From console to Windows program

So I was just wondering, what do I need to do to get from out of console programming, to coding a program with an installer, and graphics and all of that? What are some good resources to help me in that transition? Should I be using Visual Studio for programming Windows apps or Android and so on? I'm trying to get back into coding after a year or so hiatus and it's coming back to me, but the most I had done was some LED light sequence programming in Arduino (essentially C++). Please let me know your thoughts.
If'n you are looking at getting into Windows GUI programming then using Visual Studio wouldn't be a bad idea.

To get a taste for what Windows Desktop programming takes there's an old Win32 API (application programming interfaces) tutorial.


Just as the interface to C++ is sub-divided into multiple libraries ( https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/header ) the Windows interface is subdivided in the Windows API ( https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/apiindex/windows-api-list ).
For graphical Windows programs one should consider C#.
C# on Visual Studio makes it easy to get started making a GUI. With C++, making a GUI can be pretty tedious, even when using a 3rd party library - which you definitely should if using C++. wxWidgets was the external library I used when coding a little game with a GUI on C++. It's also good for applications.

You use 3rd party libraries. For examples of what's available see:


Unless you're a sado-masochist, I advise against using the WIN32 API.

Do you want just for Windows - or also x-platform?

closed account (z05DSL3A)
It would probable be worth reading up on this...
Windows App SDK

The Windows App SDK does not replace the existing desktop Windows app types such as .NET (including Windows Forms and WPF) and desktop Win32 with C++. Instead, it complements these existing platforms with a common set of APIs and tools that developers can rely on across these platforms.
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