AsyncStateMachineAttribute Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.Runtime.CompilerServices

Assembly:

System.Runtime.dll

Source:

AsyncStateMachineAttribute.cs

Indicates whether a method is marked with either the Async or async modifier.

public ref class AsyncStateMachineAttribute sealed : System::Runtime::CompilerServices::StateMachineAttribute

[System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple=false, Inherited=false)]
public sealed class AsyncStateMachineAttribute : System.Runtime.CompilerServices.StateMachineAttribute

[<System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple=false, Inherited=false)>]
type AsyncStateMachineAttribute = class
    inherit StateMachineAttribute

Public NotInheritable Class AsyncStateMachineAttribute
Inherits StateMachineAttribute

Inheritance

Object

Attribute

StateMachineAttribute

AsyncStateMachineAttribute

Attributes

AttributeUsageAttribute

Examples

As the following example shows, you can determine whether a method is marked with Async or async modifier. In the example, IsAsyncMethod performs the following steps:

• Obtains a MethodInfo object for the method name by using Type.GetMethod.

• Obtains a Type object for the attribute by using GetType Operator or typeof.

• Obtains an attribute object for the method and attribute type by using MethodInfo.GetCustomAttribute. If GetCustomAttribute returns Nothing (Visual Basic) or null (C#), the method doesn't contain the attribute.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;

namespace ConsoleApplication1
{

    // This class is used by the code below to discover method attributes.
    public class TheClass
    {
        public async Task<int> AsyncMethod()
        {
            await Task.Delay(5);
            return 1;
        }

        public int RegularMethod()
        {
            return 0;
        }
    }

    class Program
    {
        private static bool IsAsyncMethod(Type classType, string methodName)
        {
            // Obtain the method with the specified name.
            MethodInfo method = classType.GetMethod(methodName);

            Type attType = typeof(AsyncStateMachineAttribute);

            // Obtain the custom attribute for the method.
            // The value returned contains the StateMachineType property.
            // Null is returned if the attribute isn't present for the method.
            var attrib = (AsyncStateMachineAttribute)method.GetCustomAttribute(attType);

            return (attrib != null);
        }

        private static void ShowResult(Type classType, string methodName)
        {
            Console.Write((methodName + ": ").PadRight(16));

            if (IsAsyncMethod(classType, methodName))
                Console.WriteLine("Async method");
            else
                Console.WriteLine("Regular method");
        }

        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            ShowResult(classType: typeof(TheClass), methodName: "AsyncMethod");
            ShowResult(classType: typeof(TheClass), methodName: "RegularMethod");

            // Note: The IteratorStateMachineAttribute applies to Visual Basic methods
            // but not C# methods.

            Console.ReadKey();
        }

        // Output:
        //   AsyncMethod:    Async method
        //   RegularMethod:  Regular method
    }
}

Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.Threading.Tasks
Imports System.Runtime.CompilerServices


Module Module1

    ' This class is used by the code below to discover method attributes.
    Public Class TheClass
        Public Async Function AsyncMethod() As Task(Of Integer)
            Await Task.Delay(5)
            Return 1
        End Function

        Public Iterator Function IteratorMethod() As IEnumerable(Of Integer)
            Yield 1
            Yield 2
        End Function

        Public Function RegularMethod() As Integer
            Return 0
        End Function
    End Class


    Private Function IsAsyncMethod(classType As Type, methodName As String)
        ' Obtain the method with the specified name.
        Dim method As MethodInfo = classType.GetMethod(methodName)

        Dim attType As Type = GetType(AsyncStateMachineAttribute)

        Dim attrib = CType(method.GetCustomAttribute(attType), AsyncStateMachineAttribute)
        ' The above variable contains the StateMachineType property.

        Return (attrib IsNot Nothing)
    End Function

    Private Function IsIteratorMethod(classType As Type, methodName As String)
        ' Obtain the method with the specified name.
        Dim method As MethodInfo = classType.GetMethod(methodName)

        Dim attType As Type = GetType(IteratorStateMachineAttribute)

        ' Obtain the custom attribute for the method.
        ' The value returned contains the StateMachineType property.
        ' Nothing is returned if the attribute isn't present for the method.
        Dim attrib = CType(method.GetCustomAttribute(attType), IteratorStateMachineAttribute)

        Return (attrib IsNot Nothing)
    End Function

    Private Sub ShowResult(classType As Type, methodName As String)
        Console.Write((methodName & ": ").PadRight(16))

        If IsAsyncMethod(classType, methodName) Then
            Console.WriteLine("Async method")
        ElseIf IsIteratorMethod(classType, methodName) Then
            Console.WriteLine("Iterator method")
        Else
            Console.WriteLine("Regular method")
        End If

        ' Note: The IteratorStateMachineAttribute applies to Visual Basic methods
        ' but not C# methods.
    End Sub

    Sub Main()
        ShowResult(GetType(TheClass), "AsyncMethod")
        ShowResult(GetType(TheClass), "IteratorMethod")
        ShowResult(GetType(TheClass), "RegularMethod")

        Console.ReadKey()
    End Sub

    '   AsyncMethod:    Async method
    '   IteratorMethod: Iterator method
    '   RegularMethod:  Regular method

End Module

Remarks

You shouldn't apply the AsyncStateMachine attribute to methods in your code. For methods that have the async modifier, the compiler will apply the AsyncStateMachine attribute in the IL that the compiler emits.

When a method (MethodName) has the Async or async modifier, the compiler emits IL that includes a state machine structure. This structure contains the code in the method. That IL also contains a stub method (MethodName) that calls into the state machine. The compiler adds the AsyncStateMachine attribute to the stub method so that tools can identify the corresponding state machine. Details of the emitted IL might change in future releases of the compilers.

For information about the Async feature, see Asynchronous programming (C#) or Asynchronous programming with Async and Await (Visual Basic).

Constructors

AsyncStateMachineAttribute(Type)

Initializes a new instance of the AsyncStateMachineAttribute class.

Properties

StateMachineType	Returns the type object for the underlying state machine type that was generated by the compiler to implement the state machine method. (Inherited from StateMachineAttribute)
TypeId	When implemented in a derived class, gets a unique identifier for this Attribute. (Inherited from Attribute)

Methods

Equals(Object)	Returns a value that indicates whether this instance is equal to a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute)
GetHashCode()	Returns the hash code for this instance. (Inherited from Attribute)
GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object)
IsDefaultAttribute()	When overridden in a derived class, indicates whether the value of this instance is the default value for the derived class. (Inherited from Attribute)
Match(Object)	When overridden in a derived class, returns a value that indicates whether this instance equals a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
ToString()	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object)

See also

• IteratorStateMachineAttribute
• StateMachineType