Overview
- Mark Russinovich, in a video posted Wednesday by Microsoft Dev Docs, called the 1990s Win32 API a first-class part of Windows 11.
- Win32 is the set of system functions apps use to draw windows, read files, and handle clicks, so common tasks like right-clicking still run decades-old code.
- He said the layer endures as the bedrock of Windows because business tools, creative software, games, and Microsoft’s own desktop apps rely on it.
- Russinovich noted that attempts to replace the API, including WinRT and later UWP and the Windows App SDK, stalled since rewriting apps would break compatibility.
- Microsoft is focusing on performance, overhead, and reliability improvements, and it is folding long-lived tools into the OS, with Sysmon moving into Windows.