CppCon 2016

Believe it or not, avoiding language extensions and embracing modern C++ will make it easier for you to write code for Windows. The Universal Windows Platform in Windows 10 provides the ability for developers to write apps for many devices in many languages. To achieve this goal, it uses the Windows Runtime platform technology to expose functionality from the operating system into languages, including C++. Microsoft wants to make the Windows Runtime naturally and easily available to standard C++ developers. "C++/WinRT" (formerly moderncpp.com) is a standard C++ library and toolset currently under development at Microsoft. It includes a standalone compiler, which converts Windows Runtime metadata into a header-only library. The source code uses standard syntax consumable by any C++ compiler, making it easier for developers to use Windows Runtime APIs from C++.

We will begin this session with the goals of the "C++/WinRT" project. We'll look at the primitives of the Windows Runtime ABI and how this C++ library provides a natural projection of those primitives. We'll look at how C++11 and C++14 language features make it easier to encapsulate the COM infrastructure that underpins the Windows Runtime. Finally, we'll look at how we've optimized the implementation and discuss how a handful of compiler optimizations can make this C++ library efficient and effective for building a wide range of applications.