Process and Thread Overview

A process consists of an address space, object handles, and one or more paths of execution (threads). Threads are used to perform work. For example, a thread can respond to interrupts and handle asynchronous process-related events in thread context.

RTSS processes and threads function much like their Win32 counterparts. RTSS and Win32 processes and threads can access processes and threads only within their own environment. An RTSS process has no knowledge of the Windows environment, so you must specify full paths when accessing the Window File system.

RTSS maintains its own namespace, separate from the Windows namespace. This means that within a Windows application an object created using the Win32 API will be managed in the Windows namespace, while an object created using the Real-Time API (RTAPI) will be managed in the RTSS namespace.

Proxy Processes and Threads

Proxy threads are created in the RTSS environment to mirror Windows threads that are interacting with the Real-time subsystem using RTX64 IPC objects, such as semaphores, mutexes, and events.