universal thunk

universal thunk

(programming, operating system)A software mechanism allowinga Windows 3.1 application to call a 32-bit dynamically linked library (DLL) under Win32s.

The Windows 3.1 application which wants to call an entryin a 32-bit DLL instead calls a corresponding entry in a16-bit DLL. The programmer must also include code todetect whether the 32-bit DLL is loaded. A 32-bit EXEloads the 32-bit DLL.

See also Generic Thunk, Flat Thunk.

["Calling a Win32 DLL from a Windows 3.1 Application", Win32SDK Knowledge Base, Article ID Q97785].