Windows Store apps can use a subset of the Win32 and COM API. This subset of APIs was chosen to support key scenarios for Windows Store apps that were not already covered by the Windows Runtime, HTML/CSS, or other supported languages or standards. The Windows App Certification Kit ensures that your app uses only this subset of the Win32 and COM API.
The following topics list the Win32 and COM API elements that are provided for developing Windows Store apps for Windows.
Windows API documentation and header files
The documentation for each programming element in the Windows API indicates whether it can be used in a Windows Store app. See the "Applies to" line at the top of the page.
The subset of the Windows API that can be used in a Windows Store app is indicated in the header files in the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows 8. Look for the following statements in the Windows header files.
#pragma region Application Family #pragma region Desktop Family
The first statement indicates that the API defined in this region can be used in a Windows Store app and a desktop app. The second statement indicates that the API defined in this region can be used only in a desktop app.
The compiler and object browser in Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows 8 use these statements to determine whether to show or hide a Win32 or COM API element.
In this section
- Data
- Devices
- Diagnostics
- Graphics
- Multimedia
- Networking
- Printing and documents
- System
- User interface
- Alternatives to Windows APIs
Build date: 11/22/2012
