WDFCONTEXT is not documented in KMDF 1.1

NTDEV
1

I agree that is almost obvious, especially to an experienced developer.
I also agree that it’s fairly easy to grep through the header files and
find the definition.

The only reason I mention it is because of the extensive usage of the term
context to mean something else. There was a tiny doubt in my mind that
WDFCONTEXT might be a portmanteau type for the framework’s object context
types.

Don

2

It’s not. It is purely used to distinguish a typeless PVOID as a client
provided context passed in previously to a DDI. Object context types
are “strongly” typed through the accessor function declared/implemented
by WDF_DELCARE_CONTEXT_TYPE_NAME().

d

– I can spell, I just can’t type.

-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxx@lists.osr.com
[mailto:xxxxx@lists.osr.com] On Behalf Of Don Ward
Sent: Monday, June 26, 2006 4:04 AM
To: Windows System Software Devs Interest List
Subject: [ntdev] WDFCONTEXT is not documented in KMDF 1.1

I agree that is almost obvious, especially to an experienced developer.
I also agree that it’s fairly easy to grep through the header files and
find the definition.

The only reason I mention it is because of the extensive usage of the
term context to mean something else. There was a tiny doubt in my mind
that WDFCONTEXT might be a portmanteau type for the framework’s object
context types.

Don

Questions? First check the Kernel Driver FAQ at
http://www.osronline.com/article.cfm?id=256

To unsubscribe, visit the List Server section of OSR Online at
http://www.osronline.com/page.cfm?name=ListServer

3

> It’s not. It is purely used to distinguish a typeless PVOID as a client

provided context passed in previously to a DDI. Object context types
are “strongly” typed through the accessor function
declared/implemented by WDF_DELCARE_CONTEXT_TYPE_NAME().

I know that and (as I said) its obvious once you look at the definition
of WDFCONTEXT in the header file. My point was that the name was
sufficiently similar to object context types to justify

a) Documenting what it was for so the user could hyperlink to the
definition of WDFCONTEXT, just like all the other WDF types.
b) Pointing out in the definition that it wasn’t an object context
type despite the superficially similar name.

It’s not a bug (unless you regard not documenting a type as a bug), just
a suggestion to improve the documentation.

Don

4

I know that you figured it out. My response was also to have the
correct answer in the archives the next time someone searched for it :wink:

Thx for the great feedback so far

d

-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxx@lists.osr.com
[mailto:xxxxx@lists.osr.com] On Behalf Of Don Ward
Sent: Monday, June 26, 2006 9:00 AM
To: Windows System Software Devs Interest List
Subject: RE: [ntdev] WDFCONTEXT is not documented in KMDF 1.1

It’s not. It is purely used to distinguish a typeless PVOID as a
client provided context passed in previously to a DDI. Object context

types are “strongly” typed through the accessor function
declared/implemented by WDF_DELCARE_CONTEXT_TYPE_NAME().

I know that and (as I said) its obvious once you look at the definition
of WDFCONTEXT in the header file. My point was that the name was
sufficiently similar to object context types to justify

a) Documenting what it was for so the user could hyperlink to the
definition of WDFCONTEXT, just like all the other WDF types.
b) Pointing out in the definition that it wasn’t an object context
type despite the superficially similar name.

It’s not a bug (unless you regard not documenting a type as a bug), just
a suggestion to improve the documentation.

Don

Questions? First check the Kernel Driver FAQ at
http://www.osronline.com/article.cfm?id=256

To unsubscribe, visit the List Server section of OSR Online at
http://www.osronline.com/page.cfm?name=ListServer

5

> I know that you figured it out. My response was also to have the

correct answer in the archives the next time someone searched
for it :wink:

Silly me. I never thought of that … and I suppose we have to hope
that people do search the archives sometimes - despite the depressingly
frequent evidence to the contrary :slight_smile:

Thx for the great feedback so far

You’re welcome.