Task-based asynchronous programming
The Task Parallel Library (TPL) is based on the concept of a task, which represents an asynchronous operation. In some ways, a task resembles a thread or ThreadPool work item but at a higher level of abstraction. The term task parallelism refers to one or more independent tasks running concurrently. Tasks provide two primary benefits:
More efficient and more scalable use of system resources.
Behind the scenes, tasks are queued to the ThreadPool, which has been enhanced with algorithms that determine and adjust to the number of threads. These algorithms provide load balancing to maximize throughput. This process makes tasks relatively lightweight, and you can create many of them to enable fine-grained parallelism.
More programmatic control than is possible with a thread or work item.
Tasks and the framework built around them provide a rich set of APIs that support waiting, cancellation, continuations, robust exception handling, detailed status, custom scheduling, and more.
For both reasons, TPL is the preferred API for writing multi-threaded, asynchronous, and parallel code in .NET.
Creating and running tasks implicitly
The Parallel.Invoke method provides a convenient way to run any number of arbitrary statements concurrently. Just pass in an Action delegate for each item of work. The easiest way to create these delegates is to use lambda expressions. The lambda expression can either call a named method or provide the code inline. The following example shows a basic Invoke call that creates and starts two tasks that run concurrently. The first task is represented by a lambda expression that calls a method named DoSomeWork, and the second task is represented by a lambda expression that calls a method named DoSomeOtherWork.
Note
This documentation uses lambda expressions to define delegates in TPL. If you aren't familiar with lambda expressions in C# or Visual Basic, see Lambda Expressions in PLINQ and TPL.
Parallel.Invoke(() => DoSomeWork(), () => DoSomeOtherWork());
Parallel.Invoke(Sub() DoSomeWork(), Sub() DoSomeOtherWork())
Note
The number of Task instances that are created behind the scenes by Invoke isn't necessarily equal to the number of delegates that are provided. The TPL might employ various optimizations, especially with large numbers of delegates.
For more information, see How to: Use Parallel.Invoke to Execute Parallel Operations.
For greater control over task execution or to return a value from the task, you must work with Task objects more explicitly.
Creating and running tasks explicitly
A task that doesn't return a value is represented by the System.Threading.Tasks.Task class. A task that returns a value is represented by the System.Threading.Tasks.Task<TResult> class, which inherits from Task. The task object handles the infrastructure details and provides methods and properties that are accessible from the calling thread throughout the lifetime of the task. For example, you can access the Status property of a task at any time to determine whether it has started running, ran to completion, was canceled, or has thrown an exception. The status is represented by a TaskStatus enumeration.
When you create a task, you give it a user delegate that encapsulates the code that the task will execute. The delegate can be expressed as a named delegate, an anonymous method, or a lambda expression. Lambda expressions can contain a call to a named method, as shown in the following example. The example includes a call to the Task.Wait method to ensure that the task completes execution before the console mode application ends.
using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
public class Lambda
{
public static void Main()
{
Thread.CurrentThread.Name = "Main";
// Create a task and supply a user delegate by using a lambda expression.
Task taskA = new Task( () => Console.WriteLine("Hello from taskA."));
// Start the task.
taskA.Start();
// Output a message from the calling thread.
Console.WriteLine("Hello from thread '{0}'.",
Thread.CurrentThread.Name);
taskA.Wait();
}
}
// The example displays output as follows:
// Hello from thread 'Main'.
// Hello from taskA.
// or
// Hello from taskA.
// Hello from thread 'Main'.
Imports System.Threading
Namespace Lambda
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
Thread.CurrentThread.Name = "Main"
' Create a task and supply a user delegate by using a lambda expression.
Dim taskA = New Task(Sub() Console.WriteLine("Hello from taskA."))
' Start the task.
taskA.Start()
' Output a message from the calling thread.
Console.WriteLine("Hello from thread '{0}'.",
Thread.CurrentThread.Name)
taskA.Wait()
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
' Hello from thread 'Main'.
' Hello from taskA.
End Namespace
You can also use the Task.Run methods to create and start a task in one operation. To manage the task, the Run methods use the default task scheduler, regardless of which task scheduler is associated with the current thread. The Run methods are the preferred way to create and start tasks when more control over the creation and scheduling of the task isn't needed.
using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace Run;
public class Example
{
public static void Main()
{
Thread.CurrentThread.Name = "Main";
// Define and run the task.
Task taskA = Task.Run( () => Console.WriteLine("Hello from taskA."));
// Output a message from the calling thread.
Console.WriteLine("Hello from thread '{0}'.",
Thread.CurrentThread.Name);
taskA.Wait();
}
}
// The example displays output as follows:
// Hello from thread 'Main'.
// Hello from taskA.
// or
// Hello from taskA.
// Hello from thread 'Main'.
Imports System.Threading
Namespace Run
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
Thread.CurrentThread.Name = "Main"
Dim taskA As Task = Task.Run(Sub() Console.WriteLine("Hello from taskA."))
' Output a message from the calling thread.
Console.WriteLine("Hello from thread '{0}'.",
Thread.CurrentThread.Name)
taskA.Wait()
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
' Hello from thread 'Main'.
' Hello from taskA.
End Namespace
You can also use the TaskFactory.StartNew method to create and start a task in one operation. As shown in the following example, you can use this method when:
Creation and scheduling don't have to be separated and you require additional task creation options or the use of a specific scheduler.
You need to pass additional state into the task that you can retrieve through its Task.AsyncState property.
using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace TaskIntro;
class CustomData
{
public long CreationTime;
public int Name;
public int ThreadNum;
}
public class AsyncState
{
public static void Main()
{
Task[] taskArray = new Task[10];
for (int i = 0; i < taskArray.Length; i++)
{
taskArray[i] = Task.Factory.StartNew((Object obj) =>
{
CustomData data = obj as CustomData;
if (data == null) return;
data.ThreadNum = Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId;
},
new CustomData() { Name = i, CreationTime = DateTime.Now.Ticks });
}
Task.WaitAll(taskArray);
foreach (var task in taskArray)
{
var data = task.AsyncState as CustomData;
if (data != null)
Console.WriteLine("Task #{0} created at {1}, ran on thread #{2}.",
data.Name, data.CreationTime, data.ThreadNum);
}
}
}
// The example displays output like the following:
// Task #0 created at 635116412924597583, ran on thread #3.
// Task #1 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
// Task #2 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
// Task #3 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
// Task #4 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #3.
// Task #5 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #3.
// Task #6 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
// Task #7 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
// Task #8 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #3.
// Task #9 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
Imports System.Threading
Namespace AsyncState
Class CustomData
Public CreationTime As Long
Public Name As Integer
Public ThreadNum As Integer
End Class
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
Dim taskArray(9) As Task
For i As Integer = 0 To taskArray.Length - 1
taskArray(i) = Task.Factory.StartNew(Sub(obj As Object)
Dim data As CustomData = TryCast(obj, CustomData)
If data Is Nothing Then Return
data.ThreadNum = Environment.CurrentManagedThreadId
End Sub,
New CustomData With {.Name = i, .CreationTime = Date.Now.Ticks})
Next
Task.WaitAll(taskArray)
For Each task In taskArray
Dim data = TryCast(task.AsyncState, CustomData)
If data IsNot Nothing Then
Console.WriteLine("Task #{0} created at {1}, ran on thread #{2}.",
data.Name, data.CreationTime, data.ThreadNum)
End If
Next
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
' Task #0 created at 635116412924597583, ran on thread #3.
' Task #1 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
' Task #2 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
' Task #3 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
' Task #4 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #3.
' Task #5 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #3.
' Task #6 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
' Task #7 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
' Task #8 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #3.
' Task #9 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
End Namespace
Task and Task<TResult> each expose a static Factory property that returns a default instance of TaskFactory, so that you can call the method as Task.Factory.StartNew(). Also, in the following example, because the tasks are of type System.Threading.Tasks.Task<TResult>, they each have a public Task<TResult>.Result property that contains the result of the computation. The tasks run asynchronously and might complete in any order. If the Result property is accessed before the computation finishes, the property blocks the calling thread until the value is available.
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
public class Result
{
public static void Main()
{
Task<Double>[] taskArray = { Task<Double>.Factory.StartNew(() => DoComputation(1.0)),
Task<Double>.Factory.StartNew(() => DoComputation(100.0)),
Task<Double>.Factory.StartNew(() => DoComputation(1000.0)) };
var results = new Double[taskArray.Length];
Double sum = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < taskArray.Length; i++) {
results[i] = taskArray[i].Result;
Console.Write("{0:N1} {1}", results[i],
i == taskArray.Length - 1 ? "= " : "+ ");
sum += results[i];
}
Console.WriteLine("{0:N1}", sum);
}
private static Double DoComputation(Double start)
{
Double sum = 0;
for (var value = start; value <= start + 10; value += .1)
sum += value;
return sum;
}
}
// The example displays the following output:
// 606.0 + 10,605.0 + 100,495.0 = 111,706.0
Namespace Result
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
Dim taskArray() = {Task(Of Double).Factory.StartNew(Function() DoComputation(1.0)),
Task(Of Double).Factory.StartNew(Function() DoComputation(100.0)),
Task(Of Double).Factory.StartNew(Function() DoComputation(1000.0))}
Dim results(taskArray.Length - 1) As Double
Dim sum As Double
For i As Integer = 0 To taskArray.Length - 1
results(i) = taskArray(i).Result
Console.Write("{0:N1} {1}", results(i),
If(i = taskArray.Length - 1, "= ", "+ "))
sum += results(i)
Next
Console.WriteLine("{0:N1}", sum)
End Sub
Private Function DoComputation(start As Double) As Double
Dim sum As Double
For value As Double = start To start + 10 Step .1
sum += value
Next
Return sum
End Function
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
' 606.0 + 10,605.0 + 100,495.0 = 111,706.0
End Namespace
For more information, see How to: Return a Value from a Task.
When you use a lambda expression to create a delegate, you have access to all the variables that are visible at that point in your source code. However, in some cases, most notably within loops, a lambda doesn't capture the variable as expected. It only captures the reference of the variable, not the value, as it mutates after each iteration. The following example illustrates the problem. It passes a loop counter to a lambda expression that instantiates a CustomData object and uses the loop counter as the object's identifier. As the output from the example shows, each CustomData object has an identical identifier.
using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace Example.Iterations;
class CustomData
{
public long CreationTime;
public int Name;
public int ThreadNum;
}
public class IterationTwo
{
public static void Main()
{
// Create the task object by using an Action(Of Object) to pass in the loop
// counter. This produces an unexpected result.
Task[] taskArray = new Task[10];
for (int i = 0; i < taskArray.Length; i++) {
taskArray[i] = Task.Factory.StartNew( (Object obj) => {
var data = new CustomData() {Name = i, CreationTime = DateTime.Now.Ticks};
data.ThreadNum = Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId;
Console.WriteLine("Task #{0} created at {1} on thread #{2}.",
data.Name, data.CreationTime, data.ThreadNum);
},
i );
}
Task.WaitAll(taskArray);
}
}
// The example displays output like the following:
// Task #10 created at 635116418427727841 on thread #4.
// Task #10 created at 635116418427737842 on thread #4.
// Task #10 created at 635116418427737842 on thread #4.
// Task #10 created at 635116418427737842 on thread #4.
// Task #10 created at 635116418427737842 on thread #4.
// Task #10 created at 635116418427737842 on thread #4.
// Task #10 created at 635116418427727841 on thread #3.
// Task #10 created at 635116418427747843 on thread #3.
// Task #10 created at 635116418427747843 on thread #3.
// Task #10 created at 635116418427737842 on thread #4.
Imports System.Threading
Namespace IterationsTwo
Class CustomData
Public CreationTime As Long
Public Name As Integer
Public ThreadNum As Integer
End Class
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
' Create the task object by using an Action(Of Object) to pass in the loop
' counter. This produces an unexpected result.
Dim taskArray(9) As Task
For i As Integer = 0 To taskArray.Length - 1
taskArray(i) = Task.Factory.StartNew(Sub(obj As Object)
Dim data As New CustomData With {.Name = i, .CreationTime = Date.Now.Ticks}
data.ThreadNum = Environment.CurrentManagedThreadId
Console.WriteLine("Task #{0} created at {1} on thread #{2}.",
data.Name, data.CreationTime, data.ThreadNum)
End Sub,
i)
Next
Task.WaitAll(taskArray)
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
' Task #10 created at 635116418427727841 on thread #4.
' Task #10 created at 635116418427737842 on thread #4.
' Task #10 created at 635116418427737842 on thread #4.
' Task #10 created at 635116418427737842 on thread #4.
' Task #10 created at 635116418427737842 on thread #4.
' Task #10 created at 635116418427737842 on thread #4.
' Task #10 created at 635116418427727841 on thread #3.
' Task #10 created at 635116418427747843 on thread #3.
' Task #10 created at 635116418427747843 on thread #3.
' Task #10 created at 635116418427737842 on thread #4.
End Namespace
You can access the value on each iteration by providing a state object to a task through its constructor. The following example modifies the previous example by using the loop counter when creating the CustomData object, which, in turn, is passed to the lambda expression. As the output from the example shows, each CustomData object now has a unique identifier based on the value of the loop counter at the time the object was instantiated.
using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
class CustomData
{
public long CreationTime;
public int Name;
public int ThreadNum;
}
public class IterationOne
{
public static void Main()
{
// Create the task object by using an Action(Of Object) to pass in custom data
// to the Task constructor. This is useful when you need to capture outer variables
// from within a loop.
Task[] taskArray = new Task[10];
for (int i = 0; i < taskArray.Length; i++) {
taskArray[i] = Task.Factory.StartNew( (Object obj ) => {
CustomData data = obj as CustomData;
if (data == null)
return;
data.ThreadNum = Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId;
Console.WriteLine("Task #{0} created at {1} on thread #{2}.",
data.Name, data.CreationTime, data.ThreadNum);
},
new CustomData() {Name = i, CreationTime = DateTime.Now.Ticks} );
}
Task.WaitAll(taskArray);
}
}
// The example displays output like the following:
// Task #0 created at 635116412924597583 on thread #3.
// Task #1 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #4.
// Task #3 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #4.
// Task #4 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #4.
// Task #2 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #3.
// Task #6 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #3.
// Task #5 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #4.
// Task #8 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #4.
// Task #7 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #3.
// Task #9 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #4.
Imports System.Threading
Namespace IterationsOne
Class CustomData
Public CreationTime As Long
Public Name As Integer
Public ThreadNum As Integer
End Class
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
' Create the task object by using an Action(Of Object) to pass in custom data
' to the Task constructor. This is useful when you need to capture outer variables
' from within a loop.
Dim taskArray(9) As Task
For i As Integer = 0 To taskArray.Length - 1
taskArray(i) = Task.Factory.StartNew(Sub(obj As Object)
Dim data As CustomData = TryCast(obj, CustomData)
If data Is Nothing Then Return
data.ThreadNum = Environment.CurrentManagedThreadId
Console.WriteLine("Task #{0} created at {1} on thread #{2}.",
data.Name, data.CreationTime, data.ThreadNum)
End Sub,
New CustomData With {.Name = i, .CreationTime = Date.Now.Ticks})
Next
Task.WaitAll(taskArray)
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
' Task #0 created at 635116412924597583 on thread #3.
' Task #1 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #4.
' Task #3 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #4.
' Task #4 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #4.
' Task #2 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #3.
' Task #6 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #3.
' Task #5 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #4.
' Task #8 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #4.
' Task #7 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #3.
' Task #9 created at 635116412924607584 on thread #4.
End Namespace
This state is passed as an argument to the task delegate, and it can be accessed from the task object by using the Task.AsyncState property. The following example is a variation on the previous example. It uses the AsyncState property to display information about the CustomData objects passed to the lambda expression.
using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace TaskIntro;
class CustomData
{
public long CreationTime;
public int Name;
public int ThreadNum;
}
public class AsyncState
{
public static void Main()
{
Task[] taskArray = new Task[10];
for (int i = 0; i < taskArray.Length; i++)
{
taskArray[i] = Task.Factory.StartNew((Object obj) =>
{
CustomData data = obj as CustomData;
if (data == null) return;
data.ThreadNum = Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId;
},
new CustomData() { Name = i, CreationTime = DateTime.Now.Ticks });
}
Task.WaitAll(taskArray);
foreach (var task in taskArray)
{
var data = task.AsyncState as CustomData;
if (data != null)
Console.WriteLine("Task #{0} created at {1}, ran on thread #{2}.",
data.Name, data.CreationTime, data.ThreadNum);
}
}
}
// The example displays output like the following:
// Task #0 created at 635116412924597583, ran on thread #3.
// Task #1 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
// Task #2 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
// Task #3 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
// Task #4 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #3.
// Task #5 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #3.
// Task #6 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
// Task #7 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
// Task #8 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #3.
// Task #9 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
Imports System.Threading
Namespace AsyncState
Class CustomData
Public CreationTime As Long
Public Name As Integer
Public ThreadNum As Integer
End Class
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
Dim taskArray(9) As Task
For i As Integer = 0 To taskArray.Length - 1
taskArray(i) = Task.Factory.StartNew(Sub(obj As Object)
Dim data As CustomData = TryCast(obj, CustomData)
If data Is Nothing Then Return
data.ThreadNum = Environment.CurrentManagedThreadId
End Sub,
New CustomData With {.Name = i, .CreationTime = Date.Now.Ticks})
Next
Task.WaitAll(taskArray)
For Each task In taskArray
Dim data = TryCast(task.AsyncState, CustomData)
If data IsNot Nothing Then
Console.WriteLine("Task #{0} created at {1}, ran on thread #{2}.",
data.Name, data.CreationTime, data.ThreadNum)
End If
Next
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
' Task #0 created at 635116412924597583, ran on thread #3.
' Task #1 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
' Task #2 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
' Task #3 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
' Task #4 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #3.
' Task #5 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #3.
' Task #6 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
' Task #7 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
' Task #8 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #3.
' Task #9 created at 635116412924607584, ran on thread #4.
End Namespace
Task ID
Every task receives an integer ID that uniquely identifies it in an application domain and can be accessed by using the Task.Id property. The ID is useful for viewing task information in the Visual Studio debugger Parallel Stacks and Tasks windows. The ID is created lazily, which means it isn't created until it's requested. Therefore, a task might have a different ID every time the program is run. For more information about how to view task IDs in the debugger, see Using the Tasks Window and Using the Parallel Stacks Window.
Task creation options
Most APIs that create tasks provide overloads that accept a TaskCreationOptions parameter. By specifying one or more of these options, you tell the task scheduler how to schedule the task on the thread pool. Options might be combined by using a bitwise OR operation.
The following example shows a task that has the LongRunning and PreferFairness options:
var task3 = new Task(() => MyLongRunningMethod(),
TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning | TaskCreationOptions.PreferFairness);
task3.Start();
Dim task3 = New Task(Sub() MyLongRunningMethod(),
TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning Or TaskCreationOptions.PreferFairness)
task3.Start()
Tasks, threads, and culture
Each thread has an associated culture and UI culture, which are defined by the Thread.CurrentCulture and Thread.CurrentUICulture properties, respectively. A thread's culture is used in operations such as, formatting, parsing, sorting, and string comparison operations. A thread's UI culture is used in resource lookup.
The system culture defines the default culture and UI culture of a thread. However, you can specify a default culture for all the threads in an application domain by using the CultureInfo.DefaultThreadCurrentCulture and CultureInfo.DefaultThreadCurrentUICulture properties. If you explicitly set a thread's culture and launch a new thread, the new thread doesn't inherit the culture of the calling thread; instead, its culture is the default system culture. However, in task-based programming, tasks use the calling thread's culture, even if the task runs asynchronously on a different thread.
The following example provides a simple illustration. It changes the app's current culture to French (France). If French (France) is already the current culture, it changes to English (United States). It then invokes a delegate named formatDelegate that returns some numbers formatted as currency values in the new culture. Whether the delegate is invoked by a task either synchronously or asynchronously, the task uses the culture of the calling thread.
using System;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
public class Example
{
public static void Main()
{
decimal[] values = { 163025412.32m, 18905365.59m };
string formatString = "C2";
Func<String> formatDelegate = () => { string output = String.Format("Formatting using the {0} culture on thread {1}.\n",
CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.Name,
Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
foreach (var value in values)
output += String.Format("{0} ", value.ToString(formatString));
output += Environment.NewLine;
return output;
};
Console.WriteLine("The example is running on thread {0}",
Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
// Make the current culture different from the system culture.
Console.WriteLine("The current culture is {0}",
CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.Name);
if (CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.Name == "fr-FR")
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = new CultureInfo("en-US");
else
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = new CultureInfo("fr-FR");
Console.WriteLine("Changed the current culture to {0}.\n",
CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.Name);
// Execute the delegate synchronously.
Console.WriteLine("Executing the delegate synchronously:");
Console.WriteLine(formatDelegate());
// Call an async delegate to format the values using one format string.
Console.WriteLine("Executing a task asynchronously:");
var t1 = Task.Run(formatDelegate);
Console.WriteLine(t1.Result);
Console.WriteLine("Executing a task synchronously:");
var t2 = new Task<String>(formatDelegate);
t2.RunSynchronously();
Console.WriteLine(t2.Result);
}
}
// The example displays the following output:
// The example is running on thread 1
// The current culture is en-US
// Changed the current culture to fr-FR.
//
// Executing the delegate synchronously:
// Formatting using the fr-FR culture on thread 1.
// 163 025 412,32 € 18 905 365,59 €
//
// Executing a task asynchronously:
// Formatting using the fr-FR culture on thread 3.
// 163 025 412,32 € 18 905 365,59 €
//
// Executing a task synchronously:
// Formatting using the fr-FR culture on thread 1.
// 163 025 412,32 € 18 905 365,59 €
Imports System.Globalization
Imports System.Threading
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
Dim values() As Decimal = {163025412.32D, 18905365.59D}
Dim formatString As String = "C2"
Dim formatDelegate As Func(Of String) = Function()
Dim output As String = String.Format("Formatting using the {0} culture on thread {1}.",
CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.Name,
Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId)
output += Environment.NewLine
For Each value In values
output += String.Format("{0} ", value.ToString(formatString))
Next
output += Environment.NewLine
Return output
End Function
Console.WriteLine("The example is running on thread {0}",
Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId)
' Make the current culture different from the system culture.
Console.WriteLine("The current culture is {0}",
CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.Name)
If CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.Name = "fr-FR" Then
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = New CultureInfo("en-US")
Else
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = New CultureInfo("fr-FR")
End If
Console.WriteLine("Changed the current culture to {0}.",
CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.Name)
Console.WriteLine()
' Execute the delegate synchronously.
Console.WriteLine("Executing the delegate synchronously:")
Console.WriteLine(formatDelegate())
' Call an async delegate to format the values using one format string.
Console.WriteLine("Executing a task asynchronously:")
Dim t1 = Task.Run(formatDelegate)
Console.WriteLine(t1.Result)
Console.WriteLine("Executing a task synchronously:")
Dim t2 = New Task(Of String)(formatDelegate)
t2.RunSynchronously()
Console.WriteLine(t2.Result)
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'
' The example is running on thread 1
' The current culture is en-US
' Changed the current culture to fr-FR.
'
' Executing the delegate synchronously:
' Formatting Imports the fr-FR culture on thread 1.
' 163 025 412,32 € 18 905 365,59 €
'
' Executing a task asynchronously:
' Formatting Imports the fr-FR culture on thread 3.
' 163 025 412,32 € 18 905 365,59 €
'
' Executing a task synchronously:
' Formatting Imports the fr-FR culture on thread 1.
' 163 025 412,32 € 18 905 365,59 €
Note
In versions of .NET Framework earlier than .NET Framework 4.6, a task's culture is determined by the culture of the thread on which it runs, not the culture of the calling thread. For asynchronous tasks, the culture used by the task could be different from the calling thread's culture.
For more information on asynchronous tasks and culture, see the "Culture and asynchronous task-based operations" section in the CultureInfo article.
Creating task continuations
The Task.ContinueWith and Task<TResult>.ContinueWith methods let you specify a task to start when the antecedent task finishes. The delegate of the continuation task is passed a reference to the antecedent task so that it can examine the antecedent task's status. And by retrieving the value of the Task<TResult>.Result property, you can use the output of the antecedent as input for the continuation.
In the following example, the getData task is started by a call to the TaskFactory.StartNew<TResult>(Func<TResult>) method. The processData task is started automatically when getData finishes, and displayData is started when processData finishes. getData produces an integer array, which is accessible to the processData task through the getData task's Task<TResult>.Result property. The processData task processes that array and returns a result whose type is inferred from the return type of the lambda expression passed to the Task<TResult>.ContinueWith<TNewResult>(Func<Task<TResult>,TNewResult>) method. The displayData task executes automatically when processData finishes, and the Tuple<T1,T2,T3> object returned by the processData lambda expression is accessible to the displayData task through the processData task's Task<TResult>.Result property. The displayData task takes the result of the processData task. It produces a result whose type is inferred in a similar manner, and which is made available to the program in the Result property.
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
public class ContinuationOne
{
public static void Main()
{
var getData = Task.Factory.StartNew(() => {
Random rnd = new Random();
int[] values = new int[100];
for (int ctr = 0; ctr <= values.GetUpperBound(0); ctr++)
values[ctr] = rnd.Next();
return values;
} );
var processData = getData.ContinueWith((x) => {
int n = x.Result.Length;
long sum = 0;
double mean;
for (int ctr = 0; ctr <= x.Result.GetUpperBound(0); ctr++)
sum += x.Result[ctr];
mean = sum / (double) n;
return Tuple.Create(n, sum, mean);
} );
var displayData = processData.ContinueWith((x) => {
return String.Format("N={0:N0}, Total = {1:N0}, Mean = {2:N2}",
x.Result.Item1, x.Result.Item2,
x.Result.Item3);
} );
Console.WriteLine(displayData.Result);
}
}
// The example displays output similar to the following:
// N=100, Total = 110,081,653,682, Mean = 1,100,816,536.82
Namespace ContinuationsOne
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
Dim getData = Task.Factory.StartNew(Function()
Dim rnd As New Random()
Dim values(99) As Integer
For ctr = 0 To values.GetUpperBound(0)
values(ctr) = rnd.Next()
Next
Return values
End Function)
Dim processData = getData.ContinueWith(Function(x)
Dim n As Integer = x.Result.Length
Dim sum As Long
Dim mean As Double
For ctr = 0 To x.Result.GetUpperBound(0)
sum += x.Result(ctr)
Next
mean = sum / n
Return Tuple.Create(n, sum, mean)
End Function)
Dim displayData = processData.ContinueWith(Function(x)
Return String.Format("N={0:N0}, Total = {1:N0}, Mean = {2:N2}",
x.Result.Item1, x.Result.Item2,
x.Result.Item3)
End Function)
Console.WriteLine(displayData.Result)
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
' N=100, Total = 110,081,653,682, Mean = 1,100,816,536.82
End Namespace
Because Task.ContinueWith is an instance method, you can chain method calls together instead of instantiating a Task<TResult> object for each antecedent task. The following example is functionally identical to the previous one, except that it chains together calls to the Task.ContinueWith method. The Task<TResult> object returned by the chain of method calls is the final continuation task.
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
public class ContinuationTwo
{
public static void Main()
{
var displayData = Task.Factory.StartNew(() => {
Random rnd = new Random();
int[] values = new int[100];
for (int ctr = 0; ctr <= values.GetUpperBound(0); ctr++)
values[ctr] = rnd.Next();
return values;
} ).
ContinueWith((x) => {
int n = x.Result.Length;
long sum = 0;
double mean;
for (int ctr = 0; ctr <= x.Result.GetUpperBound(0); ctr++)
sum += x.Result[ctr];
mean = sum / (double) n;
return Tuple.Create(n, sum, mean);
} ).
ContinueWith((x) => {
return String.Format("N={0:N0}, Total = {1:N0}, Mean = {2:N2}",
x.Result.Item1, x.Result.Item2,
x.Result.Item3);
} );
Console.WriteLine(displayData.Result);
}
}
// The example displays output similar to the following:
// N=100, Total = 110,081,653,682, Mean = 1,100,816,536.82
Namespace ContinuationsTwo
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
Dim displayData = Task.Factory.StartNew(Function()
Dim rnd As New Random()
Dim values(99) As Integer
For ctr = 0 To values.GetUpperBound(0)
values(ctr) = rnd.Next()
Next
Return values
End Function). _
ContinueWith(Function(x)
Dim n As Integer = x.Result.Length
Dim sum As Long
Dim mean As Double
For ctr = 0 To x.Result.GetUpperBound(0)
sum += x.Result(ctr)
Next
mean = sum / n
Return Tuple.Create(n, sum, mean)
End Function). _
ContinueWith(Function(x)
Return String.Format("N={0:N0}, Total = {1:N0}, Mean = {2:N2}",
x.Result.Item1, x.Result.Item2,
x.Result.Item3)
End Function)
Console.WriteLine(displayData.Result)
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
' N=100, Total = 110,081,653,682, Mean = 1,100,816,536.82
End Namespace
The ContinueWhenAll and ContinueWhenAny methods enable you to continue from multiple tasks.
For more information, see Chaining Tasks by Using Continuation Tasks.
Creating detached child tasks
When user code that's running in a task creates a new task and doesn't specify the AttachedToParent option, the new task isn't synchronized with the parent task in any special way. This type of non-synchronized task is called a detached nested task or detached child task. The following example shows a task that creates one detached child task:
var outer = Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
{
Console.WriteLine("Outer task beginning.");
var child = Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
{
Thread.SpinWait(5000000);
Console.WriteLine("Detached task completed.");
});
});
outer.Wait();
Console.WriteLine("Outer task completed.");
// The example displays the following output:
// Outer task beginning.
// Outer task completed.
// Detached task completed.
Dim outer = Task.Factory.StartNew(Sub()
Console.WriteLine("Outer task beginning.")
Dim child = Task.Factory.StartNew(Sub()
Thread.SpinWait(5000000)
Console.WriteLine("Detached task completed.")
End Sub)
End Sub)
outer.Wait()
Console.WriteLine("Outer task completed.")
' The example displays the following output:
' Outer task beginning.
' Outer task completed.
' Detached child completed.
Note
The parent task doesn't wait for the detached child task to finish.
Creating child tasks
When user code that's running in a task creates a task with the AttachedToParent option, the new task is known as an attached child task of the parent task. You can use the AttachedToParent option to express structured task parallelism because the parent task implicitly waits for all attached child tasks to finish. The following example shows a parent task that creates 10 attached child tasks. The example calls the Task.Wait method to wait for the parent task to finish. It doesn't have to explicitly wait for the attached child tasks to complete.
using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
public class Child
{
public static void Main()
{
var parent = Task.Factory.StartNew(() => {
Console.WriteLine("Parent task beginning.");
for (int ctr = 0; ctr < 10; ctr++) {
int taskNo = ctr;
Task.Factory.StartNew((x) => {
Thread.SpinWait(5000000);
Console.WriteLine("Attached child #{0} completed.",
x);
},
taskNo, TaskCreationOptions.AttachedToParent);
}
});
parent.Wait();
Console.WriteLine("Parent task completed.");
}
}
// The example displays output like the following:
// Parent task beginning.
// Attached child #9 completed.
// Attached child #0 completed.
// Attached child #8 completed.
// Attached child #1 completed.
// Attached child #7 completed.
// Attached child #2 completed.
// Attached child #6 completed.
// Attached child #3 completed.
// Attached child #5 completed.
// Attached child #4 completed.
// Parent task completed.
Imports System.Threading
Namespace Child
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
Dim parent = Task.Factory.StartNew(Sub()
Console.WriteLine("Parent task beginning.")
For ctr As Integer = 0 To 9
Dim taskNo As Integer = ctr
Task.Factory.StartNew(Sub(x)
Thread.SpinWait(5000000)
Console.WriteLine("Attached child #{0} completed.",
x)
End Sub,
taskNo, TaskCreationOptions.AttachedToParent)
Next
End Sub)
parent.Wait()
Console.WriteLine("Parent task completed.")
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
' Parent task beginning.
' Attached child #9 completed.
' Attached child #0 completed.
' Attached child #8 completed.
' Attached child #1 completed.
' Attached child #7 completed.
' Attached child #2 completed.
' Attached child #6 completed.
' Attached child #3 completed.
' Attached child #5 completed.
' Attached child #4 completed.
' Parent task completed.
End Namespace
A parent task can use the TaskCreationOptions.DenyChildAttach option to prevent other tasks from attaching to the parent task. For more information, see Attached and Detached Child Tasks.
Waiting for tasks to finish
The System.Threading.Tasks.Task and System.Threading.Tasks.Task<TResult> types provide several overloads of the Task.Wait methods that enable you to wait for a task to finish. In addition, overloads of the static Task.WaitAll and Task.WaitAny methods let you wait for any or all of an array of tasks to finish.
Typically, you would wait for a task for one of these reasons:
The main thread depends on the final result computed by a task.
You have to handle exceptions that might be thrown from the task.
The application might terminate before all tasks have completed execution. For example, console applications will terminate after all synchronous code in
Main(the application entry point) has executed.
The following example shows the basic pattern that doesn't involve exception handling:
Task[] tasks = new Task[3]
{
Task.Factory.StartNew(() => MethodA()),
Task.Factory.StartNew(() => MethodB()),
Task.Factory.StartNew(() => MethodC())
};
//Block until all tasks complete.
Task.WaitAll(tasks);
// Continue on this thread...
Dim tasks() =
{
Task.Factory.StartNew(Sub() MethodA()),
Task.Factory.StartNew(Sub() MethodB()),
Task.Factory.StartNew(Sub() MethodC())
}
' Block until all tasks complete.
Task.WaitAll(tasks)
' Continue on this thread...
For an example that shows exception handling, see Exception Handling.
Some overloads let you specify a time-out, and others take an additional CancellationToken as an input parameter so that the wait itself can be canceled either programmatically or in response to user input.
When you wait for a task, you implicitly wait for all children of that task that were created by using the TaskCreationOptions.AttachedToParent option. Task.Wait returns immediately if the task has already completed. A Task.Wait method will throw any exceptions raised by a task, even if the Task.Wait method was called after the task completed.
Composing tasks
The Task and Task<TResult> classes provide several methods to help you compose multiple tasks. These methods implement common patterns and make better use of the asynchronous language features that are provided by C#, Visual Basic, and F#. This section describes the WhenAll, WhenAny, Delay, and FromResult methods.
Task.WhenAll
The Task.WhenAll method asynchronously waits for multiple Task or Task<TResult> objects to finish. It provides overloaded versions that enable you to wait for non-uniform sets of tasks. For example, you can wait for multiple Task and Task<TResult> objects to complete from one method call.
Task.WhenAny
The Task.WhenAny method asynchronously waits for one of multiple Task or Task<TResult> objects to finish. As in the Task.WhenAll method, this method provides overloaded versions that enable you to wait for non-uniform sets of tasks. The WhenAny method is especially useful in the following scenarios:
Redundant operations: Consider an algorithm or operation that can be performed in many ways. You can use the WhenAny method to select the operation that finishes first and then cancel the remaining operations.
Interleaved operations: You can start multiple operations that must finish and use the WhenAny method to process results as each operation finishes. After one operation finishes, you can start one or more tasks.
Throttled operations: You can use the WhenAny method to extend the previous scenario by limiting the number of concurrent operations.
Expired operations: You can use the WhenAny method to select between one or more tasks and a task that finishes after a specific time, such as a task that's returned by the Delay method. The Delay method is described in the following section.
Task.Delay
The Task.Delay method produces a Task object that finishes after the specified time. You can use this method to build loops that poll for data, to specify time-outs, to delay the handling of user input, and so on.
Task(T).FromResult
By using the Task.FromResult method, you can create a Task<TResult> object that holds a pre-computed result. This method is useful when you perform an asynchronous operation that returns a Task<TResult> object, and the result of that Task<TResult> object is already computed. For an example that uses FromResult to retrieve the results of asynchronous download operations that are held in a cache, see How to: Create Pre-Computed Tasks.
Handling exceptions in tasks
When a task throws one or more exceptions, the exceptions are wrapped in an AggregateException exception. That exception is propagated back to the thread that joins with the task. Typically, it's the thread waiting for the task to finish or the thread accessing the Result property. This behavior enforces the .NET Framework policy that all unhandled exceptions by default should terminate the process. The calling code can handle the exceptions by using any of the following in a try/catch block:
The joining thread can also handle exceptions by accessing the Exception property before the task is garbage-collected. By accessing this property, you prevent the unhandled exception from triggering the exception propagation behavior that terminates the process when the object is finalized.
For more information about exceptions and tasks, see Exception Handling.
Canceling tasks
The Task class supports cooperative cancellation and is fully integrated with the System.Threading.CancellationTokenSource and System.Threading.CancellationToken classes, which were introduced in the .NET Framework 4. Many of the constructors in the System.Threading.Tasks.Task class take a CancellationToken object as an input parameter. Many of the StartNew and Run overloads also include a CancellationToken parameter.
You can create the token and issue the cancellation request at some later time, by using the CancellationTokenSource class. Pass the token to the Task as an argument, and also reference the same token in your user delegate, which does the work of responding to a cancellation request.
For more information, see Task Cancellation and How to: Cancel a Task and Its Children.
The TaskFactory class
The TaskFactory class provides static methods that encapsulate common patterns for creating and starting tasks and continuation tasks.
The most common pattern is StartNew, which creates and starts a task in one statement.
When you create continuation tasks from multiple antecedents, use the ContinueWhenAll method or ContinueWhenAny method or their equivalents in the Task<TResult> class. For more information, see Chaining Tasks by Using Continuation Tasks.
To encapsulate Asynchronous Programming Model
BeginXandEndXmethods in a Task or Task<TResult> instance, use the FromAsync methods. For more information, see TPL and Traditional .NET Framework Asynchronous Programming.
The default TaskFactory can be accessed as a static property on the Task class or Task<TResult> class. You can also instantiate a TaskFactory directly and specify various options that include a CancellationToken, a TaskCreationOptions option, a TaskContinuationOptions option, or a TaskScheduler. Whatever options are specified when you create the task factory will be applied to all tasks that it creates unless the Task is created by using the TaskCreationOptions enumeration, in which case the task's options override those of the task factory.
Tasks without delegates
In some cases, you might want to use a Task to encapsulate some asynchronous operation that's performed by an external component instead of your user delegate. If the operation is based on the Asynchronous Programming Model Begin/End pattern, you can use the FromAsync methods. If that's not the case, you can use the TaskCompletionSource<TResult> object to wrap the operation in a task and thereby gain some of the benefits of Task programmability. For example, support for exception propagation and continuations. For more information, see TaskCompletionSource<TResult>.
Custom schedulers
Most application or library developers don't care which processor the task runs on, how it synchronizes its work with other tasks, or how it's scheduled on the System.Threading.ThreadPool. They only require that it execute as efficiently as possible on the host computer. If you require more fine-grained control over the scheduling details, the TPL lets you configure some settings on the default task scheduler, and even lets you supply a custom scheduler. For more information, see TaskScheduler.
Related data structures
The TPL has several new public types that are useful in parallel and sequential scenarios. These include several thread-safe, fast, and scalable collection classes in the System.Collections.Concurrent namespace and several new synchronization types. For example, System.Threading.Semaphore and System.Threading.ManualResetEventSlim, which are more efficient than their predecessors for specific kinds of workloads. Other new types in the .NET Framework 4, for example, System.Threading.Barrier and System.Threading.SpinLock, provide functionality that wasn't available in earlier releases. For more information, see Data Structures for Parallel Programming.
Custom task types
We recommend that you don't inherit from System.Threading.Tasks.Task or System.Threading.Tasks.Task<TResult>. Instead, we recommend that you use the AsyncState property to associate additional data or state with a Task or Task<TResult> object. You can also use extension methods to extend the functionality of the Task and Task<TResult> classes. For more information about extension methods, see Extension Methods and Extension Methods.
If you must inherit from Task or Task<TResult>, you can't use Run or the System.Threading.Tasks.TaskFactory, System.Threading.Tasks.TaskFactory<TResult>, or System.Threading.Tasks.TaskCompletionSource<TResult> classes to create instances of your custom task type. You can't use them because these classes create only Task and Task<TResult> objects. In addition, you can't use the task continuation mechanisms that are provided by Task, Task<TResult>, TaskFactory, and TaskFactory<TResult> to create instances of your custom task type. You can't use them because these classes also create only Task and Task<TResult> objects.
Related sections
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Chaining Tasks by Using Continuation Tasks | Describes how continuations work. |
| Attached and Detached Child Tasks | Describes the difference between attached and detached child tasks. |
| Task Cancellation | Describes the cancellation support that's built into the Task object. |
| Exception Handling | Describes how exceptions on concurrent threads are handled. |
| How to: Use Parallel.Invoke to Execute Parallel Operations | Describes how to use Invoke. |
| How to: Return a Value from a Task | Describes how to return values from tasks. |
| How to: Cancel a Task and Its Children | Describes how to cancel tasks. |
| How to: Create Pre-Computed Tasks | Describes how to use the Task.FromResult method to retrieve the results of asynchronous download operations that are held in a cache. |
| How to: Traverse a Binary Tree with Parallel Tasks | Describes how to use tasks to traverse a binary tree. |
| How to: Unwrap a Nested Task | Demonstrates how to use the Unwrap extension method. |
| Data Parallelism | Describes how to use For and ForEach to create parallel loops over data. |
| Parallel Programming | Top-level node for .NET Framework parallel programming. |
