You are now entering the PC Anatomy portal

Win32 can refer to either the 32-bit version of Windows or, more commonly today, the Windows API (Application Programming Interface) for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows systems. It is a set of programming functions, or "calls," that allow developers to create software that interacts with the Windows operating system, including managing user interfaces, files, and hardware. Despite its name, the term "Win32" is still widely used even on 64-bit systems as a general reference to the Windows API.

Key aspects of Win32

API: The primary meaning is the Application Programming Interface, a set of programming tools for creating applications for Windows.

Operating system: It originally referred to the 32-bit versions of Windows, like Windows NT and Windows 95, to differentiate them from the earlier 16-bit versions.

Modern usage: The term is now a generic way to refer to the Windows API, which is still used on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows.

Functionality: The API provides the framework for a wide range of functions, including managing windows, processing user input, handling files, and interacting with hardware and network resources.

WMI: In system administration, "Win32" is also used in the names of WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) classes, such as Win32_ComputerSystem and Win32_Process, which provide management and diagnostic information about Windows systems.