is there any kind of semaphore for processes in Windows API? I found this one
but it is only for thread as I understood, thanks in advance for any help
Look at the the help for CreateSemaphore() function:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms682438(v=VS.85).aspx
in the Remarks section, starting from "Multiple processes can handles....".
You'll find 3 cases there - all of them useful.
Use CreateSemaphore or CreateSemaphoreEx to create a named semaphore. You can use the name to access the semaphore from other locations by calling CreateSemaphore a second time.
Related
Everybody
First I created Single process.
After creates many threads that belongs to single process.
How to get all thread list that are belongs to single process?
You need to use Tool Help Library. And there are a few examples of how to use it.
Given a thread's thread id, I need to find the pid of the process that owns it. I thought enumerating all threads by toolhelp library and using "th32OwnerProcessID" member of THREADENTRY32 but I'm looking for an easier way (and shorter). I couldn't find a direct api to do this nor could I find an answer in Stack Overflow.Thanks in advance.
You need two WinAPI functions.
Get a handle to the thread using OpenThread, which takes a thread ID as an argument.
Get the Process ID using GetProcessIdOfThread, which takes the handle as an argument.
You will need to read the linked documentation about restrictions on their usage before trying to use them.
I am looking for a simple way to read/write a file asynchronously using Win API. What I had is mind is something like the asynchronous winsock API (WSAxxx) completion routines. However the file API doesn't seem to have those. Are they hidden somewhere?
Waiting on the overlapped events in a seperate thread adds thread management overhead, not to mention there either needs to be a thread-per-file, or the 64 objects problem needs to be faced. Completion ports is an overkill. Reading the file synchronously on a seperate thread is irrelevant.
Any suggestions?
CreateFile and ReadFile/WriteFile functions support so-called 'overlapped' mode which is what you need. There' also ReadFileEx/WriteFileEx that work in async mode only.
In short, you need to open file with FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED flag and pass OVERLAPPED structure (and callback in case of xxxEx operations) to file access functions.
Here's a sample class for using it.
I know that in .net it's possible. What I don't know is to which win32 functions it maps
As soon as you step into the async territory you should forget the word "easiest"
Seriously, the easiest would be to use .NET's System.IO.FileStream with isAsync=true in constructor and BeginRead/EndRead methods.
1.How to understand asynchronous io in Windows??
2.If I write/read something to the file using asynchronous io :
WriteFile();
ReadFile();
WriteFile();
How many threads does the OS generate to accomplish these task?
Do the 3 task run simultaneously and in multi-threading way
or run one after another just with different order?
3.Can I use multithreading and in each thread using a asynchronous io
to read or write the same file？
1.How to understand asynchronous io in Windows??
Read the Win32 documentation. Search on the web. Don't expect an answer to such a large, broad question here in SO.
2.If I write/read something to the file using asynchronous io :
WriteFile();
ReadFile();
WriteFile();
How many threads does the OS generate to accomplish these task?
I don't think it does. It will re-use existing thread contexts to execute kernel function calls. Basically the OS schedules the work and borrows a thread to do it - which is fine, since the kernel context is always the same.
3.Can I use multithreading and in each thread using a asynchronous io to read or write
the same file？
I believe so, yes. I don't know that the order of execution is guaranteed to match the order of submission, in which case you will obtain unpredictable results if you issue concurrent reads/writes on the same byte ranges.
To your questions:
How many threads does the OS generate
to accomplish these task?
Depends if you are using the windows pools, iocp, etc. Generally you decide.
Do the 3 task run simultaneously and
in multi-threading way or run one
after another just with different
order?
This depends on your architecture. On a single-cored machine, the 3 tasks would run one after another and the order would be os decided. On a multi-cored machine these might run together, depending on how the OS scheduled the threads.
3.Can I use multithreading and in each thread using a asynchronous io to read
or write the same file？
That is out of my knowledge so someone else would need to answer that one.
I suggest getting a copy of Windows via C/C++ as that has a very large chapter on Asynchronous IO.
I guess it depends which operating system you are using. But you shouldnt have to worry about this anyhow, it is transparent and should not affect how you write your code.
If you use the standard read and write in windows, you don't have to care that the system may not write it immediately, unless you are writing on the command-line and are waiting for the user to type some input. The OS is responsible for ensuring that what you write will eventually be written to the hard drive, and will do a much better job that you can do anyway.
If you are working on some weird asynchronous io, then please reformat your question.
I suggest looking for Jeffery Richter's books on Win32 programming. They are very well-written guides for just this sort of thing.
I think he has a newer book(s?) on C#, so watch out that you don't buy the wrong one.
I am developing a multi-threaded application in Cocoa. The main thread takes values from the user, and when a button is clicked I invoke a secondary thread in which a long calculation takes place. Now from this thread I have to return the output of every step of the calculation to the main thread. I want to periodically send data from one thread to the other. I can't find any simple example that does this. Any ideas?
There are a number of ways to do this, in rough order of complexity (easiest first):
use NSObject's performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: which is pretty self explanatory.
use performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:, which will let you go the other way
use an NSNotification (and NSDistributedNotificationCenter), though you can easily run into a race condition if you're not careful
Use NSPorts to send data back and forth
Check out the doc that Abizer mentioned for details on all of these.
performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: is often the easiest way to update the UI with a background thread's progress. You could also create your own storage area that's safe to access between threads using NSLock or a similar mechanism, or even use distributed objects (which also works between processes or over a network).
Then there's NSOperationQueue and NSOperation which does help a lot to simplify multi-threaded programming, although a lot of programmers have been avoiding it since it can cause a crash in certain circumstances under Leopard.
Have a look at the Apple docs for this.
You may need to create an ADC member account, but this is free
Multi-threaded Cocoa Programs