Summary of four ways to start threads in C#

The following will introduce four commonly used methods of opening threads, and attach the corresponding implementation code.

1. Use Thread class

Classes are the most basic way to create threads in the .NET framework. A new thread can be started by instantiating the Thread class and passing a ThreadStart delegate or ParameterizedThreadStart delegate (if the thread function requires parameters).

Sample code:

using System;
using ;
 
class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Thread thread = new Thread(DoWork);
        ();
        (); // Wait for the thread to complete    }
 
    static void DoWork()
    {
        ("Thread is running...");
    }
}

2. Use Task class (asynchronous mode based on task)

Starting with C# 4.0, task-based asynchronous mode (TAP) was introduced, which usesClass to represent asynchronous operations.TaskClasses provide more advanced abstraction, allowing for cleaner code and better exception handling.

Sample code:

using System;
using ;
 
class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Task task = (() => DoWork());
        (); // Wait for the task to be completed    }
 
    static void DoWork()
    {
        ("Task is running...");
    }
}

3. How to use

Method is another way to create and start tasks. andCompared to this, it provides more configuration options, such as scheduler for specifying tasks, creating subtasks, etc.

Sample code:

using System;
using ;
 
class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Task task = (() => DoWork());
        (); // Wait for the task to be completed    }
 
    static void DoWork()
    {
        ("By starting task running...");
    }
}

4. Use asynchronous method (async/await)

Starting from C# 5.0, it has been introducedasyncandawaitKeywords used to simplify the asynchronous programming model. This method does not directly create a new thread, but performs asynchronous operations on existing threads, so that threads can not be blocked while waiting for time-consuming tasks such as I/O operations, improving thread utilization.

Sample code:

using System;
using ;
 
class Program
{
    static async Task Main() // Note that Main method can also be marked as async    {
        await DoWorkAsync(); // Use the await keyword to wait for the asynchronous task to complete    }
 
    static async Task DoWorkAsync()
    {
        ("Async method starts executing...");
        await (1000); // Simulate time-consuming operations, such as I/O requests, etc.        ("Async method execution is completed...");
    }
}

Summarize

The above four methods have their own advantages and disadvantages and are suitable for different scenarios. The Thread class provides underlying control over threads, but is relatively cumbersome to use; the Task class and methods provide more advanced abstraction and better performance; while async/await further simplifies the asynchronous programming model, making the code more readable and maintained. In actual development, the appropriate method should be selected according to the specific needs.

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