Windows API code pack past, present, and future

This morning I saw an article about Windows API code pack by Yochay kiriaty.ArticleIt mainly introduces the history and status quo of Windows API code pack, and also introduces the features to be added in the future. About Windows API code pack for Windows 7 ApplicationsProgramI have written some articles before development, mainly involving taskbar, thumbnail, jump list, overlay icon, and progress bar.

In fact, the functions of Windows API code pack are far greater than these. Below are all the functions that can be implemented by Windows API code pack. It can be seen that it is indeed a powerful development tool. In the future development process, the Windows API code pack team also hopes to hear developers' opinions or suggestions on this development tool, so as to better improve the functions of the Windows API code pack.

> Windows 7 taskbar

· Jump lists, icon overlay, progress bar, tabbed thumbnails, and thumbnail toolbars

> Windows Shell

· Windows 7 Libraries
· Windows Shell search API support
· Explorer browser control
· A hierarchy of shell namespace entities
· Windows Shell Property System
· Drag and drop for Shell Objects
· Windows Vista and Windows 7 common file dialogs, including Custom Controls
· Known folders and non-File System containers

> DirectX

· Direct3d 11.0, direct3d 10.1/10.0, dxgi 1.0/1.1, direct2d 1.0, directwrite, Windows imaging component (WIC) APIs

> Windows Vista and Windows 7 task dialogs

> Sensor platform APIs

· Extended linguistic services APIs
· Power Management APIs
· Application restart and recovery APIs
· Network List Manager APIs
· Command link control and system defined shell icons

The following is the original article of Yochay kiriaty. If you are interested in Windows API code pack, you can post your comments at the link provided in this Article.

Some background

you may think of the Windows API code pack as the closest thing to an "official" managed API for Windows on top of. net Framework. the Windows API code pack is a free, managed source code library provided by Microsoft as-is. you shoshould consider this library as if you wrote that code. it is a great starting point and provides a really solid solution for managed code developers who create windows application and looking to light up their applications. it covers a lot of the new Windows 7 features as well as some more fundamental core features from the Windows Vista timeframe.

the Windows API code pack's former name was Windows Vista bridge, or simply "The Bridge ". we began developing the Windows Vista bridge after Windows Vista and. net Framework 3.0 were released. realizing that. net Framework 3.0 was missing some Windows Shell and other Win32 APIs, which made it harder for managed code developers to use the full power of windows. the team set out to create a "bridge" that wocould help developers to cross this gap and allow managed code developers to access some of the more useful features of windows, such as search, restart and recovery, glass, and power management. the outcome of this process was the Windows Vista bridge sample library.

In the process of updating Windows Vista bridge, we realized that the old name doesn't fit the new library. because this library is no longer tied to a specific windows release, we decided to change the name to the rather unwieldy but descriptiveWindows API code pack for Microsoft. NET Framework. Unlike Vista bridge that shippedAfterVista was released, the alpha version (version 0.8) of the Windows API code pack was released on release L 20,200 9, six monthsBeforeWindows 7 shipped. releasing an early version allowed us to solicit developers 'feedback, update our feature list, and discover more bugs. it also allowed us to actually tell a managed code stories for Windows 7, since back then. net Framework (3.5) didn't support any Windows 7 features.

Windows API code pack version 1.0.1

A year has passed since the initial 0.8 alpha release. since then, we have had 3 more releases. the current version, 1.0.1, released November 18,200 9, includes a great deal of useful features that any managed code developer who is targeting windows can use, including complete taskbar integration, extensive improvements to Windows Shell and libraries, DirectX 11, sensor, and more features.

There have been more67,000Direct downloads of the Windows API code pack since its release, and aboutSame numberOf downloads for other projects, such as thewindows 7 Training Kit for developers, flashcards. show, images. show. these projects either use the Windows API code pack DLLs or include the Windows API code pack code. I guess this is where I need to acknowledge all of those who downloaded the Windows API code pack-Thank you!

Windows API code Pack Version 1.x

We didn't stop working on the Windows API code pack! In the next few weeks/months we'll release another version that will include bug fixing, major code cleanup and standardization, and few new features.

The team working on the Code pack gave the existing code base a major facelift. following the Microsoft development process, the original code was reviewed against a number of criteria, including Visual Studio fxcop analysis, updated naming conventions, improved performance, and upgrades, resulting in a much cleaner and more cohesive baseline. this baseline code will serve us internally for future releases, and I know developers will appreciate it as well.

We also added automatic testing for all the major projects (DLLs ). adding automatic testing to the Windows API code pack streamlines our internal development process and alerts you if any of your code pack mizmizations breaks anything along the way. the testing framework we use for the Windows API code pack is called xunit. we chose xunit over Visual Studio (VS) unit testing because unit testing is not part of the free Express version of Vs, and we didn't want to limit our target audience.

While these code changes do not result in creating new features, they do result in a much more robust and easy to maintain and debug code base upon which we can build going forward. we are working on a small set of new features for our next release, which will ship in few weeks.

But fear not, this is where you come in to the picture. if you ever wanted to add a feature to the Code pack, were looking for some specific Win32 API to be wrapped, or just wanted to pass us some feedback, this is your opportunity. please send us your feedback or file a bug using the discussions or issue tracker for the Windows API code pack.

We are especially interested in improving support for the Windows Shell, specifically in the areas of shell integration, support for file handlers and properties, libraries, and search and indexing. we are also looking into adding social and Web APIs related to windows, as well as some fundamentals around Windows Services and task scheduling and power management. again, if you have any additional ideas or feedback, we are listening.