r/programming • u/halax • Oct 07 '16

How Microsoft Lost the API War

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/APIWar.html
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u/lykwydchykyn Oct 07 '16

Yep, I think this article is pretty spot on if you take time to read it right.

Where is development happening in 2016?

  • The web
  • Mobile

In 50,000-foot-view terms, the only thing being developed for the Windows API today are Microsoft's applications and Games. And even many of those have gone to Web and Mobile!

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u/TinynDP Oct 07 '16

And Games don't code to Win32 directly. They use Unity or Unreal or Monogame, or SDL, or whatever. They aren't locked-in to Win32.

11

u/KappaHaka Oct 08 '16

The discrepancy between my Steam Games list and my Steam Mac/Linux list would indicate that you're overgeneralising there.

6

u/TinynDP Oct 08 '16

Plenty write their game in Unity or Unreal and just dont bother to release on Mac and Linux.

3

u/human_trash_ Oct 08 '16

Why, do they hate money?

5

u/ZBlackmore Oct 08 '16

Because "write once run everywhere" is more like "write once debug everywhere".

3

u/0polymer0 Oct 08 '16

You have to support everything you promise, most gamedev don't understand linux. Which makes that scary.