CreateMailslot.md

Home

Function name : CreateMailslot

Group: Mailslot - Library: kernel32

---

The CreateMailslot function creates a mailslot with the specified name and returns a handle that a mailslot server can use to perform operations on it.

---

Code examples:

Creating a mailslot
Peer-to-peer LAN messenger built with Mailslot API functions

Declaration:

HANDLE CreateMailslot(
  LPCTSTR lpName,                 // mailslot name
  DWORD nMaxMessageSize,          // maximum message size
  DWORD lReadTimeout,             // read time-out interval
  LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpSecAttr // inheritance option
);  

---

FoxPro declaration:

DECLARE INTEGER CreateMailslot IN kernel32;
	STRING  lpName,;
	INTEGER nMaxMessageSize,;
	INTEGER lReadTimeout,;
	INTEGER lpSecurityAttributes  

---

Parameters:

lpName [in] Pointer to a null-terminated string specifying the name of the mailslot.

nMaxMessageSize [in] Specifies the maximum size, in bytes, of a single message that can be written to the mailslots.

lReadTimeout [in] Specifies the amount of time, in milliseconds, a read operation can wait for a message to be written to the mailslot before a time-out occurs.

lpSecurityAttributes [in] Pointer to a SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES structure.

---

Return value:

If the function succeeds, the return value is a handle to the mailslot, for use in server mailslot operations.

---

Comments:

The mailslot exists until one of the following conditions is true:

• The last (possibly inherited or duplicated) handle to it is closed using the CloseHandle function.
• The process owning the last (possibly inherited or duplicated) handle exits.

The system uses the second method to destroy mailslots.

---