Question

First, yes, I have seen these posts:
Is there an easy way in C# to have conditional compilation symbols based on OS version
Conditional compilation depending on the framework version in C#
but they do not target the direction I am looking for.

What I am looking for specifically is variable _type_ qualification via OS version:

public struct REPASTESPECIAL
{
     UInt32   dwAspect;
#if WINVER >= 6.0
     UIntPtr  dwParam;
#else
     UInt32   dwParam;
#endif 
}

I do not wish to revert to something like this:

public struct REPASTESPECIAL<T>
{
     UInt32     dwAspect;
     T dwParam;
}
// return type by OS version
public static Type GetRePasteSpecial_ParamType()
{
    if (Environment.OSVersion.Version.Major >= 5) return typeof(IntPtr);
    else return typeof(UInt32);
}

…as that would permit programmers to use any object of Type T when I desire dwParam to be an IntPtr or an UInt32 object only, but if I must then so be it, and make this a reference for others looking for the same.

Answer 1

No – conditional compilation works at compile time, whereas it looks like you’re after something which works at execution time.

EDIT: Just thinking about it, you could use conditional compilation in one sense: you could encapsulate this as far as possible in its own assembly, and compile it two ways, producing two separate assemblies. Then at install time (or whatever) install the right assembly. It’s hard to know how feasible that is without knowing what kind of app you’re writing though.