Functionality unique to Win32 API?

Question

It seems that the Win32 API (the C API for native Windows applications) is becoming more and more overtaken by more modern frameworks and toolkits, including Microsoft's own WPF and Qt.

If the programming language is not a concern -- if you're not set on a managed environment, or a functional programming style, etc. -- does Win32 API bring anything to the table? Is there any functionality that one can implement with Win32 API that's not available with WPF or other frameworks?

I know it's possible to mix Win32 code into WPF/managed software, so one doesn't have to choose one or the other. But what are some examples of needing to break out Win32 API when developing a program in a higher-level language/framework?

Answer 1

Another more specific example is "windows hooks".

I needed to hook some socket programs at some point and the only possible way was windows api.

To elaborate i wanted to receive all communication received on some listening socket on a different one. Doing this requires hooks

Answer 2

Certainly.

All the frameworks are written in terms of the Win32 API. The frameworks cover 80-95% of what programmers need to do, but if you need really low-level control over something, you'll need to drop to the underlying Win32 API. Some examples would be:

1. precise control over text rendering (via DirectWrite),
2. detailed control over speech recognition using SAPI (there are literally dozens of interfaces not exposed through System.Speech),
3. low-level networking code (i.e., anything not HTTP related),
4. Practically anything audio related, if you're interested in performance.

Answer 3

... and don't forget about direct hardware access like "WinUSB" and debugging functionality (writing programs that act as debuggers).