# microsoft/Windows-classic-samples

This repo contains samples that demonstrate the API used in Windows classic desktop applications.

Repository: https://github.com/microsoft/Windows-classic-samples
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/windows-classic-samples
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-08-06T04:38:31+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 66/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 96, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4012, "days_push": 27, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5668, forks 3294 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:27.617824+00:00)

## What it is
A Microsoft-maintained collection of code samples demonstrating the APIs used in Windows classic desktop (Win32) applications. Each sample ships with Visual Studio solution files, source, and assets for compiling and running.

## Use cases
- learn how to call a specific Win32 API
- find example code for Windows desktop programming
- search for API usage examples across sample source code
- reference working Visual Studio projects for Windows 7/8.1 era APIs
- study classic Windows and Windows Server programming models

## When to choose
- you are developing or maintaining classic Windows desktop applications
- you need concrete example code for a particular Windows API
- you are learning Win32 programming with Visual Studio

## When to avoid
- you are building modern UWP or WinUI apps
- you need actively updated samples for the latest Windows APIs
- you want a library or tool rather than reference code

## Facets
- artifact type: learning-resource
- maturity: maintenance
- function: developer-tools, documentation
- domain: developer-tools, windows, tutorials
- platform: windows, cpp
- tags: windows-api, code-samples, desktop-applications, win32, visual-studio

## Member repositories
- microsoft/Windows-classic-samples (main) score 66

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:27.617824+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:54:18.451778+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/microsoft/Windows-classic-samples (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:27.617824+00:00, sha ba0520c1d24c)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.