Asynchronous Programming with C# v.Next Pavel Yosifovich Hi-Tech College pavely@hi-tech.co.il http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/blogs/pavely © 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries. The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

Agenda C# Evolution Trends Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Asynchrony the “old way” The New Way Odds and Ends Summary

C# Evolution C# 4.0 Dynamic Typing C# 3.0 Language Integrated Query Generics C# 1.0 Managed Code

Trends Declarative Concurrent Dynamic

Trends Increasingly connected applications Asynchronous programming More latency More UI responsiveness problems More scalability issues Asynchronous programming Becoming the norm in responsive, scalable apps Async-only APIs, e.g. JavaScript and Silverlight

C# Evolution C# v.Next Asynchronous Programming C# 4.0 Dynamic Typing Language Integrated Query C# 2.0 Generics C# 1.0 Managed Code

demo Responsive UI 5/13/2018 8:08 AM © 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries. The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

Asynchrony in a Nutshell Synchronous  Wait for result before returning string DownloadString(...); Asynchronous  Return now, call back with result void DownloadStringAsync(..., Action<string> callback); Asynchronous work != Threads

Synchronous vs. Asynchronous var data = DownloadData(...); ProcessData(data); STOP ProcessData DownloadData Thread DownloadDataAsync(... , data => { ProcessData(data); }); Thread DownloadDataAsync ProcessData

Synchronous vs. Asynchronous var data = DownloadData(...); ProcessData(data); STOP ProcessData DownloadData STOP Thread DownloadDataAsync(... , data => { ProcessData(data); }); Thread DownloadDataAsync ProcessData

Asynchronous Methods Goal: Just like synchronous programming Framework: Use Task<T> for all asynchrony Add Task<T> support to existing .NET and Silverlight APIs Developers can do the same Languages: Asynchronous Methods “async” modifier marks method or lambda as asynchronous “await” operator yields control until awaited task completes

Task<T> Represents “ongoing operation” Composable callback model Could be async I/O, background worker, anything... Single object for status, result and exceptions Composable callback model var task2 = task1.ContinueWith(t => … t.Result …); The “await” operator rewrites to continuations Combinators WhenAll, WhenAny, Delay, etc.

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } Message Pump UI Thread

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); }

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); }

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); }

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1 t2

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1 t2

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1 t2 

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1 t2 

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1 t2  

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1 t2  

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1 t2   

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1 t2    

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1 t2     

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1 t2      

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1 t2       

Asynchronous Control Flow async void DoWorkAsync() { var t1 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.acme.com/rss"); var t2 = ProcessFeedAsync("www.xyznews.com/rss"); await Task.WhenAll(t1, t2); DisplayMessage("Done"); } async Task ProcessFeedAsync(string url) { var text = await DownloadFeedAsync(url); var doc = ParseFeedIntoDoc(text); await SaveDocAsync(doc); ProcessLog.WriteEntry(url); } t1 t2       

What About Exceptions? Should be as simple as the synchronous case var wc = new WebClient(); try {    string txt = await wc.DownloadStringTaskAsync(url);    dataTextBox.Text = txt; } catch(WebException x) {    // Handle as usual

How Does it Work? async Task<XElement> GetRssAsync(string url) { var client = new WebClient(); var task = client.DownloadStringTaskAsync(url); var text = await task; var xml = XElement.Parse(text); return xml; }

How Does it Work? Task<XElement> GetRssAsync(string url) { var $builder = AsyncMethodBuilder<XElement>.Create(); var $state = 0; TaskAwaiter<string> $a1; Action $resume = delegate { try { if ($state == 1) goto L1; var client = new WebClient(); var task = client.DownloadStringTaskAsync(url); $state = 1; $a1 = task.GetAwaiter(); if ($a1.BeginAwait($resume)) return; L1: var text = $a1.EndAwait(); var xml = XElement.Parse(text); $builder.SetResult(xml); } catch (Exception $ex) { $builder.SetException($ex); }; $resume(); return $builder.Task; async Task<XElement> GetRssAsync(string url) { var client = new WebClient(); var task = client.DownloadStringTaskAsync(url); var text = await task; var xml = XElement.Parse(text); return xml; }

Asynchronous Methods As simple as synchronous code Unifies computational, network and I/O asynchrony More scalable servers More responsive UI

C# Evolution C# v.Next Asynchronous Programming C# 4.0 Dynamic Typing Language Integrated Query C# 2.0 Generics C# 1.0 Managed Code

Compiler as a Service Compiler Compiler Meta-programming Class Field public Foo private string X Meta-programming Read-Eval-Print Loop Language Object Model DSL Embedding Compiler Compiler Source File .NET Assembly Source code Source code Source code Source code

Resources Visual Studio Async CTP Eric Lippert’s Blog http://msdn.com/vstudio/async Eric Lippert’s Blog http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ericlippert/ The Async CTP does not currently work if SP1 is installed Need to install on top of the RTM version A new CTP will probably be released soon that will work with SP1