Thread Management

This section details functions related to thread creation, management, and synchronization within the Windows NT subsystem.

CreateThread

HANDLE CreateThread(LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpThreadAttributes, SIZE_T dwStackSize, LPTHREAD_START_ROUTINE lpStartAddress, LPVOID lpParameter, DWORD dwCreationFlags, LPDWORD lpThreadId);

Parameters

  • lpThreadAttributes: Pointer to a SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES structure that specifies the security attributes for the thread.
  • dwStackSize: The initial size, in bytes, of the thread's stack.
  • lpStartAddress: Pointer to the application-defined function to be executed by the thread.
  • lpParameter: Pointer to a variable to be passed to the thread function.
  • dwCreationFlags: Flags that control the creation of the thread.
  • lpThreadId: Pointer to a 32-bit value that receives the thread identifier.

Return Value

If the function succeeds, the return value is a handle to the newly created thread. If the function fails, the return value is NULL.

Remarks

  • Creates a new thread to execute within the address space of the calling process.
  • The thread runs concurrently with all other threads in the process.
  • For more advanced thread management, consider using Thread Pool APIs.

See Also

GetCurrentThreadId

DWORD GetCurrentThreadId(void);

Parameters

None.

Return Value

The return value is the identifier of the calling thread.

Remarks

  • Returns a unique identifier for the calling thread within the system.
  • This identifier is not persistent and can be reused after the thread terminates.

See Also

ExitThread

VOID ExitThread(DWORD dwExitCode);

Parameters

  • dwExitCode: The exit code for the thread.

Return Value

None.

Remarks

  • Terminates the current thread.
  • All resources owned by the thread are released.
  • It is generally recommended to use TerminateThread for more controlled thread termination, but ExitThread is useful for explicit thread cleanup.

See Also

Sleep

VOID Sleep(DWORD dwMilliseconds);

Parameters

  • dwMilliseconds: The number of milliseconds the thread will sleep.

Return Value

None.

Remarks

  • Suspends the current thread for a specified interval in milliseconds.
  • The thread is placed in a wait state until the interval elapses or a completion routine is called.
  • A value of 0 means the thread yields its time slice to any thread of equal or higher priority that is ready to run.

See Also

Thread Pool APIs

Windows provides a Thread Pool API for efficient management of threads. Instead of creating and destroying threads manually for short-lived tasks, you can submit work items to a thread pool, and the system manages the threads for you. This can lead to improved performance and reduced resource overhead.

Key functions include:

  • CreateThreadpool
  • SetThreadpoolThreadMaximum
  • SubmitThreadpoolWork
  • CloseThreadpool

See Also

Process Management

Functions for creating, terminating, and managing processes.

Memory Management

Functions for allocating and managing memory.

Synchronization

Primitives for coordinating access to shared resources between threads.

System Information

Functions to retrieve information about the operating system and hardware.