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Windows Kernel API Reference

Explore the core functionalities and low-level interfaces provided by the Windows Kernel.

Process and Thread Management

APIs for creating, managing, and synchronizing processes and threads.

  • CreateProcess - Creates a new process and its primary thread.
  • CreateThread - Creates a thread to execute within the virtual address space of the calling process.
  • ExitProcess - Terminates the calling process.
  • ExitThread - Terminates the calling thread.
  • WaitForSingleObject - Waits until the specified object is in the signaled state or the time-out interval elapses.
  • CreateEvent - Creates or opens a named or unnamed event object.

Memory Management

Functions for allocating, manipulating, and querying memory.

  • VirtualAlloc - Reserves or commits a region of pages in the virtual address space of the calling process.
  • VirtualFree - Releases, decommits, or both pages in the specified region of memory.
  • GlobalAlloc - Allocates the specified number of bytes from the heap.
  • LocalAlloc - Allocates the specified number of bytes from the heap.

Synchronization Objects

Tools for coordinating access to shared resources.

  • CreateMutex - Creates or opens a named or unnamed mutex object.
  • ReleaseSemaphore - Increments the count for the specified semaphore object.
  • CreateSemaphore - Creates or opens a named or unnamed semaphore object.

Error Handling

Mechanisms for retrieving detailed error information.

  • GetLastError - Retrieves the last error code set by a system process or function.
It's crucial to call GetLastError immediately after a function returns an error to get the specific error code.

Inter-process Communication (IPC)

APIs for communication between different processes.

  • CreatePipe - Creates an asynchronous pipe.
  • CreateFileMapping - Creates or opens a named or unnamed file mapping object.
  • MapViewOfFile - Maps a view of a file mapping into the address space of the calling process.

System Information

Functions to retrieve information about the operating system and hardware.

  • GetSystemInfo - Retrieves information about the current system.
  • GetVersionEx - Deprecated. Retrieves the Windows operating system version.