TerminateProcess

This function terminates the specified process and all of its threads.

At a Glance

Syntax

BOOL TerminateProcess(HANDLE hProcess, DWORD uExitCode);

Parameters

hProcess

Handle to the process to terminate.

uExitCode

Specifies the exit code for the process and for all threads terminated as a result of this call. Use the GetExitCodeProcess function to retrieve the process’s exit value. Use the GetExitCodeThread function to retrieve a thread’s exit value.

Return Values

Nonzero indicates success. Zero indicates failure. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.

Remarks

The TerminateProcess function is used to unconditionally cause a process to exit. Use it only in extreme circumstances. The state of global data maintained by dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) may be compromised if TerminateProcess.

TerminateProcess causes all threads within a process to terminate, and causes a process to exit, but DLLs attached to the process are not notified that the process is terminating.

Terminating a process causes the following:

1. All of the object handles opened by the process are closed.
   
   
2. All of the threads in the process terminate their execution.
   
   
3. The state of the process object becomes signaled, satisfying any threads that had been waiting for the process to terminate.
   
   
4. The states of all threads of the process become signaled, satisfying any threads that had been waiting for the threads to terminate.
   
   
5. The termination status of the process changes from STILL_ACTIVE to the exit value of the process.

Terminating a process does not cause child processes to be terminated.

Terminating a process does not necessarily remove the process object from the system. A process object is deleted when the last handle to the process is closed.

For Windows CE version 1.0, the uExitCode parameter is ignored because process exit codes are not supported.