c++cwindowswinapimemset

Why do ZeroMemory, etc. exist when there are memset, etc. already?

Why does ZeroMemory(), and similar calls exist in the Windows API when there are memset and related calls in the C standard library already? Which ones should I call? I can guess the answer is "depends". On what?

Solution

  • In C and C++, ZeroMemory() and memset() are the exact same thing.

    /* In winnt.h */
#define RtlZeroMemory(Destination,Length) memset((Destination),0,(Length))

/* In winbase.h */
#define ZeroMemory RtlZeroMemory

    Why use ZeroMemory() then? To make it obvious. But I prefer memset() in C or C++ programs.