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Asked: 2026-06-18T18:33:48+00:00

I have a programming project which requires access to some of the lower-level Windows

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I have a programming project which requires access to some of the lower-level Windows APIs (WASAPI, in particular). I am fairly experienced with higher-level programming languages such as C#, Java, and PHP, and I know only a little bit about C/C++.

I would like to use C (not C++) for this project, as C++ is kind of scary. Upon changing the C/C++ settings of my project in Visual Studio to compile as C code, I noticed that any calls to __uuidof won’t work, as they are C++ specific.

My question is twofold:

  1. Is it possible to write Win32 programs that utilize COM in pure C, and
  2. If so, should using pure C be avoided?
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  1. Editorial Team

    1. Yes it is possible to use write pure C programs that utilize COM, in fact that was common practice 10-15 years ago.

    2. You are not doing yourself a favor by using C (as you already have noticed). E.g. ATL provides lots of help when you are doing COM and can help you to avoid common mistakes.

    If I were you I would go the C++ even if the threshold may be a bit higher at first. Also get a book in the subject if you do not have one. There are lots of examples to be found in the net but it is good to have something that leads you by the hand since COM programming is not for the faint of heart, regardless whether you use C or C++.

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