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How to Asynchronously Call Static Methods

I am trying to construct a simple class, which calls a reboot function depending on the machine type to be rebooted. The called methods refer to a library which contains public static methods. I want to asynchronously call these static methods using Task in order to call the reboot methods in parallel. Here is the code so far:
EDIT
Following the community's request, this is now a version of the same question, with the code below compiling. Please not that you need the Renci.SshNet lib, and also need to set references to it in your project.
// libs
using System.IO;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Renci.SshNet;
namespace ConsoleApp
{
class Program
{
// Simple Host class
public class CHost
{
public string IP;
public string HostType;
public CHost(string inType, string inIP)
{// constructor
this.IP = inIP;
this.HostType = inType;
}
}
// Call test function
static void Main(string[] args)
{
// Create a set of hosts
var HostList = new List<CHost>();
HostList.Add( new CHost("Machine1", "10.52.0.93"));
HostList.Add( new CHost("Machine1", "10.52.0.30"));
HostList.Add( new CHost("Machine2", "10.52.0.34"));
// Call async host reboot call
RebootMachines(HostList);
}
// Reboot method
public static async void RebootMachines(List<CHost> iHosts)
{
// Locals
var tasks = new List<Task>();
// Build list of Reboot calls - as a List of Tasks
foreach(var host in iHosts)
{
if (host.HostType == "Machine1")
{// machine type 1
var task = CallRestartMachine1(host.IP);
tasks.Add(task); // Add task to task list
}
else if (host.HostType == "Machine2")
{// machine type 2
var task = CallRestartMachine2(host.IP);
tasks.Add(task); // Add task to task list
}
}
// Run all tasks in task list in parallel
await Task.WhenAll(tasks);
}
// ASYNC METHODS until here
private static async Task CallRestartMachine1(string host)
{// helper method: reboot machines of type 1
// The compiler complains here (RebootByWritingAFile is a static method)
// Error: "This methods lacks await operators and will run synchronously..."
RebootByWritingAFile(#"D:\RebootMe.bm","reboot");
}
private static async Task CallRestartMachine2(string host)
{// helper method: reboot machines of type 2
// The compiler warns here (RebootByWritingAFile is a static method)
// Error: "This methods lacks await operators and will run synchronously..."
RebootByNetwork(host,"user","pwd");
}
// STATIC METHODS here, going forward
private static void RebootByWritingAFile(string inPath, string inText)
{// This method does a lot of checks using more static methods, but then only writes a file
try
{
File.WriteAllText(inPath, inText); // static m
}
catch
{
// do nothing for now
}
}
private static void RebootByNetwork(string host, string user, string pass)
{
// Locals
string rawASIC = "";
SshClient SSHclient;
SshCommand SSHcmd;
// Send reboot command to linux machine
try
{
SSHclient = new SshClient(host, 22, user, pass);
SSHclient.Connect();
SSHcmd = SSHclient.RunCommand("exec /sbin/reboot");
rawASIC = SSHcmd.Result.ToString();
SSHclient.Disconnect();
SSHclient.Dispose();
}
catch
{
// do nothing for now
}
}
}
}
My only problem with this setup so far is that the static methods are called immediately (sequentially) and not assigned to a task. For example the line
...
else if (host.HostType == "Machine2")
{// machine type 2
var task = CallRestartMachine2(host.IP);
tasks.Add(task); // Add task to task list
}
...
takes 20 seconds to execute if the host is unreachable. If 10 hosts are unreachable the sequential duration is 20*10 = 200 seconds.
I am aware of some seemingly similar questions such as
c# asynchronously call method
Asynchronous call with a static method in C# .NET 2.0
How to call a method asynchronously
Simple Async Await Example for Asynchronous Programming
However, the cited lambda expressions still leave me with the same compiler error ["This methods lacks await operators..."]. Also, I do not want to spawn explicit threads (new Thread(() => ...)) due to high overhead if restarting a large number of machine in a cluster.
I may need to reboot a large number of machines in a cluster. Hence my question: How can I change my construct in order to be able to call the above static methods in parallel?
EDIT
Thanks to the comments of #JohanP and #MickyD, I would like to elaborate that I have actually tried writing the async version of both static methods. However that sends me down a rabbit hole, where every time a static method is called within the async method I get the compiler warning that the call will be synchronous. Here is an example of how I tried to wrap the call to method as an async task, hoping to call the dependent methods in an async manner.
private static async Task CallRestartMachine1(string host)
{// helper method: reboot machines of type 1
// in this version, compiler underlines '=>' and states that
// method is still called synchronously
var test = await Task.Run(async () =>
{
RebootByWritingAFile(host);
});
}
Is there a way to wrap the static method call such that all static child methods don't all need to rewritten as async?
Thank you all in advance.

Your code has a strange mix of async with continuations and it won't even compile. You need to make it async all the way up. When you call RebootMachines(...) and that call can't be awaited, you can schedule continuations on that i.e. RebootMachines(...).ContinueWith(t=> Console.WriteLine('All Done'))
public static async Task RebootMachines(List<CHost> iHosts)
{
var tasks = new List<Task>();
// Build list of Reboot calls - as a List of Tasks
foreach(var host in iHosts)
{
if (host.HostType == "Machine1")
{// machine type 1
task = CallRestartMachine1(host.IP);
}
else if (host.HostType == "Machine2")
{// machine type 2
task = CallRestartMachine2(host.IP);
}
// Add task to task list - for subsequent parallel processing
tasks.Add(task);
}
// Run all tasks in task list in parallel
await Task.WhenAll(tasks);
}
private static async Task CallRestartMachine1(string host)
{// helper method: reboot machines of type 1
//RebootByWritingAFile is method that returns a Task, you need to await it
// that is why the compiler is warning you
await RebootByWritingAFile(host);
}
private static async Task CallRestartMachine2(string host)
{// helper method: reboot machines of type 2
await RebootByNetwork(host);
}

Everyone, thanks for your input and your help. I have played around with his over the last couple of days, and have come up with the following way to asynchronously call a static method:
// libs
using System.IO;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Renci.SshNet;
namespace ConsoleApp
{
class Program
{
// Simple Host class
public class CHost
{
public string IP;
public string HostType;
public CHost(string inType, string inIP)
{// constructor
this.IP = inIP;
this.HostType = inType;
}
}
// Call test function
static void Main(string[] args)
{
// Create a set of hosts
var HostList = new List<CHost>();
HostList.Add( new CHost("Machine1", "10.52.0.93"));
HostList.Add( new CHost("Machine1", "10.52.0.30"));
HostList.Add( new CHost("Machine2", "10.52.0.34"));
// Call async host reboot call
RebootMachines(HostList);
}
// Reboot method
public static async void RebootMachines(List<CHost> iHosts)
{
// Locals
var tasks = new List<Task>();
// Build list of Reboot calls - as a List of Tasks
foreach(var host in iHosts)
{
if (host.HostType == "Machine1")
{// machine type 1
var task = CallRestartMachine1(host.IP);
tasks.Add(task); // Add task to task list
}
else if (host.HostType == "Machine2")
{// machine type 2
var task = CallRestartMachine2(host.IP);
tasks.Add(task); // Add task to task list
}
}
// Run all tasks in task list in parallel
await Task.WhenAll(tasks);
}
// ASYNC METHODS until here
private static async Task CallRestartMachine1(string host)
{// helper method: reboot machines of type 1
await Task.Run(() =>
{
RebootByWritingAFile(#"D:\RebootMe.bm", "reboot");
});
}
private static async Task CallRestartMachine2(string host)
{// helper method: reboot machines of type 2
await Task.Run(() =>
{
RebootByNetwork(host, "user", "pwd");
});
}
// STATIC METHODS here, going forward
private static void RebootByWritingAFile(string inPath, string inText)
{// This method does a lot of checks using more static methods, but then only writes a file
try
{
File.WriteAllText(inPath, inText); // static m
}
catch
{
// do nothing for now
}
}
private static void RebootByNetwork(string host, string user, string pass)
{
// Locals
string rawASIC = "";
SshClient SSHclient;
SshCommand SSHcmd;
// Send reboot command to linux machine
try
{
SSHclient = new SshClient(host, 22, user, pass);
SSHclient.Connect();
SSHcmd = SSHclient.RunCommand("exec /sbin/reboot");
rawASIC = SSHcmd.Result.ToString();
SSHclient.Disconnect();
SSHclient.Dispose();
}
catch
{
// do nothing for now
}
}
}
}
This setup calls my static methods asynchronously. I hope this helps someone who was stuck with a similar problem. Thanks again for all your input.

I think you should reconsider the "high overhead" of threads: This overhead is IMHO negligable when compared to the network roundtrips and waiting times on every RPC call. I am pretty sure, that the resources needed to create N threads is marginal against the resources needed to run N networked requests (be they http[s], RPC or whatever).
My approach would be to queue the tasks into a threadsafe collection (ConcurrentQueue, ConcurrentBag and friends), then spawn a finite number of threads looping through those work items until the collection is empty and just end.
This would not only allow you to run the tasks in parallel, it would allow you to run them in a controlled parallel way.

Why await sometimes create new thread but sometimes not?

class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var rst = DownloadPage("http://www.baidu.com");
//var rst2=GetString();
Console.ReadKey();
}
private static async Task<string> DownloadPage(string url)
{
using (var client = new HttpClient())
{
PringMsgWithThreadId("Before await");
var response = await client.GetAsync(url).ConfigureAwait(continueOnCapturedContext:false);
var content= await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
PringMsgWithThreadId(content.Substring(0, 10));
PringMsgWithThreadId("After await");
return content;
}
}
private static async Task<string> GetString()
{
PringMsgWithThreadId("Before await");
var result = await GetStringAsync();
PringMsgWithThreadId(result);
PringMsgWithThreadId("After await");
return result;
}
private static Task<string> GetStringAsync()
{
var task = new Task<string>(() =>
{
Thread.Sleep(1000 * 2);
return "string after sleep two seconds";
});
task.RunSynchronously();
return task;
}
private static void PringMsgWithThreadId(string tag)
{
Console.WriteLine($"{tag}(ThreadId:{Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId})");
}
}
output when run DownloadPage() method output:
output when run GetString() method
My question:
1.when call DownloadPage(),why code after await executed in the thread(ThreadID:15) other than main thread(ThreadId:10).
2.when call GetString(),why code after await executed in the same thread(both threadId is 10)。

await never creates a new thread.
As explained on my async intro, await will first examine its argument (the task). If it has already completed, then it continues executing synchronously. Otherwise, it "pauses" the method and registers a callback with its argument (i.e., places a continuation on the task).
Later, when the task completes, the continuation will run. Since you're in a Console app without a SynchronizationContext/TaskScheduler, that continuation will run on a thread pool thread.
So, the answer to your first question is that the main thread is busy (blocked in Console.ReadKey), and also the main thread in a Console app isn't a thread pool thread anyway. The answer to your second question is because the task in GetStringAsync is run synchronously and is already complete by the time it returns, and this causes the await in GetString to continue (synchronously).
On a side note, you should never, ever, use the task constructor. If you want to return an already-completed task, use Task.FromResult. If you want to execute some work on a background thread, use Task.Run.

MSDN example on async/await - can't I reach the break point after the await call?

In trying MSDN's example on async/await, why I can't reach a break point after the await operator ?
private static void Main(string[] args)
{
AccessTheWebAsync();
}
private async Task<int> AccessTheWebAsync()
{
// You need to add a reference to System.Net.Http to declare client.
HttpClient client = new HttpClient();
// GetStringAsync returns a Task<string>. That means that when you await the
// task you'll get a string (urlContents).
Task<string> getStringTask = client.GetStringAsync("http://msdn.microsoft.com");
// You can do work here that doesn't rely on the string from GetStringAsync.
/*** not relevant here ***/
//DoIndependentWork();
// The await operator suspends AccessTheWebAsync.
// - AccessTheWebAsync can't continue until getStringTask is complete.
// - Meanwhile, control returns to the caller of AccessTheWebAsync.
// - Control resumes here when getStringTask is complete.
// - The await operator then retrieves the string result from getStringTask.
string urlContents = await getStringTask;
// The return statement specifies an integer result.
// Any methods that are awaiting AccessTheWebAsync retrieve the length value.
return urlContents.Length;
}
My understanding is that the await is a construct that abstracts the asynchronous flow from the developer - leaving him/her as if working synchronously. In other words, in the code above, I do not care about how and when the getStringTask finishes, I care only about it finishing and using its results. I would expect then to be able to reach the break point after the await call at sometime.

You call your asynchronous method from a Console application's Main method without waiting for the async method to finish. As a result, your process terminates before your task has a chance to complete.
Since you can't convert a Console application's Main to an asynchronous (async Task) method, you'll have to block on the asynchronous method, by calling Wait or .Result:
private static void Main(string[] args)
{
AccessTheWebAsync().Wait();
}
or
private static void Main(string[] args)
{
var webTask=AccessTheWebAsync();
//... do other work until the resuls is actually needed
var pageSize=webTask.Result;
//... now use the returned page size
}

When should Task.Run() be used?

What's the difference between these two approaches:
public static int Main(string[] args)
{
string result;
Task.Run(async () =>
{
Task<string> getStringTask = GetStringAsync();
result = await validationsTask;
}).Wait();
Console.WriteLine(result);
}
and
public static int Main(string[] args)
{
Task<string> getStringTask = GetStringAsync();
getStringTask.Wait();
string result = getStringTask.Result;
Console.WriteLine(result);
}
I've seen a lot of people using the first approach and I'm not sure why. Is there any particular advantage? Which one is recommended for waiting async methods inside main of a Console Application?

Is there any particular advantage?
Usually with async methods the operation is initialized synchronously and then the wait can be asynchronous with await or syncrhnous with Wait(). The Main method can't be async so you are force to block with Wait() there or you can do a Console.ReadKey() to run until the user presses a key.
Task.Run(async () => ... ) can be quite useful when the async operation is expensive to initialize. That way you allow the main thread to continue while the operation is initializing.
Which one is recommended for waiting async methods inside main of a Console Application?
I would use a slightly modified version of the second approach. You can add a MainAsync method and call that from Main then you can use await inside it.
public static async Task MainAsync()
{
string result = await GetStringAsync();
Console.WriteLine(result);
}
public static int Main(string[] args)
{
MainAsync().Wait();
}
Also with console apps there is no risk of deadlock as there is no SynchronizationContext and the default thread pool one gets used.

The first approach continues execution after the asynch function is finished using a thread pool thread while the second approach continues execution using the calling thread that starts the asynch function.
With the second approach, there is a possibility of deadlocks. For example (similar to an example extracted from the book CLR via C#):
public static int Main(string[] args)
{
Task<string> getStringTask = GetStringAsync();
string result = getStringTask.Result; //the main thread is blocked waiting.
Console.WriteLine(result);
}
public Task<string> GetStringAsync()
{
// Issue the HTTP request and let the thread return from GetHttp
HttpResponseMessage msg = await new HttpClient().GetAsync("http://Wintellect.com/");
// We never get here: The main thread is waiting for this method to finish but this method
// can't finish because the main thread is waiting for it to finish --> DEADLOCK!
return await msg.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
}
So the first approach avoids this problem:
public static int Main(string[] args)
{
string result;
Task.Run(async () =>
{
// We run on a thread pool thread
Task<string> getStringTask = GetStringAsync();
// We do get here because any thread pool thread can execute this code, we don't need the main thread.
result = await validationsTask;
}).Wait();
Console.WriteLine(result);
}
Another solution is using ConfigureAwait(false), extracted from the book:
Passing true to this method gives you the same behavior as not calling
the method at all. But, if you pass false, the await operator does
not query the calling thread’s SynchronizationContext object and, when
a thread pool thread completes theTask, it simply completes it and the
code after the await operator executes via the thread pool thread.
public Task<string> GetStringAsync()
{
HttpResponseMessage msg = await new HttpClient().GetAsync("http://Wintellect.com/").ConfigureAwait(false);
// We DO get here now because a thread pool can execute this code
// as opposed to forcing the main thread to execute it.
return await msg.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
}

Want to understand async

I've used async coding a little bit but I don't really fully understand how to use it -- though I understand the concept and why I need it.
Here's my set up:
I have a Web API that I will call from my ASP.NET MVC app and my Web API will call DocumentDB. In code samples, I see a lot of await keywords while sending queries to DocumentDB.
I'm confused if I need to make my Index action method in my MVC app async?
I'm also confused if my CreateEmployee() method in my Web API should be async?
What is the right way to use async in this scenario?
Here's my code (This code is currently giving me errors because my MVC action method is not async)
---- ASP.NET MVC App Code ----
public ActionResult Index()
{
Employee emp = new Employee();
emp.FirstName = "John";
emp.LastName = "Doe";
emp.Gender = "M";
emp.Ssn = "123-45-6789";
using (var client = new HttpClient())
{
client.BaseAddress = new Uri("http://myWebApi.com");
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Accept.Clear();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Accept.Add(new MediaTypeWithQualityHeaderValue("application/json"));
HttpResponseMessage response = await client.PostAsJsonAsync("hr/create/newemployee", emp);
if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
emp = await response.Content.ReadAsAsync<Employee>();
}
}
// Display employee info
return View(emp);
}
---- Web API Code ----
private static readonly string endPointUrl = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["EndPointUrl"];
private static readonly string authorizationKey = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["AuthorizationKey"];
private static readonly string databaseId = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["DatabaseId"];
private static DocumentClient client;
public static async Task<Employee> CreateEmployee(Employee emp)
{
try
{
//Create a Document client
using (client = new DocumentClient(new Uri(endPointUrl), authorizationKey))
{
//Get the database
var database = await GetDatabaseAsync();
//Get the Document Collection
var collection = await GetCollectionAsync(database.SelfLink, "Employees");
await client.CreateDocumentAsync(collection.SelfLink, emp);
// Further process employee
}
}
catch
{
// Handle error
}
return employee;
}
private static async Task<DocumentCollection> GetCollectionAsync(string dbLink, string id)
{
DocumentCollection collection = client.CreateDocumentCollectionQuery(dbLink).Where(c => c.Id == id).ToArray().FirstOrDefault();
return collection;
}
private static async Task<Database> GetDatabaseAsync()
{
Database database = client.CreateDatabaseQuery().Where(db => db.Id == databaseId).ToArray().FirstOrDefault();
return database;
}

Here's my explanation
class MainClass
{
public static async Task<String> AsyncMethod(int delay) {
await Task.Delay (TimeSpan.FromSeconds(delay));
return "The method has finished it's execution after waiting for " + delay + " seconds";
}
public static async Task Approach1(int delay)
{
var response = await AsyncMethod (delay); // await just unwraps Task's result
Console.WriteLine (response);
}
public static Task Approach2(int delay)
{
return AsyncMethod(delay).ContinueWith(message => Console.WriteLine(message)); // you could do the same with
}
public static void Main (string[] args)
{
var operation1 = Approach1 (3);
var operation2 = Approach2 (5);
Task.WaitAll (operation1, operation2);
Console.WriteLine("All operations are completed")
}
}
Eventually both Approach1 and Approach2 are identical pieces of code.
The async/await is syntactic sugar around Task API. It takes your async method splits it into parts before await, and after await. The "before" part is executed immediately. The "after" part is getting executed when await operation is completed. You are able to track the second part of operation via the Task API since you get a reference to a Task.
In general async allows to treat a method call as a some sort of long operation that you can reference via the Task API and wait until it is finished and continue with another piece of code. Either via ContinueWith call of via using await in general it's the same.
Before async/await/Task concepts people were using callbacks, but handling errors was as easy as hell, the Task is similar to a concept of callback except that it is able allow handling exceptions more easily.
In general all this Task/async/await mantra is close to concept of promises if it happen that you've worked with jQuery/JavaScript there's a similar concept here's a nice question explaining how it's done there "jQuery deferreds and promises - .then() vs .done()"
Edit: I've just found out that .NET lacks implementation of then functionality similar to one found in jQuery/JavaScript.
The difference between ContinueWith and Then is that Then is able to compose task, and to execute them sequentially while ContinueWith is not, it is able only to launch task in parallel, but it can be easily implemented via the await construct. Here is my updated code containing the whole shebang:
static class Extensions
{
// Implementation to jQuery-like `then` function in .NET
// According to: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/pfxteam/archive/2012/08/15/implementing-then-with-await.aspx
// Further reading: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/pfxteam/archive/2010/11/21/10094564.aspx
public static async Task Then(this Task task, Func<Task> continuation)
{
await task;
await continuation();
}
public static async Task<TNewResult> Then<TNewResult>(
this Task task, Func<Task<TNewResult>> continuation)
{
await task;
return await continuation();
}
public static async Task Then<TResult>(
this Task<TResult> task, Func<TResult,Task> continuation)
{
await continuation(await task);
}
public static async Task<TNewResult> Then<TResult, TNewResult>(
this Task<TResult> task, Func<TResult, Task<TNewResult>> continuation)
{
return await continuation(await task);
}
}
class MainClass
{
public static async Task<String> AsyncMethod1(int delay) {
await Task.Delay (TimeSpan.FromSeconds(delay));
return "The method has finished it's execution after waiting for " + delay + " seconds";
}
public static Task<String> AsyncMethod2(int delay)
{
return Task.Delay (TimeSpan.FromSeconds (delay)).ContinueWith ((x) => "The method has finished it's execution after waiting for " + delay + " seconds");
}
public static async Task<String> Approach1(int delay)
{
var response = await AsyncMethod1 (delay); // await just unwraps Task's result
return "Here is the result of AsyncMethod1 operation: '" + response + "'";
}
public static Task<String> Approach2(int delay)
{
return AsyncMethod2(delay).ContinueWith(message => "Here is the result of AsyncMethod2 operation: '" + message.Result + "'");
}
public static void Main (string[] args)
{
// You have long running operations that doesn't block current thread
var operation1 = Approach1 (3); // So as soon as the code hits "await" the method will exit and you will have a "operation1" assigned with a task that finishes as soon as delay is finished
var operation2 = Approach2 (5); // The same way you initiate the second long-running operation. The method also returns as soon as it hits "await"
// You can create chains of operations:
var operation3 = operation1.ContinueWith(operation1Task=>Console.WriteLine("Operation 3 has received the following input from operation 1: '" + operation1Task.Result + "'"));
var operation4 = operation2.ContinueWith(operation2Task=>Console.WriteLine("Operation 4 has received the following input from operation 2: '" + operation2Task.Result + "'"));
var operation5 = Task.WhenAll (operation3, operation4)
.Then(()=>Task.Delay (TimeSpan.FromSeconds (7)))
.ContinueWith((task)=>Console.WriteLine("After operation3 and 4 have finished, I've waited for additional seven seconds, then retuned this message"));
Task.WaitAll (operation1, operation2); // This call will block current thread;
operation3.Wait (); // This call will block current thread;
operation4.Wait (); // This call will block current thread;
operation5.Wait (); // This call will block current thread;
Console.WriteLine ("All operations are completed");
}
}

you can only use await inside a method if that method is async and async methods need to return Task, Task<T> or void although void returning async methods are reserved for event handlers because the exceptions thrown within them are swallowed and you cannot await their completion or chain subsequent tasks.
I think your Index action needs to be async and return a Task<ActionResult> and your CreateEmployee method needs to be async as well as it is using await inside it.
See Best Practices in Asynchronous Programming for some guidelines on when and how to use async-await

async await
They are tricky to understand.
First of all, in your methods in Web API, you are using async without await. I'm sure you are getting some errors / warning there right?
--
async await are used to return the working thread back to the caller when you are waiting for I/O to be finished. So, yes, you do want to use it both in your MVC and Web API side. Please make sure you understand this sentence before moving on.
--
The thing about async / await is that, if you use it, you have to use it ALL the way through the calling functions, or else it doesn't make sense (and you'll get errors / warning too). This means that whatever library you are using must support it. In this case "DocumentClient". By convention, the methods that support it will end in "Async" and it will return a Task which you can await.
--
So your short answer:
use async await from the very beginning (your controller), and try to make it await whatever long operations it calls. If that is also your code, you should be able to await from there ... and await from there ... until you finally call something that is not your code. If you can await that code that is not yours, then you are set. If you cannot, then you should not use async await form the very beginning.
(no way this made sense)