ShimAPI Compatibility Kit
An WinAPI polyfill engine for legacy operating systems
For software developers, game developers, and maintainers of legacy code, ShimAPI provides a powerful solution for bridging the gap between modern software capabilities and older operating systems. This compatibility engine enables you to compile programs using the latest compilers and access new features without sacrificing backward compatibility. It provides polyfills for the many Windows API functions called by the Visual C Runtime startup code which keep programs from running in older systems such as IsDebuggerPresent and IsProcessorFeaturePresent.
Key Features
- Modern Encoding Support: With ShimAPI, you can use UTF-16 and UTF-8 encoding throughout your application, even on non-Unicode-aware operating systems. This opens the door to improved text handling and internationalization, without compatibility concerns.
- Seamless Windows API Emulation: ShimAPI allows you to incorporate new Windows API functions without worrying about runtime availability on legacy systems. If an API like
GetModuleHandleEx(introduced in Windows XP) is called, ShimAPI automatically handles fallback emulation with equivalent functions (GetModuleHandleorLoadLibrary) when needed. No more complicatedGetProcAddresschecks–just code as if the function is universally supported.
- Enhanced Compatibility and Simplified Maintenance: By handling compatibility issues under the hood, ShimAPI allows you to focus on development, reducing time spent on compatibility checks and workarounds. This is especially useful for games and applications that need to support a wide range of Windows versions.
With ShimAPI, applications can tap into the latest API advancements and encoding capabilities, while maintaining reliable functionality on older platforms. This makes ShimAPI an invaluable tool for extending software lifespans, supporting legacy environments, and easing the development of cross-version compatible applications.