OBJ) and library (.LIB) files into one .bss section in the executable file.

.C

A text file containing C language code.

.CLW

A file that ClassWizard generates, containing information needed to edit existing classes or add new classes to a project. ClassWizard also uses the ClassWizard file to store information needed to create and edit message maps and dialog data maps, and to create prototype member functions. ClassWizard files have a .CLW filename extension.

.COM

An executable binary (program) file whose code is limited to a single 64-kilobyte segment. Compact executable files usually have a .COM filename extension and are often used for utility programs and short routines. See also executable file.

.CPP

Or .CXX file. A text file containing C++ source code.

.CUR

A file that contains an image that defines the shape of a cursor on the screen. Cursor resource files usually have a .CUR filename extension.

.DEF

A text file that contains one or more statements describing various attributes of an executable module. Module-definition files usually have a .DEF filename extension. See also dynamic-link library file.

.DIB

A file containing an array of bits combined with several structures that specify the width and height of the bitmapped image (in pixels), the color format of the device where the image was created, and the resolution of the device used to create that image. The DIB file format ensures that bitmap graphics created in one application can be loaded and displayed in another application exactly the way they appear in the originating application. See also bitmap, bitmap file.

.DLG

A file that contains dialog-box source code. Note that a dialog file is not required for a Visual C++ project because Visual C++ keeps this code in the resource-definition file.

.DLL

A file that contains one or more functions that are compiled, linked, and stored separately from the processes that use them. In Win32, the operating system maps the dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) into the address space of a process when the process is starting up or while it is running. The process then executes functions in the DLL. Dynamic-link library files usually have a .DLL filename extension.

.DSP

Formerly known as the .MAK file. The project build file that specifies how to build a particular project in a project workspace. The file contains source file names and locations, build settings, and debug settings, including breakpoints and watches. In terms of source control, .DSP files can be shared.

.DSW

A file created and maintained by Visual C++ that contains information formerly stored as part of the .MDP file. The file contains information about the project workspace such as a list of all the projects. This file is used by Visual C++ and should not be edited by the user. In terms of source control, the .DSW file can be shared.

.EXE

A program file created from one or more source code files translated into machine code and linked together. The MS-DOS, Windows, and Windows NT operating systems use the .EXE filename extension to indicate that the file is a runnable program.

.EXP

A file that contains information about exported functions and data items. The Microsoft 32-Bit Library Manager tool (LIB.EXE) generates the exports file from the module-definition (.DEF) file. The linker uses the exports file to build the dynamic-link library (.DLL) file. Exports files have a .EXP filename extension.

.H

An external source file, identified at the beginning of a program, that contains commonly used data types and variables used by functions in the program. The #include directive is used to tell the compiler to insert the contents of a header file into the program. See also C++ header file.

.HLP

A file that contains text and graphics needed to communicate online information about an application. Each help file contains one or more topics a user can select by clicking hot spots, using the keyword search, or browsing through topics. Help files have a .HLP filename extension. See also Help topic.

.HM

A file that defines Help context IDs corresponding to the IDs of dialog boxes, menu commands, and other resources in an application. A custom build rule on a project’s RESOURCE.H file in AppWizard projects calls the MAKEHM tool to generate the .HM file based on any change in the contents of the RESOURCE.H file (the MAKEHELP.BAT file performed this function in prior versions of Visual C++). The Help map file has a .HM filename extension. See also Help project file.

.HPJ

A project file that controls how the Windows Help Compiler creates a Help (.HLP) file from topic files. The Microsoft Help Workshop is used to create a Help project file. The filename extension of a Help project file is .HPJ.

.HPP

Or .HXX file. An external source file, identified at the beginning of a C++ program, that contains commonly used data types and variables used by functions in a program. The #include directive is used to tell the compiler to insert the contents of a header file into the program.

.ICO

In Windows, a file that contains a bitmap of an icon. Icon files usually have a .ICO filename extension.

.ILK

A state file generated to hold status information for later incremental links of the program. The file has the same base name as the executable file or dynamic-link library and the filename extension .ILK. The incremental status file is created the first time the Incremental Linker (LINK.EXE) runs in incremental mode. LINK updates the file during subsequent incremental builds. LINK is the only tool that uses the .ILK file. See also incremental link.

.INI

In Windows, a file that an application uses to store information that otherwise would be lost when the application closes. Initialization files typically contain information such as user preferences for the configuration of the application. Initialization files usually have a .INI filename extension.

.LIB

A Common Object File Format (COFF) file generated by the Microsoft 32-bit library manager tool, LIB, for standard and import libraries. The default filename extension for these files is .LIB. See also dynamic-link library file, static-link library.

.MAK

(VC++ version 4 and earlier) A file that contains all commands, macro definitions, options, and so on to specify how to build the projects in a project workspace. The makefile can be used to build using an application other than Visual C++.  A makefile has the filename extension .MAK and usually has the same base name as the workspace configuration (.MDP) file. Visual C++ 6.0 converts .MAK files to .DSP files.

.MAP

A text file that contains information about the program being linked, including the groups in the program and a list of public symbols. The linker names the mapfile with the base name of the program and the filename extension .MAP.

.OBJ

A file containing object code and/or data generated by a compiler or an assembler from the source code of a program. Object files generated by the Visual C++ compiler have a .OBJ filename extension. See also Common Object File Format (COFF).

.ODL

In OLE Automation, text files containing a description of an application's interface. Object description language scripts are compiled into type libraries using the MkTypLib tool included with the OLE Software Development Kit.

.OGX

A C++ Component Gallery component that has been exported to a file so it can be shared. The resulting file contains classes and resources for the component.

.OLB

A dynamic-link library with a type library resource. An object library file typically has a .OLB filename extension.

.OPT

The workspace options file, which stores information about the physical layout and characterisitics you’ve determined for Visual C++, such as window layout. In terms of source control, the .OPT file is not shareable.

.PBI

In a profiling operation, a file that provides condensed information to the Visual C++ profiler (PROFILE). The PREP program generates a profiler batch input file the first time the profiler is run on a program. The default filename extension for profiler batch input files is .PBI. See also profiler batch output file, profiler batch text file.

.PBO

An intermediate file generated by the Visual C++ profiler (PROFILE) and used to transfer information between profiling steps. See also profiler, profiler batch input file, profiler batch text file.

.PBT

In a profiling operation, the file generated by the PREP program and used as input to the PLIST program to generate a human-readable profile of the source code. See also profiler, profiler batch input file, profiler batch output file.

.PCH

A file containing compiled code for a portion of a project. Subsequent builds combine this file with the uncompiled code, thus shortening the overall compile time. The default filename extension for a precompiled header file is .PCH.

.PDB

A file used by the build tools to store information about a user's program. The program database file speeds linking during the debugging phase of development by keeping the debugging information separate from the object files.

.RC

Or resource script file. A text file containing descriptions of resources from which the resource compiler creates a binary resource file. For Microsoft Windows applications, resource-definition files usually have a .RC filename extension. For Apple Macintosh applications, such files are typically named with a .R extension and written with the Apple Rez script language. See also compiled resource file.

.REG

In OLE applications, a text file description of the classes supported by a server application. When a server application is installed in a system, the contents of its registration entry file are merged with the system registry. Registration entry files usually have a .REG filename extension.

.RES

Or binary resource file. A binary file that contains a Windows-based application's resource data and is created by the resource compiler from the resource-definition (.RC) file. Compiled resource files usually have a .RES filename extension. See also Macintosh binary resource file, resource compiler.

.RSC

A Macintosh resource file that has been created from a Windows resource script (.RC) and compiled using the Windows Portability Library version of the Windows Resource Compiler (RC.EXE). By default, .RSC is the filename extension for Macintosh binary resource files.

.RTF

A file that contains encoded, formatted text and graphics for easy transfer between applications. The rich-text encoding format is commonly used by document-processing programs such as Microsoft Word for Windows and for generating online Help files. Rich-text format files usually have a .RTF filename extension.

.SBR file

An intermediate file that the compiler creates for use by the Microsoft Browse Information Maintenance Utility (BSCMAKE). There is one .SBR file for each object (.OBJ) file. BSCMAKE uses the .SBR files to create a browse information (.BSC) file.

.TLB

Or OLE library. An OLE compound document file containing standard descriptions of data types, modules, and interfaces that can be used to fully expose objects for OLE Automation. The type library file usually has a .TLB filename extension and can be used by other applications to get information about the automation server.

.TXT

A human-readable file composed of text characters. A text file is usually identified by a file extension of .TXT. See also binary file, rich-text format file.

.WAV

A Microsoft standard file format for storing waveform audio data. Wave files have a .WAV filename extension.

.WRI

A document file that is associated with the Windows Write text editor. The default filename extension for Windows Write files is .WRI

@ (at sign)

1. In e-mail addresses, separates the user name from the domain name. See also address.
2. Points to the input command file used by CL or LINK, as in LINK @LINK.RSP.  See also command file.

16-bit application

A program written for a system (such as MS-DOS or Microsoft Windows version 3.1) that uses a 16-bit segmented architecture, in which each memory address points to a 16-bit word.

16-bit character

A character that is 2 bytes in size, unlike an ANSI character, which is 1 byte in size. Sixteen-bit characters are found in Unicode sets, multibyte character sets (MBCS), and double-byte character sets (DBCS).

32-bit application

A program written for a system (such as Microsoft Windows NT or Windows 95) that uses a 32-bit architecture, in which each memory address points to a 32-bit word.

8.3 filename convention

The naming convention for filenames in MS-DOS that allows up to eight characters, with an optional period and three-character extension. See also base name, filename extension.