chaining c# async / await tasks, recreating them as they complete - c#

Aesthetic question really.
Given this code (polling unavoidable):
protected override async Task ExecuteAsync(CancellationToken ct)
{
// move the loop here somehow?
await Task.WhenAll(
Task.Run(async () => await this.PollA(ct), ct),
Task.Run(async () => await this.PollB(ct), ct),
Task.Run(async () => await this.PollC(ct), ct))
.ConfigureAwait(false);
}
the polling methods look like this at the moment, each one has a different delay.
private async Task Poll(CancellationToken ct)
{
while (!ct.IsCancellationRequested)
{
await Task.Delay(Math.Max(1000, CONFIGA), ct);
this._logger.StartAction("poll A status");
this._logger.StopAction("poll A status");
}
}
Is there a way to structure a continuation that removes the loop in each of the Poll methods
private async Task Poll(CancellationToken ct)
{
await Task.Delay(Math.Max(1000, CONFIGA), ct);
this._logger.StartAction("poll A status");
this._logger.StopAction("poll A status");
}
This might not even be the right pattern, but it seems better than having three infinite loops.
Task.WhenAny([A,B,C]) =>
// recreate any complete task as soon as it returns
// and await the new "continuation"?

I have an Aesthetic solution, that is probably not advisable to be used since it will probably cause stack overflow eventually.
It maybe demonstrates why the loop is a better option.
I must admit do not really understand your example in a real world context.
In my mind almost all code that executes for a long time will do it in a finite loop, and thus to check for cancellation after each loop iteration sounds like a good idea to me.
Unless you want your code just to run infinitely until the task is canceled, in which case my aesthetic solution will probably cause a stack overflow if left to long, but it was fun none the less coming up with this code.
I created a Extension method:
public static class Extensions
{
public static async Task ContinueWithInfinitly(this Task task, Func<Task> continuationAction, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
{
await task;
if (!cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
{
var newTask = continuationAction.Invoke();
await newTask.ContinueWithInfinitly(continuationAction, cancellationToken);
}
}
}
Which Base on your code will then be called as follows:
await Task.WhenAll(
Task.Run(async () => await this.PollA(ct).ContinueWithInfinitly(() => PollA(ct), ct)),
Task.Run(async () => await this.PollB(ct).ContinueWithInfinitly(() => PollB(ct), ct)),
Task.Run(async () => await this.PollC(ct).ContinueWithInfinitly(() => PollC(ct), ct)))
.ConfigureAwait(false);
Although I dont see the point of wrapping each method again in a Task.Run.
So i can also just be
await Task.WhenAll(
this.PollA(ct).ContinueWithInfinitly(() => PollA(ct), ct),
this.PollB(ct).ContinueWithInfinitly(() => PollB(ct), ct),
this.PollC(ct).ContinueWithInfinitly(() => PollC(ct), ct))
.ConfigureAwait(false);

You can use Task.WhenAny like this:
private async Task<Tuple<string, int>> Poll(string type, int delay, CancellationToken ct) {
await Task.Delay(Math.Max(1000, delay), ct);
Console.WriteLine($"poll {type} status");
// return input arguments back
return Tuple.Create(type, delay);
}
private async Task PollAll(CancellationToken ct) {
var tasks = new []
{
Poll("A", 3000, ct),
Poll("B", 2000, ct),
Poll("C", 1000, ct)
};
while (!ct.IsCancellationRequested) {
var completed = await Task.WhenAny(tasks);
var index = Array.IndexOf(tasks, completed);
// await to throw exceptions if any
await completed;
// replace with new task with the same arguments
tasks[index] = Poll(completed.Result.Item1, completed.Result.Item2, ct);
}
}

Related

Task.WhenAny to Grab Only Task that resolves the Fastest

I have two async methods that both return a List. They both search for records in a different way, and i need them both to run in parallel, and i only care about the task that finishes first. The other one should be canceled if possible.
I presume i should be using Task.WhenAny but don't seem to be getting the implementation correct. The below GoAsync implementation doesn't return any records, it jumps out of the routine (no errors) at await Task.WhenAny(taskList) line. I get no results, etc. How can i get the results? Am i going about this correctly?
public static async void GoAsync(SearchContract search, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken))
{
var taskList = new List<Task>();
taskList.Add(new Task(async () => await SearchRoutine1Async(search, cancellationToken)));
taskList.Add(new Task(async () => await SearchRoutine2Async( search, cancellationToken)));
Task completedTask = await Task.WhenAny(taskList);
}
The Async routines are something like this:
public static async Task<List<SearchModel>> SearchRoutine1Async( SearchContract search, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken))
{
using (DBContext db = new DBContext)
{
var searchModels= await db.SearchModel
.Where(sm => sm.subKey1 = search.subKey1)
.ToListAsync(cancellationToken)
;
return searchModels;
}
}
When i've tried running these tasks individually such as doing this: It works fine.
var callTask = Task.Run(() => SearchRoutine1Async(search));
callTask.Wait();
var list1 = callTask.Result;
var callTask2 = Task.Run(() => SearchRoutine2Async(search));
callTask2.Wait();
var list2 = callTask.Result;
[UPDATE]:
I've changed my GoAsync to this: according to one of the answers below: (but it's still not working)
public static async Task<List<SearchModel>> GoAsync(SearchContract search, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken))
{
var taskList = new List<Task<List<SearchModel>>>
{
SearchRoutine1Async(search, cancellationToken),
SearchRoutine2Async(search, cancellationToken)
};
Task<List<SearchModel>> completedTask = await Task.WhenAny(taskList);
return completedTask.Result;
}
I call the routine from a SYNCHRONOUS routine as such :
var result = GoAsync(search);
Note i'm deep in a routine that where i need to run these task in parallel in order to get a competing result. That routine as a signature of
private static void DoVariousCalucualtions() {}
You don't need to create new Task, asynchronous method will return a task.
public static async Task GoAsync(
SearchContract search,
CancellationToken cancellationToken = default(CancellationToken))
{
var taskList = new List<Task<List<SearchModel>>>
{
SearchRoutine1Async(search, cancellationToken),
SearchRoutine2Async( search, cancellationToken)
};
Task<List<SearchModel>> completedTask = await Task.WhenAny(taskList);
// use competedTask.Result here (safe as you know task is completed)
}
After question update:
To get results you need await for the function to complete.
var result = await GoAsync();
But you mentioned that this call located deep in the synchronous function with void signature and you are not using ASP.Net Core. That means you need to make whole "methods pipeline" asynchronous starting from controller action.
If you will use GoAsync().Result; you will end up with a deadlock, behaviour you already experienced...

how to wait for task.run

I am writing a windows store app and needs some help on Task.Run method. I am calling service to retrieve data from a service; because I want to cancel the task when internet is disconnected I am passing CancellationToken
await Task.Run(async () => await Download1(), cts.Token);
There is another download method which should run after this above task is finished so I am using await. Both the tasks write to same files so I want to make sure that they do not run in parallel.
await Task.Run(async () => await Download2(), cts.Token);
The issue is that above task 2 starts without task 1 is finished and so both task run in parallel. What I am doing wrong? Please advise.
Download1 looks like this:-
public async Task Download1()
{
await Windows.ApplicationModel.Core.CoreApplication.MainView.CoreWindow.Dispatcher.RunAsync(CoreDispatcherPriority.Normal,
async () =>
{
Status = "Downloading!";
var ListSetupTasks = new List<SetupView>();
foreach (var setup in AllSetupTasks.Setup)
{
ListSetupTasks.Add(new SetupViewModel(setup));
}
IEnumerable<Task> downloadTasksQuery = from setup in ListSetupTasks where setup.TaskType == TaskType.Web select _masterlistrepository.GetTask(setup, false, datetime, branch);
Task[] downloadTasks = downloadTasksQuery.ToArray();
await Task.WhenAll(downloadTasks);
IEnumerable<Task> FinalTasksQuery = from setup in ListSetupTasks where setup.TaskType == TaskType.Web select _masterlistrepository.GetTask(setup, false);
foreach (var task in FinalTasksQuery)
{
await task;
}
});
}
The CancellationToken is used like this:-
async void NetworkChanged(object sender, NetworkConnectionStatusChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.Value == false && LoadingData == true)
{
await Windows.ApplicationModel.Core.CoreApplication.MainView.CoreWindow.Dispatcher.RunAsync(CoreDispatcherPriority.Normal,
async () =>
{
await _alertmessageservice.ShowAsync("", "Network error. Please retry!");
cts.Cancel();
});
}
}
You use the CoreDispatcher.RunAsync which accepts a DispatchedHandler. DispatchedHandler has this signature:
public delegate void DispatchedHandler()
So when you pass in an async lambda it will end up being async void. That makes it impossible to await as there's no task being returned. This means that everything after an await in your lambdas will run on a different thread concurrently.
You shouldn't be passing an async delegate to that method.
As a side note, passing a CancellationToken doesn't enable to automatically stop the operation. It can only stop the operation before it starts or if you're observing the token somewhere inside the operation.
So, to actually use the CancellationToken Download should accept use it which makes the Task.Run redundant:
await Download1Async(cts.Token);
Can you just call them sequentially?
await Task.Run(async () =>
{
await Download1();
await Download2();
});
You might not even need Task.Run, unless you are calling from a UI thread. If you're already on a background thread, then try just:
await Download1();
await Download2();
Of course, your cancellation token should probably be passed into the download function either way.

react different to multiple async calls

Imagine the following scenario :
public async Task DoMultipleWork() {
var uploadTask = UploadAsync(file);
var processingTask = Task.Run( () => DoCpuWork() );
await Task.WhenAll(uploadTask, processingTask);
Console.WriteLine("upload is done");
Console.WirteLine("processing is done");
}
How can I change that code so that it doesn't matter which one ends first, it execute some particular (sync or async) code.
So I fire the both task and when taskA or taskB ends, I just run some code (sync or async) independently of the other.
I think maybe ContinueWith but I'm not sure because it needs an another async method which is not really needed.
EDIT
As suggested by comments on answer, I want to clear that I want to execute different code depending on the task that completes, and get both Console.WriteLine executed as soon as the original task completes.
You want to use Task.WhenAny which returns the first task that completes. You can then tell which task completed by comparing to the original tasks. Before returning you should wait for the other one to complete explicitly (or wait for both with Task.WhenAll):
public async Task DoMultipleWork()
{
var uploadTask = UploadAsync(file);
var processingTask = Task.Run( () => DoCpuWork() );
var completedTask = await Task.WhenAny(uploadTask, processingTask);
Console.WriteLine("upload or processing is done");
if (completedTask == uploadTask)
{
// Upload completed
}
else
{
// Processing completed
}
await Task.WhenAll(uploadTask, processingTask) // Make sure both complete
Console.WriteLine("upload and processing are done");
}
As I describe on my blog, ContinueWith is dangerous unless you explicitly pass a scheduler. You should use await instead of ContinueWith in ~99% of cases (more detail in another blog post).
In your case:
private async Task UploadAsync(string filepath)
{
var result = await fileManager.UploadAsync(filepath);
Console.WriteLine($"Result from uploading file {result}");
}
private async Task ProcessAsync(string filepath, IProgress<T> progress)
{
await Task.Run(() => wordProcessor.Process(filepath, progress));
Console.WriteLine("processing completed");
}
...
await Task.WhenAll(UploadAsync(filepath), ProcessAsync(filepath, processingProgress));
public async Task DoMultipleWork() {
var uploadTask = UploadAsync(file);
var processingTask = Task.Run( () => DoCpuWork() );
uploadTask.ContinueWith((Task t) => Console.WriteLine("YOUR_MESSAGE"), TaskContinuationOptions.OnlyOnRanToCompletion);
processingTask.ContinueWith((Task t) => Console.WriteLine("YOUR_MESSAGE"), TaskContinuationOptions.OnlyOnRanToCompletion);
await Task.WhenAll(new []{uploadTask, processingTask});
}

How to create a cancellable task loop?

Is it possible to use System.Threading.Task.Task to create a loop of task that can be cancelled?
The flow should start with a Task.Delay(x ms) then continue with userdefined task, then another Task.Delay(y ms) and repeat from the user defined task.
var result = Task.Delay(initialDelay)
.ContinueWith(t => dostuff..)
.ContinueWith what goes here?
Is it even doable using tasks?
I could spin up a timer and be done with it, but using task seems to be the right way to go if I need cancellation, no?
await makes this super easy:
public async Task TimedLoop(Action action,
CancellationToken token, TimeSpan delay)
{
while (true)
{
token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
action();
await Task.Delay(delay, token);
}
}
Without async (but still just using the TPL) it's a bit messier. I generally solve this problem by having a continuation that attaches itself to a variable of type Task. This works fine, but it can take a second to wrap your head around it. Without await it may be easier to just use a Timer instead.
public Task TimedLoop(Action action,
CancellationToken token, TimeSpan delay)
{
//You can omit these two lines if you want the method to be void.
var tcs = new TaskCompletionSource<bool>();
token.Register(() => tcs.SetCanceled());
Task previous = Task.FromResult(true);
Action<Task> continuation = null;
continuation = t =>
{
previous = previous.ContinueWith(t2 => action(), token)
.ContinueWith(t2 => Task.Delay(delay, token), token)
.Unwrap()
.ContinueWith(t2 => previous.ContinueWith(continuation, token));
};
previous.ContinueWith(continuation, token);
return tcs.Task;
}

Call long running method and continue with other tasks

public class PerformMainTask()
{
Task1();
Task2();
PerformLongTask();
Task3();
Task4();
}
What I would like to achieve here is to PerformLongTask() onto another thread, and to continue with Task3 & Task4 even when PerformLongTask() is still running.
How should my PerformLongTask() be like in a C# 5.0 way?
Do I need to use async/await?
The simplest solution I know of is:
Task1();
Task2();
var task3 = Task.Run(() => PerformLongTask());
Task4();
Task5();
task3.Wait(); //if task3 has not started yet it will be inlined here
Simple and efficient. If you need to propagate errors you should probably use Parallel.Invoke:
Parallel.Invoke(
() => { PerformLongTask(); },
() => { Task4(); Task5(); }
);
Assuming you are using C# 5 and all your Task() methods truly return a Task (or anything awaitable), your code should look like that:
public async Task PerformMainTask()
{
await Task1();
await Task2();
// Start long task
var longTask = PerformLongTask();
await Task3();
await Task4();
//wait for long task to finish
await longTask;
}
However, if your long task does not run parallelly on its own, you can force it to do so with Task.Run:
public async Task PerformMainTask()
{
await Task1();
await Task2();
// Start long task
var longTask = Task.Run(PerformLongTask);
await Task3();
await Task4();
//wait for long task to finish
await longTask;
}
If none are your tasks are really tasks, just strip all the await except the last one, and you will be good to go.
public class PerformMainTask()
{
Task1();
Task2();
Task.WaitAll(Task.Factory.StartNew(() => PerformLongTask()), Task.Factory.StartNew(() => { Task3(); Task4(); }));
}

Categories

Resources