CancellationToken Struct

Definition

Namespace:

System.Threading

Assembly:

System.Runtime.dll

Source:

CancellationToken.cs

Propagates notification that operations should be canceled.

public value class CancellationToken : IEquatable<System::Threading::CancellationToken>

public readonly struct CancellationToken : IEquatable<System.Threading.CancellationToken>

type CancellationToken = struct

Public Structure CancellationToken
Implements IEquatable(Of CancellationToken)

Inheritance

Object

ValueType

CancellationToken

Implements

IEquatable<CancellationToken>

Examples

The following example uses a random number generator to emulate a data collection application that reads 10 integral values from eleven different instruments. A value of zero indicates that the measurement has failed for one instrument, in which case the operation should be cancelled and no overall mean should be computed.

To handle the possible cancellation of the operation, the example instantiates a CancellationTokenSource object that generates a cancellation token that's passed to a TaskFactory object. In turn, the TaskFactory object passes the cancellation token to each of the tasks responsible for collecting readings for a particular instrument. The TaskFactory.ContinueWhenAll<TAntecedentResult,TResult>(Task<TAntecedentResult>[], Func<Task<TAntecedentResult>[],TResult>, CancellationToken) method is called to ensure that the mean is computed only after all readings have been gathered successfully. If a task has not completed because it was cancelled, the TaskFactory.ContinueWhenAll method throws an exception.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class Example
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      // Define the cancellation token.
      CancellationTokenSource source = new CancellationTokenSource();
      CancellationToken token = source.Token;

      Random rnd = new Random();
      Object lockObj = new Object();
      
      List<Task<int[]>> tasks = new List<Task<int[]>>();
      TaskFactory factory = new TaskFactory(token);
      for (int taskCtr = 0; taskCtr <= 10; taskCtr++) {
         int iteration = taskCtr + 1;
         tasks.Add(factory.StartNew( () => {
           int value;
           int[] values = new int[10];
           for (int ctr = 1; ctr <= 10; ctr++) {
              lock (lockObj) {
                 value = rnd.Next(0,101);
              }
              if (value == 0) { 
                 source.Cancel();
                 Console.WriteLine("Cancelling at task {0}", iteration);
                 break;
              }   
              values[ctr-1] = value; 
           }
           return values;
        }, token));   
      }
      try {
         Task<double> fTask = factory.ContinueWhenAll(tasks.ToArray(), 
         (results) => {
            Console.WriteLine("Calculating overall mean...");
            long sum = 0;
            int n = 0; 
            foreach (var t in results) {
               foreach (var r in t.Result) {
                  sum += r;
                  n++;
               }
            }
            return sum/(double) n;
         } , token);
         Console.WriteLine("The mean is {0}.", fTask.Result);
      }   
      catch (AggregateException ae) {
         foreach (Exception e in ae.InnerExceptions) {
            if (e is TaskCanceledException)
               Console.WriteLine("Unable to compute mean: {0}", 
                  ((TaskCanceledException) e).Message);
            else
               Console.WriteLine("Exception: " + e.GetType().Name);
         }
      }
      finally {
         source.Dispose();
      }
   }
}
// Repeated execution of the example produces output like the following:
//       Cancelling at task 5
//       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
//       
//       Cancelling at task 10
//       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
//       
//       Calculating overall mean...
//       The mean is 5.29545454545455.
//       
//       Cancelling at task 4
//       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
//       
//       Cancelling at task 5
//       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
//       
//       Cancelling at task 6
//       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
//       
//       Calculating overall mean...
//       The mean is 4.97363636363636.
//       
//       Cancelling at task 4
//       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
//       
//       Cancelling at task 5
//       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
//       
//       Cancelling at task 4
//       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
//       
//       Calculating overall mean...
//       The mean is 4.86545454545455.

Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Threading.Tasks

Module Example
   Public Sub Main()
      ' Define the cancellation token.
      Dim source As New CancellationTokenSource()
      Dim token As CancellationToken = source.Token

      Dim lockObj As New Object()
      Dim rnd As New Random

      Dim tasks As New List(Of Task(Of Integer()))
      Dim factory As New TaskFactory(token)
      For taskCtr As Integer = 0 To 10
         Dim iteration As Integer = taskCtr + 1
         tasks.Add(factory.StartNew(Function()
                                       Dim value, values(9) As Integer
                                       For ctr As Integer = 1 To 10
                                          SyncLock lockObj
                                             value = rnd.Next(0,101)
                                          End SyncLock
                                          If value = 0 Then 
                                             source.Cancel
                                             Console.WriteLine("Cancelling at task {0}", iteration)
                                             Exit For
                                          End If   
                                          values(ctr-1) = value 
                                       Next
                                       Return values
                                    End Function, token))   
         
      Next
      Try
         Dim fTask As Task(Of Double) = factory.ContinueWhenAll(tasks.ToArray(), 
                                                         Function(results)
                                                            Console.WriteLine("Calculating overall mean...")
                                                            Dim sum As Long
                                                            Dim n As Integer 
                                                            For Each t In results
                                                               For Each r In t.Result
                                                                  sum += r
                                                                  n+= 1
                                                               Next
                                                            Next
                                                            Return sum/n
                                                         End Function, token)
         Console.WriteLine("The mean is {0}.", fTask.Result)
      Catch ae As AggregateException
         For Each e In ae.InnerExceptions
            If TypeOf e Is TaskCanceledException
               Console.WriteLine("Unable to compute mean: {0}", 
                                 CType(e, TaskCanceledException).Message)
            Else
               Console.WriteLine("Exception: " + e.GetType().Name)
            End If   
         Next
      Finally
         source.Dispose()
      End Try                                                          
   End Sub
End Module
' Repeated execution of the example produces output like the following:
'       Cancelling at task 5
'       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
'       
'       Cancelling at task 10
'       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
'       
'       Calculating overall mean...
'       The mean is 5.29545454545455.
'       
'       Cancelling at task 4
'       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
'       
'       Cancelling at task 5
'       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
'       
'       Cancelling at task 6
'       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
'       
'       Calculating overall mean...
'       The mean is 4.97363636363636.
'       
'       Cancelling at task 4
'       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
'       
'       Cancelling at task 5
'       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
'       
'       Cancelling at task 4
'       Unable to compute mean: A task was canceled.
'       
'       Calculating overall mean...
'       The mean is 4.86545454545455.

Remarks

A CancellationToken enables cooperative cancellation between threads, thread pool work items, or Task objects. You create a cancellation token by instantiating a CancellationTokenSource object, which manages cancellation tokens retrieved from its CancellationTokenSource.Token property. You then pass the cancellation token to any number of threads, tasks, or operations that should receive notice of cancellation. The token cannot be used to initiate cancellation. When the owning object calls CancellationTokenSource.Cancel, the IsCancellationRequested property on every copy of the cancellation token is set to true. The objects that receive the notification can respond in whatever manner is appropriate.

For more information and code examples see Cancellation in Managed Threads.

Constructors

CancellationToken(Boolean)

Initializes the CancellationToken.

Properties

CanBeCanceled	Gets whether this token is capable of being in the canceled state.
IsCancellationRequested	Gets whether cancellation has been requested for this token.
None	Returns an empty CancellationToken value.
WaitHandle	Gets a WaitHandle that is signaled when the token is canceled.

Methods

Equals(CancellationToken)	Determines whether the current CancellationToken instance is equal to the specified token.
Equals(Object)	Determines whether the current CancellationToken instance is equal to the specified Object.
GetHashCode()	Serves as a hash function for a CancellationToken.
Register(Action)	Registers a delegate that will be called when this CancellationToken is canceled.
Register(Action, Boolean)	Registers a delegate that will be called when this CancellationToken is canceled.
Register(Action<Object,CancellationToken>, Object)	Registers a delegate that will be called when this CancellationToken is canceled.
Register(Action<Object>, Object)	Registers a delegate that will be called when this CancellationToken is canceled.
Register(Action<Object>, Object, Boolean)	Registers a delegate that will be called when this CancellationToken is canceled.
ThrowIfCancellationRequested()	Throws a OperationCanceledException if this token has had cancellation requested.
UnsafeRegister(Action<Object,CancellationToken>, Object)	Registers a delegate that will be called when this CancellationToken is canceled.
UnsafeRegister(Action<Object>, Object)	Registers a delegate that is called when this CancellationToken is canceled.

Operators

Equality(CancellationToken, CancellationToken)	Determines whether two CancellationToken instances are equal.
Inequality(CancellationToken, CancellationToken)	Determines whether two CancellationToken instances are not equal.

Thread Safety

All public and protected members of CancellationToken are thread-safe and may be used concurrently from multiple threads.

See also

• Cancellation
• Task Cancellation