Chapter 9: The Concept of Resource--Resource Editors and Compilers

Overview

The Windows operating system includes the concept of resource. The resource is a certain (often) visual element with predefined properties that is stored in the executable file separate from data and code and that requires separate functions to be displayed. The use of resources provides two noticeable advantages:

1. Resources are loaded only when they are accessed. This allows economic memory use.

2. Resource properties are automatically supported by the system and do not require the programmer to write supplementary code.

Descriptions of resources are stored separately from the program in a text file with the RC filename extension. RC files must be compiled into RES files using special resource compilers. The resources are included into executable files by the linker. In MASM32, there is the RC.EXE resource compiler; and in TASM32, the same task is delegated to the BRCC32.EXE program.