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Concurrent entrancy occurs despite of use of SemaphoreSlim

I expected the following Connected and Disconnected handlers are called alternately.
But it wasn't. It is not 100% reproducible but sometimes the test failed. Repository is here.
I attach simplified code here because full code will be long. Please refer to the repository for the reproducible example.
public class ClientStressTest3 {
[Fact]
public async Task TestAsync() {
var client = new Client();
int openCloseDifference = 0;
var failures = Channel.CreateUnbounded<string>();
client.Connected += () => {
Interlocked.Increment(ref openCloseDifference);
int difference = openCloseDifference;
Debug.WriteLine("Connected: {}", difference);
if (Math.Abs(difference) > 1) {
// Failure point. Why enter here?
_ = failures.Writer.WriteAsync($"open close difference {difference}");
}
};
client.Disconnected += () => {
Interlocked.Decrement(ref openCloseDifference);
int difference = openCloseDifference;
Debug.WriteLine("Disconnected: {}", difference);
if (Math.Abs(difference) > 1) {
_ = failures.Writer.WriteAsync($"open close difference {difference}");
}
};
var tasks = new List<Task>();
for (int i = 0; i < 625; i++) {
tasks.Add(Task.Run(async () => {
try {
await client.ConnectAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
}
catch (Exception ex) { }
}));
tasks.Add(Task.Run(async () => {
try {
await client.CloseAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
}
catch (Exception ex) { }
}));
}
await Task.WhenAll(tasks).ConfigureAwait(false);
while (await failures.Reader.WaitToReadAsync().ConfigureAwait(false)) {
string failure = await failures.Reader.ReadAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
throw new Exception(failure);
}
}
}
class Client {
public event Action Connected = delegate { };
public event Action Disconnected = delegate { };
private readonly SemaphoreSlim _connectSemaphore = new(1);
private Task _dispatch = Task.CompletedTask;
private WebSocket _clientSocket;
public async Task ConnectAsync() {
await _connectSemaphore.WaitAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
// _dispatch may be same among multiple threads if restored at the same time.
try {
await _clientSocket.ConnectAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
if (_dispatch != null) {
_dispatch = _dispatch.ContinueWith((_) => DispatchEventAsync(), TaskScheduler.Default);
}
}
finally {
_connectSemaphore.Release();
}
}
private async Task DispatchEventAsync() {
try {
Connected();
}
catch (Exception exception) { }
try {
while (await events.WaitToReadAsync().ConfigureAwait(false)) {
DispatchEvent(await events.ReadAsync().ConfigureAwait(false));
}
}
catch (Exception exception) { }
try {
Disconnected();
}
catch (Exception ex) { }
}
}
I think _connectSemaphore will guard the inner code execution, and only one thread will execute DispatchEventAsync.
But it seems sometimes two threads enter DispatchEventAsync at the same time. I can't understand this.

ContinueWith is a low-level method with dangerous default behavior (link is to my blog). In this case, your code is not behaving how you think it should because ContinueWith (like StartNew) doesn't understand asynchronous delegates.
Specifically, the task returned from ContinueWith (the same task stored in _dispatch) will complete when DispatchEventAsync asynchronously yields (i.e., hits its first await that asynchronously waits). This is likely the call to WaitToReadAsync, which is after Connected and before Disconnected. So the _dispatch task completes after Connected and before Disconnected.
Ideally, you should avoid ContinueWith completely. Sometimes a local asynchronous method helps, e.g.:
public async Task ConnectAsync() {
await _connectSemaphore.WaitAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
try {
await _clientSocket.ConnectAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
if (_dispatch != null) {
_dispatch = ChainAsync(_dispatch);
}
}
finally {
_connectSemaphore.Release();
}
static async Task ChainAsync(Task dispatch)
{
await dispatch;
await DispatchEventAsync();
}
}
If you do want to continue using ContinueWith for some reason, then you can use Unwrap:
public async Task ConnectAsync() {
await _connectSemaphore.WaitAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
try {
await _clientSocket.ConnectAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
if (_dispatch != null) {
_dispatch = _dispatch.ContinueWith(_ => DispatchEventAsync(), TaskScheduler.Default)
.Unwrap();
}
}
finally {
_connectSemaphore.Release();
}
}
Using either of these approaches, the _dispatch task will now complete at the end of DispatchEventAsync.

I think _connectSemaphore will guard the inner code execution, and only one thread will execute DispatchEventAsync.
Nope. Because you don't wait or await _dispatch. The semaphore only protects starting the task. The execution of the task happens in the background sometime after you release the semaphore.
But I'm chaining it with ContinueWith. Isn't it sufficien
No. That just adds another task that runs after; it doesn't actually run the task or wait for it to complete. If you want to run the _dispatch and then another task while holding the semaphore, just
await _dispatch;
await DispatchEventAsync();

Set maximum runtime of a method

If I have a method where I want to perform some (potentially) long-running function and I want to put a limit on its execution time, I've been using this pattern (please pardon any errors in the code, typed by hand, not in an IDE, this is a simplification of a larger piece of code).
public string GetHello()
{
var task = Task.Run(() =>
{
// do something long running
return "Hello";
});
bool success = task.Wait(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(1000));
if (success)
{
return task.Result;
}
else
{
throw new TimeoutException("Timed out.");
}
}
If I want to use the GetHello method in an async capacity, i.e. public async Task<string> GetHello(), how would I do this while hopefully preserving a similar pattern? I have the following, but I get compiler warnings about This async method lacks 'await' operators and will run synchronously as expected.
public async Task<string> GetHello()
{
var task = Task.Run(async () =>
{
// await something long running
return "Hello";
});
bool success = task.Wait(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(1000));
if (success)
{
return task.Result;
}
else
{
throw new TimeoutException("Timed out.");
}
}
I just don't know how to change this or where I would put await in order for this to work as expected.

You can combine using CancellationToken and awaitable Task.WhenAny to achieve desired behavior:
public async Task<string> GetHello()
{
var cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
var task = Task.Run(async () =>
{
// await something long running and pass/use cts.Token here too
return "Hello";
}, cts.Token);
var delay = Task.Delay(1000, cts.Token);
var finishedFirst = await Task.WhenAny(task, delay);
cts.Cancel();
if (finishedFirst == task)
{
return task.Result;
}
else
{
throw new TimeoutException("Timed out.");
}
}

How to exit an async method early that wraps an awaitable method?

My class is wrapping TcpListener and I'm trying to update it to use modern async language.
It throws up the question what to do if a method should exit early. If this is the old code:
public void Connect()
{
if (tcp != null)
tcp.Connect(config.IPAddress, config.Port);
}
Then I start with something like this:
public Task ConnectAsync()
{
if (tcp != null)
{ ???? }
return tcp.ConnectAsync(config.IPAddress, config.Port);
}
But in the condition tcp==null what should I return? Is there some "null awaitable"?
I also am unsure if my method should be designated async or not in this case where I am wrapping another method - I am sure I do not want to await the called method. This compiles but I do not think it is right:
public async Task ConnectAsync()
{
if (tcp != null)
return;
await tcp.ConnectAsync(config.IPAddress, config.Port);
}

You can return a completed task:
public Task ConnectAsync()
{
if (tcp == null)
{
return Task.CompletedTask;
}
return tcp.ConnectAsync(config.IPAddress, config.Port);
}
Task.CompletedTask is also a singleton instance, so there is no additional overhead if this method is called regularly.
You could also write your method as async and return nothing at all:
public async Task ConnectAsync()
{
if (tcp != null)
{
await tcp.ConnectAsync(config.IPAddress, config.Port);
}
}

What is correct way to combine long-running tasks with async / await pattern?

I have a "High-Precision" timer class that I need to be able to be start, stop & pause / resume. To do this, I'm tying together a couple of different examples I found on the internet, but I'm not sure if I'm using Tasks with asnyc / await correctly.
Here is my relevant code:
//based on http://haukcode.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/high-precision-timer-in-netc/
public class HighPrecisionTimer : IDisposable
{
Task _task;
CancellationTokenSource _cancelSource;
//based on http://blogs.msdn.com/b/pfxteam/archive/2013/01/13/cooperatively-pausing-async-methods.aspx
PauseTokenSource _pauseSource;
Stopwatch _watch;
Stopwatch Watch { get { return _watch ?? (_watch = Stopwatch.StartNew()); } }
public bool IsPaused
{
get { return _pauseSource != null && _pauseSource.IsPaused; }
private set
{
if (value)
{
_pauseSource = new PauseTokenSource();
}
else
{
_pauseSource.IsPaused = false;
}
}
}
public bool IsRunning { get { return !IsPaused && _task != null && _task.Status == TaskStatus.Running; } }
public void Start()
{
if (IsPaused)
{
IsPaused = false;
}
else if (!IsRunning)
{
_cancelSource = new CancellationTokenSource();
_task = new Task(ExecuteAsync, _cancelSource.Token, TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning);
_task.Start();
}
}
public void Stop()
{
if (_cancelSource != null)
{
_cancelSource.Cancel();
}
}
public void Pause()
{
if (!IsPaused)
{
if (_watch != null)
{
_watch.Stop();
}
}
IsPaused = !IsPaused;
}
async void ExecuteAsync()
{
while (!_cancelSource.IsCancellationRequested)
{
if (_pauseSource != null && _pauseSource.IsPaused)
{
await _pauseSource.Token.WaitWhilePausedAsync();
}
// DO CUSTOM TIMER STUFF...
}
if (_watch != null)
{
_watch.Stop();
_watch = null;
}
_cancelSource = null;
_pauseSource = null;
}
public void Dispose()
{
if (IsRunning)
{
_cancelSource.Cancel();
}
}
}
Can anyone please take a look and provide me some pointers on whether I'm doing this correctly?
UPDATE
I have tried modifying my code per Noseratio's comments below, but I still cannot figure out the syntax. Every attempt to pass the ExecuteAsync() method to either TaskFactory.StartNew or Task.Run, results in a compilation error like the following:
"The call is ambiguous between the following methods or properties: TaskFactory.StartNew(Action, CancellationToken...) and TaskFactory.StartNew<Task>(Func<Task>, CancellationToken...)".
Finally, is there a way to specify the LongRunning TaskCreationOption without having to provide a TaskScheduler?
async **Task** ExecuteAsync()
{
while (!_cancelSource.IsCancellationRequested)
{
if (_pauseSource != null && _pauseSource.IsPaused)
{
await _pauseSource.Token.WaitWhilePausedAsync();
}
//...
}
}
public void Start()
{
//_task = Task.Factory.StartNew(ExecuteAsync, _cancelSource.Token, TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning, null);
//_task = Task.Factory.StartNew(ExecuteAsync, _cancelSource.Token);
//_task = Task.Run(ExecuteAsync, _cancelSource.Token);
}
UPDATE 2
I think I've narrowed this down, but still not sure about the correct syntax. Would this be the right way to create the task so that the consumer / calling code continues on, with the task spinning-up and starting on a new asynchronous thread?
_task = Task.Run(async () => await ExecuteAsync, _cancelSource.Token);
//**OR**
_task = Task.Factory.StartNew(async () => await ExecuteAsync, _cancelSource.Token, TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning, TaskScheduler.Default);

Here are some points:
async void methods are only good for asynchronous event handlers (more info). Your async void ExecuteAsync() returns instantly (as soon as the code flow reaches await _pauseSource inside it). Essentially, your _task is in the completed state after that, while the rest of ExecuteAsync will be executed unobserved (because it's void). It may even not continue executing at all, depending on when your main thread (and thus, the process) terminates.
Given that, you should make it async Task ExecuteAsync(), and use Task.Run or Task.Factory.StartNew instead of new Task to start it. Because you want your task's action method be async, you'd be dealing with nested tasks here, i.e. Task<Task>, which Task.Run would automatically unwrap for you. More info can be found here and here.
PauseTokenSource takes the following approach (by design, AFAIU): the consumer side of the code (the one which calls Pause) actually only requests a pause, but doesn't synchronize on it. It will continue executing after Pause, even though the producer side may not have reached the awaiting state yet, i.e. await _pauseSource.Token.WaitWhilePausedAsync(). This may be ok for your app logic, but you should be aware of it. More info here.
[UPDATE] Below is the correct syntax for using Factory.StartNew. Note Task<Task> and task.Unwrap. Also note _task.Wait() in Stop, it's there to make sure the task has completed when Stop returns (in a way similar to Thread.Join). Also, TaskScheduler.Default is used to instruct Factory.StartNew to use the thread pool scheduler. This is important if your create your HighPrecisionTimer object from inside another task, which in turn was created on a thread with non-default synchronization context, e.g. a UI thread (more info here and here).
using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace ConsoleApplication
{
public class HighPrecisionTimer
{
Task _task;
CancellationTokenSource _cancelSource;
public void Start()
{
_cancelSource = new CancellationTokenSource();
Task<Task> task = Task.Factory.StartNew(
function: ExecuteAsync,
cancellationToken: _cancelSource.Token,
creationOptions: TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning,
scheduler: TaskScheduler.Default);
_task = task.Unwrap();
}
public void Stop()
{
_cancelSource.Cancel(); // request the cancellation
_task.Wait(); // wait for the task to complete
}
async Task ExecuteAsync()
{
Console.WriteLine("Enter ExecuteAsync");
while (!_cancelSource.IsCancellationRequested)
{
await Task.Delay(42); // for testing
// DO CUSTOM TIMER STUFF...
}
Console.WriteLine("Exit ExecuteAsync");
}
}
class Program
{
public static void Main()
{
var highPrecisionTimer = new HighPrecisionTimer();
Console.WriteLine("Start timer");
highPrecisionTimer.Start();
Thread.Sleep(2000);
Console.WriteLine("Stop timer");
highPrecisionTimer.Stop();
Console.WriteLine("Press Enter to exit...");
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
}

I'm adding code for running long running task (infinite with cancelation) with internal sub tasks:
Task StartLoop(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
{
return Task.Factory.StartNew(async () => {
while (true)
{
if (cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
break;
await _taskRunner.Handle(cancellationToken);
await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(100), cancellationToken);
}
},
cancellationToken,
TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning,
TaskScheduler.Default);
}

A pattern to pause/resume an async task?

I have a mostly IO-bound continuous task (a background spellchecker talking to a spellcheck server). Sometimes, this task needs to be put on hold and resumed later, depending on the user activity.
While suspend/resume is essentially what async/await does, I've found little information on how to implement the actual pause/play logic for an asynchronous method. Is there a recommended pattern for this?
I've also looked at using Stephen Toub's AsyncManualResetEvent for this, but thought it might be an overkill.

Updated for 2019, I've recently had a chance to revisit this code, below is complete example as a console app (warning: PauseTokenSource needs good unit testing).
Note, in my case, the requirement was that when the consumer-side code (which requested the pause) would continue, the producer-side code should have already reached the paused state. Thus, by the time the UI is ready to reflect the paused state, all background activity is expected to have been already paused.
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Threading;
namespace Console_19613444
{
class Program
{
// PauseTokenSource
public class PauseTokenSource
{
bool _paused = false;
bool _pauseRequested = false;
TaskCompletionSource<bool> _resumeRequestTcs;
TaskCompletionSource<bool> _pauseConfirmationTcs;
readonly SemaphoreSlim _stateAsyncLock = new SemaphoreSlim(1);
readonly SemaphoreSlim _pauseRequestAsyncLock = new SemaphoreSlim(1);
public PauseToken Token { get { return new PauseToken(this); } }
public async Task<bool> IsPaused(CancellationToken token = default(CancellationToken))
{
await _stateAsyncLock.WaitAsync(token);
try
{
return _paused;
}
finally
{
_stateAsyncLock.Release();
}
}
public async Task ResumeAsync(CancellationToken token = default(CancellationToken))
{
await _stateAsyncLock.WaitAsync(token);
try
{
if (!_paused)
{
return;
}
await _pauseRequestAsyncLock.WaitAsync(token);
try
{
var resumeRequestTcs = _resumeRequestTcs;
_paused = false;
_pauseRequested = false;
_resumeRequestTcs = null;
_pauseConfirmationTcs = null;
resumeRequestTcs.TrySetResult(true);
}
finally
{
_pauseRequestAsyncLock.Release();
}
}
finally
{
_stateAsyncLock.Release();
}
}
public async Task PauseAsync(CancellationToken token = default(CancellationToken))
{
await _stateAsyncLock.WaitAsync(token);
try
{
if (_paused)
{
return;
}
Task pauseConfirmationTask = null;
await _pauseRequestAsyncLock.WaitAsync(token);
try
{
_pauseRequested = true;
_resumeRequestTcs = new TaskCompletionSource<bool>(TaskCreationOptions.RunContinuationsAsynchronously);
_pauseConfirmationTcs = new TaskCompletionSource<bool>(TaskCreationOptions.RunContinuationsAsynchronously);
pauseConfirmationTask = WaitForPauseConfirmationAsync(token);
}
finally
{
_pauseRequestAsyncLock.Release();
}
await pauseConfirmationTask;
_paused = true;
}
finally
{
_stateAsyncLock.Release();
}
}
private async Task WaitForResumeRequestAsync(CancellationToken token)
{
using (token.Register(() => _resumeRequestTcs.TrySetCanceled(), useSynchronizationContext: false))
{
await _resumeRequestTcs.Task;
}
}
private async Task WaitForPauseConfirmationAsync(CancellationToken token)
{
using (token.Register(() => _pauseConfirmationTcs.TrySetCanceled(), useSynchronizationContext: false))
{
await _pauseConfirmationTcs.Task;
}
}
internal async Task PauseIfRequestedAsync(CancellationToken token = default(CancellationToken))
{
Task resumeRequestTask = null;
await _pauseRequestAsyncLock.WaitAsync(token);
try
{
if (!_pauseRequested)
{
return;
}
resumeRequestTask = WaitForResumeRequestAsync(token);
_pauseConfirmationTcs.TrySetResult(true);
}
finally
{
_pauseRequestAsyncLock.Release();
}
await resumeRequestTask;
}
}
// PauseToken - consumer side
public struct PauseToken
{
readonly PauseTokenSource _source;
public PauseToken(PauseTokenSource source) { _source = source; }
public Task<bool> IsPaused() { return _source.IsPaused(); }
public Task PauseIfRequestedAsync(CancellationToken token = default(CancellationToken))
{
return _source.PauseIfRequestedAsync(token);
}
}
// Basic usage
public static async Task DoWorkAsync(PauseToken pause, CancellationToken token)
{
try
{
while (true)
{
token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
Console.WriteLine("Before await pause.PauseIfRequestedAsync()");
await pause.PauseIfRequestedAsync();
Console.WriteLine("After await pause.PauseIfRequestedAsync()");
await Task.Delay(1000);
}
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Exception: {0}", e);
throw;
}
}
static async Task Test(CancellationToken token)
{
var pts = new PauseTokenSource();
var task = DoWorkAsync(pts.Token, token);
while (true)
{
token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
Console.WriteLine("Press enter to pause...");
Console.ReadLine();
Console.WriteLine("Before pause requested");
await pts.PauseAsync();
Console.WriteLine("After pause requested, paused: " + await pts.IsPaused());
Console.WriteLine("Press enter to resume...");
Console.ReadLine();
Console.WriteLine("Before resume");
await pts.ResumeAsync();
Console.WriteLine("After resume");
}
}
static async Task Main()
{
await Test(CancellationToken.None);
}
}
}

AsyncManualResetEvent is exactly what you need, considering how messy your current code is. But a slightly better solution would be to use another approach from Stephen Toub: PauseToken. It works similarly to AsyncManualResetEvent, except its interface is made specifically for this purpose.

All the other answers seem either complicated or missing the mark when it comes to async/await programming by holding the thread which is CPU expensive and can lead to deadlocks. After lots of trial, error and many deadlocks, this finally worked for my high usage test.
var isWaiting = true;
while (isWaiting)
{
try
{
//A long delay is key here to prevent the task system from holding the thread.
//The cancellation token allows the work to resume with a notification
//from the CancellationTokenSource.
await Task.Delay(10000, cancellationToken);
}
catch (TaskCanceledException)
{
//Catch the cancellation and it turns into continuation
isWaiting = false;
}
}

it is works for me
using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace TaskTest2
{
class Program
{
static ManualResetEvent mre = new ManualResetEvent(false);
static void Main(string[] args)
{
mre.Set();
Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
{
while (true)
{
Console.WriteLine("________________");
mre.WaitOne();
}
} );
Thread.Sleep(10000);
mre.Reset();
Console.WriteLine("Task Paused");
Thread.Sleep(10000);
Console.WriteLine("Task Will Resume After 1 Second");
Thread.Sleep(1000);
mre.Set();
Thread.Sleep(10000);
mre.Reset();
Console.WriteLine("Task Paused");
Console.Read();
}
}
}

Ok, maybe this deserves an answer, but I'm not so familiar with C# and I don't have MonoDevelop here, and it's 3 o' clock AM, so please have pity.
I'm suggesting something like this
class Spellchecker
{
private CancellationTokenSource mustStop = null;
private volatile Task currentTask = null;
//TODO add other state variables as needed
public void StartSpellchecker()
{
if (currentTask != null)
{
/*
* A task is already running,
* you can either throw an exception
* or silently return
*/
}
mustStop = new CancellationTokenSource();
currentTask = SpellcheckAsync(mustStop.Token);
currentTask.Start();
}
private async Task SpellcheckAsync(CancellationToken ct)
{
while (!ct.IsCancellationRequested))
{
/*
* TODO perform spell check
* This method must be the only one accessing
* the spellcheck-related state variables
*/
}
currentTask = null;
}
public async Task StopSpellchecker()
{
if (currentTask == null)
{
/*
* There is no task running
* you can either throw an exception
* or silently return
*/
}
else
{
/*
* A CancelAfter(TimeSpan) method
* is also available, which might interest you
*/
mustStop.Cancel();
//Remove the following lines if you don't want to wait for the task to actually stop
var task = currentTask;
if (task != null)
{
await task;
}
}
}
}