GetThreadTimes

GetThreadTimes is a function in the Windows API that retrieves timing information for a specified thread. This information includes the creation time of the thread, the exit time, the kernel time spent executing, and the user-mode time spent executing. The function returns a structure containing these values as FILETIME data types.

To use GetThreadTimes, you must first obtain a handle to the thread for which you want to retrieve timing information. This handle can be obtained using functions like OpenThread or by using a pseudo-handle like GetCurrentThread. The function requires a handle to the thread and pointers to FILETIME structures where the timing data will be stored.

The returned FILETIME values represent the number of 100-nanosecond intervals since January 1, 1601 (UTC). Kernel time is the time the thread spent executing in kernel mode, handling operating system tasks. User-mode time is the time the thread spent executing in its own code. Creation time and exit time indicate when the thread was created and when it terminated, respectively. If the thread has not yet exited, the exit time will be zero.

This function is useful for performance analysis, debugging, and understanding the resource consumption of individual threads within a process. It allows developers to measure how much CPU time a thread has used and when it was active.