WinapiZone.net

Programming

Links exchange

• xDestroyer website
  Winapi and java programs.
• theCore website
  Website of theCore, developer with me for one of the software on this site (SMSSender). He knows C/C++, VB and he uses WinAPI too.

Forums

• Hardware Upgrade Forum
  All the languages, databases, excel.
• DevShed Forum
  C/C++ programming forum, WinAPI, MFC.
• Codeguru Forums
  All the languages and databases. Focused on MFC, .NET, WinAPI.

Winapi articles and tutorials

• WinAPI Tutorial
  THE tutorial to start from scratch with WinAPIs. Many translations available.
• Display a Web Page in a Plain C Win32 Application
• Transforming Static Text Controls into Active Hyperlinks Using the Win32 API
• XP Theme Support for Rich Edit and Custom Controls
  A C++ class that draw the correct xp border for richedit controls.
• XP style Explorer Bar
  The bar you see in Windows XP explorer isn't a Windows common control like the listview or the button. This article cover this missing feature by providing a 18000 line implementation through a dll (and optionally a MFC wrapper). Works under Windows 98/Me/2000/XP but not Vista.
• ListView custom draw
  How to custom draw a listview. Examples and code you won't find in the MSDN docs.

Utility

• WinSpy++
  Do you know Spy++? Well, WinSpy++ is the same thing, but freeware. For those of you who don't know what Spy++ is, WinSpy++ is an useful tool to get and set all the information about a window that is currently open: caption, class, styles and ex-styles, props, sibling/owner/parent windows, class props, and so on. Moreover, it lists all the windows that are open, visible or not. Open source.
• UPX - the Ultimate Packer for eXecutables
  This is a tool that can compress exes and dlls to a smaller dimension, no matter what you put in it. That is, it can compress code and resources too: everything will be unpacked in the RAM when you run the program. Open source.
• NSIS - Nullsoft Scriptable Install System
  Scriptable win32 installer and uninstaller system. Updated constantly, many different supported languages, plugin-able, customizable in every aspect. You can let the user choose what does he want to be installed. It can compress the installer with different methods. It's even used by the Mozilla and ATI team. Open source.
• QTam Bitmap to Icon 3.5
  This is the only "free" lightweight tool i've found that can transform a bitmap to an icon. It's a little bit poor of options and usability, but believe me, it's the only one.
• Microsoft Virtual PC 2004
  The number one tool for the developers who needs to test their software on different OSes. I heard rumors that it does even support Unix OSes (although this is not stated nor supported by Microsoft). Works under Windows XP and believe it or not, it's freeware. You can configure the hard-disk quote and the RAM for each system. Thanks to Virtual Machine Additions, it becomes really easy to switch from a virtual to your root system, and to move files between them.
• Resource Hacker
  While i don't see the purpose of this software, it can be useful to someone. Well, you can steal icons, bitmaps or whatever from exes/dlls with it. What you say? That's not its purpose? Sure?
• Dependency walker
  Free utility that scans any 32-bit or 64-bit Windows module (exe, dll, ocx, sys, etc.) and builds a hierarchical tree diagram of all dependent modules, which function are exported from it and which ones are actually called.

IDE

• Dev-c++
  Windows IDE based on Delphi (:urgh:), open source, basic features and an auto updater. The main shortcoming: it's a bugged bugged beta (and from long time): use it for more than two hours and you'll see happen strange things. The only thing i appreciated and didn't found in other IDEs it's the auto-updater thingy: lots of headers and libs to download and use with a few clicks. Open source (but, hey, it's delphi! No, seriously.)
• Code::Blocks
  This is the IDE i'm using at the moment. Six different reason to drop Dev-c++ for CodeBlocks: first, it's C++ based. Oh yes. Second, although i'm using a nightly build (a snapshot build, you know that, creepy names), it's not bugged! Third, platform-indipendent. Fourth, plugins. Fifth, you can use different compilers. Sixth, projects can have different outputs from different targets. Said that, i order you to drop Dev-cpp and install a CodeBlocks nightly build. You'll be amazed! Open source.
• OpenWatcom
  IDE and proprietary compiler. Less intuitive compared to Dev-cpp/CodeBlocks: there are a lot a series of different applications with each a different task. Open source and pretty stable (there's no beta/nightly-build period, updates are done not so frequently but they're quite big, you know, lots of bug fixed and so on). Uses the MinGW WinAPI headers and own implementation of STL.
• Microsoft Visual C++
  The Microsoft IDE and compilet, plus a resource editor, all in one piece. Not intuitive at all. You're not able to edit directly the resource files. You can use MFC. The MFC wizard and its pre-made application. Not open source. Some reasons to avoid using it.

Interesting links

• Noughts and Crosses app that never loses
  Try to win against this tic-tac-toe "AI". Impossible, isn't it?