Windows 8.1 API reverse engineered (kinda)

[georgevella]

Was browsing reddit and came across this: http://justinangel.net/Win81APIs

It seems MS is adding a bunch of stuff to WinRT for 8.1 (I/O & USB device support, VPN, etc.)

[Karl L.]

That is actually really interesting. I am not planning on developing any applications against the WinRT API in the near future, but that the narritive in that article is very well written. It's well worth reading if you are at all interested in Windows development, even if you are not planning on actively developing against WinRT (like me).

[DarkyDan]

Thanks for linking that, quite an interesting read. I'm no programmer by any stretch but very curious about, and looking forward to new features in 8.1

I'm patiently waiting for the preview of 8.1 to come out :)

[Andre S. Veteran]

Yeah DatePicker and TimePicker! WinRT might actually reach feature parity with Windows Forms at some point! /irony

Gotta love the new .NET-style APIs though. This kind of research would have been more difficult and a less informative with old Win32 APIs.

[Emon]

SettingsFlyout! Finally!

[DeadEndAccount]

That is actually really interesting. I am not planning on developing any applications against the WinRT API in the near future, but that the narritive in that article is very well written. It's well worth reading if you are at all interested in Windows development, even if you are not planning on actively developing against WinRT (like me).

Agreed but my main concern is that Microsoft is neglecting the desktop when WinRT should also be expanded so that traditional applications can be written using XAML and WinRT as to encourage developers to move from win32 in favour of a cleaner API moving forward. IMHO Microsoft in a good position to start cleaning house and fixing up past mistakes when it comes to API design but it appears that they're so focused on ModernUI that they've ignored that the vast majority of applications now and into the future will remain traditional desktop applications with a fair number of people preferring the desktop paradigm.

[Andre S. Veteran]

To be fair, the desktop is very mature and well supported, while the WinRT APIs are still in their infancy and missing a lot of basic functionality. Microsoft needs to focus on WinRT if it wants the platform to succeed.

I share your concern about the desktop, it's not really clear where Microsoft wants to go with that. Obviously it'll remain the preferred platform for mouse and keyboard users, so Microsoft has to keep evolving it to some degree at least.

[+John Teacake MVC]

Very good read!