<struct-statement>
struct-statement ::=
STRUCT <struct-name> [ BYTE | WORD ] { <struct-member-list> }
A STRUCT statement defines the format of a struct; all resources are defined in terms of structs. The struct has a name designated by struct-name, and some items designated by struct-member-list.
The following rules must be observed for struct-names:
they must be given in upper case
they must begin with an alphabetic character, although subsequent characters may be numeric
they may not begin with any of the 12 struct type-names (see STRUCT members), or the keywords: GLOBAL, STRUCT, LEN or RESOURCE. This restriction applies only to the struct-name, not the member-name of any individual struct members.
So the following struct definition will generate an error
STRUCT BUFTHING { BUF buffer; }
whereas this struct definition will compile correctly
STRUCT ABUFTHING { BUF buffer; }
The struct-member-list is a sequence of struct-member s where each member is terminated by a semi-colon. The complete list is enclosed within a pair of braces.
See STRUCT members for more details.
STRUCT definitions allow resource instances to be of variable length, as the struct can allow default variables for its members. A resource’s entire length can be deduced from the position of the next resource; this information is available in a resource file’s index. If the resource is used as a member within an instance of another resource, however, its length must be identified another way.
The following are valid STRUCT statements:
STRUCT STRING { LTEXT str; }
This defines a struct called STRING which contains a single LTEXT item.
STRUCT TEST BYTE { WORD status; STRUCT text; }
This defines a struct called TEST which contains a WORD and an embedded struct. The total length of TEST is unknown, but should not exceed 255 characters: the BYTE directive in the definition indicates that, when this struct is embedded within another, it should be preceded with a byte indicating its length (zero to 255 characters).