Microsoft Platform SDK
Encyclopedia
Microsoft Windows SDK, Platform SDK, and .NET Framework SDK are software development kit
s from Microsoft
that contain header file
s, libraries
, samples, documentation
and tools required to develop applications for Microsoft Windows
and .NET Framework
.
The difference between these three SDKs lies in their area of specialization: Platform SDK specializes in developing applications for Windows 2000
, XP
and Windows Server 2003
. .NET Framework SDK is dedicated to developing applications for .NET Framework 1.1 and .NET Framework 2.0. Windows SDK is the successor of the two and supports developing applications for Windows XP
, Windows Vista
, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, .NET Framework 3.0, .NET Framework 3.5, and .NET Framework 4.0. It contains extensive documentation
and around 800 samples.
and Web-download formats. Users can install the entire SDK or choose to install only some SDK components, such as code samples demonstrating only native development or only the tools for managed
development. Some Windows SDK components are also included in Microsoft Visual Studio
.
The latest Windows SDK is the Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4, released May 21, 2010.
This SDK release supports Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2
, Windows Vista
, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP SP3, and Windows Server 2003 R2 and is compatible with Visual Studio 2010, Visual Studio 2008, and Visual Studio 2005 SP1, including Visual Studio Express Editions.
, the Platform SDK has been replaced by the Windows SDK. The change of name is to better reflect the content included, and to offer the documentation, samples, build environment and tools needed to develop Windows applications all in one place. Also, the SDK for .NET Framework
3.0 (previously known as WinFX) /.NET Framework 3.5 and .NET Framework 2.0 (which is also now a part of .NET Framework 3.0) is included in the Windows SDK. The Tablet PC SDK and the Windows Media SDK (Windows Media Player 11 SDK, Windows Media Format 11 SDK and the Windows Media Device Manager 11 SDK) are also included. Thus, all the APIs
which ship with Windows Vista / Windows Server 2008 and the latest compilers are now integrated into the Windows SDK. However, the .NET Framework 1.1 SDK is not included since the .NET Framework 1.1 does not ship with Windows Vista. Also, the Windows Media Center SDK for Windows Vista ships separately.
The Windows SDK allows the user to specify where the SDK will be installed and what components will be installed where. This new SDK integrates better with Visual Studio, so multiple copies of tools are not installed. Information shown can be filtered by content, such as showing only new Windows Vista content, Win32 development content, .NET Framework development content; or by language or a specific technology.
The Platform SDK also contains the resources (tools, documentation, samples, etc.) and compilers needed for 64-bit development on x86, x64 and Itanium (IA-64) platform architectures.
Some users may encounter problems with Visual Studio 2010 and recent Windows SDK in non-English environment due to bug in Windows SDK configurator.
) samples
Starting with Windows SDK version 7.1 (released May 19, 2010), the .NET Framework samples do not ship with the "Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4". They can be downloaded from http://code.msdn.microsoft.com.
Win32 (unmanaged code) samples
The Windows samples demonstrate Windows operating system features primarily using native code. These unmanaged Win32 samples are not included in the documentation. They are installed as loose files to subdirectories of \Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\[version number]\samples. This content can be deselected during SDK setup. A few samples with some managed code (PowerShell, Tablet PC) install with the Win32 samples. The Win32 samples directory layout for the Windows SDK is:
\Begin
\Com
\DataAccess
\Multimedia
\NetDS
\Security
\SysMgmt
\TabletPC
\Web
\WinBase
\WinUI
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
s from Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
that contain header file
Header file
Some programming languages use header files. These files allow programmers to separate certain elements of a program's source code into reusable files. Header files commonly contain forward declarations of classes, subroutines, variables, and other identifiers...
s, libraries
Library (computer science)
In computer science, a library is a collection of resources used to develop software. These may include pre-written code and subroutines, classes, values or type specifications....
, samples, documentation
Documentation
Documentation is a term used in several different ways. Generally, documentation refers to the process of providing evidence.Modules of Documentation are Helpful...
and tools required to develop applications for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and .NET Framework
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
.
The difference between these three SDKs lies in their area of specialization: Platform SDK specializes in developing applications for Windows 2000
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
, XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
and Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft, introduced on 24 April 2003. An updated version, Windows Server 2003 R2, was released to manufacturing on 6 December 2005...
. .NET Framework SDK is dedicated to developing applications for .NET Framework 1.1 and .NET Framework 2.0. Windows SDK is the successor of the two and supports developing applications for Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
, Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, .NET Framework 3.0, .NET Framework 3.5, and .NET Framework 4.0. It contains extensive documentation
Documentation
Documentation is a term used in several different ways. Generally, documentation refers to the process of providing evidence.Modules of Documentation are Helpful...
and around 800 samples.
Obtaining the SDK
Windows SDKs are available free on the Microsoft Download Center, in ISOISO image
An ISO image is an archive file of an optical disc, composed of the data contents of every written sector of an optical disc, including the optical disc file system...
and Web-download formats. Users can install the entire SDK or choose to install only some SDK components, such as code samples demonstrating only native development or only the tools for managed
Managed code
Managed code is a term coined by Microsoft to identify computer program code that requires and will only execute under the "management" of a Common Language Runtime virtual machine ....
development. Some Windows SDK components are also included in Microsoft Visual Studio
Microsoft Visual Studio
Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment from Microsoft. It is used to develop console and graphical user interface applications along with Windows Forms applications, web sites, web applications, and web services in both native code together with managed code for all...
.
The latest Windows SDK is the Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4, released May 21, 2010.
This SDK release supports Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 R2 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009 and launched on October 22, 2009. According to the Windows Server Team blog, the retail availability was September 14, 2009. It is built on Windows NT 6.1, the same core...
, Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP SP3, and Windows Server 2003 R2 and is compatible with Visual Studio 2010, Visual Studio 2008, and Visual Studio 2005 SP1, including Visual Studio Express Editions.
Versions
Microsoft SDK version release history| Version | Windows SDK Version Number | Build Number | Release Date | Download | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Platform SDK July 2002 | 2002-07 | ||||
| Microsoft Platform SDK August 2002 | 2002-08 | ||||
| Microsoft Platform SDK October 2002 | 2002-10 | ||||
| Microsoft Platform SDK February 2003 Edition | 5.2.3790.0 | 2003-02 | Last version with VC6 support | ||
| Microsoft Platform SDK for Windows XP SP2 | 5.1.2600.2180 | 2004-08 | |||
| Windows Server 2003 SP1 Platform SDK | 5.2.3790.1830.15 | 2005-05-02 | Download | ||
| Windows Server 2003 R2 Platform SDK | 5.2.3790.2075.51 | 2006-03-14 | Download | ||
| .NET Framework 2.0 SDK (Included in VS2005 Pro) | 2.0.50727.42 | 2006-11-29 | Download | Does not include the Platform SDK | |
| Windows Vista Update & .NET 3.0 SDK | v6.0 | 6.1.6000.16384.10 | 2007-03-22 | Download | First unified .Net and Platform SDK. Does not support Visual Studio .NET 2003 and Microsoft Visual C++ Toolkit 2003 |
| Included in Visual Studio 2008 | v6.0a | 6.1.6723.1 | 2007-11-19 | ||
| Windows Server 2008 & .NET 3.5 SDK | v6.1 | 6.0.6001.18000.367 | 2008-02-05 | Download | .NET Framework 3.5 |
| Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP 1 | v7.0 | 6.1.7600.16385 | 2009-07-24 | Download | |
| Included in Visual Studio 2010 | v7.0a | 6.1.7600.16385 | 2010-04-12 | Download | .NET Framework 4 |
| Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4 | v7.1 | 7.1.7600.0.30514 | 2010-05-21 | Download |
Targeting Windows Vista development with the Windows SDK
Starting with Windows VistaWindows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, the Platform SDK has been replaced by the Windows SDK. The change of name is to better reflect the content included, and to offer the documentation, samples, build environment and tools needed to develop Windows applications all in one place. Also, the SDK for .NET Framework
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
3.0 (previously known as WinFX) /.NET Framework 3.5 and .NET Framework 2.0 (which is also now a part of .NET Framework 3.0) is included in the Windows SDK. The Tablet PC SDK and the Windows Media SDK (Windows Media Player 11 SDK, Windows Media Format 11 SDK and the Windows Media Device Manager 11 SDK) are also included. Thus, all the APIs
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
which ship with Windows Vista / Windows Server 2008 and the latest compilers are now integrated into the Windows SDK. However, the .NET Framework 1.1 SDK is not included since the .NET Framework 1.1 does not ship with Windows Vista. Also, the Windows Media Center SDK for Windows Vista ships separately.
The Windows SDK allows the user to specify where the SDK will be installed and what components will be installed where. This new SDK integrates better with Visual Studio, so multiple copies of tools are not installed. Information shown can be filtered by content, such as showing only new Windows Vista content, Win32 development content, .NET Framework development content; or by language or a specific technology.
SDK support for older operating systems
A developer might want to use an older SDK for a particular reason. For example, the Windows Server 2003 Platform SDK released in February 2003 was the last SDK to provide full support of Visual Studio 6.0. Some older PSDK versions can still be downloaded from the Microsoft Download center; others can be ordered on CD/DVD.64-bit development
The most recently released Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4.0 contain compilers that are shipped with Visual Studio 2010.The Platform SDK also contains the resources (tools, documentation, samples, etc.) and compilers needed for 64-bit development on x86, x64 and Itanium (IA-64) platform architectures.
Documentation
The Windows SDK documentation includes the following:- Manuals documenting managed codeManaged codeManaged code is a term coined by Microsoft to identify computer program code that requires and will only execute under the "management" of a Common Language Runtime virtual machine ....
development - Manuals documenting Win32 development
- "New in Windows Vista" topics;
- All SDK documentation is part of the online and disc-based MSDN LibraryMSDN LibraryMSDN Library is a library of official technical documentation content intended for developers developing for Microsoft Windows. MSDN stands for the Microsoft Developer Network. The MSDN Library documents the APIs that ship with Microsoft products and also includes sample code, technical articles,...
Tools, headers and libraries
The Windows SDK contains the following:- For Win32 development:
- 1,915 Headers
- 348 Libraries
- 100 Tools
- For .NET (managed code) development:
- 14 Reference Assemblies supporting .NET, Tablet PC, Windows PowerShellWindows PowerShellWindows PowerShell is Microsoft's task automation framework, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language built on top of, and integrated with the .NET Framework...
, MMC, etc. - 33 Intellisense Files
- 70 .NET 2.0 Tools + 10 .NET 3.0 Tools + 35 .NET 4.0 Tools
- 14 Reference Assemblies supporting .NET, Tablet PC, Windows PowerShell
- For Visual Studio 2005/2008/2010 integration
- Utilities to enable Visual Studio 2005/2008 to easily use Windows SDK headers and libraries
- Visual Studio 2005/2008 Wizards for creating Windows Media Player applications
Some users may encounter problems with Visual Studio 2010 and recent Windows SDK in non-English environment due to bug in Windows SDK configurator.
SDK sample content
The SDK contains samples in the following topic areas:- 430 Windows Presentation Foundation samples
- 140 Windows Communication Foundation samples
- 60 Windows Workflow Foundation samples
- 200 New to Windows Vista (Win32/COM-based) samples
- 23 Cross technology samples
Windows SDK samples
.NET Framework (managed codeManaged code
Managed code is a term coined by Microsoft to identify computer program code that requires and will only execute under the "management" of a Common Language Runtime virtual machine ....
) samples
Starting with Windows SDK version 7.1 (released May 19, 2010), the .NET Framework samples do not ship with the "Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4". They can be downloaded from http://code.msdn.microsoft.com.
Win32 (unmanaged code) samples
The Windows samples demonstrate Windows operating system features primarily using native code. These unmanaged Win32 samples are not included in the documentation. They are installed as loose files to subdirectories of \Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\[version number]\samples. This content can be deselected during SDK setup. A few samples with some managed code (PowerShell, Tablet PC) install with the Win32 samples. The Win32 samples directory layout for the Windows SDK is:
\Begin
\Com
\DataAccess
\Multimedia
\NetDS
\Security
\SysMgmt
\TabletPC
\Web
\WinBase
\WinUI
See also
- [news://nntp.aioe.org/comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.win32 Advanced SDK Programming Newsgroup]
- Microsoft Visual StudioMicrosoft Visual StudioMicrosoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment from Microsoft. It is used to develop console and graphical user interface applications along with Windows Forms applications, web sites, web applications, and web services in both native code together with managed code for all...
- MSDN LibraryMSDN LibraryMSDN Library is a library of official technical documentation content intended for developers developing for Microsoft Windows. MSDN stands for the Microsoft Developer Network. The MSDN Library documents the APIs that ship with Microsoft products and also includes sample code, technical articles,...
- Windows Driver Kit