Building for OneCore

When you use Visual Studio to build user-mode code for Windows 10, you can customize linker options to target specific versions of Windows. Consider the following factors:

  • Should the built binary run on only the most recent version of Windows? Or should it run on earlier versions, such as Windows 7?

  • Does your project have any UWP dependencies?

For example, when you create a new UMDF v2 driver project, Visual Studio links to OneCoreUAP.lib by default. This results in a binary that runs on the most recent version of Windows, and it permits addition of UWP functionality.

However, depending on your requirements, you might choose instead to link to OneCore.lib. The following table shows the scenarios applicable to each library:

Library Scenario
OneCore.lib All editions of Windows 7 and later, no UWP support
OneCoreUAP.lib Windows 7 and later, UWP editions (Desktop, IoT, HoloLens, but not Nano Server) of Windows 10

Note

To change linker options in Visual Studio, choose project properties and navigate to Linker->Input->Additional Dependencies.

A subset of Windows APIs compile cleanly but return runtime errors on non-Desktop OneCore editions (for example Mobile or IoT).

For example, the InstallApplication function returns ERROR_ NOT_SUPPORTED on non-Desktop OneCore editions. The ApiValidator tool also reports these problems. The next section describes how to fix them.

Fixing ApiValidator errors by using IsApiSetImplemented

If your code calls non-universal APIs, you might see the following ApiValidator errors:

  • Error: <Binary Name> has unsupported API call to <Module Name><Api Name>

    If your app or base driver needs to run on Windows 10 as well as earlier versions of Windows, you must remove API calls in the above category.

  • Error: <Binary Name> has a dependency on <Module Name><Api Name> but is missing: IsApiSetImplemented("<contract-name-for-Module>)

    API calls in the above category compile fine, but may not behave as expected at runtime, depending on the target operating system. To pass the API Layering requirement for Windows Drivers, wrap these calls with IsApiSetImplemented.

This enables you to compile your code with no errors. Then at runtime, if the target machine does not have the needed API, IsApiSetImplemented returns FALSE.

The following code samples illustrate how to do this.

Code sample: Direct usage of API, without evaluating for existence

This code runs fine on versions of Windows earlier than Windows 10, but running it on a OneCore edition of Windows 10 results in WTSEnumerateSessions failure : 78 or ERROR_CALL_NOT_IMPLEMENTED 120 (0x78).

This code sample fails the API Layering requirement of Windows Drivers with the following ApiValidator errors:

ApiValidation: Error: FlexLinkTest.exe has a dependency on 'wtsapi32.dll!WTSEnumerateSessionsW' but is missing: IsApiSetImplemented("ext-ms-win-session-wtsapi32-l1-1-0")
ApiValidation: Error: FlexLinkTest.exe has a dependency on 'wtsapi32.dll!WTSFreeMemory' but is missing: IsApiSetImplemented("ext-ms-win-session-wtsapi32-l1-1-0")
ApiValidation: NOT all binaries are Universal

Here's the code:

#include <windows.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <Wtsapi32.h>

int __cdecl wmain(int /* argc */, PCWSTR /* argv */ [])
{
    PWTS_SESSION_INFO pInfo = {};
    DWORD count = 0;

    if (WTSEnumerateSessionsW(WTS_CURRENT_SERVER_HANDLE, 0, 1, &pInfo, &count))
    {
        wprintf(L"SessionCount = %d\n", count);

        for (ULONG i = 0; i < count; i++)
        {
            PWTS_SESSION_INFO pCurInfo = &pInfo[i];
            wprintf(L"    %s: ID = %d, state = %d\n", pCurInfo->pWinStationName, pCurInfo->SessionId, pCurInfo->State);
        }

        WTSFreeMemory(pInfo);
    }
    else
    {
        wprintf(L"WTSEnumerateSessions failure : %x\n", GetLastError());
    } 

    return 0;
}

Code sample: Direct usage of API, after evaluating for existence

This sample shows how to call IsApiSetImplemented. This sample passes the API Layering requirement of Windows Drivers with the following ApiValidator output:

ApiValidation: All binaries are Universal

Here's the code:

#include <windows.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <Wtsapi32.h>

int __cdecl wmain(int /* argc */, PCWSTR /* argv */ [])
{
    PWTS_SESSION_INFO pInfo = {};
    DWORD count = 0;

    if (!IsApiSetImplemented("ext-ms-win-session-wtsapi32-l1-1-0"))
    {
        wprintf(L"IsApiSetImplemented on ext-ms-win-session-wtsapi32-l1-1-0 returns FALSE\n");
    }
    else
    {
        if (WTSEnumerateSessionsW(WTS_CURRENT_SERVER_HANDLE, 0, 1, &pInfo, &count))
        {
            wprintf(L"SessionCount = %d\n", count);

            for (ULONG i = 0; i < count; i++)
            {
                PWTS_SESSION_INFO pCurInfo = &pInfo[i];
                wprintf(L"    %s: ID = %d, state = %d\n", pCurInfo->pWinStationName, pCurInfo->SessionId, pCurInfo->State);
            }

            WTSFreeMemory(pInfo);
        }
        else
        {
            wprintf(L"WTSEnumerateSessions failure : %x\n", GetLastError());
        }
    }

    return 0;
}
  • Review the linker options above and update your Visual Studio project accordingly.
  • Use the ApiValidator tool in the WDK. This tool runs automatically when you build a driver in Visual Studio.
  • Use runtime testing to verify that your user-mode code runs as you expect on non-Desktop OneCore editions. Note that stubbed APIs may generate different error codes.

See Also