Getting a path and appending a filename

Question

I'm trying to get a path (appdata) and append a filename (smss.dll), and combine these two to form C:\users\username\appdata\roaming\smss.dll I have this already:

static char appdata[MAX_PATH+1];
SHGetSpecialFolderPathA(HWND_DESKTOP, appdata, CSIDL_APPDATA, FALSE);

LPCSTR target = "smss.dll";

How can I combine these to into one variable?

You should really be using the W versions, not the A versions. It's 2017. — lost_in_the_source, Feb 12 '17 at 20:46
Appending a filename to a path has additional semantics that the proposed duplicates ignore. Voting to re-open, even if it needs to be closed as a duplicate of another Q&A. — IInspectable, Feb 13 '17 at 10:40

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 12 '17 at 21:04

4

You can use PathAppend (limited to MAX_PATH characters), or PathCchAppendEx starting with Windows 8.

answered Feb 12 '17 at 21:04

IInspectable

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lost_in_the_source · Accepted Answer · 2017-02-12T21:27:51.523

-3

static char appdata[MAX_PATH+1];
SHGetSpecialFolderPathA(HWND_DESKTOP, appdata, CSIDL_APPDATA, FALSE);

strcat(appdata, "\\smss.dll");

The strcat function appends the right-hand string to the left-hand buffer. It assumes the destination has room for the concatenation to be done. If there is not enough space, it is undefined behavior. Thus it is a good idea to check that there is enough space.

edited Feb 12 '17 at 21:27

answered Feb 12 '17 at 20:45

lost_in_the_source

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`strcat` is unsafe and should not be used in modern code. – Jonathan Potter Feb 12 '17 at 22:21
@JonathanPotter that's why I suggested to check is space remains in the destination first – lost_in_the_source Feb 12 '17 at 22:23
1

Use one of the many safe ways of doing this and you don't need to check. – Jonathan Potter Feb 12 '17 at 22:24
Yes you made that suggestion, but instead you offered code that is completely unsafe and broken. – David Heffernan Feb 13 '17 at 07:34

Getting a path and appending a filename

2 Answers2