Data Structures and Platform Compatibility Issues

Data Structures and Platform Compatibility Issues

When you compile and build your application, you will find that some of the data structures the RAS functions use have extra data fields included or excluded, based on the value of the define WINVER. However, the Windows CE SDK does not define WINVER, so this information does not apply to Windows CE. RAS data structures also have a dwSize field that you must set to the byte size of the RAS structure you are using. This affects the behavior of the RAS functions that use these structures because they are targeted for a specific platform. The following WINVER rules apply to the Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, and Windows NT platforms:

• WINVER = 0x400 Indicates that your RAS application is targeted for Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0 with no service pack

• WINVER = 0x401 Indicates that your RAS application is targeted for Windows NT 4 with any service pack

• WINVER = 0x500 Indicates that your RAS application is targeted for Windows 2000

• WINVER = 0x501 Indicates that your RAS application is targeted for Windows XP and Windows .NET Server

RAS does not lend itself well to having a single executable that can run on all platforms because the RAS data structures will be sized differently during program compilation based on WINVER values. Through careful programming, it is possible to support all platforms (except Windows CE, of course) using a single executable. However, we highly recommend targeting a specific platform when you build your RAS applications.