Is it possible C# Dictionary to return a completly wrong value.

Question

I have ac# dictionary in a multithreaded environment. I'm using TryGetValue for reading without lock and in the same moment the dictionary is reorganizing. Is it possible to get a completly different value not related to this key? I mean not just a value that is not up-to-date but a value that is totaly wrong corresponding to a different key.

Answer 1

Short answer: yes!

Long answer: The dictionary is not thread safe by default. If you need a thread safe one, you can use the ConcurrentDictionary https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd287191(v=vs.110).aspx

Also have a look at the Microsoft reference on thread safe collections https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd997305(v=vs.110).aspx