April 3, 2026
Nostalgia.exe just booted
Windows++: C++ Application Framework for Windows by Paul DiLascia
Tiny Windows toolkit returns — devs nostalgic, curious, and chaotic
TLDR: Windows++—a tiny toolkit for building Windows apps—resurfaced with a 2022 GitHub effort to revive it. Comments swing from warm nostalgia to “can it run today?” and one daring “3D FPS?” pitch, underscoring fresh love for small, fast tools in a world of heavy engines.
Windows++ — a featherweight C++ toolkit for making Windows apps — just kicked up a comments storm, and wow, the vibes are strong. Old-school dev zabzonk opened with a misty-eyed "Well, that takes me back!" and the thread instantly turned into a reunion tour for 90s Windows hacking, complete with shout-outs to the cult classic book 'Undocumented Windows' and a glowing nod from author Andrew Schulman, who once called the Windows++ book “brilliant.”
Practical tinkerers quickly piled in. User dleslie dropped a link to a 2022 attempt to make it play nice with modern Visual Studio, turning the chat into a treasure hunt: can this 84K wonder still run today? The tiny library that once powered the Energizer Bunny screensaver and taught a tic-tac-toe bot to learn had people grinning about hello world in 20 lines and a framework that hides Windows’ weird startup plumbing.
Then the chaos button got pressed: vivzkestrel asked if they could build a 3D FPS with it instead of Unity or Unreal. Cue jokes, raised eyebrows, and “technically… yes, but why?” energy. The split: nostalgia and respect for tiny tools versus dreams of pushing a 90s toolkit into modern game territory — and honestly, both camps sound fun.
Key Points
- •Windows++ is a lightweight C++ application framework for Windows authored by Paul DiLascia.
- •It wraps the Windows API, hides WinMain, and enables a simple “hello, world” in about 20 lines of code.
- •The framework supports Borland, Microsoft, and Zortech compilers and runs on Windows 3.1, 95/98, NT, and XP.
- •It has a small footprint (approx. 84 KB DLL) and does not use message maps.
- •Distribution includes the full class library, make files, sample programs, and is accompanied by DiLascia’s explanatory book; a Win32 and a 16-bit version are available.