windows-rs

Pros of rust

• Comprehensive standard library and ecosystem for general-purpose programming
• Cross-platform support for multiple operating systems and architectures
• Extensive documentation and community resources

Cons of rust

• Steeper learning curve, especially for systems programming concepts
• Longer compilation times due to its sophisticated type system and borrow checker
• Larger project scope and complexity, which can be overwhelming for beginners

Code comparison

rust:

fn main() {
    println!("Hello, world!");
    let numbers = vec![1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
    let sum: i32 = numbers.iter().sum();
}

windows-rs:

use windows::Win32::UI::WindowsAndMessaging::*;

fn main() -> windows::Result<()> {
    unsafe { MessageBoxA(None, "Hello, world!", "windows-rs", MB_OK) };
    Ok(())
}

The rust example showcases general-purpose programming with standard library features, while windows-rs demonstrates Windows API integration for native Windows development.

Pros of rust-bindgen

• Generates bindings for a wide variety of C and C++ libraries, not limited to Windows APIs
• Offers more customization options for fine-tuning generated bindings
• Supports complex C++ features like templates and inheritance

Cons of rust-bindgen

• Requires more setup and configuration for each project
• May generate less idiomatic Rust code compared to hand-crafted bindings
• Can be slower to compile due to the complexity of C++ parsing

Code Comparison

rust-bindgen:

#[derive(Debug)]
struct BindgenOptions {
    header: String,
    clang_args: Vec<String>,
}

let bindings = bindgen::Builder::default()
    .header("header.h")
    .parse_callbacks(Box::new(bindgen::CargoCallbacks))
    .generate()
    .expect("Unable to generate bindings");

windows-rs:

use windows::Win32::UI::WindowsAndMessaging::*;

#[windows::core::implement(IUnknown)]
struct MyClass;

let hwnd = CreateWindowExW(
    WINDOW_EX_STYLE::default(),
    w!("BUTTON"),
    w!("Click me"),
    WINDOW_STYLE::default(),
    0, 0, 100, 100,
    None,
    None,
    None,
    None,
);

The code examples showcase the different approaches: rust-bindgen requires more setup but offers flexibility, while windows-rs provides a more streamlined, Windows-specific API.

Pros of cxx

• More general-purpose, allowing Rust-C++ interop for various projects
• Provides bidirectional FFI, enabling seamless integration between Rust and C++
• Offers automatic generation of idiomatic Rust and C++ code

Cons of cxx

• Requires more setup and configuration for Windows-specific functionality
• May have a steeper learning curve for developers primarily working with Windows APIs
• Less specialized for Windows development compared to windows-rs

Code Comparison

cxx:

#[cxx::bridge]
mod ffi {
    extern "C++" {
        include!("example.h");
        fn do_something(value: i32) -> String;
    }
}

windows-rs:

use windows::Win32::UI::WindowsAndMessaging::*;

let hwnd = unsafe { CreateWindowExA(...) };
unsafe { ShowWindow(hwnd, SW_SHOW) };

Summary

cxx is a versatile tool for Rust-C++ interoperability, offering bidirectional FFI and automatic code generation. It's suitable for various projects but may require more setup for Windows-specific tasks. windows-rs, on the other hand, is tailored for Windows development, providing a more straightforward approach to working with Windows APIs. The choice between the two depends on the project's specific requirements and the developer's familiarity with Windows development.

Pros of winapi-rs

• More mature and stable, with a longer history of use in the Rust ecosystem
• Provides a lower-level, more direct mapping to Windows API functions
• Smaller binary size and potentially faster compile times

Cons of winapi-rs

• Requires more manual memory management and unsafe code
• Less idiomatic Rust API, often requiring more boilerplate
• Slower development pace and less frequent updates

Code Comparison

winapi-rs:

use winapi::um::winuser::{MessageBoxW, MB_OK};
use std::ptr::null_mut;

unsafe {
    MessageBoxW(null_mut(), wide_string!("Hello").as_ptr(), wide_string!("Title").as_ptr(), MB_OK);
}

windows-rs:

use windows::Win32::UI::WindowsAndMessaging::{MessageBoxW, MESSAGEBOX_STYLE};

unsafe {
    MessageBoxW(None, "Hello", "Title", MESSAGEBOX_STYLE::MB_OK);
}

The windows-rs example demonstrates a more Rust-idiomatic approach with better type safety and less manual string conversion. However, winapi-rs provides a closer representation of the underlying Windows API, which may be preferred in certain low-level scenarios.