[Qt-interest] Raw input API / hInstance from inside Qt

[Wolfgang Pausch]

Hello,

I want to use the Raw Input API
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd458635(VS.85).aspx inside a Qt
application.  The reason for this is that I have to do some things with
multiple keyboards attached to the same computer (if details about what I want
to do are relevent, see at the end of the mail).

Ok, in order to receive events I have to call RegisterRawInputDevices.  This
function needs arguments of type RAWINPUTDEVICE, which need a handle to a
Windows-Window.  Fortunately, I found out that I can use so-called message only
windows for this, which seem to be some kind of window without the window, just
for event-processing.

In order to use them, I have to call CreateWindowEx.  In order to use
CreateWindowEx, I have to register a windows class using RegisterClassEx.  Now,
the latter needs a so called hInstance.

As far as I get it, usually you get such a hInstance as a parameter for WinMain.
 But, in my Qt application I come from an ordinary main function.  I simply
don´t have a WinMain.

So now I wonder:  How can I use the Raw Input API from inside a Qt application? 
Is there a way to obtain the hInstance from inside Qt?

Or is there another way for dealing with multiple external keyboards from inside
Qt?

(what I have to do is listening to them, getting the information which key was
pressed and especially on which of the keyboards it was pressed; thus I need
information like "the current key event was key x and came from the same
keyboard like the key event some minutes ago").

Thanks for any help,

Wolfgang


PS: I found some hints like this one
http://blog.m-ri.de/index.php/2007/12/12/die-unsitte-immer-getmodulehandlenull-fuer-hinstance-in-createwindow-und-registerclass-zu-verwenden/

containing the code snipped

HINSTANCE Get_hInstance()
{
 MEMORY_BASIC_INFORMATION mbi;
 VirtualQuery(Get_hInstance, &mbi, sizeof(mbi));
 return reinterpret_cast<HINSTANCE>(mbi.AllocationBase);
}

but (1) it does not compile (some forbidden cast) and (2) I don´t know wether I
should trust it.