Does anyone actually know it all?

Recently I have been getting more and more into using API calls in VB. And (through using it alot) I have become very familliar with ShellExecute and can almost type all the required code from memory. My queston is does anyone acctually know all or most of them or does everyone have to reference allapi or other sources?

Also I have tried to use the VB6 Api Viewer and I can list the apis but I don't know what to do with them? Do people acctually have the knowledge to do this w/out consulting the help files?

Sounds like a stupid question I know but I just wondered as I see peolple like IcePlug who seem to know every thing :)

James

No, I don't know all of them, but I downloaded the AllAPI API guide so that I can view them on my computer. I only *know* about 150 of them by name and used ~60.
There are 940 in my file now, so I kind of have a long way to go. :)
The examples help me determine what they will be useful for.

I generally end up writing my own function or subroutine to accept the arguments that I'll want to vary and to provide defaults to the others and set up and make the API call. Thereafter, I just call that routine with its simplified syntax.

As a result, I usually forget the actual calling sequence pretty quickly!

If you use the same APIs over and over again and you know the syntax for declaring APIs then for some of them it's really easy to remember the declares. For instance, I use GetTickCount all the time. I know it has no arguments and returns a Long type and it's in the kernel32 library: "[Private or Public] Declare Function GetTickCount Lib "kernel32" () As Long". The same is the case with other APIs I use a lot like BitBlt, RtlMoveMemory (a.k.a. CopyMemory), etc.

<<I just wondered as I see peolple like IcePlug who seem to know every thing >>
No, but I work with a few people who "think" they do... hehe

I'm like the rest. I have to reference them all the time.

I am sure that not even the Windows engineers at Microsoft know everything, because so many people work on only a small part of the OS with strong standards and practices (okay, don't hold me on THAT one :) ). However, just like anything else, use something a lot and you find yourself more proficient at it.