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{{short description|Proposed software compatibility standard}}
The '''Application Programming Interface for Windows''' ('''APIW''') Standard is a specification of the Microsoft [[Windows 3.1]] API drafted by [[Willows Software, Inc]]. It is the successor to previously proposed [[Public Windows Interface]] standard. It was created in an attempt to establish a vendor-neutral, platform-independent, open standard of the 16-bit Windows API not controlled by Microsoft.<ref>{{cite web
{{tooshort|date=May 2024}}
| url = http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-234.htm
| title = Standard ECMA-234
| month = December
| year = 1995
| publisher = [[Ecma International]]
| format = PDF
}}</ref>


The '''Application Programming Interface for Windows''' ('''APIW''') Standard is a specification of the Microsoft [[Windows 3.1]] API drafted by [[Willows Software]]. It is the successor to previously proposed Public Windows Interface standard. It was created in an attempt to establish a vendor-neutral, platform-independent, open standard of the 16-bit Windows API not controlled by Microsoft.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-234.htm | title = Standard ECMA-234 |date=December 1995 | publisher = [[Ecma International]] | format = PDF }}</ref>
== History ==
===Solutions for heterogeneous environments===
By the end of 1990 [[Windows 3.0]] was the top selling software. The various graphical Windows applications had already started to reduce training time and enhance productivity on personal computers. At the same time various Unix and Unix-based operating systems dominated technical workstations and departmental servers. The idea of a consistent application environment across heterogeneous environments was compelling to both enterprise customers and software developers.


== Creation {{anchor|PWI}} ==
On May 5, 1993 [[Sun Microsystems]] announced [[Windows Application Binary Interface]] (WABI), a product to run Windows software on Unix, and the '''Public Windows Interface''' ('''PWI''') initiative, a effort to standardize a subset of the popular 16-bit Windows API's.<ref name="SunFlash">{{cite web
| url = http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux/msg/0a7c3867abdb4a76
| title = SunFLASH Vol 53: Sun Introduces Wabi - Allows MS-Windows Apps To Run Under UNIX
| month = May
| year = 1993
| publisher = [[Sun Microsystems|SunFlash (Newsletter)]]
}}</ref> They proposed PWI to various companies and organizations including [[X/Open]], [[IEEE]] and [[Unix International]].<ref>{{cite journal
| author = Cheryl Gerber
| date = May 10, 1993
| title = Sun unveils Windows for RISC plans
| journal = [[InfoWorld]]
| page = 8
| publisher = InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.
}}</ref> The previous day, Microsoft had announced [[SoftPC]] a Windows to Unix product created by [[Insignia Solutions]] as part of a program where Microsoft licensed their Windows source code to select third-parties, which in the following year became known as [[Windows Interface Source Environment]] (WISE). Later that month Microsoft also announced [[Windows NT]], a version of Windows designed to run on Workstations and Servers.<ref>{{cite journal
| author = Bob Metcalfe
| date = June 7, 1993
| title = Is OS cross-dressing too good to be true?
| journal = [[InfoWorld]]
| page = 52
| publisher = InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.
}}</ref>


By the end of 1990, [[Windows 3.0]] was the top-selling software. The various graphical Windows applications had already started to reduce training time and enhance productivity on personal computers. At the same time, various Unix and Unix-based operating systems dominated technical workstations and departmental servers. The idea of a consistent application environment across heterogeneous environments was compelling to both enterprise customers and software developers.
===ECMA gets involved===
In February 1994 the PWI Specification Committee sent a draft specification to [[X/Open]] --who rejected it in March, after being threatened by Microsoft's assertion of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) over the Windows APIs<ref>{{cite web
| title = X/OPEN NOT TO TAKE MANAGEMENT OF THE PUBLIC WINDOWS INITIATIVE
| date = March 30, 1994
| publisher = Computer Business Review
}}</ref>-- and the [[Ecma International|European Computer Manufacturers' Association]] (ECMA) . In September, now part of a ECMA delegation, they made a informational presentation about the project at the ISO SC22 plenary meeting in the The Hague, Netherlands.<ref name="Farnum">{{cite journal
| author = Rob Farnum
| year = 1996
| month = June
| title = Applications Programming Interface for Windows: A Timely Standard
| journal = StandardView
| volume = 4
| number = 2
| pages = 100-102
}}</ref> Their goal was to make it a [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] standard in order to force Microsoft to comply with it (in Windows) or risk not being able sell to European or Asian governments who can only buy ISO standards compliant products.<ref>{{cite journal
| author = Martin LanMonica
| date = December 18, 1995
| title = Group back Windows spec
| journal = [[InfoWorld]]
| page = 16
| publisher = InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.
}}</ref>


On May 5, 1993, [[Sun Microsystems]] announced [[Windows Application Binary Interface]] (WABI), a product to run Windows software on Unix, and the Public Windows Interface (PWI) initiative, an effort to standardize a subset of the popular 16-bit Windows APIs.<ref name="SunFlash">{{cite web | url = https://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux/msg/0a7c3867abdb4a76 | title = SunFLASH Vol 53: Sun Introduces Wabi - Allows MS-Windows Apps To Run Under UNIX | date=May 1993 | publisher = [[Sun Microsystems|SunFlash (Newsletter)]] }}</ref> The PWI consortium's aims were stated as turning the proprietary Windows API into an "open, publicly available specification" and for the evolution of this specification to be the responsibility of "a neutral body". The consortium, counting Sun, IBM, Hewlett Packard and Novell among its members,<ref name="pcw199405_pwi">{{ cite magazine | title=Opening Windows | magazine=Personal Computer World | date=May 1994 | last1=Lawrence | first1=Nick | pages=260 }}</ref> proposed PWI to various companies and organizations including [[X/Open]], [[IEEE]] and [[Unix International]].<ref>{{cite journal | author = Cheryl Gerber | date = May 10, 1993 | title = Sun unveils Windows for RISC plans | journal = [[InfoWorld]] | page = 8 | publisher = InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. }}</ref> The previous day, Microsoft had announced [[SoftPC]], a Windows to Unix product created by [[Insignia Solutions]] as part of a program where Microsoft licensed their Windows source code to select third parties, which in the following year became known as [[Windows Interface Source Environment]] (WISE). Later that month, Microsoft also announced [[Windows NT]], a version of Windows designed to run on workstations and servers.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Bob Metcalfe | date = June 7, 1993 | title = Is OS cross-dressing too good to be true? | journal = [[InfoWorld]] | page = 52 | publisher = InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. }}</ref>
In April 1995, [[Willows Software, Inc.]] (formally Multiport, Inc.<ref>{{cite web
| title = CORSAIR EFFORT TO BECOME INTERNET OPERATING SYSTEM
| date = March 17, 1995
| publisher = Computer Business Review
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.computerwoche.de/heftarchiv/1995/26/1115269/
| title = Corsair Desktop mit Linux-Kern
| trans_title = Corsair Desktop Linux kernel
| date = June 30, 1995
| publisher = [[Computerwoche]]
}}</ref>) a company that had been working on Windows to Unix technologies (inherited from then defunct [[Hunter Systems, Inc.]]<ref>{{cite web
| title = HUNTER'S PERSONAL COMPUTER APPLICATIONS UNDER UNIX TECHNOLOGY RE-EMERGES AT MULTIPORT
| date = July 8, 1993
| publisher = Computer Business Review
}}</ref>) since early 1993, joined the ad hoc ECMA group. This group became Technical Committee 37 in August. (About the time [[Windows 95]] was released) Willows vowed to finish the standard by mid October. On October 1995 the draft specification was completed under the name Application Programming Interface for Windows (APIW). This was accepted as ECMA-234 in December and was put on the fast-track program to become a ISO standard.<ref name="Farnum"/>


== ECMA involvement {{anchor|Willows|TWIN}} ==
===ISO delays the standard===
<!-- should be expanded in a separate article on Willows Software at a later stage -->
Again, Microsoft claimed intellectual property over Windows API's and ISO put the standard on hold pending proof of their claims. The delay lasted until November 1997, when hearing no response from Microsoft, ISO announced they were pushing through with the standard.<ref name="Cargill">{{cite journal

| author = Carl Cargill
In February 1994, the PWI Specification Committee sent a draft specification to [[X/Open]]—who rejected it in March, after being threatened by Microsoft's assertion of intellectual property rights (IPR) over the Windows APIs<ref>{{cite web | title = X/OPEN NOT TO TAKE MANAGEMENT OF THE PUBLIC WINDOWS INITIATIVE | date = March 30, 1994 | publisher = Computer Business Review }}</ref>—and the [[Ecma International|European Computer Manufacturers' Association]] (ECMA). In September, now part of an ECMA delegation, they made an informational presentation about the project at the ISO SC22 plenary meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.<ref name="Farnum">{{cite journal | author = Rob Farnum | date=June 1996 | title = Applications Programming Interface for Windows: A Timely Standard | journal = StandardView | volume = 4 | number = 2 | pages = 100–102 | doi=10.1145/234999.235003 | s2cid=776348 | doi-access= free }}</ref> Their goal was to make it an [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] standard in order to force Microsoft to comply with it (in Windows) or risk not being able sell to European or Asian governments who can only buy ISO standards-compliant products.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Martin LanMonica | date = December 18, 1995 | title = Group back Windows spec | journal = [[InfoWorld]] | page = 16 | publisher = InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. }}</ref>
| year = 1997

| month = December
In April 1995, [[Willows Software, Inc.]] (formerly [[Multiport, Inc.]]<ref>{{cite web | title = CORSAIR EFFORT TO BECOME INTERNET OPERATING SYSTEM | date = March 17, 1995 | publisher = Computer Business Review }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.computerwoche.de/heftarchiv/1995/26/1115269/ | title=Corsair Desktop mit Linux-Kern | trans-title=Corsair Desktop Linux kernel | date=June 30, 1995 | publisher=[[Computerwoche]] | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323153822/http://www.computerwoche.de/heftarchiv/1995/26/1115269/ | archivedate=March 23, 2012 }}</ref>) a Saratoga, California-based [[Canopy Group|Canopy]]-funded company, that had been working on Windows to Unix technologies (inherited from then defunct [[Hunter Systems, Inc.]]<ref>{{cite web | title = HUNTER'S PERSONAL COMPUTER APPLICATIONS UNDER UNIX TECHNOLOGY RE-EMERGES AT MULTIPORT | date = July 8, 1993 | publisher = Computer Business Review }}</ref>) since early 1993, joined the ''ad hoc'' ECMA group. This group became Technical Committee 37 in August (about the time [[Windows 95]] was released). Willows vowed to complete a full draft specification by the end of the year. In October, the draft specification was completed under the name Application Programming Interface for Windows (APIW). This was accepted as ECMA-234 in December and was put on the fast-track program to become an ISO standard.<ref name="Farnum"/>
| title = Section 2. Sun and Standardization Wars

| journal = StandardView
== ISO delay ==
| volume = 5

| number = 4
Again, Microsoft claimed intellectual property over Windows APIs and ISO put the standard on hold pending proof of their claims. The delay lasted until November 1997, when, hearing no response from Microsoft, ISO announced they were pushing through with the standard.<ref name="Cargill">{{cite journal | author = Carl Cargill | date=December 1997 | title = Section 2. Sun and Standardization Wars | journal = StandardView | volume = 5 | number = 4 | pages = 133–135 | doi=10.1145/274348.274350 | s2cid=35428635 }}</ref> However, there is no record of it ever being approved as an ISO standard.
| pages = 133-135

}}</ref> However, there is no record of it ever being approved as a ISO standard.
== See also ==

* {{anl|Willows Toolkit for UNIX}}
* {{anl|Willows RT for Embedded Systems}}
* {{anl|Novell Corsair}}
* {{anl|Caldera Network Desktop}}


== References ==
== References ==

{{Reflist}}
{{refs}}

{{Ecma International Standards}}


[[Category:Ecma standards]]
[[Category:Ecma standards]]
[[Category:ISO standards]]
[[Category:ISO standards]]
[[Category:Microsoft Windows]]
[[Category:Windows components]]
[[Category:Application programming interfaces]]
[[Category:Application programming interfaces]]

Latest revision as of 12:40, 10 May 2024

The Application Programming Interface for Windows (APIW) Standard is a specification of the Microsoft Windows 3.1 API drafted by Willows Software. It is the successor to previously proposed Public Windows Interface standard. It was created in an attempt to establish a vendor-neutral, platform-independent, open standard of the 16-bit Windows API not controlled by Microsoft.[1]

Creation [edit]

By the end of 1990, Windows 3.0 was the top-selling software. The various graphical Windows applications had already started to reduce training time and enhance productivity on personal computers. At the same time, various Unix and Unix-based operating systems dominated technical workstations and departmental servers. The idea of a consistent application environment across heterogeneous environments was compelling to both enterprise customers and software developers.

On May 5, 1993, Sun Microsystems announced Windows Application Binary Interface (WABI), a product to run Windows software on Unix, and the Public Windows Interface (PWI) initiative, an effort to standardize a subset of the popular 16-bit Windows APIs.[2] The PWI consortium's aims were stated as turning the proprietary Windows API into an "open, publicly available specification" and for the evolution of this specification to be the responsibility of "a neutral body". The consortium, counting Sun, IBM, Hewlett Packard and Novell among its members,[3] proposed PWI to various companies and organizations including X/Open, IEEE and Unix International.[4] The previous day, Microsoft had announced SoftPC, a Windows to Unix product created by Insignia Solutions as part of a program where Microsoft licensed their Windows source code to select third parties, which in the following year became known as Windows Interface Source Environment (WISE). Later that month, Microsoft also announced Windows NT, a version of Windows designed to run on workstations and servers.[5]

ECMA involvement [edit]

In February 1994, the PWI Specification Committee sent a draft specification to X/Open—who rejected it in March, after being threatened by Microsoft's assertion of intellectual property rights (IPR) over the Windows APIs[6]—and the European Computer Manufacturers' Association (ECMA). In September, now part of an ECMA delegation, they made an informational presentation about the project at the ISO SC22 plenary meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.[7] Their goal was to make it an ISO standard in order to force Microsoft to comply with it (in Windows) or risk not being able sell to European or Asian governments who can only buy ISO standards-compliant products.[8]

In April 1995, Willows Software, Inc. (formerly Multiport, Inc.[9][10]) a Saratoga, California-based Canopy-funded company, that had been working on Windows to Unix technologies (inherited from then defunct Hunter Systems, Inc.[11]) since early 1993, joined the ad hoc ECMA group. This group became Technical Committee 37 in August (about the time Windows 95 was released). Willows vowed to complete a full draft specification by the end of the year. In October, the draft specification was completed under the name Application Programming Interface for Windows (APIW). This was accepted as ECMA-234 in December and was put on the fast-track program to become an ISO standard.[7]

ISO delay[edit]

Again, Microsoft claimed intellectual property over Windows APIs and ISO put the standard on hold pending proof of their claims. The delay lasted until November 1997, when, hearing no response from Microsoft, ISO announced they were pushing through with the standard.[12] However, there is no record of it ever being approved as an ISO standard.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Standard ECMA-234" (PDF). Ecma International. December 1995.
  2. ^ "SunFLASH Vol 53: Sun Introduces Wabi - Allows MS-Windows Apps To Run Under UNIX". SunFlash (Newsletter). May 1993.
  3. ^ Lawrence, Nick (May 1994). "Opening Windows". Personal Computer World. p. 260.
  4. ^ Cheryl Gerber (May 10, 1993). "Sun unveils Windows for RISC plans". InfoWorld. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.: 8.
  5. ^ Bob Metcalfe (June 7, 1993). "Is OS cross-dressing too good to be true?". InfoWorld. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.: 52.
  6. ^ "X/OPEN NOT TO TAKE MANAGEMENT OF THE PUBLIC WINDOWS INITIATIVE". Computer Business Review. March 30, 1994. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  7. ^ a b Rob Farnum (June 1996). "Applications Programming Interface for Windows: A Timely Standard". StandardView. 4 (2): 100–102. doi:10.1145/234999.235003. S2CID 776348.
  8. ^ Martin LanMonica (December 18, 1995). "Group back Windows spec". InfoWorld. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.: 16.
  9. ^ "CORSAIR EFFORT TO BECOME INTERNET OPERATING SYSTEM". Computer Business Review. March 17, 1995. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  10. ^ "Corsair Desktop mit Linux-Kern" [Corsair Desktop Linux kernel]. Computerwoche. June 30, 1995. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012.
  11. ^ "HUNTER'S PERSONAL COMPUTER APPLICATIONS UNDER UNIX TECHNOLOGY RE-EMERGES AT MULTIPORT". Computer Business Review. July 8, 1993. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  12. ^ Carl Cargill (December 1997). "Section 2. Sun and Standardization Wars". StandardView. 5 (4): 133–135. doi:10.1145/274348.274350. S2CID 35428635.
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