The Old New Thing

Practical development throughout the evolution of Windows.

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I remember taking a screen shot of a video, and when I opened it in Paint, the video was playing in it! What witchcraft is this?
Oct 14, 2025
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I remember taking a screen shot of a video, and when I opened it in Paint, the video was playing in it! What witchcraft is this?

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

You copied the green screen.

API design principle: Don’t tempt people to divide by zero
Oct 13, 2025
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API design principle: Don’t tempt people to divide by zero

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Remove it from the equation.

The self-assignment principle for Windows Runtime properties: Don’t change behavior based on whether a property has been written to
Oct 10, 2025
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The self-assignment principle for Windows Runtime properties: Don’t change behavior based on whether a property has been written to

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

The fact that a property has been set does not by itself trigger functionality.

The self-assignment principle for Windows Runtime properties applies to default values
Oct 9, 2025
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The self-assignment principle for Windows Runtime properties applies to default values

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

The default value must be legal.

Windows Runtime API design principles around read-write properties: Idempotence and self-assignment
Oct 8, 2025
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Windows Runtime API design principles around read-write properties: Idempotence and self-assignment

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Setting it to the value it already has is not a crime.

Remembering the end of support for VRML in Internet Explorer
Oct 7, 2025
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Remembering the end of support for VRML in Internet Explorer

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

No one left standing.

Code comments should apply to the state of the system at the point the comment “executes”
Oct 6, 2025
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Code comments should apply to the state of the system at the point the comment “executes”

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Putting them in the flow.

Can we get weak functions for static linking? The Visual C++ compiler says “We have weak functions at home”
Oct 3, 2025
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Can we get weak functions for static linking? The Visual C++ compiler says “We have weak functions at home”

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

It's already there, just under a different paradigm.

The problem with inferring from a function call operator is that there may be more than one
Oct 2, 2025
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The problem with inferring from a function call operator is that there may be more than one

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

auto parameters make this easy to write, particularly for lambdas.

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