ID Number: Q74656
3.00 3.10
WINDOWS
Summary:
Open Tools is a program that Microsoft started in 1990. The purpose of
the program is to create an environment that allows tool ISVs to
create great Windows development tools. Open Tools is not a product
you can buy; instead, Open Tools is documentation, utilities, and
licenses that make it possible to create development tools for
Windows.
More Information:
The following is a list of the current components of Open Tools and
how to obtain them:
1. Documentation: Through Open Tools, Microsoft is publishing a number
of documents that describe previously undocumented information
applicable to development tools. The following list of documents is
available by contacting Developer Relations at Microsoft.
- Printed documentation on creating Windows-hosted debuggers
- Resource formats, as stored in the EXE file
- EXE file format (more complete than "The MS-DOS Encyclopedia")
- Compiler vendor documentation
- Application startup
- Prolog and epilog
- Object module format
- Library and import library format
- WIN87EM operation
- New symbol and type OMF documentation
- Proposed object mapping documentation
2. Toolhelp library: The APIs provided in this library give
debugger-type applications access to system state information, and
allow easier trapping of events and interrupts. The following is a
feature list of Toolhelp:
- Event trapping (includes segment loaded, application started)
- Interrupt trapping (includes Int 0, Int 1, Int 2, GP fault)
- Class walking
- User/GDI heap information
- Global/Local heap walking
- Module list
- Task list
- Read/Write task memory (code and data)
- Stack walking
- Application termination
- High resolution timer (not affected by VM tasking)
- Hard/soft mode debugging support
Toolhelp will be shipped in the Windows version 3.1 retail product
but will also run under Windows version 3.0. The version 3.1
Software Development Kit (SDK) will contain information about
redistribution. Toolhelp and its API documentation will be shipped
in the version 3.1 prerelease SDK.
3. Tool licenses: Tool vendors may want to redistribute tools
developed by Microsoft. A license agreement has been created that
will allow this. Some components may be redistributed free of
charge and others require a licensing fee. Contact Developer
Relations at Microsoft for licensing information.
Developer Relations can be reached at:
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
(206) 882-8080
FAX: (206) 883-8101