newbie q!

ahh, well i took a look at the code to do a simple thing as create a windows application that shows you the words hello world!

When do you know when you should start taking a look at windows programs?

How long will it take untill you will master the skills to even wright small windows programs?
What skills should you have before you even try?
It just seemed like a lot of things to keep inside your brain.

I know it takes a while but, a year? 2,3,4?
and what is it that keeps you going?

And how do you comme up with ideas about what to do?
tell me about why you are programming!

You should have a strong grasp of the C language prior to attempting to program the windows API. This includes, but not limited to:

basic C logic
variables(types, defining, accessing, passing to functions)
functions(creating, using, calling, defining)
pointers
working with header files
structures (using, creating)
classes(using, creating, deriving from)
C runtime library

That should get you started.

Whoa slow down buddy. It sounds to me like you are ambitious and it may be pretty soon for you so long as your ability to perform matches your will to learn. It does vary depending on how fast you grasp concepts. I started doing windows applications 6 months after I started learning C. I know some people who *gasp* swear by pascal and learned C specifically for doing something with the Win32 API. So I can safely say, timewise, you will be ready to learn it sometime between now and when you die ;)

Seriously though, in programming necessity is the mother of needing to learn something new. So you will know when you are ready because you will need to learn how to do it in order to accomplish a project you are trying to write.

I have been console programming in c++ for almost 2 years. I'm in no rush to get into Windows API. :)

Books say that you should be able to

be familiar with variables
functions
classes
loops
statements
pointers
references

Depends. I've only been using C++ for a few weeks and I've had no problems learning how to do windows programs. In fact, I'm well underway into making my first game in DirectX...

So it varies from person to person. You'll know when you're ready :)

Books might be wrong. Yes, those things are important, but they are the core of programming. And no, for the WinAPI you actually don't need classes or references.

I'd say, above all, be familiar with pointers and dynamic memory. Perhaps with function pointers.