GetSystemDirectoryA

GetSystemDirectoryA is the ANSI version of the Windows API function GetSystemDirectory. It retrieves the path of the Windows system directory for the currently installed operating system and writes it to a user-provided buffer. The function is part of the Windows API and is exported by kernel32.dll; it is declared in Windows.h for C/C++ programs.

The prototype is: UINT GetSystemDirectoryA(LPSTR lpBuffer, UINT uSize);

Behavior: If the function succeeds, it copies the path to lpBuffer and returns the number of characters copied, not including the terminating null character. If the buffer is too small to hold the path, the return value is the required buffer size, in characters, including the terminating null character. If the provided buffer is NULL or uSize is zero, the return value is the required size.

Parameters: lpBuffer points to the buffer that receives the path; uSize specifies the size of the buffer in characters.

Return value: See above.

Notes: The resulting path usually resembles C:\Windows\System32, but the actual value can vary with Windows version and process architecture. The ANSI variant GetSystemDirectoryA is used in non-Unicode applications; Unicode applications should prefer GetSystemDirectoryW (and the generic GetSystemDirectory macro resolves to the W version when UNICODE is defined). The function requires inclusion of Windows.h and linking against Kernel32.lib.

See also: GetSystemDirectoryW, GetWindowsDirectory, GetTempPath.