Windows System Programming Third Edition

174

CHAPTER 6 PROCESS MANAGEMENT

is any combination of two flags.

•

causes the source handle to be closed.

•

causes to be ignored.

Reminder: The Windows kernel maintains a reference count for all objects;

this count represents the number of distinct handles referring to the object. This

count is not available to the application program, however. An object cannot be

destroy ed until the last handle is closed and the reference count becomes zero.

Inherited and duplicate ha

ndles are both di stinct from the original handles and

are represented in the reference count. Program 6–1, later in the cha pter, uses

inheritable handles. On the other hand, a h