Unlike Unix-like systems that use signals (SIGTERM/SIGKILL), Windows employs different mechanisms for process termination:

// Example of graceful shutdown handler in Windows
BOOL WINAPI ConsoleHandler(DWORD dwCtrlType) {
    if (dwCtrlType == CTRL_C_EVENT || dwCtrlType == CTRL_CLOSE_EVENT) {
        // Cleanup resources
        return TRUE; // Handled
    }
    return FALSE; // Not handled
}

• ExitProcess(): Clean shutdown initiated by the process itself
• TerminateProcess(): Forceful termination by external caller
• WM_CLOSE: GUI application shutdown message
• Ctrl Events: Console-specific handlers (CTRL_C_EVENT, CTRL_CLOSE_EVENT)

When TerminateProcess() is called:

1. All threads in the target process are terminated immediately
2. All user and GDI objects are freed
3. Process handle becomes signaled
4. Memory isn't immediately reclaimed (working set remains until needed)

For portable applications, consider this pattern:

#ifdef _WIN32
    SetConsoleCtrlHandler(ConsoleHandler, TRUE);
#else
    signal(SIGTERM, UnixSignalHandler);
    signal(SIGINT, UnixSignalHandler);
#endif

Windows services should implement SERVICE_CONTROL_STOP:

void WINAPI ServiceCtrlHandler(DWORD dwControl) {
    switch(dwControl) {
        case SERVICE_CONTROL_STOP:
            ReportSvcStatus(SERVICE_STOP_PENDING, NO_ERROR, 0);
            SetEvent(ghSvcStopEvent); // Signal worker thread
            break;
        // Other cases...
    }
}

Use cases for forceful termination:

• Malware containment
• Unresponsive GUI applications
• Critical system processes (csrss.exe, winlogon.exe)

Example of using TerminateProcess():

HANDLE hProcess = OpenProcess(PROCESS_TERMINATE, FALSE, pid);
if (hProcess) {
    TerminateProcess(hProcess, 1);
    CloseHandle(hProcess);
}

Unlike Linux's signal-based approach, Windows handles process termination through fundamentally different mechanisms. The primary methods include:

• Graceful Termination (Equivalent to SIGTERM):

  // C++ example using ExitProcess
  ExitProcess(0);  // Initiated by the process itself
  

• External Termination (TaskKill equivalent):

  // C# example using Process.Kill
  Process.GetProcessById(pid).Kill();  // Forceful termination
  

When terminating a process, Windows performs these operations:

1. Closes all handles to the process object
2. Terminates all threads
3. Deletes the process kernel object
4. Removes the process from the system process list

For graceful shutdown handling, Windows applications typically use:

// C++ console control handler example
BOOL WINAPI ConsoleHandler(DWORD dwCtrlType) {
    if (dwCtrlType == CTRL_C_EVENT || 
        dwCtrlType == CTRL_CLOSE_EVENT) {
        // Cleanup logic here
        return TRUE;
    }
    return FALSE;
}

SetConsoleCtrlHandler(ConsoleHandler, TRUE);

For portable applications, consider these patterns:

// Python cross-platform example
import signal
import sys

def handler(signum, frame):
    # Cleanup logic
    sys.exit(0)

signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, handler)  # Works on Unix
signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, handler)   # Ctrl+C handling

When processes won't terminate normally:

// PowerShell force kill example
Stop-Process -Id 1234 -Force

// C++ using TerminateProcess (extreme measure)
HANDLE hProcess = OpenProcess(PROCESS_TERMINATE, FALSE, pid);
TerminateProcess(hProcess, 1);
CloseHandle(hProcess);

Key differences from Unix systems:

• No SIGTERM/SIGKILL equivalents - uses different API calls
• Job objects provide additional termination control
• DLL_PROCESS_DETACH notifications for cleanup