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## Using Boost.WinAPI

In order to use Boost.WinAPI you have to include one or several headers from the `boost/winapi` directory. Each header there defines a portion of Windows API, the name of the header should be self-explanatory. Each Boost.WinAPI header may declare a number of symbols like functions and types in the global namespace, mimicking the Windows SDK, and the corresponding set of symbols in the `boost::winapi` namespace. User's code is supposed to use the symbols from the `boost::winapi` namespace only.

Most of the functions in the `boost::winapi` have the same name and meaning as the corresponding Windows API functions. Types and constants have a trailing underscore ('_') in their name to avoid clashes with macros that are defined in Windows SDK.

| Note
Boost.WinAPI does not define function-name macros that expand to the `char` or `wchar_t` based functions depending on the `UNICODE` macro. Boost.WinAPI also does not support `_TCHAR` and related string types. Users have to explicitly use the `*A` or `*W` functions with appropriate argument types. Note however that `*A` functions may not be available if `BOOST_NO_ANSI_APIS` is defined.

For example, here is how one would create and destroy a semaphore with Boost.WinAPI:

    #include <limits>
    #include <boost/winapi/handles.hpp>
    #include <boost/winapi/semaphore.hpp>

    boost::winapi::HANDLE_ h = boost::winapi::CreateSemaphoreExW(
        NULL,                                                        // security attributes
        0l,                                                          // initial count
        std::numeric_limits< boost::winapi::LONG_ >::max(),          // max count
        L"Local\\MySemaphore",                                       // semaphore name
        0l,                                                          // flags
        boost::winapi::SEMAPHORE_ALL_ACCESS_                         // access mode
    );

    if (h)
        boost::winapi::CloseHandle(h);

Refer to MSDN for documentation on the particular functions, types and constants.