Getting Started with the Windows SDK

Launch Visual Studio Installer

Open the Visual Studio Installer. You can find it by searching for "Visual Studio Installer" in the Windows Start Menu.

Modify Your Installation

Find your installed Visual Studio version and click "Modify".

Select SDK Components

On the "Workloads" tab, ensure that at least one development workload is selected (e.g., "Desktop development with C++" or "Universal Windows Platform development"). Then, navigate to the "Individual components" tab.

Scroll down to the "SDKs, libraries, and frameworks" section. Look for "Windows 10 SDK" or "Windows 11 SDK" (depending on your target OS). Select the latest available version. You may also want to select "MSVC vXXX - VS 2022 C++ x64/x86 build tools" if you plan on C++ development.

Install or Modify

Click the "Install" button. Visual Studio will download and install the selected components. This may take some time depending on your internet connection and system speed.

Create a New Project in Visual Studio

Launch Visual Studio. From the start window, select "Create a new project".

Select a Template

In the "Create a new project" dialog, filter by language (e.g., C++) and platform (e.g., Windows). Select the "Windows Console Application" template and click "Next".

Configure Your Project

Give your project a name (e.g., "HelloWorldSDK") and choose a location. Click "Create".

Write the Code

Visual Studio will generate a basic project structure. Replace the contents of your main source file (usually named HelloWorldSDK.cpp) with the following code:

#include <Windows.h>
#include <iostream>

int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow) {
    // Display a message box
    MessageBox(
        NULL,           // Handle to the owner window.
        TEXT("Hello, Windows SDK!"), // The text of the message.
        TEXT("My First App"),      // The title of the message box.
        MB_OK | MB_ICONINFORMATION // The buttons and icons.
    );

    // You can also use standard C++ output if you don't need a GUI window immediately
    // std::cout << "Hello from the Windows SDK console!" << std::endl;
    // std::cin.get(); // Keep console window open

    return 0;
}

Note: For a simple console application, you might use main instead of WinMain. However, WinMain is the entry point for GUI applications and is commonly used with the Windows SDK.

Build and Run

Press F5 or click the "Start Debugging" button in Visual Studio. This will compile your code and launch your application. You should see a message box pop up with "Hello, Windows SDK!".