Content deleted Content added
Frecklefoot (talk | contribs) m rm extra full stop |
Northgrove (talk | contribs) Licensing update in WTL 7.5 |
||
Line 1:
The '''Windows Template Library''' ('''WTL''') is an [[Object-oriented programming|object-oriented]] [[Win32]] encapsulation [[C++]] [[Library (computer science)|library]] by [[Microsoft]]. The WTL supports an [[Application programming interface|API]] for use by [[programmer]]s. It was developed as a light-weight alternative to [[Microsoft Foundation Classes]]. WTL extends Microsoft's [[Active Template Library|ATL]], another lightweight API for using [[Component Object Model|COM]] and for creating [[ActiveX]] controls. Though created by Microsoft, it is unsupported.
Although Microsoft is generally critical of [[open source]] software, they made the [[source code]] of WTL freely available under an open source license. Releasing it under the [[Common Public License]], Microsoft posted the source on [[SourceForge]], an [[Internet]] repository for open-source code. As of version 7.5, the library was also [[dual license]]d under the [[Microsoft Permissive License]]. [http://www.microsoft.com/resources/sharedsource/licensingbasics/permissivelicense.mspx]
Most of the WTL API is a direct mirror of the standard Win32 calls, so the interface is familiar to most Windows programmers. Being an unsupported library, WTL has little formal documentation. Faced with this problem the "WTL Documentation" project [http://www.viksoe.dk/code/wtldoc.htm] was started and now has a semi-complete documentation.
| |||