Windows API Documentation

Welcome to the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) documentation for Windows APIs. This section provides comprehensive information on the interfaces, functions, structures, and data types used to develop applications for the Windows operating system.

Kernel Functions

The Kernel API provides access to the core functionalities of the Windows operating system, including process and thread management, memory allocation, file operations, and synchronization primitives.

Key areas include:

Process Management: Creating, managing, and terminating processes.
Thread Management: Creating, managing, and synchronizing threads.
Memory Management: Allocating and managing virtual memory.
File I/O: Reading from and writing to files and devices.

Example: Creating a Process

The CreateProcess function is used to create a new process and its primary thread, which runs in the address space of the new process.


BOOL CreateProcess(
  LPCTSTR               lpApplicationName,
  LPTSTR                lpCommandLine,
  LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpProcessAttributes,
  LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpThreadAttributes,
  BOOL                  bInheritHandles,
  DWORD                 dwCreationFlags,
  LPVOID                lpEnvironment,
  LPCTSTR               lpCurrentDirectory,
  LPSTARTUPINFO         lpStartupInfo,
  LPPROCESS_INFORMATION lpProcessInformation
);

This function is fundamental for launching new executables or creating child processes.

Note: Proper error handling with GetLastError is crucial when using Kernel functions.

Graphics Device Interface (GDI)

GDI is a Windows API that provides graphical drawing capabilities. It allows applications to display graphics and formatted text on video displays and printers.

Drawing Primitives: Line, rectangle, ellipse, and polygon drawing.
Font Handling: Selecting, rendering, and managing fonts.
Bitmap Operations: Working with images and pixel data.

User Interface (UI) APIs

These APIs enable the creation of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for Windows applications, including windows, dialogs, menus, and controls.

Window Management: Creating, managing, and handling messages for windows.
Standard Controls: Buttons, text boxes, list boxes, and more.
Input Handling: Processing keyboard and mouse input.

Explore More

Dive deeper into specialized API areas such as Networking, Security, and Multimedia to build robust and feature-rich Windows applications.

Networking APIs

Security APIs