Windows NT/2000 Native API Reference (Circle)

Description

Review Underneath the hood, how does Windows 2000 really work? Windows NT/2000 Native API Reference provides a thorough listing of all available internal or "native" API calls, many of them undocumented. For any advanced C/C++ programmer who writes Win32 device drivers or system utilities, this book will be an indispensable resource to some truly impossible-to-find information.The book first explains what native APIs are and what they are good for. Native APIs (which all begin with the "Nt" or "Zw" prefixes) run closer to the operating system (in kernel mode) so they are perfect for those who write device drivers, debuggers, profilers or other system utilities.This book lists several hundred native APIs, the C structures they use, and the Win32 calls that invoke them. As a reference, this text is a model of clarity, with each function clearly documented and explained. APIs are grouped by functionality, from finding system information, to processes and threads, to memory management, file I/O and other categories. One standout here is the author's sample code to poll the system for low-level information, which mimics developer utilities that let you view process and thread information. Other short examples include techniques for accessing debugging, profiling and exception information.For programmer's who write device-drivers, this title also includes the plug-and-play and power management APIs used by today's Windows. Interesting appendices include a guide to the way the Win32 NTFS file system organises data on disks, along with sample code to access--and even decompress--this information.Whether you want to write device drivers or system utilities, or just want to learn more about the operating system, this in-depth title takes the cover off Windows 2000 and looks inside with a comprehensive guide to its internal functions. --Richard Dragan, .comTopics covered: Native API overview, native API vs. Win32 API, system information and control, APIs for objects, object directories and symbolic links, virtual memory, sections for memory-mapped files, threads, processes, building ToolHelp utilities with native APIs, Windows 2000 API for jobs, tokens, working with synchronisation objects, execution profiling, ports and local procedure calls (LPCs), debugging support with LPCs, opening, reading and writing files, NTFS disk structures, registry keys, security and auditing, plug-and-play and power management, miscellaneous native APIs, exception and debugging. Synopsis For courses in Windows NT and Windows 2000 Programming. A must have resource for any programming student developing application for the Windows platform. The Windows NT/2000 Native API Reference provides the first comprehensive look at the undocumented services that are part of the native API set. A unique tool for software developers, this reference includes documentation of more than 200 routines included in the native API; detailed description of routines that are either not directly accessible via the Win32 API, or that offer substantial additional functionality; example library routines and utility programs demonstrating the functionality of particular routines; and coverage of kernel architecture supporting the debugging of user mode applications. See all Product description