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I have been learning windows API from online and PDF books but I hear of people using sdk and visual studio programs. What should i do? API I’d create but extremely complex. Would I benefit from learning the API or should I get a sdk or program that writes to code for me? I have msc++e but I don’t think it comes with those benifts
In the case of windows, the SDK and the Win32 API refer to pretty much the same thing. The SDK is all the crap you need to target the API (this is always what an “SDK” is). When you’re using a non-VC compiler on windows (or a cross-compiler) you have to download the SDK in order to write win32 programs.
There’s very few situations in which targeting the Win32 API itself is useful. You usually want to work at a higher level with an API like MFC, WTL, or WX (I include WX because for windows it’s actually a wrapper for Win32). There are also libraries that do their own thing and just draw everything themselves (all owner drawn windows) like Qt, GTK, etc.
If you’re working with a windows specific library you’ll still end up touching the Win32 API occasionally but only small parts of it. You’ll save a LOT of time just letting those parts turn up instead of actually trying to learn the API itself. Nobody that isn’t insane or being tortured into submission writes raw Win32.