Advanced Win32 Programming - Files, Threads, and Process Synchronization (Paperback)

The Windows Applications Programming Interface (API) has evolved into a behemoth of hundreds of functions that span various operating systems. Pat Villani has used dissemblers to trace systems calls down into the kernels of each Windows system. He compares the implementation of the API in Windows 9X, Windows NT and Windows 2000, and then shows how to design applications for each system, and applications that must run on both systems. Key file formats are explained to show how file sections relate to memory management. Intel versions of the operating systems are detailed, to show how virtual memory is managed, then the RISC version of NT is compared to the Intel version. Processes, threads and methods for synchronizing concurrent tasks such as semaphores and mutexes are detailed, along with potential pitfalls and how to avoid them. Methods for interprocess communications are explained using common memory under synchronization control, or using shared memory and pipes for concurrent control techniques.