Types of Windows-based applications

with Visual Studio, you can develop a variety of different Windows-based applications. You can create Windows Forms and Windows Service applications that take advantage of the powerful features of the. NET Framework, or you can use Visual C + + to create Windows Win32-based applications. Original AddressWindows Forms

For more information about Windows forms and how to use them in Visual Studio, see the following topics.

Theme	Description
Getting Started with Windows forms	Provides information about how to create and develop Windows forms.
Windows Forms Walkthroughs and Help topics	Lists topics that provide step-by-step instructions on how to develop applications that are typically created from Windows forms.
Windows Forms Controls	Provides a series of topics detailing specific characteristics and usage of Windows forms controls.

Windows Presentation Foundation Application

For more information about Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and how to create a WPF application using Visual Studio 2008, see the following topics.

Theme	Description
Introduction to Windows Presentation Foundation	Provides introductory information about the various aspects of developing applications using WPF.
Getting started with the WPF designer	Lists topics that provide instructions on how to develop WPF applications using the WPF Designer.

Windows Service Application

Using Visual Studio or the. NET Framework version 2.0 software Development Kit (SDK), you can create a service by creating an application that is installed as a service. This type of application is called a Windows service. With the. NET Framework features, you can create services, install services, start, stop, and otherwise control the behavior of services.

For more information, see Windows Service applications.

Win32 Project

You can use the Project Wizard to create Win32 project types, including console applications, Windows-based executable applications, dynamic-link libraries (DLLs), and static libraries.

For more information, see Creating Win32 Windows applications.