Does Windows 7 with platform update support desktop duplication? - windows-7

The articles in MSDN are misleading and doesn't provide a clear answer whether or not Windows 7 with platform update will support desktop duplication.
Did anyone know if this is possible? I am developing an application for desktop streaming, I currently use mirror driver for windows 7, but i am looking for a common solution for windows 7 and windows 8.
I have win8 SDK and VS2010 for development.

Platform Update for Windows 7 on MSDN answers this question explicitly (highlights added)
Some new methods introduced in DGXI 1.2 are not fully supported with the Platform Update for Windows 7.You can test for the availability of these functions by calling them directly and checking for an error code. Make sure your applications targeting Windows 7 with the platform update have a fallback in place when the desired functionality is unavailable. These classes of features are unavailable on Platform Update for Windows 7:
...
Desktop duplication
...
See also DirectX 11.1 and Windows 7, DirectX 11.1 and Windows 7 Update, KB 2670838

Related

Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 API changes issue

I have a full fledged app built for windows 8.1...
Through my research, I discovered that the api changes between 8.1 and 10 is nt that much and an app built for 8.1 will work on 10..
So my question now is will a windows 10 app work on windows 8.1?
If yes, how can I go about it?
I've created a report on changes for WinAPI 8 vs WinAPI 10 that may help you to discover differences in details. It's available on this page. The report is generated with the help of the ABI-CC tool.
Since apps built for WP8.1 don't work on WP8, then I doubt that Windows 10 Mobile apps will work on WP8.1. As far as I'm aware, there are more differences between those two systems' API than between 8.1 and 8.0
Btw, are you asking about the desktop systems or the mobile ones (as the tag you used suggests)?

When will VB6 application support end?

Microsoft no longer supports VB6 development and support from Microsoft has already stopped. But VB6 applications still run on Windows 8.1. See also this article titled "Support Statement for Visual Basic 6.0 on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1".
When would a VB6 application stop running on Windows? Is there any official statement from Microsoft or any clue about the same?
EDIT:
In this link, the Visual Studio team has mentioned that, "It will be supported at least through 2024". But it's not clear whether they said it's supported in Windows 8 till 2024 or in future release of windows OS too.
The "2024" means as part of Windows 8. The link says the VB6 runtime is part of Windows and therefore will be supported in the same way as the rest of Windows. For example Windows 8 will be supported until 2024 because that's the support lifecycle for Windows 8.
EDIT: Microsoft have now said the VB6 runtime is officially part of Windows 10 too.
EDIT: the VB6 IDE (not runtime) is no longer officially supported on any version of Windows, but there are ways to get it to work on Windows 7 and 8.
Uservoice: The VB6 runtime it is still a component of the Windows operating
system and is a component shipped in Windows 8.1. It will be supported
at least through 2024
It seems clear they mean VB6 will be supported through 2024, not just VB6 on Windows 8 (whose mainstream support ends 6 years earlier anyway).
The VB6 programming language installs and runs on Windows 7, 8.x and 10.
There is a utility to install it here: VB6 IDE install utility
It is in Microsoft's interests for VB6 applications to run in Windows 10 and so they probably will. The same is probably true of most old application frameworks: Microsoft works hard to maintain compatibility. The IDE runs on Windows 7 (not sure about 8 or 10).
However, just because Microsoft says VB6 will run it doesn't mean your particular application will work, particularly if you use third party components. You should at least be thinking about migrating to another development environment.
From what I heard, VB6 applications still work on Windows 10 technical preview. I've seen no official statement yet, but it would seem that VB6 will stay supported for at least a few years.
Microsoft have just stated for VB6 programming on Windows 10:-
"Windows is committed to compatibility. The Windows compatibility team
has been looking at user telemetry and reacting to feedback from
Windows Insiders to ensure that existing apps work well with Windows
10. Windows 10 is designed to run Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 software programs. And yes, everyone’s favorite VB6 Runtime will
continue to work, too. In the near future, the compat team will go
more in-depth on this topic on Blogging Windows."
Everyone's favorite VB6 programming on Windows 10
So VB6 programming will work on Windows 10, as does VBA programming.
They also state that 'Project Centennial' Universal Windows Platform Bridge will work with VB6 code.
Instructions for installing the VB6 IDE are available here...
In my personal experience if you build a dll in VB6 and add it as a component to COM Plus in Server 2016 it just won't add. You will get an error such as the following, even for a 'Hello World' component.
A registry value was changed while installing the following component
into a COM+ Application. If you are experiencing activation problems
with this component then please check the registry value for the
following key.
Component: C:\temp\Project1.dll
Registry Key:
CLSID\{D5DE8D20-5BB8-11D1-A1E3-00A0C90F2731}\InProcServer32
Process Name: RunDll32.exe Comsvcs.dll file version: not loaded
There is a project to provide a new language "RADBasic" which is intended to be compatible with the VB6 programming language.
New language compatible with VB6 programming
Looks like Microsoft just extended VB6 runtime support out to Windows 11 and Server 2022. No such luck for the IDE though.
Read more from Microsoft here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/visualstudio/visual-basic-6/visual-basic-6-support-policy

Accessing Windows 8 libraries in VS2012 on Windows 7

Running VS2012 Pro on Windows 7 Pro, I need to develop a desktop application for a Windows 8 environment (this is NOT a metro-style interface). What I can't figure out is how to reference the Windows 8-specific libraries (for instance, Windows.Media.Capture). I've downloaded and installed the Windows 8 SDK, but when I try to add a reference to a Windows 8 library, nothing is available in either the Framework or Extensions list.
Any ideas? or am I stuck with having to move to Windows 8 on my development system?
Thanks.
You can develop a .NET 3.x or 4.x app on Windows 7 and run it on Windows 8 in desktop mode just fine. You can also create a C++ app that targets Win32 and run it on the Windows 8 desktop just fine. However, you cannot reference any assemblies on Windows 7 that have runtime dependencies on WinRT APIs. Windows.Media.Capture and the classes contained within (such as CameraCaptureUI) are WinRT APIs and cannot be used on Windows 7. Even if you had Windows 8, very very few WinRT APIs can be called from desktop applications. The Windows.Media.Capture APIs can only be used from a Windows Store (formerly Metro) app.
Dev support, design support and more awesome goodness on the way: http://bit.ly/winappsupport

Can I develop software for Microsoft Surface on Windows 7 machine

I want to develop a WinRT app for Surface.
There is one detail I cannot find anywhere. Will I be able to compile and run on the device using Windows 7 or I need to upgrade to Windows 8?
No, you can't develop an RT "Modern" style app on Windows 7. You'll need Windows 8 either installed as your main OS or hosted in a VM.
It is possible to develop with virtual machine(Win8) in windows 7 unfortunately if you want to develop without virtual machine you have to upgrade it
Not directly, no. WinRT apps require windows 8 APIs, there is no support for building them on Windows 7. You can fake the environment out by setting up a virtual machine and developing on that.
From Microsoft Surface SDK documentation:
"The Microsoft Surface 2.0 SDK provides the managed APIs and the tools you need to develop Surface applications. Applications that are built using the Surface SDK can run on devices made for Surface 2.0, and on Windows 7 computers..."
Read more here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff727815.aspx

Windows Mobile SDK 6 Confusion

I am upgrading my Windows Mobile 5 project to a Windows Mobile 6 project.
The first step (at least so it seems to me) is to get the Windows Mobile 6 SDK installed.
When I went searching for this I found the following installs that both seemed to fit what I was looking for:
Windows Mobile 6 Professional SDK Refresh.msi
Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional Developer Tookit (USA).msi
So, the question is, do I need these both? and if so, what order do I install them in? and is there any other installers/steps I am missing?
It depends on what you're targeting. There are loads of SDKs, but generally what they bring to the table are emulators and SDK-specific stuff (like additions to the Microsoft.WindowsMobile namespace). Otherwise they really don't do a whole lot. For example you can continue to use just the PPC 2003 SDK to write and deploy apps on WinMo 6.5, you'll just be missing availability of the stuff that was added to be 6.5-specific.
Persoanlly I'd recommend installing the 6.5 Pro (and maybe standard too) SDKs and foregoing the 6.0 SDK unless you need to do emulator testing for something like a 6.0 or 6.1 device.

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