Compatibility of 32-bit VB6 Applications with 64-bit SAPI

[tmighty2]

Hello everyone,

I'm dealing with a compatibility issue between VB6 and the Speech Application Programming Interface (SAPI), specifically regarding the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of SAPI.

Here's the scenario:

SAPI Versions: There are two versions of SAPI, one for 32-bit applications and another for 64-bit applications.

Compatibility Constraints:

1. A 32-bit executable (exe) can only interact with the 32-bit version of SAPI.
2. A 64-bit executable is required to interact with the 64-bit version of SAPI.

As a voice vendor, I create voices using a C++ COM DLL that interfaces with SAPI. Within this voice DLL, I incorporate MKLML alongside ONNX Runtime to enhance performance. Unfortunately, MKLML is not available in a 32-bit version, limiting me to producing only the 64-bit variant of my voice.dll.

Problem: Since SAPI 32-bit can only interact with 32-bit DLLs, my VB6 application, which is inherently 32-bit, cannot use the 64-bit voice.dll.

Question: Is there still no way for a VB6 application to interact with the 64-bit version of SAPI?

From what I understand, there isn't a method to bridge this gap directly due to the architectural differences between 32-bit and 64-bit applications and their respective DLLs. However, I wanted to ask here in case anyone has come across a workaround or solution that I might have missed.

Thank you for your insights!