Windows® via C/C++, Fifth Edition

Writing Your First Thread Function

Every thread must have an entry-point function where it begins execution. We already discussed this entry-point function for your primary thread: _tmain or _tWinMain. If you want to create a secondary thread in your process, it must also have an entry-point function, which should look something like this:

DWORD WINAPI ThreadFunc(PVOID pvParam){
   DWORD dwResult = 0;
   ...
   return(dwResult);
}

Your thread function can perform any task you want it to. Ultimately, your thread function will come to an end and return. At this point, your thread stops running, the memory for its stack is freed, and the usage count of your thread’s kernel object is decremented. If the usage count becomes 0, the thread kernel object is destroyed. ...