Generic buffer in C# [example in Java]

Question

Is there any library class I can use for a buffer in a consumer-producer situation with multiple threads? I don't very well understand the multithreading ways of C# so thew example of a perfect solution is in Java:

//Thread 1
Buffer buf = new Buffer();
Thread t2 = new Thread(new MyRunnable(buf) );
    while(true){
        buf.put(foo);
    }
}

//MyRunnable
private Buffer buf;

public MyRunnable(Buffer buf){
    this.buf = buf;
}

public void run(){
    while(!buf.IsFinished()){
        foo = buf.take();
        dosth(foo);
    }
}

Answer 1

System.Collection.Concurrent has a number of implementations of the IProducerConsumerCollection<T> interface (eg ConcurrentQueue<T> ), which may be of use in your situation.

There is also a BlockingCollection<T> class that lets your thread block while waiting for the input.

Answer 2

You could use .NET 4.0's ConcurrentBag<T> for this. It implements IProducerConsumerCollection<T> which is designed for that.

If order matters, you can look at ConcurrentQueue<T> or ConcurrentStack<T> .

Answer 3

It looks like you're just trying to find a way to do some work in a background thread and pass collected data off to the caller?

You could use the BackgroundWorker class for this. It allows you to create a simple background thread and pass off something back to the caller when you're done.

public class TestClass
{
   private BackgroundWorker worker;

   public void DoSomeWorkAsync()
   {
      this.worker = new BackgroundWorker();
      this.worker.DoWork += this.OnDoWork;
      this.worker.RunWorkerCompleted += this.OnWorkerComplete;
      this.worker.RunWorkerAsync();
   }  

   private void OnDoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
   {
      //do long running process here to pass to calling thread.
      //note this will execute on a background thread
      DataTable DT = GetSomeData();
      e.Result = DT;
   }

   private void OnWorkerComplete(object sender, RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs e)
   {
      //note this event is fired on calling thread
      if (e.Error != null)
         //do something with the error
      else if (e.Cancelled) 
         //handle a cancellation
      else
         //grab the result
         foo = e.Result;
   }
}