Multitasking
Multitasking is a key feature of Windows NT. We look closely at two Win32 primitives;
processes and threads. A process is an instance of an executing program. A thread is a
unit of execution within a process.
In this chapter, we look at how to launch, control and close processes and threads from
within an application. We study the operation of the scheduler, and examine the
implications of writing multi-threaded applications.
Objectives
When you have completed this chapter, you should be able to:
- Describe the architecture of Windows 95 multitasking.
- Describe the role of processes and threads.
- Write programs which launch asynchronous processes.
- Create and control multiple threads within a process.
- Explain the operation of the scheduler, and the way that it distributes CPU cycles
amongst threads according to their state and priority.
Use C run-time library support for multi-threaded applications. |
