If the sync is only for the current process then use critical-section since it's faster than mutex. in Mutex you will always have context switch to kernel mode , whereas in critical section you stay in user mode when there is no contention.

Be honest, knowledgeable, and don't use buzzwords unless you can break them down, explain them, and prove what thay do and how you have used it in practice. I like to take each question and make up a story-type answer following this pattern: 1. State a situation you were in pertaining to the question. 2. State which actions you took or neglected to take. 3. State the outcome of your action (or lack thereof). And be honest. If you forgot to backup someone's user settings in an upgrade application and caused a loss of someone's time and money, own up to it and acknowledge it as a lesson learned. It's things like this that you don't learn in school, and as an employer, I'd surely appreciate the fact you learned your lesson on someone else's dime. ;P - Nitron "Those that say a task is impossible shouldn't interrupt the ones who are doing it." - Chinese Proverb

I have had a lot of problems porting to VC7 because of changes in the compiler. In most cases I gave up and still use VC6. This is because I have about 200K lines in 4 dlls that need ported and there are several hundred errors introduced with the new compiler. I guess if I spend a week or two I could get my stuff to compile in both compilers but I am too busy to do this. [EDIT] Most of this code fits into the everything else category. [/EDIT] John

It's always the pasture you don't know that is greener. Since I don't know anything about your background, I will give the things you could learn from a project: (1) developing for the real life i.e. getting things done, making customers happy, dealing ith non-geek customers, coding in a team, surviving management) (2) diversify you need to know more than one "pasture" - if you did the C++/Windows combination all your life, do something else just once. (3) specialize If you already have experience with different languages, OS'es, CPU's etc., specialize on the on that suits you best (both "fun factor" and "making a living" - depends on your requirements) (4) stay on top If you found your place, don't fall back. For the Wintel specialization, this would mean .NET, or maybe the things you mention - like device drivers (again, depends on your wishes and requirements) They are in descending priority, meaning: If you never developed for real life, do what comes closest to this. If you already had your share of that, think if you need to diversify. etc. "Der Geist des Kriegers ist erwacht / Ich hab die Macht" StS sighist | Agile Programming | doxygen

I don't see big differences between the things (as much as I understand your meaning). Avail. of job - dunno level of knowledge - roughly the same. Application developer needs mroe focus on "User" skills. Job satisfaction is entirely up to you - are you thrilled by playing "puppet on a string" with windows, or by turning losers into happy little critters? Learning curve: Application programming might seem easier to begin with, but everybody who believes that has a lot to learn. From the things I did, I consider application programming a tad more complex, and requiring a much wider set of skills. Oh.. and the gf thing: take the psychology course, and help them with their math assignments. If you look for evil in me, you will find it. Whether it's there or not. [sighist] | [Agile Programming] [doxygen]

It's all in the first handshake. Just remember to wear a high-voltage electrocution ring. :rolleyes: David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk