APIs, or application programming interfaces, are the routines developers can call from their own code to access functionality in an application or a system. On this page you'll find links to the documentation and downloads for some of the most commonly used Microsoft APIs.
.NET
.NET Framework SDKs and Redistributables
Here you can download the .NET Framework SDKs and redistributable files. This page includes everything developers need to write, build, test, deploy, and run .NET Framework applications. 64 bit and x86 versions are now available.
Microsoft Windows Platform SDK
Download the Platform SDK and get the information you need to develop applications for Windows. This SDK includes the Core SDK, the Internet Development SDK, the IIS SDK, the MDAC SDK, the Windows Installer SDK, the WMI SDK, the Tablet PC SDK, and the Windows Media SDK.
Platform SDK Introduction
This is the Platform Software Development Kit (SDK) documentation. This edition provides information about the application programming interfaces (API) supported by Microsoft Windows.
MFC and ATL
MFC Library Reference
The MFC Reference covers the classes, global functions, global variables, and macros that make up the Microsoft Foundation Class Library version 7.0.
ATL Library Reference
The ATL Reference documents the Active Template Library (ATL), a set of template-based C++ classes that simplify the programming of Component Object Model (COM) objects. To fully take advantage of ATL, a working familiarity with COM is highly recommended.
Latest DirectX Downloads
DirectX 9.0 includes a high-level shader language (HLSL) in the Direct3D extensions (D3DX) library, managed DirectX support based on the .Net Framework, new video mixing renderer (VMR9) through the 3D pipeline, and security and performance improvements.
DirectX Documentation
Microsoft DirectX is an advanced suite of multimedia application programming interfaces (APIs) built into Microsoft Windows operating systems. DirectX provides a standard development platform for Windows-based PCs by enabling software developers to access specialized hardware features without having to write hardware-specific code. This technology was first introduced in 1995 and is a recognized standard for multimedia application development on the Windows platform.
DDK
Windows Driver Development Kit
The Microsoft Windows Driver Development Kit (DDK) is a consolidated driver development kit that provides a build environment, tools, driver samples, and documentation to support driver development for the Windows family of operating systems.
Microsoft Windows Driver Development Kit Introduction
This link takes you to the top level documetation page in the MSDN Library. Here you can find information about getting started writing device drivers for Microsoft Windows.
Other APIs
Windows XP Media Center Edition
This section of the MSDN Library contains programmability documentation, sample programs and templates, Media Center UI guidelines, and other resources for software development on the Media Center platform.
Windows Media SDK Components
Microsoft Windows Media is more than a set of tools and individual components—it is a powerful end-to-end platform upon which you can create your own digital media solutions. When you use one or more of the Windows Media Software Development Kits (SDKs), you can develop customized solutions that meet your business needs.
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APIs, or application programming interfaces, are the routines developers can call from their own code to access functionality in an application or a system. On this page you'll find links to the documentation and downloads for some of the most commonly used Microsoft APIs.