I am glad to announce that today we shipped a new version of the
Windows API Code Pack – version 1.0.1. This is not a major version with a lot of new features, but rather a minor version focused on fixing bugs, improving performance, adding demos and few features updates (new wrappers…)
But before we dive into this new version of the Windows Code Pack let’s better understand what this Windows API Code Pack is all about.
Windows 7 offers new features like the taskbar, libraries, and the Sensor and Location platform, to name a few. These features enable new scenarios and create new opportunities for developers to make their applications shine on Windows 7. All these great features are exposed via the Win32 native API. Currently there is no “Windows 7” namespace in the .NET Framework, and no easy way to use these features from managed code applications. To help managed code developers access them, we released version 1.0 of the Windows API Code Pack for the .NET Framework in August (just after Windows 7 RTM).
The Windows API Code Pack
is a
free, managed
Source Code Library provided by Microsoft
as is. You should consider this library as if
you wrote it yourself, as if it
is your own code. It is a great starting point and provides a really good and solid solution for managed code developers. It covers a lot of the new Windows 7 features as well as some more fundamental core features from the Windows Vista timeframe. You may think of the Windows API Code Pack as the closest thing to an “official” managed API for Windows. But you need to remember that it’s not a product with 24x7 technical support available from Microsoft Customer Service and Support. We believe it is a great solution, and that the codebase is very solid and high quality.
Our goal with the code pack is to enable managed code developers to take advantage of Windows APIs that are not part of the .NET Framework. We feel that as a shared source that is separate from the .NET runtime libraries, the Windows API Code Pack provides an optimal compromise between the Microsoft Win32 managed wrapper, short time-to-market -we released the Windows API Code Pack just a month after the Win7 RTM, and we ship full source code of the library.
The Windows API Code Pack includes a great deal of managed API for Windows (7). For example:
- Extensive integration with the Windows Shell namespace, with support for the Windows Shell property system, providing control like explorer browser and access to Windows Libraries
- A completely 100% feature parity with the native Taskbar API including (but not limited to) JumpLists, Icon Overlay, Progress bar, Thumbnail, custom switcher, Thumbnail Button, etc…
- Windows Task Dialogs , other controls
- Support for Direct3D 11.0 and DXGI 1.0/1.1 APIs
- Support for the Sensor Platform APIs
- Extended Linguistic Services APIs
- Windows Restart Manager
- Power APIs
- And many other features
Each technology represented in the Windows API Code Pack has multiple demos and examples (including source) in C# and VB. We are planning on releasing updates to the Windows API Code Pack roughly every three months. We will be investing mainly in stability (meaning fixing bugs), fundamentals, testing and documentation, as well as new feature support (based on customer feedback).
You may ask yourself, “
Why isn't the Windows API Code Pack part of the .NET Framework?”
We ship open source code that we might bring into the runtime sometime in the future, if we feel it's sufficiently core to the entire framework to be worth the size increase. Remember the .NET Framework runs on both Windows Vista and Windows XP. However, Windows 7 is here now, and we want to enable you to access this set of free, open source library sooner rather than later. We’re shipping this library in a community-supported form and, as you can see, we intend to keep updating it. While this version (1.0.1) is a minor release, we are planning on another release in the next few months. In the meantime, you get the best of both worlds in a package that you can use as a whole or in parts without restriction.
Another question you may ask is, “
Will .NET 4 replace the need to use the Windows API Code pack?”
When .NET 4 ships, you will be able to use its Windows 7 features such as Taskbar and multitouch integration with WPF, DirectWrite support, and the location API via the Devices namespace. Continue to access other features such as libraries, Restart Manager, and Sensors via the Windows API Code Pack.
Last but not least, we are looking for feedback from the community – that is you the .NET developer using this library to write managed code applications for Windows 7. On the
Windows API Code Pack site, you can ask questions, provide feedback, report bugs, and follow open bugs. Your input is critical for the continuation of this library, so please send us your feedback and questions.
To learn more about how to use the Windows API Code Pack check the
Windows 7 Training on Channel 9
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