RETURN-VALUE-DLL-TYPE attribute
- Last Updated: February 11, 2026
- 1 minute read
- OpenEdge
- Version 13.0
- Documentation
Specifies the expected data type returned from a Windows Dynamic Link Library (DLL) routine.
Data type: CHARACTER
Access: Readable/Writable
Applies to: Call object handle
The RETURN-VALUE-DLL-TYPE attribute must be assigned
before invoking the call object's INVOKE() method. After invocation,
RETURN-VALUE contains an equivalent ABL data type which matches
RETURN-VALUE-DLL-TYPE as shown in the following table.
| RETURN-VALUE-DLL-TYPE | RETURN-VALUE |
|---|---|
| BYTE | INTEGER |
| CHARACTER | CHARACTER |
| DOUBLE | DECIMAL |
| FLOAT | DECIMAL |
| INT64 | INT64 |
| LONG | INTEGER |
| MEMPTR | MEMPTR |
| SHORT | INTEGER |
| UNSIGNED-LONG | INT64 |
| UNSIGNED-SHORT | INTEGER |
For example, if a DLL function is expected to return a LONG value, then
RETURN-VALUE-DLL-TYPE is set to "LONG"
before executing the INVOKE() method. After the invocation,
RETURN-VALUE-DATA-TYPE has a value of "INTEGER" and RETURN-VALUE contains an INTEGER value.
If RETURN-VALUE-DLL-TYPE is not set, the DLL routine's
return value is ignored, and RETURN-VALUE is set to the Unknown value
(?).