Data and files
This article provides an index of development features that are related to scenarios involving data and files in Windows apps.
Windows App SDK features
The Windows App SDK provides the following features related to data and files scenarios for Windows 10 and later OS releases.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Manage resources with MRT Core | Use the MRT Core APIs in the Microsoft.Windows.ApplicationModel.Resources namespace to manage app resources such as strings and images in multiple languages, scales, and contrast variants independently of your app's logic. MRT Core is a streamlined version of the older resource management APIs in the Windows.ApplicationModel.Resources of the Windows platform. |
Windows OS features
Windows 10 and later OS releases provide a wide variety of APIs related to data and files scenarios for apps. These features are available via a combination of WinRT and Win32 (C++ and COM) APIs provided by the Windows SDK.
WinRT APIs
The following articles provide information about features available via WinRT APIs provided by the Windows SDK.
| Article | Description |
|---|---|
| App resources | Learn how to use the APIs in the Windows.ApplicationModel.Resources namespace and other related namespaces to manage app resources such as strings and images in multiple languages, scales, and contrast variants independently of your app's logic. |
| Data binding | Learn how to bind your app's UI to data and keep the UI in sync with changes to the data. |
| Files, folders, and libraries | Learn how to read and write text and other data formats in files, and to manage files and folders. |
Win32 (C++ and COM) APIs
The following articles provide information about features available via Win32 (C++ and COM) APIs provided by the Windows SDK.
| Article | Description |
|---|---|
| Menus and other resources | Learn how to manage app resources including icons, cursors, menus, dialog boxes, bitmaps, and much more. |
| Data access and storage | Learn about data access and storage scenarios involving file and file system management, database access, and much more. |
.NET features
The .NET SDK also provides APIs related to data and files scenarios for WPF and Windows Forms apps.
| Article | Description |
|---|---|
| Resources in .NET apps | Learn general strategies for managing app resources in .NET apps. |
| Application resource, content, and data files (WPF) | Learn how to manage app resources in WPF apps. |
| Application settings (Windows Forms) | Learn how to create, store, and maintain custom application and user preferences in Windows Forms apps. |
| LINQ | Learn how to use Language-Integrated Query (LINQ) to perform language-level data queries in .NET apps. |
| XML documents and data | Learn how to parse and write XML, edit XML data in memory, validate XML data, and perform XSLT transformations in .NET apps. |
| Entity Framework Core | Learn how to work with databases using Entity Framework Core in .NET apps. |
| Data binding (WPF) | Learn how to bind your WPF app's UI to data and keep the UI in sync with changes to the data. |
| Data binding (Windows Forms) | Learn how to bind your Windows Forms app's UI to data and keep the UI in sync with changes to the data. |
| File and stream I/O | Learn how to read and write on data streams and files in .NET apps, both synchronously and asynchronously. |
Windows developer