Win32 and COM for Metro style apps

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Win32 and COM for Metro style apps

[This documentation is preliminary and is subject to change.]

Metro style apps can use a subset of the Win32 and COM API. This subset of APIs was chosen to support key scenarios for Metro style 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 Metro style 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 Metro style app. See the "Applies to" line at the top of the page.

The subset of the Windows API that can be used in a Metro style app is indicated in the header files in the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Metro style Apps. Look for the following statements in the Windows header files.

C++


#pragma region Application Family
#pragma region Desktop Family

The first statement indicates that the API defined in this region can be used in a Metro style 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 RC for Windows 8 use these statements to determine whether to show or hide a Win32 or COM API element.