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UID title description helpviewer_keywords old-location tech.root ms.assetid ms.date ms.keywords req.header req.include-header req.target-type req.target-min-winverclnt req.target-min-winversvr req.kmdf-ver req.umdf-ver req.ddi-compliance req.unicode-ansi req.idl req.max-support req.namespace req.assembly req.type-library req.lib req.dll req.irql targetos req.typenames req.redist ms.custom f1_keywords dev_langs topic_type api_type api_location api_name
NF:winbase.CreateSemaphoreExA
CreateSemaphoreExA function (winbase.h)
Creates or opens a named or unnamed semaphore object and returns a handle to the object. (CreateSemaphoreExA)
CreateSemaphoreExA
CreateSemaphoreExA function
CreateSemaphoreExW
base.createsemaphoreexa
winbase/CreateSemaphoreExA
winbase/CreateSemaphoreExW
base\createsemaphoreexa.htm
backup
C66C9236-229F-4EBB-83F1-4BCB1957FF76
12/05/2018
CreateSemaphoreExA, CreateSemaphoreExA function, CreateSemaphoreExW, base.createsemaphoreexa, winbase/CreateSemaphoreExA, winbase/CreateSemaphoreExW
winbase.h
Windows.h
Windows
Windows Vista [desktop apps \| UWP apps]
Windows Server 2008 [desktop apps \| UWP apps]
CreateSemaphoreExW (Unicode) and CreateSemaphoreExA (ANSI)
Kernel32.lib
Kernel32.dll
Windows
19H1
CreateSemaphoreExA
winbase/CreateSemaphoreExA
c++
APIRef
kbSyntax
DllExport
Kernel32.dll
API-MS-Win-Core-Synch-l1-1-0.dll
KernelBase.dll
API-MS-Win-Core-Synch-l1-2-0.dll
API-MS-Win-Core-Synch-l1-2-1.dll
API-MS-Win-DownLevel-Kernel32-l1-1-0.dll
MinKernelBase.dll
API-MS-Win-Core-Synch-Ansi-L1-1-0.dll
Kernel32Legacy.dll
CreateSemaphoreExA
CreateSemaphoreExA
CreateSemaphoreExW

CreateSemaphoreExA function

-description

Creates or opens a named or unnamed semaphore object and returns a handle to the object.

-parameters

-param lpSemaphoreAttributes [in, optional]

A pointer to a SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES structure. If this parameter is NULL, the semaphore handle cannot be inherited by child processes.

The lpSecurityDescriptor member of the structure specifies a security descriptor for the new semaphore. If this parameter is NULL, the semaphore gets a default security descriptor. The ACLs in the default security descriptor for a semaphore come from the primary or impersonation token of the creator.

-param lInitialCount [in]

The initial count for the semaphore object. This value must be greater than or equal to zero and less than or equal to lMaximumCount. The state of a semaphore is signaled when its count is greater than zero and nonsignaled when it is zero. The count is decreased by one whenever a wait function releases a thread that was waiting for the semaphore. The count is increased by a specified amount by calling the ReleaseSemaphore function.

-param lMaximumCount [in]

The maximum count for the semaphore object. This value must be greater than zero.

-param lpName [in, optional]

A pointer to a null-terminated string specifying the name of the semaphore object. The name is limited to MAX_PATH characters. Name comparison is case sensitive.

If lpName matches the name of an existing named semaphore object, the lInitialCount and lMaximumCount parameters are ignored because they have already been set by the creating process. If the lpSemaphoreAttributes parameter is not NULL, it determines whether the handle can be inherited.

If lpName is NULL, the semaphore object is created without a name.

If lpName matches the name of an existing event, mutex, waitable timer, job, or file-mapping object, the function fails and the GetLastError function returns ERROR_INVALID_HANDLE. This occurs because these objects share the same namespace.

The name can have a "Global" or "Local" prefix to explicitly create the object in the global or session namespace. The remainder of the name can contain any character except the backslash character (\). For more information, see Kernel Object Namespaces. Fast user switching is implemented using Terminal Services sessions. Kernel object names must follow the guidelines outlined for Terminal Services so that applications can support multiple users.

The object can be created in a private namespace. For more information, see Object Namespaces.

-param dwFlags

This parameter is reserved and must be 0.

-param dwDesiredAccess [in]

The access mask for the semaphore object. For a list of access rights, see Synchronization Object Security and Access Rights.

-returns

If the function succeeds, the return value is a handle to the semaphore object. If the named semaphore object existed before the function call, the function returns a handle to the existing object and GetLastError returns ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS.

If the function fails, the return value is NULL. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.

-remarks

The state of a semaphore object is signaled when its count is greater than zero, and nonsignaled when its count is equal to zero. The lInitialCount parameter specifies the initial count. The count can never be less than zero or greater than the value specified in the lMaximumCount parameter.

Any thread of the calling process can specify the semaphore-object handle in a call to one of the wait functions. The single-object wait functions return when the state of the specified object is signaled. The multiple-object wait functions can be instructed to return either when any one or when all of the specified objects are signaled. When a wait function returns, the waiting thread is released to continue its execution. Each time a thread completes a wait for a semaphore object, the count of the semaphore object is decremented by one. When the thread has finished, it calls the ReleaseSemaphore function, which increments the count of the semaphore object.

Multiple processes can have handles of the same semaphore object, enabling use of the object for interprocess synchronization. The following object-sharing mechanisms are available:

  • A child process created by the CreateProcess function can inherit a handle to a semaphore object if the lpSemaphoreAttributes parameter of CreateSemaphoreEx enabled inheritance.
  • A process can specify the semaphore-object handle in a call to the DuplicateHandle function to create a duplicate handle that can be used by another process.
  • A process can specify the name of a semaphore object in a call to the [OpenSemaphore](../synchapi/nf-synchapi-signalobjectandwait.md) or CreateSemaphoreEx function.
Use the CloseHandle function to close the handle. The system closes the handle automatically when the process terminates. The semaphore object is destroyed when its last handle has been closed.

-see-also

CloseHandle

Semaphore Objects

Synchronization Functions