Microsoft Windows 2000 API SuperBible

Creating the Main Window

An application requires a main window to process messages and user input. This window is also the parent for all top-level windows created in the application. WinMain is where the main window is created and the message processing loop resides. A "window class" is first registered with the RegisterClassEx function. After the new class is registered, the main window can be created. Listing 3.1 shows what a basic WinMain function should look like and how the class is registered. Figure 3.1 shows the main window that is created and points out the elements of a window.

Figure 3.1. Elements of a window.

Code Listing 3.1. WinMain ...