Devices

In this section

Topic	Description
Device Access	The Device Access APIs enable developers to write Windows Store apps for custom devices. The API applies a policy to grant a Windows Store app the appropriate level of access to a device, and if access is granted, provides methods for sending control codes to operate the device.
AllJoyn API	AllJoyn is a DCOM-like framework and protocol for making remotable method calls and/or sending one-way signals between applications on a distributed bus. It is intended to be used primarily for Internet of Things type scenarios.
Point of Service API	The Point of Service API enables application developers to access Point of Service (POS) peripheral devices. The namespace provides a vendor-neutral interface for accessing POS devices from a UWP app.
Communications Resources	A communications resource is a physical or logical device that provides a single bidirectional, asynchronous data stream. Serial ports, parallel ports, fax machines, and modems are examples of communications resources. For each communications resource, there is a service provider, consisting of a library or driver, that enables applications to access the resource.
Device Management	Device management provides a way to uniformly notify all applications and system components of changes that may affect their operation or access to resources. Applications and the system use and process device events to take advantage of new resources when they become available and to prevent loss of data when existing resources become unavailable.
Enhanced Storage	The Enhanced Storage API enables consistent end-to-end authentication for personal storage devices that differ in form factor.
Function Discovery	Function Discovery provides a uniform programmatic interface for enumerating system resources, such as hardware devices, whether they are local or connected through a network.
PnP-X	Plug and Play Extensions (PnP-X) enable a computer system to discover networked devices and to install them on the local system using Plug and Play (PnP).
Location API	The Location API helps to simplify location-aware programming by providing a standard way to retrieve data about user location and standardizing formats for location data reports. The Location API automatically handles transitions between location data providers and always chooses the most accurate provider for the current situation.
Sensor API	The Sensor API enables applications to get and use data from sensors in a standardized way.
UPnP APIs	The UPnP framework enables dynamic networking of intelligent appliances, wireless devices, and PCs.
Web Services on Devices	The Microsoft Web Services on Devices API (WSDAPI) supports the implementation of client-controlled devices and services, and device hosts conforming to the Devices Profile for Web Services (DPWS).
Windows Media Device Manager 11 SDK	Applications or components built on Windows Media Device Manager have a consistent API for communicating with a wide range of devices including Media Transfer Protocol (MTP), Mass Storage Class (MSC), RAPI, and other devices built on both the latest and previous versions of Windows Media technology.
Windows Mixed Reality	Windows Mixed Reality enables the building of mixed reality experience for Microsoft HoloLens and other immersive headsets. For more information, see the Mixed Reality Dev Center.
Windows Portable Devices	Windows Portable Devices (WPD) enables computers to communicate with attached media and storage devices. WPD provides a flexible, robust way for computers to communicate with music players, storage devices, mobile phones, cameras, and many other types of connected devices.