C# Signature:

[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError=true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
public static extern bool UpdateProcThreadAttribute(
     IntPtr lpAttributeList,
     uint dwFlags,
     IntPtr Attribute,
     IntPtr lpValue,
     IntPtr cbSize,
     IntPtr lpPreviousValue,
     IntPtr lpReturnSize);

Boo Signature:

[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError : true)]
def UpdateProcThreadAttribute(
    lpAttributeList as IntPtr,
    dwFlags as UInt32,
    Attribute as IntPtr,
    lpValue as IntPtr,
    cbSize as IntPtr,
    lpPreviousValue as IntPtr,
    lpReturnSize as IntPtr) as bool:
     pass

User-Defined Types:

    (WinBase.h)
    ...
    PROC_THREAD_ATTRIBUTE_PARENT_PROCESS = 0x00020000,
    PROC_THREAD_ATTRIBUTE_HANDLE_LIST    = 0x00020002
    ...

    and [STARTUPINFOEX]

Alternative Managed API:

Do you know one? Please contribute it!

Notes:

Call InitializeProcThreadAttributeList before adding attributes. Save the result to a STARTUPINFOEX struct.

Tips & Tricks:

Please add some!

Sample Code:

NOTE : You need to use DeleteProcThreadAttribute and free memory. These samples do neither!

private static void SetNewProcessParent(ref STARTUPINFOEX startupInfoEx, int parentProcessId)

    {
        const int reserved = 0;
        var parentProcess = Process.GetProcessById(parentProcessId);
        IntPtr lpValue = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(IntPtr.Size);
        Marshal.WriteIntPtr(lpValue, parentProcess.Handle);

        bool hasError = UpdateProcThreadAttribute(
        startupInfoEx.lpAttributeList,
        reserved,
        PROC_THREAD_ATTRIBUTE_PARENT_PROCESS,
        lpValue,
        (IntPtr)IntPtr.Size,
        IntPtr.Zero,
        IntPtr.Zero);

        if (hasError)
        {
        throw new Exception(string.Format("Error setting [{0}] as the parentPid for the new process", parentProcessId));
        }
    }

    private static void SetInheritableHandles(ref STARTUPINFOEX startupInfoEx, ICollection<IntPtr> inheritableHandles)
    {
        const int reserved = 0;
        var handleArray = inheritableHandles.ToArray();
        var pinnedHandleArray = GCHandle.Alloc(handleArray, GCHandleType.Pinned);
        IntPtr handles = pinnedHandleArray.AddrOfPinnedObject();

        bool success = UpdateProcThreadAttribute(
        startupInfoEx.lpAttributeList,
        reserved,
        PROC_THREAD_ATTRIBUTE_HANDLE_LIST,
        handles,
        (IntPtr)(inheritableHandles.Count * IntPtr.Size),
        IntPtr.Zero,
        IntPtr.Zero);

        if (!success)
        {
        throw new Exception("Error adding inheritable handles to process launch");
        }
    }

Please edit this page!

Do you have...

• helpful tips or sample code to share for using this API in managed code?
• corrections to the existing content?
• variations of the signature you want to share?
• additional languages you want to include?

Select "Edit This Page" on the right hand toolbar and edit it! Or add new pages containing supporting types needed for this API (structures, delegates, and more).