The Old New Thing

Practical development throughout the evolution of Windows.

Latest posts

The Goldilocks zone of software stability
Apr 8, 2025
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The Goldilocks zone of software stability

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Not too new, not too old.

On priority inversion in the use of a spinlock to ensure atomic access to a <CODE>shared_ptr</CODE>
Apr 7, 2025
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On priority inversion in the use of a spinlock to ensure atomic access to a shared_ptr

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Priority inversion may be rare, but correctness doesn't care about rarity.

Adding delays to our task sequencer, part 3
Apr 4, 2025
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Adding delays to our task sequencer, part 3

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Waiting more cheaply.

Adding delays to our task sequencer, part 2
Apr 3, 2025
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Adding delays to our task sequencer, part 2

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Waiting the right amount of time.

Adding delays to our task sequencer, part 1
Apr 2, 2025
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Adding delays to our task sequencer, part 1

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Not so fast there.

The return of Building 7
Apr 1, 2025
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The return of Building 7

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Pranksters lose one of their longtime inside jokes.

If one program blocks shutdown, then <I>all</I> programs block shutdown, revisited
Mar 31, 2025
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If one program blocks shutdown, then all programs block shutdown, revisited

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

No take-backs.

The 2025/2026 Seattle Symphony subscription season at a glance
Mar 28, 2025
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The 2025/2026 Seattle Symphony subscription season at a glance

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

The pocket reference guide for 2025/2026.

Fixing exception safety in our <CODE>task_<WBR>sequencer</CODE>
Mar 28, 2025
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Fixing exception safety in our task_sequencer

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Exception safety, the forgotten requirement.