To answer the Win32 part of your first question:

An application consists of one or more processes. A process, in the simplest terms, is an executing program. One or more threads run in the context of the process. A thread is the basic unit to which the operating system allocates processor time. A thread can execute any part of the process code, including parts currently being executed by another thread.

Source: MSDN

In reply to Re: returning from a thread ? by EdwardG
in thread returning from a thread ? by Foggy Bottoms

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