Book excerpt: Nowadays, most companies run both Windows and UNIX/Linux systems -- and thousands of system programmers face the challenge of working in both environments. Programming the Win32 API and UNIX System Services is the first hands-on, practical guide to systems programming in both environments. The book starts with a quick, easy overview of both the Win32 API and UNIX system services in Solaris and Red Hat Linux. Next, it presents complete, in-depth coverage of every key aspect of systems programming in each of these environments, including processes, threads, controlling concurrent activity, signals, file I/O, memory, network programming, security, and much more. Throughout, the book presents easy-to-adapt "cookbook" sample code that solves the key problems systems programmers encounter, helping them become proficient in heterogeneous environments more rapidly than ever before. For all Visual C++, MFC, and other Windows programmers interested in learning system-level programming for Windows 98/2000 or for UNIX; and for all UNIX programmers transitioning to the Windows environment.