pszValue

pszValue refers to a common naming convention used in C and C++ programming, particularly within the Windows API and related libraries. It typically denotes a pointer to a null-terminated string of characters, often encoded using the ANSI character set. The "psz" prefix is a mnemonic that stands for "pointer to string". The "Value" part of the name is less standardized and can indicate that the pointer holds the actual string data or is a value representing a string.

When encountering a variable named pszValue, a developer would generally infer that it is intended to be used as a character array that is terminated by a null character ('\0'). This null terminator is crucial for string manipulation functions in C/C++ to determine the end of the string. While pszValue is a descriptive name, it's important to note that the specific encoding of the string (e.g., ANSI, Unicode) is not inherently specified by the naming convention alone. However, in contexts where pszValue is used, it often implies ANSI encoding, contrasting with Wide Character String (WCS) pointers like LPWSTR or PWSTR. Developers must be mindful of the intended character set when working with such pointers to avoid encoding-related errors.