PulseEvent function (winbase.h)

Sets the specified event object to the signaled state and then resets it to the nonsignaled state after releasing the appropriate number of waiting threads.

Note  This function is unreliable and should not be used. It exists mainly for backward compatibility. For more information, see Remarks.
 

Syntax

BOOL PulseEvent(
  [in] HANDLE hEvent
);

Parameters

[in] hEvent

A handle to the event object. The CreateEvent or OpenEvent function returns this handle.

The handle must have the EVENT_MODIFY_STATE access right. For more information, see Synchronization Object Security and Access Rights.

Return value

If the function succeeds, the return value is nonzero.

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

Remarks

A thread waiting on a synchronization object can be momentarily removed from the wait state by a kernel-mode APC, and then returned to the wait state after the APC is complete. If the call to PulseEvent occurs during the time when the thread has been removed from the wait state, the thread will not be released because PulseEvent releases only those threads that are waiting at the moment it is called. Therefore, PulseEvent is unreliable and should not be used by new applications. Instead, use condition variables.

For a manual-reset event object, all waiting threads that can be released immediately are released. The function then resets the event object's state to nonsignaled and returns.

For an auto-reset event object, the function resets the state to nonsignaled and returns after releasing a single waiting thread, even if multiple threads are waiting.

If no threads are waiting, or if no thread can be released immediately, PulseEvent simply sets the event object's state to nonsignaled and returns.

Note that for a thread using the multiple-object wait functions to wait for all specified objects to be signaled, PulseEvent can set the event object's state to signaled and reset it to nonsignaled without causing the wait function to return. This happens if not all of the specified objects are simultaneously signaled.

Use extreme caution when using SignalObjectAndWait and PulseEvent with Windows 7, since using these APIs among multiple threads can cause an application to deadlock. Threads that are signaled by SignalObjectAndWait call PulseEvent to signal the waiting object of the SignalObjectAndWait call. In some circumstances, the caller of SignalObjectAndWait can't receive signal state of the waiting object in time, causing a deadlock.

Requirements

Requirement Value
Minimum supported client Windows XP [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server Windows Server 2003 [desktop apps only]
Target Platform Windows
Header winbase.h (include Windows.h)
Library Kernel32.lib
DLL Kernel32.dll

See also

CreateEvent

Event Objects

OpenEvent

ResetEvent

SetEvent

Synchronization Functions