Chapter 22: Multithreaded Programming

Although C# contains many exciting features, one of its most powerful is its built-in support for multithreaded programming. A multithreaded program contains two or more parts that can run concurrently. Each part of such a program is called a thread, and each thread defines a separate path of execution. Thus, multithreading is a specialized form of multitasking.

Multithreaded programming relies on a combination of features defined by the C# language and by classes in the .NET Framework. Because support of multithreading is built into C#, many of the problems associated with multithreading in other languages are minimized or eliminated.

Multithreading Fundamentals

There are two distinct types of multitasking: process-based and thread-based. It is important to understand the difference between the two. A process is, in essence, a program that is executing. Thus, process-based multitasking is the feature that allows your computer to run two or more programs concurrently. For example, it is process-based multitasking that allows you to run a word processor at the same time you are using a spreadsheet or browsing the Internet. In process-based multitasking, a program is the smallest unit of code that can be dispatched by the scheduler.

A thread is a dispatchable unit of executable code. The name comes from the concept of a “thread of execution.” In a thread-based multitasking environment, all processes have at least one thread, but they can have more. This means that a single program can perform two or more tasks at once. For instance, a text editor can be formatting text at the same time that it is printing, as long as these two actions are being performed by two separate threads.

The differences between process-based and thread-based multitasking can be summarized like this: Process-based multitasking handles the concurrent execution of programs. Thread-based multitasking deals with the concurrent execution of pieces of the same program.

The principal advantage of multithreading is that it enables you to write very efficient programs because it lets you utilize the idle time that is present in most programs. As you probably know, most I/O devices, whether they be network ports, disk drives, or the keyboard, are much slower than the CPU. Thus, a program will often spend a majority of its execution time waiting to send or receive information to or from a device. By using multithreading, your program can execute another task during this idle time. For example, while one part of your program is sending a file over the Internet, another part can be reading keyboard input, and still another can be buffering the next block of data to send.

A thread can be in one of several states. It can be running. It can be ready to run as soon as it gets CPU time. A running thread can be suspended, which is a temporary halt to its execution. It can later be resumed. A thread can be blocked when waiting for a resource. A thread can be terminated, in which case its execution ends and cannot be resumed.

The .NET Framework defines two types of threads: foreground and background. By default, when you create a thread, it is a foreground thread, but you can change it to a background thread. The only difference between foreground and background threads is that a background thread will be automatically terminated when all foreground threads in its process have stopped.

Along with thread-based multitasking comes the need for a special type of feature called synchronization, which allows the execution of threads to be coordinated in certain well-defined ways. C# has a complete subsystem devoted to synchronization, and its key features are also described here.

All processes have at least one thread of execution, which is usually called the main thread because it is the one that is executed when your program begins. Thus, the main thread is the thread that all of the preceding example programs in the book have been using. From the main thread, you can create other threads.

C# and the .NET Framework support both process-based and thread-based multitasking. Thus, using C#, you can create and manage both processes and threads. However, little programming effort is required to start a new process, because each process is largely separate from the next. Rather, it is C#’s support for multithreading that is important. Because support for multithreading is built in, C# makes it easier to construct high-performance, multithreaded programs than do other languages.

The classes that support multithreaded programming are defined in the System.Threading namespace. Thus, you will usually include this statement at the start of any multithreaded program:

 using System.Threading;