IMoniker::Reduce

Returns a reduced moniker; that is, another moniker that refers to the same object as this moniker but can be bound with equal or greater efficiency.

HRESULT Reduce(

IBindCtx *pbc,	//Bind context to be used
DWORD dwReduceHowFar,	//How much reduction should be done
IMoniker **ppmkToLeft,	//Moniker to the left in the composite
IMoniker **ppmkReduced	//Receives the reduced moniker
);

Parameters
pbc

[in] Points to the bind context to be used in this binding operation. The bind context caches objects bound during the binding process, contains parameters that apply to all operations using the bind context, and provides the means by which the moniker implementation should retrieve information about its environment. For more information, see IBindCtx.

dwReduceHowFar

[in] Specifies how far this moniker should be reduced. This parameter must be one of the values from the MKRREDUCE enumeration. For more information on the MKRREDUCE enumeration, see the "Data Structures" section.

ppmkToLeft

[in, out] On entry, *ppmkToLeft points to the moniker to the left of this moniker, if this moniker is part of a composite. This parameter is primarily used by moniker implementors to enable cooperation between the various components of a composite moniker; moniker clients can usually pass NULL.

On exit, *ppmkToLeft is usually set to NULL, indicating no change in the original moniker to the left. In rare situations *ppmkToLeft is set to non-NULL, indicating that the previous moniker to the left should be disregarded and the moniker returned through *ppmkToLeft is the replacement. In such a situation, the implementation must call IUnknown::Release on the passed-in pointer and call IUnknown::AddRef on the returned moniker; the caller must release it later. If an error occurs, the implementation can either leave the parameter unchanged or set it to NULL.

ppmkReduced

[out] Receives a pointer to the reduced form of this moniker, which can be NULL if an error occurs or if this moniker is reduced to nothing. If this moniker cannot be reduced, *ppmkReduced is simply set to this moniker and the return value is MK_S_REDUCED_TO_SELF. If ppmkReduced is non-NULL, the implementation must call IUnknown::AddRef on the parameter; it is the caller's responsibility to call IUnknown::Release. (This is true even if *ppmkReduced is set to this moniker.)

Return Values
S_OK

Indicates that this moniker was reduced.

MK_S_REDUCED_TO_SELF

Indicates that this moniker could not be reduced any further, in which case, *ppmkReduced is this moniker.

MK_E_EXCEEDEDDEADLINE

Indicates that the operation could not be completed within the time limit specified by the bind context's BIND_OPTS structure.

E_UNEXPECTED

Indicates an unexpected error.

E_OUTOFMEMORY

Indicates insufficient memory.

Comments
The IMoniker::Reduce method is intended for the following uses:

It enables the construction of user-defined macros or aliases as new kinds of moniker classes. When reduced, the moniker to which the macro evaluates is returned.
It enables the construction of a kind of moniker that tracks data as it moves about. When reduced, the moniker of the data in its current location is returned.
On file systems that support an ID-based method of accessing files which is independent of file names; a file moniker could be reduced to a moniker which contains one of these IDs.

The intent of the MKRREDUCE flags passed in the dwReduceHowFar parameter is to provide the ability to programmatically reduce a moniker to a form whose display name is recognizable to the user. For example, paths in the file system, bookmarks in word-processing documents, and range names in spreadsheets are all recognizable to users. In contrast, a macro or an alias encapsulated in a moniker are not recognizable to users.

Notes to Callers
The scenarios described above are not currently implemented by the system-supplied moniker classes.

You should call IMoniker::Reduce before comparing two monikers using the IMoniker::IsEqual method, because a reduced moniker is in its most specific form. IMoniker::IsEqual may return S_FALSE on two monikers before they are reduced and return S_OK after they are reduced.

Notes to Implementors
If the current moniker can be reduced, your implementation must not reduce the moniker in-place. Instead, it must return a new moniker that represents the reduced state of the current one. This way, the caller still has the option of using the non-reduced moniker (for example, enumerating its components). Your implementation should reduce the moniker at least as far as is requested.