[Andres]

for example, if i want to use this code to open a serial port, which libraries do i use?

using namespace std;

int main()
{
HANDLE hComm;
hComm = CreateFile( gszPort,  
                    GENERIC_READ | GENERIC_WRITE, 
                    0, 
                    0, 
                    OPEN_EXISTING,
                    FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED,
                    0);
if (hComm == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
   // error opening port; abort
}