SetThreadPriority

This function sets the priority value for the specified thread.

BOOL SetThreadPriority( 
  HANDLE hThread, 
  int nPriority
); 

Parameters

• hThread
  [in] Handle to the thread whose priority value is to be set.

• nPriority
  [in] Specifies the priority value for the thread. The following table shows the available values. This parameter can be one of these values.

  Value	Description
  THREAD_PRIORITY_TIME_CRITICAL	Indicates 3 points above normal priority.
  THREAD_PRIORITY_HIGHEST	Indicates 2 points above normal priority.
  THREAD_PRIORITY_ABOVE_NORMAL	Indicates 1 point above normal priority.
  THREAD_PRIORITY_NORMAL	Indicates normal priority.
  THREAD_PRIORITY_BELOW_NORMAL	Indicates 1 point below normal priority.
  THREAD_PRIORITY_LOWEST	Indicates 2 points below normal priority.
  THREAD_PRIORITY_ABOVE_IDLE	Indicates 3 points below normal priority.
  THREAD_PRIORITY_IDLE	Indicates 4 points below normal priority.

  Note   The priority levels zero through 7 that were available in earlier versions of Windows CE are now mapped to priority levels 248 through 255.

Return Values

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

Remarks

Windows CE does not support priority classes. The order in which threads are scheduled is determined only by their thread priorities.

This function enables setting the base priority level of a thread without consideration of priority classes.

Threads are scheduled in a round-robin fashion at each priority level. Threads at a lower level are only scheduled when no executable threads exist at a higher level.

All threads initially start at THREAD_PRIORITY_NORMAL (251). Use the GetThreadPriority function to get the priority value of a thread.

Use thread priority values to differentiate the relative priorities of the tasks of a process. For example, a thread that handles input for a window could have a higher priority level than a thread that performs intensive calculations for the CPU.

When manipulating priorities, ensure that a high-priority thread does not consume all of the available CPU time.

For more information about priority levels in Windows CE, see Priority Levels.

Requirements

OS Versions: Windows CE 1.0 and later.
Header: Winbase.h.
Link Library: Coredll.lib.

See Also

GetThreadPriority

Last updated on Wednesday, April 13, 2005

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