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wnsprintf function

Applies to: desktop apps only

Takes a variable-length argument list and returns the values of the arguments as a printf-style formatted string.

Note Do not use this function. See Remarks for alternative functions.

Syntax

Copy

int wnsprintf(
  __out  PTSTR pszDest,
  __in   int cchDest,
  __in   PCTSTR pszFmt,
  __in    ...
);

Parameters

pszDest [out]

Type: PTSTR

A pointer to a buffer that, when this function returns successfully, receives the output string.

cchDest [in]

Type: int

The maximum number of characters allowed in pszDest.

pszFmt [in]

Type: PCTSTR

A printf-style format string. The %s format identifier should never be used in an unbounded form. To avoid potential buffer overruns, always specify a size; for instance "%32s".

... [in]

Additional parameters that contain the data to be output.

Return value

Type: int

Returns the number of characters written to the buffer, excluding any terminating NULL characters. A negative value is returned if an error occurs.

Remarks

Security Warning: Using this function incorrectly can compromise the security of your application. The copied string is not guaranteed to be null-terminated. Consider using one of the following alternatives. StringCbPrintf, StringCbPrintfEx, StringCbVPrintf, StringCbVPrintfEx, StringCchPrintf, StringCchPrintfEx, StringCchVPrintf, or StringCchVPrintfEx. You should review Security Considerations: Microsoft Windows Shell before continuing.

This is a Windows version of sprintf. It does not support floating-point or pointer types. It supports only the left alignment flag.

Requirements

Minimum supported client	Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP
Minimum supported server	Windows 2000 Server
Header	Shlwapi.h
Library	Shlwapi.lib
DLL	Shlwapi.dll (version 5.0 or later)
Unicode and ANSI names	wnsprintfW (Unicode) and wnsprintfA (ANSI)

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Build date: 3/7/2012

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FAQ

Security hole?

This function takes a parameter for the destination length, so it should not lead to buffer overflow if you set this parameter correctly.
The alternative functions can also produce overflows when length parameter is wrong, and bloat up your code because it's inlined.

For length of arrays, use elemof macro like:
#define elemof(x) (sizeof(x)/sizeof(*(x)))
So your code can easily compiled for Unicode (UTF-16).

History

7/4/2011
Henrik Haftmann