hReadPipe

hReadPipe is a function in the Windows API that is used to read data from a pipe. Pipes are a form of inter-process communication (IPC) in Windows, allowing one process to send data to another. A read pipe is the receiving end of such a communication channel. The hReadPipe function is typically used in conjunction with hWritePipe, which represents the writing end.

When a process creates a pipe, it obtains handles to both the read and write ends. The process that needs to receive data will use the hReadPipe handle. The hReadPipe function allows a process to retrieve data that has been written to the pipe by another process. This data is read sequentially from the pipe.

The function takes several parameters, including the handle to the read pipe, a buffer to store the data read, the size of the buffer, and a variable to store the number of bytes actually read. It can also be used to perform blocking or non-blocking reads. A blocking read will wait until data is available in the pipe before returning, while a non-blocking read will return immediately, even if no data is present. This flexibility makes hReadPipe a fundamental tool for managing data flow between processes in Windows applications. Proper handling of the pipe handle, including closing it when no longer needed, is crucial for resource management.