Quickest way to implement a C++ Win32 Splash Screen

Question

What's a simple way to implement a c++ Win32 program to...
- display an 800x600x24 uncompressed bitmap image
- in a window without borders (the only thing visible is the image)
- that closes after ten seconds
- and doesn't use MFC

Answer 1

If you're targeting modern versions of Windows (Windows 2000) and above, you can use the UpdateLayeredWindow function to display any bitmap (including one with an alpha channel, if so desired).

I blogged a four-part series on how to write a C++ Win32 app that does this. If you need to wait for exactly ten seconds to close the splash screen (instead of until the main window is ready), you would need to use Dan Cristoloveanu's suggested technique of a timer that calls DestroyWindow.