A Windows Sockets DLL may be accessed both directly from an application and through an "intermediate" DLL. An example of such an intermediate DLL would be a virtual network API layer that supports generalized network functionality for applications and uses Windows Sockets. Such a DLL could be used by several applications simultaneously, and the DLL must take special precautions with respect to the WSAStartup() and WSACleanup() calls to ensure that these routines are called in the context of each task that will make Windows Sockets calls. This is because the Windows Sockets DLL will need a call to WSAStartup() for each task in order to set up task-specific data structures, and a call to WSACleanup() to free any resources allocated for the task.
There are (at least) two ways to accomplish this. The simplest method is for the intermediate DLL to have calls similiar to WSAStartup() and WSACleanup() that applications call as appropriate. The DLL would then call WSAStartup() or WSACleanup() from within these routines. Another mechanism is for the intermediate DLL to build a table of task handles, which are obtained from the GetCurrentTask() Windows API, and at each entry point into the intermediate DLL check whether WSAStartup() has been called for the current task, then call WSAStartup() if necessary.
If a DLL makes a blocking call and does not install its own blocking hook, then the DLL author must be aware that control may be returned to the application either by an application-installed blocking hook or by the default blocking hook. Thus, it is possible that the application will cancel the DLL's blocking operation via WSACancelBlockingCall(). If this occurs, the DLL's blocking operation will fail with the error code WSAEINTR, and the DLL must return control to the calling task as quickly as possible, as the used has likely pressed a cancel or close button and the task has requested control of the CPU. It is recommended that DLLs which make blocking calls install their own blocking hooks with WSASetBlockingHook() to prevent unforeseen interactions between the application and the DLL.
Note that this is not necessary for DLLs in Windows NT because of its different process and DLL structure. Under Windows NT, the intermediate DLL could simply call WSAStartup() in its DLL initialization routine, which is called whenever a new process which uses the DLL starts.