Win16 API

E193831

Windows API family application programming interface

Win16 API is the 16-bit Windows application programming interface used by early versions of Microsoft Windows (such as Windows 3.x) for software development before the transition to 32-bit systems.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Win16	1
Win16 API canonical	1
Windows 16-bit API	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1719436 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Win16 API
Context triple: [Win32 API, predecessor, Win16 API]

A. Win32 API
Win32 API is Microsoft's core programming interface for developing native desktop applications that interact directly with the Windows operating system.
B. Windows 9x
Windows 9x is a family of consumer-oriented Microsoft operating systems based on the Windows 95 codebase, designed for home and small office PCs in the mid-to-late 1990s.
C. Windows 1.0
Windows 1.0 is the first graphical operating environment released by Microsoft for IBM-compatible PCs, introducing a window-based interface on top of MS-DOS.
D. WinRT
WinRT (Windows Runtime) is Microsoft’s modern application platform and API surface that underpins Windows Store and Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps, enabling language projections across multiple programming languages.
E. OS/2
OS/2 is a 32-bit multitasking operating system originally developed by IBM and Microsoft as a successor to MS-DOS, known for its stability and use in business environments in the late 1980s and 1990s.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Win16 API
Target entity description: Win16 API is the 16-bit Windows application programming interface used by early versions of Microsoft Windows (such as Windows 3.x) for software development before the transition to 32-bit systems.

A. Win32 API
Win32 API is Microsoft's core programming interface for developing native desktop applications that interact directly with the Windows operating system.
B. Windows 9x
Windows 9x is a family of consumer-oriented Microsoft operating systems based on the Windows 95 codebase, designed for home and small office PCs in the mid-to-late 1990s.
C. Windows 1.0
Windows 1.0 is the first graphical operating environment released by Microsoft for IBM-compatible PCs, introducing a window-based interface on top of MS-DOS.
D. WinRT
WinRT (Windows Runtime) is Microsoft’s modern application platform and API surface that underpins Windows Store and Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps, enabling language projections across multiple programming languages.
E. OS/2
OS/2 is a 32-bit multitasking operating system originally developed by IBM and Microsoft as a successor to MS-DOS, known for its stability and use in business environments in the late 1980s and 1990s.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (52)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Windows API family ⓘ application programming interface ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	16-bit Windows API ⓘ Windows 16-bit API ⓘ linked to: Win16 API
architecture	16-bit ⓘ
backwardCompatibility	partially compatible with Win32 API via thunking ⓘ
callingConvention	Pascal calling convention ⓘ linked to: Pascal
developedBy	Microsoft ⓘ
documentation	Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit ⓘ linked to: Windows SDK
influenced	design of Win32 API ⓘ
introduced	mid-1980s ⓘ
keyComponent	GDI.EXE ⓘ linked to: Gdi32 KERNEL.EXE ⓘ USER.EXE ⓘ
memoryModel	segmented memory model ⓘ
partOf	Microsoft Windows ⓘ linked to: Windows
predecessor	MS-DOS API ⓘ linked to: MS-DOS
primaryLanguage	C ⓘ
provides	GDI graphics functions ⓘ file system access ⓘ graphical user interface functions ⓘ memory management functions ⓘ message handling functions ⓘ multimedia support ⓘ resource management ⓘ timer services ⓘ user input handling ⓘ window management functions ⓘ
status	legacy ⓘ
successor	.NET Framework class library ⓘ linked to: .NET Base Class Library Win32 API ⓘ Windows Runtime API ⓘ linked to: WinRT
supportsLanguageBinding	C ⓘ C++ ⓘ Delphi ⓘ linked to: Delphi (programming language) Pascal ⓘ Visual Basic ⓘ
supportsMultitaskingModel	cooperative multitasking ⓘ
targetPlatform	Intel x86 protected mode ⓘ Intel x86 real mode ⓘ
threadingModel	single-threaded per process ⓘ
usedFor	development of 16-bit Windows applications ⓘ
usedInOperatingSystem	Microsoft Windows 1.x ⓘ linked to: Windows 1.0 Microsoft Windows 2.x ⓘ linked to: Windows 2.0 Microsoft Windows 3.0 ⓘ linked to: Windows 3.x Microsoft Windows 3.1 ⓘ linked to: Windows 3.x Microsoft Windows 3.11 ⓘ linked to: Windows 3.x Microsoft Windows 95 ⓘ linked to: Windows 95 Microsoft Windows 98 ⓘ linked to: Windows 98 Microsoft Windows Me ⓘ linked to: Windows ME Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.1 ⓘ linked to: Windows for Workgroups Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11 ⓘ linked to: Windows for Workgroups

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Win32 API → predecessor → Win16 API ⓘ

Win16 API → alsoKnownAs → Windows 16-bit API ⓘ

linked to: Win16 API

Installable Compression Manager → targetPlatform → Win16 ⓘ