Windows Development is the practice of writing software that runs on Windows. It usually refers to a “desktop application”. In other words, a program with menus and buttons. This type of program is not a web site, but a program that starts and ends and lives completely on the user’s machine. In most cases, it’s installed on the machine. Windows development is significantly different than say, web development. Windows development is almost always easier for multiple reasons. Here are just a few:
- There’s only one computer involved. Contrast this to a web site that usually has at least three computers involved (The user’s computer with the web browser, the web server that accepts the user’s requests, processes them, and renders a new HTML page back to the users browser, and a database server).
- There’s only one type of memory, which is the local PC memory. There’s no messing with Server memory, application memory, session state memory, cookies, viewstate…
- Windows programs tend to start up faster than web apps because there are usually fewer pieces, so the constant cycle of code, compile, startup, test, shut down, repeat, goes much more quickly.
- There’s no HTML to mess with. All visual components are simply dragged and dropped where you want them. Events are tied directly to the visual components. (This changes with WPF, BTW).
In Windows development, the programmer usually uses some type of visual development product that let’s them use their mouse to place visual components onto a blank window, then write code and tie it to user events on those visual components, such as a click event on a button, or a resize event on a window border. The Windows program is usually made of menus and buttons and other visual components. The user interacts with it with a mouse and keyboard.
Of course, this is just a very very basic and very broad description of Windows development. Literally VOLUMES of books have been written on the various ways to accomplish Windows development. This article is just a very very thin, intro explanation of what Windows development is. Please see the following articles about the other types of software development to see a contrast to this style of programming:
- Web Development.
- Windows Mobile Development.
- iPhone Development.
- Google Android Development.
- Windows Services Development.
- Web Services Development.
- Library or Framework Development.
- Visual Component Development.
(check back later for these bulleted items to become links to new articles).
If you have any questions about this, feel free to enter them in the comments section just below this article.