Introduction

Multithreading, a very powerful technique, is essential for modern software development. Software users expect to work with a responsive program that they do not have to wait on, which is a very reasonable demand with the processor speeds that are currently available.  Enter multithreading.  Multithreading is the concept of having several different paths of code running at the same time.

When you introduce multithreading in your applications, you immediately make programming more complicated and add design time.  You must know exactly what your application and all its threads are doing at all times.  You have to account for deadlocks, race conditions and corrupting variable values.  In this article, we will examine the different methods in Visual Basic .NET to accomplish thread synchronization.  We will define deadlocks and race conditions and learn how to avoid these common problems with multithreading. 

System Requirements

I will assume that you already have knowledge of basic threading in Visual Basic .NET.  You should know how to create threads and know how to do basic threading operations like Join and Sleep.  A copy of Visual Studio .NET is required to run the code samples and see the output.   The code was written with Visual Studio.Net using version 1.0 of the .NET Framework with service pack 2.

Case Study Structure

This case study has three main parts.  Multithreading requires a technique called synchronization to eliminate the problems described above, so we will first take a brief look at synchronization.  Then an in-depth look at all methods available in Visual Basic .NET for synchronization will be presented where you will learn how to correctly synchronize a multithreaded application.  After this, a look at Windows Form synchronization and threading apartment styles will show the differences a programmer must handle between standard synchronization and visual GUI synchronization.

Synchronization

What is thread synchronization?  Imagine the following lines of code:

Listing 1

Dim X as Integer
X = 1
X = X + 1

The line X = X + 1 is a single operation to a programmer.  But consider this line from a computer’s perspective.  Computers use machine language, which could mean many separate operations for each line of code.  For example, the line above could be broken down into several operations, such as:  Move the value of X into a register, move the value 1 into another register, add the two registers and place the value into a third register and finally, move the added values into the memory address of the variable X.

Imagine the above situation with multiple threads trying to access the variable X at the same time.  Synchronization is the process of eliminating these kinds of errors.  Without synchronization programming, the computer could stop the first thread at any point in time and let the second thread access the variable.  If the second thread was also incrementing X by 1, it might finish and then the computer would resume the original thread that was running.  This thread would restore its variable information, replacing the new X with the old value and nullifying the work that the second thread accomplished.  This is called a race condition.  These errors are very hard to find and it is best to put time in preventing them.

To synchronize code, you utilize locks.  A lock is a way to tell the computer that the following group of code should be executed together as a single operation and not allow other threads to have access to the resource that is locked until the locking code is finished.  In the case study we will examine the different types of locks and objects that allow locking and discuss when to use each method.  When your code can handle multiple threads safely, it is considered thread safe.  This common term is used on code libraries and controls to designate that they are compatible with multiple threads.

Synchronization also adds a new type of bug you need to watch out for, deadlocking.  Deadlocking can occur if you are not careful with your locking techniques.  For example, assume that we have two resources, A and B.  Thread 1 calls and locks resource A at the same time thread 2 calls and locks resource B.  Thread 1 then requests resource B and thread 2 requests resource A.  This is called a deadlock.  Thread 1 cannot release resource A until it gets resource B and thread 2 cannot release resource B until it gets A.  Nothing happens and your system cannot complete either of the two threads.  Needless to say, this is very bad.

The only way to avoid deadlocks is to never allow a situation that could create one.  Code both threads to allocate resources in the same order.  Have thread 1 allocate A and then B and the same with thread 2.  This way thread 2 will never start until thread 1 is finished with resource A.  Then it will wait until thread 1 is finished with resource B before continuing and avoid the deadlock.  Another good practice is to lock resources as late as possible.  Try to avoid getting locks until you absolutely need them and then release them as soon as possible.  Next, we shall take a look at all the different methods of thread synchronization that the common language runtime provides.

Interlocked Class

Because they are very common programming techniques, variable increment and decrement have their own framework class, the Interlocked class. This class provides simple thread-safe methods to do some common tasks with variables.  The Increment and Decrement methods add or subtract 1 from a variable.  These methods can be considered “atomic."  This means that the operating system will consider the entire operation as one, not allowing other threads to interrupt their execution.  The class is a member of System.Threading namespace.  To use the functions without fully qualifying the name, add an Imports System.Threading line.  I will assume that the System.Threading namespace has been imported for all of the examples in the case study.

Listing 2

Dim X as Integer
X = 1
X = Interlocked.Increment(X)
X = Interlocked.Decrement(X)

The above code ensures that the computer will not interrupt the increment or decrement of the variable X. 

There are two additional methods in the Interlocked class, Exchange and CompareExchange.  Let us take a closer look at the two.  The Exchange method replaces the value of a variable with the value supplied.  The second value could be a hard coded value or a variable.  Do not let the name of the method, Exchange, confuse you though.  Only the first variable passed in the first parameter will be replaced by the second.  The method will not really exchange the values of two variables.

Listing 3

Dim X as Integer = 5
Dim Y as Integer = 1
Interlocked.Exchange(X, Y)  ‘X now equals 1 Y isstill 1
Interlocked.Exchange(X, 4) ‘X now equals 4

CompareExchange will do a comparison of two variables and if they are equal, replace the one used as the first parameter with the supplied value.

Listing 4

Dim i As Integer
i = 200
Interlocked.CompareExchange(i, DateTime.Now.Day, 200)

The above code creates a new integer and then assigns the value 200 to it.  We then call the Interlocked.CompareExchange.  The method compares the variable i with 200 and since they are the same, it will replace i with DateTime.Now.Day, the current day of the month. 

The Interlocked class allows you to do basic programming techniques and make them thread safe.  Let us examine how to do more than just basic commands now.  The .NET Framework provides several classes and Visual Basic .NET provides one method to handle complete synchronization.  First, we will take a look at the SyncLock Visual Basic .NET keyword.

SyncLock Keyword

The SyncLock keyword (lock in C#) gives an easy way to quickly lock parts of code.  It is now a built in keyword in Visual Basic.Net.  Take a look at the following code segment:

Listing 5

Dim sText as String
Dim objLock as Object = New Object()
SyncLock objLock
  sText = "Hello"
End SyncLock

First we declare a new string, sText.  Then we set up a SyncLock block to control access to the object using another locking object, objLock.  This guarantees that only one thread at a time can set the object to the string "Hello".  A lock object must be used or an exception will be thrown on the Exit call.  If you try to use an object that has changed since the Enter call, the Exit will fail, so you cannot lock on sText itself.  The most common use of SyncLock is to lock the entire object it is in by using the Me keyword as the parameter of the SyncLock.  This will lock the object for all threads except the executing one.  This provides a very high degree of control over the locking patterns of the object at the cost of flexibility. 

Listing 6

Public Sub Foo()
  Dim sText As String
  SyncLock Me
  sText = "Hello"
  End SyncLock
End Sub

Locking the entire object is usually a great waste of time and processing power.  Other methods in the Me object that have locking code based on the Me object will not be accessible to any threads while in the lock.  If a more flexible approach is needed, a locking variable can be used.  Locks can only be obtained on reference types.  If a lock on a value type is needed, you must use a locking object as shown below.  The code locks access to iData via a reference type, System.Object.  Imagine the locking object as a key to the code.  Only one thread at a time can have the key.  This allows for much greater control over what gets locked.  This method will also not lock the whole Me object.  Other threads are free to access other methods of Me, which is much more efficient and will reduce the possibility of deadlocks.

Listing 7

Public Sub Foo()
  Dim iData As Integer
  Dim objLock As Object = New Object()
  SyncLock objLock
  iData = 3
  End SyncLock
End Sub

One drawback to using SyncLock is that other threads must wait forever for the lock to be released if they need the locked resource.  They will never time out.  If you are not careful and enter an infinite loop in the locking thread, or hog resources, you can easily create deadlocks or periods of time where nothing happens.  In later sections, better methods of synchronization will be discussed.

Flow control statements such as GoTo cannot move the code flow into a SyncLock block of code.  The thread must execute the SyncLock keyword.  Old Visual Basic 6 error handling cannot be used from inside a SyncLock block either since it uses exception handling internally.  Since all new code should be written with exception handling, you probably will not run into a situation like this unless upgrading a legacy application.  I would highly recommend rewriting any legacy error handling even if the methods are not used for multithreading.  Neither of the following code blocks will compile:

Listing 8

SyncLock Me
On Error GoTo Errhandle ‘won’t compile
Dim i As Integer
i = 5
End SyncLock
Exit Sub
 
Errhandle:
 
Or:
 
GoTo EnterHere ‘won’t compile
 
SyncLock Me
EnterHere:
Dim i As Integer
i = 5
End SyncLock

In the next section we will examine how SyncLock works internally. 

Monitor Class

To examine how SyncLock works, we have to explore a framework class, the Monitor class.  The Monitor class does exactly what it says: monitors the access to a region of code and prevents multiple threads from entering.  If you are familiar with win32 programming using C++, Monitor is similar to a critical section.  Monitor creates a lock on an object that does not allow any other threads to obtain access to the object until released by the locking thread.  These locks are on sections of memory, hence the common name critical section.  We will first see how to control access to a block of code, just like with the SyncLock keyword.

The Enter function of the Monitor class works just like the SyncLock keyword and the Exit function like the End Synclock keywords.  Internally SyncLock uses the Monitor class to implement its functionality and generates the inner Try Finally block of the code sample for you.  Let us look at the code now:

Listing 9

Public Sub Foo()
  Dim sText As String
  Dim objLock As Object = New Object()
  Try
   Monitor.Enter(objLock)
  Try
   sText = "Hello"
  Finally
   Monitor.Exit(objLock)
  End Try
  Catch e As Exception
   MessageBox.Show(e.Message)
  End Try
End Sub

This provides the exact same functionality that the above SyncLock example did.  You will also notice that the Exit is contained in the finally clause of a Try Catch Finally block.  This is to ensure that Exit gets called so the thread will not get locked infinitely.  Monitor.Enter is also called outside of the Try Catch Finally block.  This is so Monitor.Exit will not get called if the Enter method does not, as it will throw another exception.  So why should we use Monitor, if the SyncLock keyword provides the same functionality without the extra work of Monitor?  We will examine the reasons why Monitor should be used as we look at the other methods of Monitor. 

We said earlier that the SyncLock block would wait indefinitely on the executing thread to release the lock.  The Monitor class provides a much better method to handle this, the TryEnter method.  This is the first reason why you would use Monitor over SyncLock.  This method will allow the calling thread to wait a specific amount of time to acquire a lock before returning false and stopping its execution.  This allows graceful handling of long running threads or deadlocks.  If a deadlock has occurred, you certainly do not want to add more threads that are trying to get to the deadlocked resource.

The default method of no parameters will try to acquire a lock and if unsuccessful it will immediately return false.  There are also two additional overloads that will wait for the specific number of milliseconds, or the specified TimeSpan.  This offers much more flexibility than SyncLock.

Listing 10

Dim objLock As Object = New Object() ‘Object in yourClass
Public Sub Foo()
  Dim sText As String
  Dim bEnteredOk As Boolean
  bEnteredOk = Monitor.TryEnter(objLock, 5000)
  If bEnteredOk = True Then
    sText = "Hello"
    Monitor.Exit(objLock)
  End If
End Sub

This example will try to acquire a lock for five seconds.  If successful, the string is set to “Hello."

The rest of Monitor’s methods must be examined together.  The SyncLock keyword and the Monitor.Enter rely on putting waiting threads to sleep to stop their execution.  This is not the best practice to follow as there is no way to get them to stop waiting unless aborted.  The Monitor.Wait and Monitor.Pulse allow threads to wait on other conditions before starting.  The methods will place the thread in a wait state allowing other threads to specify when they need the waiting thread to run.  An example of this is a queue.  You could have a thread that waits in an idle state until other threads place objects in the queue for it to work on.

To use the methods, you first tell a thread to wait on an object with a Monitor.Wait call, like below.

Listing 11

Dim objLock As Object = New Object()
Dim bPulsed As Boolean
Monitor.Enter(objLock)
bPulsed = Monitor.Wait(objLock)
If bPulsed Then
  'thread was pulsed
End If
Monitor.Exit(objLock)

The thread is automatically unlocked with the Wait call.  You must be sure to call Monitor.Exit when the thread is pulsed and done with its work or you will have a block that could result in a deadlock.  The first thread will wait until the pulsing thread has released its lock.  This will make the thread wait until a Monitor.Exit is called, like the following.

Listing 12

Monitor.Enter(objLock)
Monitor.Pulse(objLock)
Monitor.Exit(objLock)

If the Exit call is left off, a block occurs because the waiting thread cannot obtain its lock on the object that the pulsing thread has.  You must also use the same object to lock on and pulse from the second thread that the waiting thread used to wait on, objLock.  Also, both Wait and Pulse must be called from a locked block of code, hence the Enter and Exit calls in the above code.  You should exit immediately after calling Pulse to allow the first thread to perform its work, since the pulsing code has the current lock on objLock. 

The Monitor class also comes equipped with a PulseAll method.  Unlike Pulse, which will only start the next waiting thread, PulseAll removes the wait state from all waiting threads and allows them to continue processing.  As with the Pulse method, PulseAll must be called from a locked block of code and on the same object that the original threads are waiting on.

The Monitor class will provide for most of your threading synchronization needs.  It should always be used unless a more specific task calls for the next few classes we will examine.  Here is a review of some good practices to follow when using Monitor:

1.       Exit MUST be called the same number of times Enter is called or a block will occur.

2.       Make sure that the object used to call Enter is the same object that is used to call Exit or the lock will not be released.

3.       Do not call Exit before calling Enter and do not call Exit more times than calling Enter or an exception will occur.

4.       Place the Exit method call in a Finally block.  All code that you wish to lock should be in the Try section of the corresponding Finally block.  The Enter call should be in its own Try block.  This eliminates calling Exit if the Enter fails.

5.       Do not call Enter on an object that has been set to Nothing or an exception will occur.

6.       Do not change the object that you use as the locking object, which brings in number 7.

7.       Use a separate locking object and not the changing object.  If you use an object that has changed, an exception will be generated.

MethodImplAttribute

Code attributes in the Dot Net Framework can sometimes make programming easier.  The MethodImplAttribute is one example of the hundreds of different attributes that you can use.  It is in the System.Runtime.CompilerServices namespace.  This attribute is particularly interesting to synchronization because it can synchronize an entire method with one simple command.

If you place the attribute before a function and supply the MethodImplOptions.Synchronized enumeration in the constructor, the entire method will be synchronized when called.  The compiler will create output that wraps the whole function, MySyncMethod, in a Monitor.Enter and Monitor.Exit block.  When a thread starts to enter the method it will acquire a lock.  Upon exiting the method, it will release the lock.  Here is an example of using the attribute.

Listing 13

<MethodImplAttribute(MethodImplOptions.Synchronized)>
Private Sub MySyncMethod()
End Sub

This attribute should only be used when an entire function needs to be synchronized, so it is rarely used.  If you can exit the synchronized block of code before the end of the method or wait to enter it to the middle of the method, Monitor should be used, as the attribute would waste processing cycles by locking the whole method and not just what needs to be synchronized.

WaitHandle, AutoResetEvent and ManualResetEvent Classes

We will now examine a MustInherit type class, WaitHandle.  WaitHandle provides a class definition for three other classes (Mutex, ManualResetEvent and AutoResetEvent) and provides means for your own objects to inherit synchronization functionality.  These objects allow threads to wait until classes derived from WaitHandle are signaled.  The WaitHandle derived classes add functionality over Monitor in that threads can be programmed to wait until multiple classes are signaled.  Of course, along with more power and flexibility comes more work and chance of problems. 

The two reset event classes can be used in context with Mutex to provide similar functionality to Monitor.  The major difference between Mutex and Monitor is that Mutex can be used across processes.  You can think of the two reset event classes as being switches.  The thread cannot enter a Mutex unless its object is signaled.  We will examine them in detail next.

The AutoResetEvent class can be compared to the Monitor.Pulse method.  Imagine it as a tollbooth.  Each car has to pay to go through the signal and then the gate closes behind the car when it passes, making the next car in line pay again.  The AutoResetEvent class is like this.  It automatically goes back to unsignaled after being signaled and a thread goes through, just like Monitor.Pulse.  ManualResetEvent can be described as a water hose, once open it lets everything through until you close it yourself.   

Let us examine the AutoResetEvent in detail first.  It comes equipped with two methods to control its state, Set and Reset.  Set allows one thread to acquire the lock on the object.  After allowing a thread to pass through, Reset will automatically be called, returning the state to unsignaled. 

On the first call to Set the runtime will make sure that the state of the object is signaled.  Multiple calls to Set have no effect if the state is already signaled and it will still allow only one thread to pass.  You do not know the order of threads for each signal either.  If multiple threads are waiting on an object, you are only guaranteed that one will get in per Set when a wait method is called. 

Reset can be used to change the state of the object back to unsignaled from signaled before a thread calls a wait method on the object.  Reset will return True if it can change the state back to unsignaled or False if it can not.  It has no effect on an unsignaled object.  The code below will show how an AutoResetEvent works.

Listing 14

Dim WaitEvent As AutoResetEvent
WaitEvent = New AutoResetEvent(False)
 
Public Sub DoWork()
  Thread.Sleep(5000)
  WaitEvent.Set()
End Sub
 
Public Sub Thread2()
  WaitEvent.WaitOne()
  End Sub

          In the above code, we make a new instance of an AutoResetEvent.  Our main thread would call DoWork, while a secondary thread would call Thread2.  When the secondary thread reached the WaitOne call, it would enter the WaitSleepJoin state until the main thread calls the Set method after its long processing task, thus allowing Thread2 to continue execution.  When DoWork calls WaitEvent.Set(), it signals that it is available for another thread that is waiting to obtain continue running.  Since our Thread2 is waiting, it continues now.

To fully understand the AutoResetEvent class, we must also examine the WaitHandle class.  AutoResetEvent is derived from WaitHandle.  It inherits several methods which we will look at.

The first method, WaitOne, we have already seen in action in the above code sample.  Basically, it will wait until the object has become signaled.  WaitOne without any parameters will wait infinitely until the object becomes signaled. There are also several overrides that allow you to wait for an amount of time, both in milliseconds or a TimeSpan.  If time elapses on these methods, WaitOne will return false indicating that a lock could not be obtained.

The timed methods of WaitOne also take a boolean parameter that is worthy of note.  If you pass false to the parameter, nothing different happens from calling the standard no parameter WaitOne except for the timeout.  If true is passed and WaitOne is called from a COM+ synchronized context, it will force the thread to exit the context before waiting.  This method will not affect your code unless you use the COM+ methods of synchronization, which we will discuss later.

The next method, WaitAll, is very useful when you have a large amount of work to accomplish and want to use multiple threads to accomplish it.  This allows a thread to wait on multiple objects.  Once all objects in the array are signaled, the waiting thread is allowed to continue execution. 

As with the WaitOne method, the no parameter method waits indefinitely while two other methods exist to wait for a specific amount of time.  The method also has the boolean parameter for exiting a synchronized context.  Be careful when waiting infinitely when using WaitAll.  If you do not signal all instances of the AutoResetEvent correctly, as shown below, your waiting thread will never resume.

Let us take a look at a code example showing how to use WaitAll. First, the form’s code:

Listing 15

Dim WaitAllEvents(1) As AutoResetEvent
Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object, ByVal
  e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
  Dim thread1 As Thread
  Dim thread2 As Thread
  ‘first we create 2 threads As assign them To subs
  thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread1Work)
  thread2 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread2Work)
 
  ‘Next our 2 AutoRresetEvent instances are created
  WaitAllEvents(0) = New AutoResetEvent(False)
  WaitAllEvents(1) = New AutoResetEvent(False)
 
  thread1.Start()
  thread2.Start()
  ‘after starting the threads we tell the mainthread To
  ‘wait Until all instances of AutoResetEvent havebecome
  ‘signaled With a Call To Set()
  WaitHandle.WaitAll(WaitAllEvents)
  Console.WriteLine("All threads done exitingmain thread")
 
  thread2 = Nothing
  thread1 = Nothing
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread1Work()
  Thread.Sleep(5000)
  Console.WriteLine("Thread1 done")
  WaitAllEvents(0).Set() ‘I’m done so signal myEvent
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread2Work()
  Thread.Sleep(3000)
  Console.WriteLine("Thread2 done")
  WaitAllEvents(1).Set()‘I’m done so signal my Event
End Sub

Here is some code in a Module.

Listing 16

<MTAThread()> 
Public Sub Main()
   Dim frm As Form1
   frm = New Form1()
   frm.ShowDialog()
End Sub

The output from the code is:

Thread2 Done
Thread1 Done
All threads done exiting main thread

As you can see from the output, the main thread waits until all objects in its WaitAllEvents array are signaled.  Another item that is worthy to note here is the attribute <MTAThread()>.  This signifies that the main thread should run as a multithreaded apartment style thread and not as a single threaded apartment, which is the default.  WaitAll must be called from a thread that is an MTAThread.  If not, it will throw a NotSupportedException.  While done as an example above with a simple WinForm, you should not run your main thread that opens Window’s Forms on an MTAThread.  This will cause some problems with some of the controls. 

The single-threaded, apartment-style thread model guarantees that only one thread is accessing code at one time.  In order for Windows Forms projects to work correctly, they must be run in a single threaded apartment.  This does not mean that worker threads cannot be created and used.  We will go into more detail about Windows Form synchronization later in the case study.  Some of the other project types, such as the Window’s service project, are by default multithreaded apartments.  The MTA style will also be discussed later.  In these situations, WaitAll can be used very effectively. 

The last method we will examine is WaitAny. This method waits until any one object in the array is signaled.  An example of its use would be a dictionary search engine.  The program would start two threads, the first that started with the letter A and the second that started with the letter Z.  The first match found by either thread will terminate the others that are searching and return control to the main application.  The return of this method tells you the position of the array that was signaled.  Like the other two methods, you can wait indefinitely or for a specific amount of time.

Let us look at a code example.

Listing 17

Dim WaitAnyEvents(1) As AutoResetEvent
 
Private Sub Start_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
  Handles Button1.Click
 
  Dim Thread1 As Thread
  Dim Thread2 As Thread
 
  Thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread1Work)
  Thread2 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread2Work)
 
  WaitAnyEvents(0) = New AutoResetEvent(False)
  WaitAnyEvents(1) = New AutoResetEvent(False)
 
  Thread1.Start()
  Thread2.Start()
  WaitHandle.WaitAny(WaitAnyEvents)
  Console.WriteLine("One thread done exitingmain thread")
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread1Work()
  Thread.Sleep(5000)
  Console.WriteLine("Thread1 done")
  WaitAnyEvents(0).Set()
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread2Work()
  Thread.Sleep(3000)
  Console.WriteLine("Thread2 done")
  WaitAnyEvents(1).Set()
End Sub

In examining the above code, we see that an array of AutoResetEvent has been created as a form level variable so that all subroutines can access it.  We have put a command button on the form.  This button is the main worker of the example.  When it is clicked, we create two new threads and assign their individual subs to run upon starting.  The subs simulate work by sleeping for a while.  When done sleeping, a string is out put to the debug window and the corresponding AutoResetEvent is signaled.  This causes the main thread to resume running.  You should receive the following output from the example:

Thread2 Done
One thread done exiting main thread
Thread1 done

The output shows that the main thread resumes running after the first object has been released.  Because the main thread does not abort the first thread, Thread1, it eventually finishes outputting its string “Thread1 done.”  If the other threads are no longer needed then they should be aborted manually from your main thread with a call to Abort.

Now let us examine a way to signal an event and have it stay signaled, the ManualResetEvent.  This event will stay signaled no matter how many threads do a wait method on it.  The only way to change the state is to call Reset.  You can use the object to control access to data that multiple threads are waiting on.  For example, we might have two threads or more waiting on a piece of data that another thread is calculating.  When this thread gets done with its work, we can let all other threads in to access the data.  At some later time if we determine that the data needs to be recalculated, we can turn off the threads from accessing it.  Then do our new calculations. 

Let us look at some code now.

Listing 18

Private ManualWaitEvent As ManualResetEvent
Dim Thread1 As Thread
Dim sData As String
 
Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object,
  ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
  ManualWaitEvent = New ManualResetEvent(False)
  Thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf ReadWork)
  Thread1.IsBackground = True
  Thread1.Start()
End Sub
 
Private Sub ReadWork()
  'this method will wait until ManualWaitEvent is
  'signaled
  Dim i As Integer
  For i = 0 To 100
    ManualWaitEvent.WaitOne()
    Console.WriteLine(sData & i.ToString())
    Thread.Sleep(1000)
  Next 'i
End Sub
 
Private Sub btnSet_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object, ByVal
  e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnSet.Click
  sData = "Work Done: "
  ManualWaitEvent.Set()
End Sub
 
Private Sub btnReset_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object,
  ByVal e As System.EventArgs) HandlesbtnReset.Click
  ManualWaitEvent.Reset()
End Sub

When the form loads, we create a new instance of a ManualResetEvent in the unsignaled state.  A thread is created and started.  The thread then waits until the event becomes signaled.  When signaled, it reads a string that we are using to represent our data.  This is a very powerful method of controlling synchronization when you have multiple threads.  It allows you to fine tune access to variables easily.  You can easily switch on and off access to the data. 

Every second, the thread will output “Work Done: “ and the value of i until the ManualWaitEvent is unsignaled by pressing the reset button.  If the set button is pressed again, the thread will resume its work and continue to output data to the output window.  Every time ManualWaitEvent.WaitOne() is called, a check of the state of ManualWaitEvent is done.  If this call were outside of the loop, all one hundred values of i would have been printed the first time the set button was pressed.

Also, note the IsBackground call in the form load event.  This makes Thread1 a child thread to the main process thread.  If the main thread is terminated, the operating system will also terminate any background threads related to the main one.  If the thread were not a background thread, it would continue running until it was finished, even when we closed our main thread out.  If the state of ManualWaitEvent were unsignaled, the thread would be waiting on an object that could never be signaled again since our main form was gone.  This results in the process being left in memory.  This should be avoided by making all threads background threads, unless it is 100% necessary for the thread to finish regardless of the state of the application.  Make sure that these non-background threads have access to any resources they need.  If termination of the main running program disposes of a needed resource, the thread will never finish or result in an error.

Mutex Class

The next class in our list, Mutex, can be thought of as a more powerful version of Monitor.  Like AutoResetEvent and ManualResetEvent, it is derived from WaitHandle.  An advantage of Mutex over Monitor is that you can use the methods from WaitHandle, such as WaitOne.  A disadvantage is that is much slower, at about half as fast as Monitor.  Mutex is very useful when you must control access to a resource that could be accessed through multiple processes, like a data file used by several applications you have created.  To write to the file, the writing thread must have total access to the file throughout the operating system.

When you create a Mutex, you can assign it a name.  If the name exists anywhere in the operating system then that Mutex object instance will be returned.  This is the reason why Mutex is slower.  The system must be checked to see if the Mutex already exists.  If it does not exist, a new one is created.  When the last thread in the operating system that references the named Mutex terminates, the Mutex is destroyed.  The following code example shows how to use a Mutex to control access to a file.

Our first program:

Listing 19

Dim mutexFile As Mutex
 
Private Sub btnSetMutex_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object, _
 ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _
Handles btnSetMutex.Click
  mutexFile = New Mutex(False, "MutexName")
  mutexFile.WaitOne()
End Sub
 
Private Sub btnRelease_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object, _
 ByVal e As System.EventArgs)  _
Handles btnRelease.Click
  mutexFile.ReleaseMutex()
End Sub
 
Our Second Program:
 
Private Sub btnAquireMutex_Click(ByVal sender As
  System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)Handles
  btnAquireMutex.Click
  Dim mutexFile As Mutex
  mutexFile = New Mutex(False, "MutexName")
  mutexFile.WaitOne() ‘Wait Until the File Is Open
  Console.WriteLine("Mutex was released fromanother
  process")
  mutexFile.ReleaseMutex()
End Sub

Let us examine the first program.  A Mutex called mutexFile is created.  Internally to the operating system, we name the mutex “Mutex Name.”  This is the name that will be used to resolve any other calls to the same mutex from any other application that we create.  On a form we have two buttons.  For demonstration purposes, one button will acquire a lock on the resource, in this case the file, using the Mutex and the other button will release the lock.  This simulates a long running process on the file.  As with the other synchronization classes, you should make sure to call RelaseMutex sometime after a lock is acquired or a block on the resource will occur.

The second program is very straightforward.  We create a Mutex object called fileMutex making sure we have named it the same as in the first program, “Mutex Name.”  If this is not done then the Mutex classes will refer to different mutexes in the operating system.  Then WaitOne is called without a timeout value.  This will make the thread wait until the Mutex has been released.  When the release button is clicked in the first program, the second can continue running since it can now acquire access to the resource.  Mutex was released from another process and is printed in the output window.  You can also close the first program and the lock will be released.  When a thread exits that has a Mutex lock on a resource, ReleaseMutex is automatically called for you.

In summary, remember that Monitor should be used most of the time; it is faster than a Mutex.  Mutex should only be used when you need to synchronize across multiple processes to gain access to a common resource among several programs that you have written.  Even though Mutex allows for the wait methods where Monitor does not, the other WaitHandle classes should be considered before Mutex if you need the wait methods first. 

ReaderWriterLock Object

Many times, you read data much more often than you write it.  Traditional synchronization can be overkill in these situations, as it would lock resources when threads are reading or writing to the resource.  A more efficient way has been added to the framework to handle this.  The ReaderWriterLock is a synchronization class that allows multiple threads to read a variable, but only one thread to write to it at a time. 

When acquiring a lock, the write thread must also wait until all reader threads have unlocked the object before obtaining an exclusive write lock.  All readers will then be blocked until the writer thread releases its lock.  The power of the class comes from the fact that it will allow multiple reader locks to access the resource at the same time.  We will look first at how to acquire reader locks on an object.

Listing 20

Dim lData As Long = 1
Dim objLock As ReaderWriterLock
 
Private Sub btnRun_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object, ByVal
  e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnRun.Click
 
  Dim Thread1 As Thread
  Dim Thread2 As Thread
  objLock = New ReaderWriterLock()
 
  Thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread1Work)
  Thread2 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread2Work)
 
  Thread1.Start()
  Thread2.Start()
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread1Work()
  Dim i As Integer
  For i = 1 To 10
    objLock.AcquireReaderLock(1000)
    Console.WriteLine(lData & " Thread1")
    Thread.Sleep(10)
    objLock.ReleaseReaderLock()
  Next
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread2Work()
  Dim i As Integer
  For i = 1 To 10
    objLock.AcquireReaderLock(1000)
    Console.WriteLine(lData & " Thread2")
    objLock.ReleaseReaderLock()
  Next
End Sub

We create an instance of a ReaderWriterLock object called objLock.  Then two threads are spawned, both of which do a quick loop that writes the value of lData to the console window ten times.  The first thread also has a ten-millisecond sleep call.  This allows us to see that the second thread continues to get a reader lock on objLock even though the first already has one.  Also, note that we have passed a millisecond time limit to the methods.  You must pass a timeout value to AcquireReaderLock.  If you wish to wait infinitely, use the constant Timeout.Infinite.

The output should be something similar to the following:

1 Thread 1
1 Thread 2
1 Thread 2
1 Thread 2
1 Thread 2
1 Thread 2
1 Thread 2
1 Thread 2
1 Thread 2
1 Thread 2
1 Thread 2
1 Thread 1
1 Thread 1
1 Thread 1
1 Thread 1
1 Thread 1
1 Thread 1
1 Thread 1
1 Thread 1
1 Thread 1

This shows that the second thread ran while the first had a ReaderLock on the lData integer. 

If needed, there is also a method, IsReaderLockHeld, which will return true if the current thread already has a reader lock.  This helps keep track of multiple locks by one thread.  For each call to AcquireReaderLock a subsequent call to ReleaseReaderLock is required.  If you do not call ReleaseReaderLock the same number of times, the reader lock is never fully released, never allowing a write to the resource.  IsReaderLockHeld can be checked to see if a reader lock is already active on the thread and if so, not acquire another one.

Now let us examine how to update the variable.  A writer lock can be obtained by calling AcquireWriterLock.  Once all reader locks have been released, the method will obtain an exclusive lock on the variable.  When updating the variable, all reader threads will be locked out until ReleaseWriterLock is called.  Let us examine the code for this.

Listing 21

Dim lData As Long = 1
Dim objLock As ReaderWriterLock
 
Private Sub btnRun_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object, ByVal
  e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnRun.Click
  Dim Thread1 As Thread
  Dim Thread2 As Thread
  Dim Thread3 As Thread
  objLock = New ReaderWriterLock()
 
  Thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread1Work)
  Thread2 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread2Work)
  Thread3 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread3Work)
 
  Thread1.Start()
  Thread2.Start()
  Thread3.Start()
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread1Work()
  Dim i As Integer
  For i = 1 To 10
    objLock.AcquireReaderLock(1000)
    Console.WriteLine(lData & " Thread1")
    Thread.Sleep(100)
    objLock.ReleaseReaderLock()
  Next
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread2Work()
  Dim i As Integer
  For i = 1 To 10
    objLock.AcquireReaderLock(1000)
    Console.WriteLine(lData & " Thread2")
    Thread.Sleep(100)
    objLock.ReleaseReaderLock()
  Next
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread3Work()
  objLock.AcquireWriterLock(Timeout.Infinite)
  lData = 2
  Console.WriteLine("Thread 3 updatedlData")
  objLock.ReleaseWriterLock()
End Sub

You will notice that we have added a new thread, Thread3, and a function for it to run.  This new function acquires a writer lock on the object and then updates lData to 2.  The first two threads, Thread1 and Thread2, are put to sleep for one hundred milliseconds to allow thread three to start.  When examining the output from this code, you will see that thread three waits until threads one and two release their locks.  This thread three updates the variable.  Thread one and two must then wait on it.  As with the reader lock, there is also a method called IsWriterLockHeld that will return true if the current thread has a writer lock.  You should get an output similar to the one below:

1 Thread 1
1 Thread 2
Thread 3 updated lData
2 Thread 2
2 Thread 1
2 Thread 2
2 Thread 1
2 Thread 2
2 Thread 1
2 Thread 2
2 Thread 1
2 Thread 2
2 Thread 1
2 Thread 2
2 Thread 1
2 Thread 2
2 Thread 1
2 Thread 2
2 Thread 1
2 Thread 2
2 Thread 1

Another useful method of the ReaderWriterLock class is the UpgradeToWriterLock method.  This method allows a reader lock to become a writer lock to update the data.  Sometimes it is useful to check the value of a data item to see if it should be updated.  Acquiring a writer lock to check the variable is a waste of time and processing power.  By getting a reader lock first, the other reader threads are allowed to continue accessing the variable until you determine an update is needed.  Once the update is needed, UpgradeToWriterLock is called and locks the resource for update as soon as it can acquire the lock.  Just like AcquireWriterLock, UpgradeToWriterLock must wait until all readers accessing the resource are done.  Now we will look at the code.

Listing 22

Dim lData As Long = 1
Dim objLock As ReaderWriterLock
 
Private Sub btnRun_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object, ByVal
  e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnRun.Click
  Dim Thread1 As Thread
  Dim Thread2 As Thread
  objLock = New ReaderWriterLock()
 
  Thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread1Work)
  Thread2 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread2Work)
 
  Thread1.Start()
  Thread2.Start()
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread1Work()
  Dim i As Integer
  For i = 1 To 10
    objLock.AcquireReaderLock(1000)
    If lData = i Then
      objLock.UpgradeToWriterLock(Timeout.Infinite)
      lData = i + 1
      Console.WriteLine("lData is now "& lData)
    End If
    Thread.Sleep(20)
    objLock.ReleaseReaderLock()
  Next
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread2Work()
  Dim i As Integer
  For i = 1 To 10
    objLock.AcquireReaderLock(1000)
    Console.WriteLine(lData & " Thread2")
    Thread.Sleep(20)
    objLock.ReleaseReaderLock()
  Next
End Sub

In this example, we have changed thread one to examine the value of lData after acquiring a reader lock.  If the value of lData is equal to the looping variable of i (which it always is in our example) then it tries to obtain a writer lock by calling UpgradeToWriterLock.  Nothing special is required to release the writer lock once finished with it.  The normal ReleaseReaderLock will release the upgraded writer lock or calling DowngradeFromWriterLock can be used to release the lock, which will be discussed next.  The output should be something similar to the following:

lData is now 2
2 Thread 2
lData is now 3
3 Thread 2
lData is now 4
4 Thread 2
lData is now 5
5 Thread 2
lData is now 6
6 Thread 2
lData is now 7
7 Thread 2
lData is now 8
8 Thread 2
lData is now 9
9 Thread 2
lData is now 10
10 Thread 2
lData is now 11
11 Thread 2

Opposite of UpgradeToWriterLock we can also use DowngradeFromWriterLock.  Like its name suggests, the method will make a writer lock turn to a reader lock.  To use the function, you must pass it a LockCookie.  This cookie can be generated from UpgradeToWriterLock.  Because of the LockCookie requirement, you may only use DowngradeFromWriterLock on the same thread that UpgradeToWriterLock is called. 

One advantage of DowngradeFromWriterLock is that the call returns immediately and will not block the thread at all.  This happens because it can only be called from a thread that has a writer lock on an object.  This means that no other thread can have a lock; the method knows that it is the only thread active on the object.  If read access is still required to the resource, this method will eliminate the need to reacquire a read lock on the thread.  If read access is not required anymore, simply use ReleaseReaderLock, as shown above.  Examine the code below.

Listing 23

Dim lData As Long = 1
Dim objLock As ReaderWriterLock
 
Private Sub btnRun_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object, ByVal
  e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnRun.Click
  Dim Thread1 As Thread
  Dim Thread2 As Thread
  objLock = New ReaderWriterLock()
 
  Thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread1Work)
  Thread2 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread2Work)
 
  Thread1.Start()
  Thread2.Start()
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread1Work()
  Dim i As Integer
  Dim objCookie As LockCookie
  For i = 1 To 10
    objLock.AcquireReaderLock(1000)
    If lData = i Then
      objCookie =
      objLock.UpgradeToWriterLock(Timeout.Infinite)
      lData = i + 1
      Console.WriteLine("lData is now "& lData)
      objLock.DowngradeFromWriterLock(objCookie)
      Console.WriteLine("Downgraded lock")
    End If
    Thread.Sleep(20)
    objLock.ReleaseReaderLock()
  Next
End Sub
 
Private Sub Thread2Work()
  Dim i As Integer
  For i = 1 To 10
    objLock.AcquireReaderLock(1000)
    Console.WriteLine(lData & " Thread2")
    Thread.Sleep(20)
    objLock.ReleaseReaderLock()
  Next
End Sub

The only differences in this code from the UpgradeToWriterLock are the lines:

objCookie = objLock.UpgradeToWriterLock(Timeout.Infinite)

objLock.DowngradeFromWriterLock(oCookie)
Console.WriteLine("Downgraded lock")

Instead of just waiting until the ReleaseReaderLock is called, we explicitly change the writer lock to a reader lock.  The only real difference between downgrading and releasing the lock are with any other waiting writer locks.  If you downgrade and still have waiting writer locks, they must continue to wait until the downgraded lock is released.  You should see output similar to the following:

1 Thread 2
lData is now 2
Downgraded lock
2 Thread 2
lData is now 3
Downgraded lock
3 Thread 2
lData is now 4
Downgraded lock
4 Thread 2
lData is now 5
Downgraded lock
5 Thread 2
lData is now 6
Downgraded lock
6 Thread 2
6 Thread 2
lData is now 7
Downgraded lock
7 Thread 2
lData is now 8
Downgraded lock
8 Thread 2
lData is now 9
Downgraded lock
9 Thread 2
lData is now 10
Downgraded lock
lData is now 11
Downgraded lock

Two other methods of note on the ReaderWriterLock class are ReleaseLock and RestoreLock.  ReleaseLock immediately drops all locks that the current thread holds.  It returns a LockCookie just like UpgradeToWriterLock that can be used in RestoreLock.  When used, the LockCookie returns the thread back to the exact lock state that it held before.  To handle the fact that other threads could have acquired locks on the object, the method will block until it can resolve all of its previous locks.  The code is as follows:

Listing 24

Dim oLock As ReaderWriterLock
 
Private Sub btnRun_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object, ByVal
  e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnRun.Click
  Dim Thread1 As Thread
  Dim objCookie As LockCookie
 
  objLock = New ReaderWriterLock()
  Thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread1Work)
 
  objLock.AcquireWriterLock(Timeout.Infinite)
  Thread1.Start()
  Thread.Sleep(1000)
  objCookie = objLock.ReleaseLock
  Thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread1Work)
  Thread1.Start()
  Thread.Sleep(1000)
  objLock.RestoreLock(oCookie)
  Thread.Sleep(1000)
  Thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread1Work)
  Thread1.Start()
 
End Sub
 
 
Private Sub Thread1Work()
  Try
  objLock.AcquireReaderLock(10)
  Console.WriteLine("Got a reader lock")
  objLock.ReleaseReaderLock()
  Catch
  Console.WriteLine("Reader lock notheld")
  End Try
End Sub

Examining the code, we first see that a writer lock is acquired.  Thread1 is then started to show that it cannot acquire a reader lock on the object.  The main thread then releases the writer lock by calling ReleaseLock and saving its state to objCookie.  Thread1 is then restarted acquiring the reader lock.  RestoreLock is called with the LockCookie then passed to it.  When thread one is restarted at that point it cannot acquire its reader lock.  The call to RestoreLock has replaced the writer lock on the object.  The output looks like the following:

Reader lock not held
Got a reader lock
Reader lock not held

Another interesting pair of functions in the ReaderWriterLock class is the WriterSeqNum and AnyWritersSince.  WriterSeqNum returns the sequence number of the current lock in the internal queue of the ReaderWriterLock class.  This queue keeps the order of the threads that have requested reader or writer locks on an object.  AnyWritersSince can tell if any writer locks have been released since the call to WriterSeqNum.  This is a good method to check if a piece of data has been updated on another thread.  AnyWritersSince could be used in a large, time-consuming report situation.  If no writers have updated the report data then there is no need to recalculate the report.  The following code will show the methods in action.

Listing 25

Dim objLock As ReaderWriterLock
 
Private Sub btnRun_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object,ByVal
  e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnRun.Click
  Dim objCookie As LockCookie
 
  Dim SeqNum As Integer
  Dim Thread1 As Thread
 
  objLock = New ReaderWriterLock()
  Thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread1Work)
 
  objLock.AcquireWriterLock(Timeout.Infinite)
  SeqNum = objLock.WriterSeqNum
  If objLock.AnyWritersSince(SeqNum) = False Then
    Console.WriteLine("We see that no writershave
    released yet")
  End If
  objLock.ReleaseWriterLock()
  Thread1.Start()
  Thread1.Join()
  If objLock.AnyWritersSince(SeqNum) = True Then
    Console.WriteLine("We see that a writer hasreleased
    Now")
  End If
End Sub
 
Public Sub Thread1Work()
  objLock.AcquireWriterLock(Timeout.Infinite)
  objLock.ReleaseWriterLock()
End Sub

First a writer lock is acquired on objLock.  The sequence number is saved in SeqNum.  Then a test to AnyWritersSince is made.  Since no other threads have acquired any writer locks and released them, the method returns false.  Next a thread, Thread1, is started and waited on.  This thread simply acquires a writer lock and releases it.  The main thread then checks AnyWritersSince again using the saved off sequence number.  Since another thread has released a writer lock the method returns true this time.  The following output is returned.

We see that no writers have released yet
We see that a writer has released now

COM+ Synchronization

The dot net framework provides many enterprise services that can be used to build enterprise applications, one of which is the COM+ method of synchronization.  COM+ offers developers many helpful techniques, such as transaction handling between objects, loosely coupled events, object pooling and synchronization, which we will discuss here.  This synchronization method allows the usage of a concept called a context to provide ways to lock code for synchronization.  This method can be implemented on any class that is derived from ContextBoundObject or from any class that derives from ContextBoundObject. 

When deriving a class from ContextBoundObject, the attribute <Synchronization()> can be used.  This tells the runtime to provide synchronization for the entire class by making each class instance only accessible by one thread at a time.  This case study will give a brief overview of this topic, as it is out of the scope of the article.  Entire books have been written on the subject of COM+.  For further reading on COM+ get a copy of Professional Visual Basic Interoperability – COM and VB6 to .NET, ISBN 1-861005-65-2.

When you use the attribute, COM+ will create a proxy for you that will run all instances of your object in its context.  COM+ will marshal all calls across this proxy where a performance penalty occurs.  The service guarantees that only one thread is available to run each object at a time.

Earlier, the timed methods of the WaitHandle classes were discussed.  Recall that the second parameter of the method was a boolean method that determined whether to release the synchronized context along with the object lock.  If your classes use COM+ synchronization, True should be passed for this parameter or deadlocks are risked.  True tells COM+ to exit its synchronized context before the runtime allows the thread to wait.  This allows other threads to then get access to the context avoiding deadlocks.  If you do not exit the context, the .Net runtime will allow other threads access to the locked object since an exit method has been called.  When the next thread acquires a lock on the locking object it will then try to enter the context, which is still locked, resulting in a deadlock.

While COM+ synchronization provides another easy way to provide synchronization, be careful when using it.  Many calls to a COM+ synchronized object will degrade your application greatly because of all the marshaling across the proxy.  Be sure to test responsiveness when using it.

Apartments and Window’s Form Synchronization

Now that we have examined all the methods that Visual Basic offers for synchronization, we will take a look at Window’s Form projects and what apartment threading is.  The most common types of threading on the Windows platform are single threaded apartments (STA) or multithreaded apartments (MTA).  Window’s forms must be hosted in an STA apartment because some Window’s Form controls are based on standard Windows COM controls that require an STA environment.  Background threads can still be utilized to update forms, but synchronization must be done differently.  As we examine the two apartment styles, we will look at how to do correct synchronization with Window’s Forms.

By default, all Windows’ Form projects in Visual Basic are STA.  Visual Basic applies the <STAThread()> attribute to the main entry point in the application for you behind the scenes.  While you could override this attribute and change it to an MTA apartment, you should not or problems will occur with the COM controls. 

So what is an STA apartment?  The apartment concept comes from the early COM days.  Basically, STA means that only one thread can access an object, the thread that created it.  Any future access to the object must also be done on the original thread.  This is the key reason why you should never update a control on a Window’s Form from another thread.  Most COM objects require STA. 

MTA, sometimes called free threading, is much harder to program than STA.  This is another reason why we encounter STA COM components most of the time.  MTA means that more than one thread can access an object at any given point in time safely.  When programming for MTA, you must be sure to include good synchronization and design as discussed in the case study.  Any number of threads could be accessing objects in your library at any time. 

The type of threading model that the current thread is using can be determined simply with the following code.

Listing 26

Dim sThreadType As String
sThreadType =Thread.CurrentThread.ApartmentState.ToString()
MessageBox.Show(sThreadType)
Dim Apt as ApartmentState
Apt = Thread.CurrentThread.ApartmentState()
MessageBox.Show(apt.ToString())

Window’s Form classes provide built in methods to update GUI elements from other threads.  These methods should be used exclusively.  The methods are called Invoke, BeginInvoke, EndInvoke and CreateGraphics.  All of the methods can be called from any thread.  When called, the methods provide a way to work with the control from the main Window’s Form thread.  Let us see how we can use the methods.

The Invoke method takes a delegate for a parameter.  A delegate is basically a variable that points to a method.  The variable in this case tells the Invoke method what function to run.  This delegate is run under the control’s owner thread and not the calling thread, preserving the STA style.  Let us take a look at a simple example that adds entries to a textbox control using a separate thread.  A button and a multi-line textbox are added to a Window’s Form.

Listing 27

Private Sub btnStart_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object, ByVal
e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnStart.Click
  Dim Thread1 As Thread
  Thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread1Work)
  Thread1.Start()
End Sub
 
Private Delegate Sub DelAddItem()
 
Private Sub Thread1Work()
  Dim del As DelAddItem
  del = New DelAddItem(AddressOf DelegateWork)
  txtList.Invoke(del)
  Console.WriteLine("Thread 1 Done")
End Sub
 
 
Private Sub DelegateWork()
  Dim i As Integer
  For i = 0 To 100
    txtList.Text = txtList.Text + "A New Line:" &
    i.ToString() + vbCrLf
  Next 'i
  Console.WriteLine("Delegate Done")
End Sub

To call Invoke, a delegate sub is created.  This sub simply adds a new line to the textbox with the words “A New Line.”  When our new thread is started, a new instance of the delegate is created.  The new delegate is then passed to txtList.Invoke updating the text.

The Invoke method runs any code in the delegate synchronously on the thread.  The output from the run will show this:

Delegate Done
Thread 1 Done
Thread 1 will not continue running until the delegateis finished.

Sometimes asynchronous calls are preferred.  The BeginInvoke and EndInvoke allow for updating the GUI using built in asynchronous technology in the framework.  The two methods take the same delegate that Invoke did.  They only call the code asynchronously.  EndInvoke will return the resulting value from an asynchronous BeginInvoke call.  If the BeginInvoke is still running, EndInvoke will block until the BeginInvoke call finishes.  It will not terminate the BeginInvoke call.  An example is below.

Listing 28

Private Sub btnStart_Click(ByVal sender AsSystem.Object, _
 ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnStart.Click
  Dim Thread1 As Thread
  Thread1 = New Thread(AddressOf Thread1Work)
  Thread1.Start()
End Sub
 
Private Delegate Sub DelAddItem()
 
Private Sub Thread1Work()
  Dim del As DelAddItem
  Dim Result As IAsyncResult
  del = New DelAddItem(AddressOf DelegateWork)
  Result = txtList.BeginInvoke(del)
  Console.WriteLine("Thread 1 Done")
  Console.WriteLine(Result.IsCompleted.ToString())
  txtList.EndInvoke(Result)
  Console.WriteLine(Result.IsCompleted.ToString())
End Sub
 
Private Sub DelegateWork()
  Dim i As Integer
  For i = 0 To 100
    txtList.Text = txtList.Text + "A New Line:" &
    i.ToString() + vbCrLf
  Next 'i
  Console.WriteLine("Delegate Done")
End Sub

Output:

Thread 1 Done
False
Delegate Done
True

As we see from the output, Thread 1 completed before the delegate finished.  Then the first call to Result.IsCompleted returns false, signifying that the delegate is still running.  Thread 1 is then put to sleep with the EndInvoke call, allowing the delegate time to finish.  The next call to Result.IsCompleted returns true. 

The code also shows two methods of getting the status of an asynchronous call.  The first method was the line Result = txtList.BeginInvoke(del).  The Result variable will contain the current results of the asynchronous call.  The other method is with the EndInvoke call, which as we said earlier, would block until the asynchronous call is finished.  The last output of true shows that this behavior happened.

When using graphics drawing methods with Window’s Forms you must be sure to do all work on the main thread as well.  The CreateGraphics method makes sure of this for you.  It can be called from other threads safely like the invoke methods.  The Graphics object returned will run all calls in the correct thread for you.  The Graphics object is considered thread safe so no additional locking objects are necessary.

A Quick Word on the volatile Keyword

In your reading or study of .Net code, the volatile C# keyword might come up.  This keyword does not exist in Visual Basic.  Do not worry though; it does not add any functionality to C# that cannot be done with the other synchronization objects discussed in this case study.

The volatile keyword tells the compiler that the variable it references could change at any moment and that no optimizations should be done to it.  It will prohibit the compiler from storing the variable in a register and force it to read it new from memory each time. 

Variables marked as volatile are not necessarily thread safe.  They only insure that each read of the variable is the latest information.  To see what a declaration looks like, look at the following code snip-it, which declares an Integer variable as volatile.

The use of Monitor is a much better and safer way to handle synchronization.  It guarantees that the variable is up to date as only one thread is accessing the variable at a time.  It is safe to replace volatile variable access with Monitor blocks of code or any other synchronization method discussed in the case study that fit your needs.  Good synchronization practice will eliminate the need for volatile.

Summary

Multithreaded applications are a must today.  The Dot Net Framework makes creating these applications much easier than traditional programming methods.  Be sure to take advantage of multithreading and of all available methods of synchronization. 

When designing for multithreaded applications remember the age-old proverb:  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  It is much easier to prevent deadlocks and other multithreaded bugs by taking a few extra minutes to prevent them.  You will most likely spend a lot of time trying to find the cause of these bugs when reported from the field, as they do not usually show up stepping through code, but only when running at full speed.