C++/WinRT

C++/WinRT is a standard C++17 language projection for Windows Runtime (WinRT) APIs. It's implemented as a header-file-based library and designed to provide first-class access to the modern Windows API from any standards-compliant C++17 compiler.

C++/WinRT lets you both consume and author Windows Runtime APIs using standard C++. It's the recommended replacement for C++/CX and the Windows Runtime C++ Template Library (WRL).

Get started

• Introduction to C++/WinRT — an overview of what C++/WinRT is and why it exists.
• Get started with C++/WinRT — set up your development environment and write your first C++/WinRT app.

Core concepts

• Concurrency and asynchronous operations — author and consume asynchronous operations with coroutines.
• A completion source sample — reporting progress, timeouts, and other advanced patterns.
• Collections with C++/WinRT — create and consume Windows Runtime collection types.
• Boxing and unboxing values — wrap scalar and array values for APIs that expect IInspectable.
• Standard C++ data types and C++/WinRT — use standard C++ types with Windows Runtime APIs.
• Value categories and references — understand lvalues, rvalues, and how C++/WinRT uses them.
• Agile objects — how agility works in C++/WinRT.
• String handling — work with winrt::hstring and standard string types.
• Error handling — handle and produce errors with C++/WinRT.

Authoring and interop

• Author COM components — implement classic COM coclasses with C++/WinRT.
• Consume APIs — call Windows Runtime APIs from C++/WinRT.
• Author APIs — define and implement your own Windows Runtime types.
• Interop between C++/WinRT and the ABI — convert between ABI and C++/WinRT objects.
• Passing parameters into the ABI boundary — efficiently pass values across the ABI.
• Use a C# component from C++/WinRT — consume a C# Windows Runtime component.

XAML and UI

• XAML controls; bind to a C++/WinRT property — data-bind a XAML control to a C++/WinRT property.
• XAML items controls; bind to a collection — bind to an observable collection.
• XAML custom controls — create a custom (templated) control.

Samples

• Photo Editor C++/WinRT sample application
• A simple WinUI example

Reference and diagnostics

• Naming conventions — C++/WinRT naming rules and conventions.
• Native debug visualization (natvis) — use Visual Studio natvis to debug C++/WinRT types.
• Macros — C++/WinRT preprocessor macros.
• Diagnosing direct allocations — detect and fix direct allocations of implementation types.
• Details about destructors — understand destructor behavior in C++/WinRT.

Migration guides

• Move to C++/WinRT from C++/CX
• Interop between C++/WinRT and C++/CX
• Move to C++/WinRT from WRL
• Move to C++/WinRT from C#