Which language was used to create Windows 8? [closed]

So I was wandering which language was used to produce this new appearance: C++ or C#?

Is there a WPF running on that UI?

2 Answers 2

Windows is written in C, C++, and some hand-tuned Assembly. For reasons why it is not written in .NET, see this question.

It is not clear which of those languages was used to develop the latest eye candy in Windows 8.

I can’t really say for sure, since I’m not a member of the development team, but it’s almost certainly written in C++. And, then, since it’s not a ground-up rewrite, there’s bound to be a bunch of C and assembly code along for the ride, as well. Both legacy code that remains for backwards compatibility as well as important, functioning code like the bootstrapping sequences.

As for how they’ve implemented the fancy UI effects, their mere existence doesn’t imply that a certain UI framework is in use. Anything that you can do in WPF can be done on a more direct level from C++ code. In fact, it must be possible to do such, as WPF is merely calling platform APIs under the hood, like DirectDraw, etc. to do all the work. Of course, it goes without saying that it’s far easier to use a wrapper library like WPF, but it’s not strictly necessary. And there are plenty of reasons that Windows can’t move over to the world of managed code, at least not just yet or any time in the realistic future.

The Windows Shell team has long been known to use their own proprietary controls with the class name DIRECTUIHWND . Many a programmer has examined the OS widgets with a tool like Spy++ to find the answer to «how did they do that?» and reached the same conclusion. My guess is that they’re using the same toolset, extended for some of the new whizbang features. They’re keeping it all internal, of course. Once you expose an API for other developers to use, you effectively lose ownership of it because you’re bound by the API contract to ensure that it continues to work on all future versions. Radical changes like the ones you’re seeing in Windows 8 would be far more difficult if they had to ensure backwards compatibility with the internal UI components of the shell used to implement these features.

How To Set Language On A Per-App Basis In Windows 10

Sep 21, 2017
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Windows has supported multiple languages for a long time. Long before Windows 7, users could add multiple languages and easily switch between them. Switching between a language, or toggling between languages if you have more than 2 configured is pretty easy. You can use the Left Alt + Shift keyboard shortcut to change languages on the fly. By default, Windows will stick to one language for all apps unless you change them. What few people know is that you can set language on a per-app basis in Windows as well.

When you set language on a per-app basis in Windows, it remembers which language you preferred to use in a particular app. For example, if you’re bi-lingual and you type documents in French, but also enter commands in Command Prompt in English, you will need to switch languages often. It’s better that, instead of manually switching languages, Windows remembers which language you type in, in a particular app.

Add Languages

First things first; add a second language to your Windows system. On Windows 10, you can add a second language from the Settings app. Go to the Time & Language group of settings and select the Region & Language tab. Click Add language and select the one you want to add. You may have to restart Windows to complete the process.

Remember Language For Apps

Open the Control Panel. You cannot access it from the Power User menu in Windows 10 but you can use Windows search or just type Control Panel in the address bar in File Explorer to open it.

Go to Clock, Language, and Region and click Language. On the left column, click ‘Advanced Settings’.

On the Advanced Settings screen, scroll down to the ‘Switching input methods’ section and check the ‘Let me set a different input method for each app window’ option.

Setting Language Per App

Open an app that you want to set a different language for. Once you have the app open, switch to the language you want to use. That’s all. You can close the app and open a different one. Again, switch to the language you want to use. The next time you open these apps, Windows will automatically switch to the language you selected the last time you opened it.

For example, open MS Word and switch to French, next open Chrome and switch to English. Close both apps. The next time you open MS Word, the language will automatically change to French. The next time you open Chrome, the language will automatically change to English. You will not have to manually change the languages yourself when switching between apps.

Manage the input and display language settings in Windows 10

To manage all aspects of the input and display language settings on your Windows 10 device, use the following methods.

To switch the keyboard layout you’re using in Windows 10, press and hold the Windows key and then repeatedly press the Spacebar to cycle through all your installed keyboards. (If this doesn’t do anything, it means you have only one installed.)

You can also select the language abbreviation on the far right of the taskbar and then choose the language or input method you want to use.

Note: In the input field, press Windows +period (.) to access the emoji keyboard, if your language supports this.

If you can’t find the keyboard layout you want, you may have to add a new keyboard.

Adding an input language lets you set a language-preference order for websites and apps, as well as change your keyboard language.

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Time & Language > Language.

Under Preferred languages, select the language that contains the keyboard you want, and then select Options.

Select Add a keyboard and choose the keyboard you want to add. If you don’t see the keyboard you want, you may have to add a new language to get additional options. If this is the case, go on to step 4.

Return to the Language settings page, and select Add a language.

Choose the language you want to use from the list, and then select Next.

Review any language features you want to set up or install, and select Install.

The display language you select changes the default language used by Windows features like Settings and File Explorer.

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Time & Language > Language.

Choose a language from the Windows display language menu.

If a language is listed under Preferred languages but doesn’t appear on the Windows display language list, you’ll first need to install its language pack (if it’s available).

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Time & Language > Language.

Choose a language from the Add a language list under Preferred languages, and then select Options.

Select Download from the Download language pack option.

After the language pack is installed, select Back .

Choose a language from the Windows display language menu.

If you receive an «Only one language pack allowed» or «Your Windows license supports only one display language» message, you have a single language edition of Windows 10. Here’s how to check your Windows 10 language edition:

Select the Start button, select Settings > About, and then scroll down to the Windows specification section.

If you see Windows 10 Home Single Language next to Edition, you have a single language edition of Window 10, and you can’t add a new language unless you purchase an upgrade to either Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro.

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Time & Language > Language.

Under Preferred languages, select the language you want to remove, and then click Remove.

To remove an individual keyboard, select the language in question (see step 2), select Options, scroll down to the Keyboards section, select the keyboard you want to remove, and click Remove.

Switch between languages using the Language bar

After you enable the keyboard layout for two or more languages in the Windows operating system, you can use the Language bar to switch between languages that use different keyboard layouts.

Note: If you just want to insert a few symbols or foreign characters, and you only type in languages with a Latin alphabet, such as English or Spanish, you can insert symbols without switching to a different keyboard layout.

For more information about adding additional editing languages and keyboard layouts see Change the language Office uses in its menus and proofing tools.

Using the Language bar to Switch Keyboard Layouts

When you switch a language by using the Language bar, the keyboard layout changes to the keyboard for that language.

Use the Language bar when you:

Want to switch between languages with a Latin alphabet, such as English, Spanish, or French, and a language with a non-Latin alphabet, such as Arabic or Chinese.

Want to switch between languages with a non-Latin alphabet, such as Greek or Russian.

Prefer to use native keyboard layouts when you type in different languages that have a Latin alphabet.

After you have enabled the keyboard language that you want, open your document and place the cursor in the document where you want to start to type text in a different language.

Click the language icon on the Language bar, which should appear on your task bar near where the clock is, and then click the language that you want to use.

Keyboard shortcut: To switch between keyboard layouts, press Alt+Shift.

Note: The icon is just an example; it shows that English is the language of the active keyboard layout. The actual icon shown on your computer depends on the language of the active keyboard layout and version of Windows.

If you have set up more than one keyboard layout for a single language, you can switch between layouts by clicking the keyboard layout icon on the Language bar and then clicking the keyboard layout that you want to use. The name on the indicator changes to reflect the active keyboard layout.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 to switch between different languages.

I don’t see the Language bar

In most cases, the Language bar automatically appears on your desktop or in the taskbar after you enable two or more keyboard layouts in the Windows operating system. You cannot see the Language bar if it is hidden or only one keyboard layout is enabled in the Windows operating system.

If you don’t see the Language bar, do the following to check to see if the Language bar is hidden:

In Windows 10 and Windows 8

Press the Windows logo key and type Control to search for the Control Panel app.

Click Control Panel.

Under Clock, Language, and Region, click Change input methods.

Click Advanced settings.

Under Switching input methods, select the Use the desktop language bar when it’s available check box, and then click Options.

In the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box, click the Language Bar tab, and make sure that either the Floating On Desktop or the Docked in the taskbar option is selected.

Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

Under Clock, Language, and Region, click Change keyboard or other input methods.

In the Region and Language dialog box, click Change keyboards.

In the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box, click the Language Bar tab.

Under Language Bar, check if the Hidden option is selected. If it is, select either Floating on Desktop or Docked in the taskbar.

In Windows Vista

Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

Under Clock, Language, and Regional Options, click Change keyboard or other input methods.

In the Regional and Language Options dialog box, click Change keyboards.

In the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box, click the Language Bar tab.

Under Language Bar, check if the Hidden option is clicked. If it is, click either Floating on Desktop or Docked in the taskbar.

User Interface Language Management

MUI allows your applications to manage user interface languages in two ways. An application can use a simple approach to language management by defaulting to the operating system language settings. Alternatively, the application can support its own languages from which the user can select. The MUI API also allows your application direct access to languages and language lists supported by the operating system and maintained by the resource loader. The remainder of this topic defines the system-supported languages and the language fallback mechanism.

Languages Maintained by the Operating System

System Default UI Language/Install Language

The system default UI language is the language of the localized version used to set up Windows. All menus, dialog boxes, error messages, and help files are represented in this language, except when the user selects a different language.

On WindowsВ Vista and later, the system default UI language is known as the «install language» and plays a more limited role. For most purposes, it is superseded by the system preferred UI languages. However, in certain contexts it is useful to have a single install language that is always known to be fully supported.

No MUI function is available to set the system default UI language. To retrieve this language, the application can call GetSystemDefaultUILanguage.

System UI Language

The operating system defines the system UI language as a user interface language that can be set by an administrator in the Advanced tab of the regional and language options portion of Control Panel. The operating system uses this language if the current user has not made specific language settings or if no active account is logged in. The language can be changed only if more than one user interface language is installed on the computer.

The operating system must be rebooted for all users and services to see the effect of the language change.

No MUI function is available to set the system UI language. To retrieve this value, an application targeted at WindowsВ Vista and later can call GetSystemPreferredUILanguages and obtain the first language in the system preferred UI languages list. Applications targeted at pre-WindowsВ Vista operating systems cannot use GetSystemPreferredUILanguages and should be based on the assumption that the system UI language is always the same as the system default UI language.

User UI Language

The user UI language determines the user interface language used for menus, dialog boxes, help files, and so forth. It can be set by the current user in the Language tab of the regional and language options portion of Control Panel. This language can be changed only if more than one user interface language is installed on the computer. Note that the user will have to log off and then log back on to see the effect. For example, a multinational corporation wants to deploy Windows in all of its subsidiaries. The company creates a global install job, which installs the English language version of Windows on all clients, regardless of location. At the same time, it installs specific language modules depending on the organizational unit of which a computer is a member. When the user logs on the first time to a newly installed operating system, Windows appears as a localized version.

On WindowsВ Vista and later, the user UI language is the first language in the user preferred UI languages list. Note that fallback languages can be used if particular resources are not available in this language.

On pre-WindowsВ Vista operating systems, the user UI language is usually the same as the system default UI language. However, for Windows MUI, the two languages can be different.

To retrieve the user UI language, an application can call GetUserDefaultUILanguage or GetUserPreferredUILanguages. The application cannot change the user UI language, as there is no function to set it.

Language Lists Maintained by the Operating System

System Preferred UI Languages List

The resource loader maintains a system preferred UI languages list. Included in this list are languages preferred by the operating system for its own resources, such as menus and dialogs, messages, INF files, and help files. The list is made up of the system default UI language and the system UI language and their fallbacks. An application can retrieve system preferred UI languages by calling GetSystemPreferredUILanguages.

User Preferred UI Languages List

The resource loader uses a user preferred UI languages list that includes languages that the user prefers. The resource loader uses resources matching languages from this list, if available, for a particular application thread. These languages take precedence over any system preferences. To retrieve user preferred UI languages, your application can call GetUserPreferredUILanguages.

Process Preferred UI Languages List

On WindowsВ Vista and later, the resource loader maintains a process preferred UI languages list consisting of up to five valid languages set by a running process for a MUI application. The languages can be set by the application with a call to SetProcessPreferredUILanguages. The application can retrieve the languages by calling GetProcessPreferredUILanguages.

Thread Preferred UI Languages List

On WindowsВ Vista and later, the resource loader uses a thread preferred UI languages list that consists of up to five valid languages set by a thread in a running process for a MUI application. These languages are used to customize the application user interface languages and make them different from the operating system language. The thread preferred UI languages list is based on the user preferred UI languages, the system preferred UI languages, and the system default UI language.

To set the thread preferred UI languages, the application should call SetThreadPreferredUILanguages. To retrieve these languages, the application calls GetThreadPreferredUILanguages.

Neutral Language Representation

A neutral language is represented as the language alone, without region or locale. For example, the neutral representation of the English (Canada) language, en-CA, is represented as «en». Even though a neutral language is not associated with the aspects of a region or locale, you can associate it with a resource set. Typically, a neutral language resource is based on the use in the most prevalent region for the language.

As an illustration, suppose that your MUI application localizes German language resources for German (Switzerland) represented as de-CH and German (Austria) represented as de-AT, while building a full set of resources for German (Germany) represented as de-DE. You must make decisions for this application considering entire resource files. If the application duplicates the de-DE resources as neutral language resources, it must provide a fallback language for the resource loader. If the loader does not find a particular language-specific resource file for de-CH or for de-AT, it falls back to the language-neutral «de» resources. These resources are most likely more appropriate than resources for a completely different language, for example, English (United States), which are the only other possible fallbacks.

As another example, an application might not localize at all for Belize. However, support of a language preference of English (Belize), represented as en-BZ, allows the application to fall back to «en» resources.

Language Fallback in the Resource Loader

WindowsВ Vista and later arrange user interface language settings in a preordered fallback language list used by the resource loader. To form the list, the operating system combines several languages, in the order shown:

Thread preferred UI languages, consisting of thread user interface language and its neutral form. Examples are fr-FR for French (France) and its neutral form «fr» and es-ES for Spanish (Spain) and its neutral form «es».

Process preferred UI languages, consisting of process user interface language and its neutral form. An example is de-DE for German (Germany) and its neutral form «de».

User UI language and its neutral form. An example is ja-JP for Japanese (Japan) and its neutral form «ja».

System UI language and its neutral form. An example is it-IT for Italian (Italy) and its neutral form «it».

This language is only included in the fallback list when the user UI language is not set.

System default UI language and its neutral form. An example is es-ES for Spanish (Spain) and its neutral form «es».

The following shows the merged fallback list. Note that the duplication of languages, for example, es-ES and es, is eliminated. Since the example sets the user UI language to ja-JP, the system UI language does not appear in the merged fallback list.

fr-FR, fr, es-ES, es, de-DE, de, ja-JP, ja

When loading resources for a MUI application, the resource loader tries to select one of the files matching the thread preferred UI languages list for the currently running application thread. If the resource loader cannot find a direct match between a selected language and the first language-specific resource in the merged fallback list, it checks the subsequent languages in the list until it finds an acceptable fallback.

If the resource loader finds no file that it needs, it must use a «guaranteed good» fallback language. For the MUI resource technology, the resource loader determines the fallback language from the provided resource configuration data. For more information, see MUI Resource Management.