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Solution for thread safe read write updates to static variables with read write synchronization

In my project I'm using some static variables which I use for storing values during the running lifetime of the application. Now, 99% of the time I'm only reading these values but from time to time I also need to update them and this will happen from different threads.
When thinking about what might happen with two different threads trying to access the same property e.g. concurrent read/write, I started to conclude that some form of synchronization would needed in order to avoid unexpected values being returned between different process or some risk of race conditions.
In essence I needed to derive a single source of truth. I realize that some properties are atomic like booleans, but my methodology mostly applies for the purpose of strings.
One of the challenges is that these static variables are referenced in many places and between different classes, so I also had to figure out an efficient way to solve this challenge without lots of code re-write.
I've decided to use concurrent dictionaries:
public static readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, string> AppRunTimeStringDictionary = new();
public static readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, int> AppRunTimeIntegerDictionary = new();
public static readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, bool> AppRunTimeBooleanDictionary = new();
In my program.cs file, during the earliest stages of startup I simply add all of the properties needed for the running app:
DeviceProvisioning.AppRunTimeBooleanDictionary.TryAdd("UseGpsReceiver", false);
DeviceProvisioning.AppRunTimeStringDictionary.TryAdd("Latitude", String.Empty);
DeviceProvisioning.AppRunTimeStringDictionary.TryAdd("Longitude", String.Empty);
Then in one of my classes I hard code these properties:
public static bool? UseGpsReceiver
{
get
{
if (AppRunTimeBooleanDictionary.TryGetValue("UseGpsReceiver", out var returnedValue))
return returnedValue;
return null;
}
}
public static string? Latitude
{
get
{
if (AppRunTimeStringDictionary.TryGetValue("Latitude", out var returnedValue))
return returnedValue;
return null;
}
}
public static string? Longitude
{
get
{
if (AppRunTimeStringDictionary.TryGetValue("Longitude", out var returnedValue))
return returnedValue;
return null;
}
}
Now for updating these properties, which happens rarely but will be done every now and then, I'm updating these in just one location i.e. using a single method. This way I can use this common method and simply add more prperties to the switch case over time.
public static void SetRunTimeSettings(string property, object value)
{
switch (property)
{
case "UseGpsReceiver":
// code block
if (AppRunTimeBooleanDictionary.TryGetValue("UseGpsReceiver", out var useGpsReceiver))
{ AppRunTimeBooleanDictionary.TryUpdate("UseGpsReceiver", (bool)value, useGpsReceiver); }
break;
case "Latitude":
// code block
if (AppRunTimeStringDictionary.TryGetValue("Latitude", out var latitude))
{ AppRunTimeStringDictionary.TryUpdate("Latitude", (string)value, latitude); }
break;
case "Longitude":
// code block
if (AppRunTimeStringDictionary.TryGetValue("Latitude", out var longitude))
{ AppRunTimeStringDictionary.TryUpdate("Latitude", (string)value, longitude); }
break;
}
}
If I want to update a property then I simply invoke the method as such:
MyClassName.SetRunTimeSettings("UseGpsReceiver", true);
MyClassName.SetRunTimeSettings("Latitude", "51.1234");
MyClassName.SetRunTimeSettings("Longitude", "51.5678");
Because the properties themselves are public static then I can use the getter from anywhere in the app.
From my initial testing, everything seems to work.
Perceived advantages in this approach:
Using a separate dictionary for each type of property collection i.e. strings/integers etc, means I can simply add more properties to the dictionary any time in the future without the need for referencing a model class in the dictionary, as opposed to the dictionary below:
public static readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, myModelClass> AppRunTimeStringDictionary = new();
Use of the concurrent dictionary (my understanding) is that any process trying to read the property value from the dictionary will always get the latest value, if a property is being updated then I have less risk in reading an old value. Not such an issue for structured logging but if I was storing keys/secrets/connection strings or anything else, reading an old value might stop some process from being able to function correctly.
Using the concurrent dictionary means I don't have to hand craft my own locking mechanisms, which many people seem not to like doing.
Dictionary applies its own internal locks on the individual objects, so any property not being updated can still be read by other processes without much delay.
If the public static getter ever returned a null value, my thoughts are it would be better to return a null value rather than returning the wrong value. I could always implement some kind of polly or retry mechanism somewhere from the calling process, some short delay before trying to retrieve the property value again (by which time it should have been updated from the other thread that was currently updating it)
Appreciate there will be other ways to approach this, so really what I'm asking here is whether anyone sees any issue in my approach?
I'm not planning to add that many properties to each dictionary, I just want a way to ensure that reads and writes are happening with some form of synchronization and order.

Your SetRunTimeSettings is awful. It relies on methods that follow the Try* pattern, but it itself does not. Also doing a TryGetValue just to then be able to call TryUpdate is just throwing away all of the value of Try* operators anyway. It's a hack.
And you have a clear bug in the code for the "Longitude" case - you're updating "Latitude" inside.
I'd suggest going old school and just do this:
private static bool? _UseGpsReceiver;
private readonly static object _UseGpsReceiverLock = new();
public static bool? UseGpsReceiver
{
get { lock (_UseGpsReceiverLock) return _UseGpsReceiver; }
set { lock (_UseGpsReceiverLock) _UseGpsReceiver = value; }
}
private static string? _Latitude;
private readonly static object _LatitudeLock = new();
public static string? Latitude
{
get { lock (_LatitudeLock) return _Latitude; }
set { lock (_LatitudeLock) _Latitude = value; }
}
private static string? _Longitude;
private readonly static object _LongitudeLock = new();
public static string? Longitude
{
get { lock (_LongitudeLock) return _Longitude; }
set { lock (_LongitudeLock) _Longitude = value; }
}
If you don't want to repeat all of the locks then maybe a Locked<T> class might be of use:
public struct Locked<T>
{
public Locked(T value)
{
_value = value;
}
private T _value;
private readonly object _gate = new();
public T Value
{
get { lock (_gate) return _value; }
set { lock (_gate) _value = value; }
}
}
Then you can write this:
private static Locked<bool?> _UseGpsReceiver;
public static bool? UseGpsReceiver
{
get { return _UseGpsReceiver.Value; }
set { _UseGpsReceiver.Value = value; }
}
private static Locked<string?> _Latitude;
public static string? Latitude
{
get { return _Latitude.Value; }
set { _Latitude.Value = value; }
}
private static Locked<string?> _Longitude;
public static string? Longitude
{
get { return _Longitude.Value; }
set { _Longitude.Value = value; }
}

If you are only setting a single string / int / bool at a time, then you don't need to any thread safety. If you are assigning any single value smaller than a machine word, any reading thread will either see the before value or the after value.
However it looks like you intend to set three values at the same time;
MyClassName.SetRunTimeSettings("UseGpsReceiver", true);
MyClassName.SetRunTimeSettings("Latitude", "51.1234");
MyClassName.SetRunTimeSettings("Longitude", "51.5678");
And I assume you want any reader to see either the old values or the new values. In this case you would need some thread synchronisation around every read / write. Which your current code doesn't have.
You could instead store the three values in a class, then update the reference to that instance in one write operation.
public class GpsSettings{
public bool UseGpsReceiver { get; init; }
public double Latitude { get; init; }
public double Longitude { get; init; }
public static GpsSettings Current;
}
...
// write
GpsSettings.Current = new GpsSettings {
UseGpsReceiver = true,
Latitude = 51.1234,
Longitude = 51.5678
};
// read
var gps = GpsSettings.Current;
var location = $"{gps.Latitude}, {gps.Longitude}";
// but never do this;
var location = $"{GpsSettings.Current.Latitude}, {GpsSettings.Current.Longitude}";

Not everyone would agree with me on this one but my personal approach would be to have a single dictionary of the following type:
Dictionary<string, object>
Wrapped in a separate class with the following methods such as AddValue, GetValue, HasKey, HasValue, and UpdateValue with lock statements. Also notice that you'll have to use somewhat generic methods in order to be able to retrieve the value with the actual type and a default value. For example:
public static T GetValue<T>(string key, T defaultValue)
Also, I don't see a problem with your approach but if you want to synchronize things then you'll need n dedicated locks for n dictionaries which I don't think is a clean way; unless I'm missing something, and of course registering multiple dictionaries in design time can be a headache.

Alternatively to using multiple ConcurrentDictionary<string, T> collections, or a single ConcurrentDictionary<string, object>, or the Locked<T> struct shown in Enigmativity's answer, you could just store the values in immutable and recyclable Tuple<T> instances, and store these in private volatile fields:
private static volatile Tuple<bool?> _UseGpsReceiver;
public static bool? UseGpsReceiver
{
get { return _UseGpsReceiver?.Item1; }
set { _UseGpsReceiver = new(value); }
}
private static volatile Tuple<string> _Latitude;
public static string Latitude
{
get { return _Latitude?.Item1; }
set { _Latitude = new(value); }
}
private static volatile Tuple<string> _Longitude;
public static string Longitude
{
get { return _Longitude?.Item1; }
set { _Longitude = new(value); }
}
Pros: Both the reading and the writing are lock-free. An unlimited number of readers and writers can read and update the values at the same time, without contention.
Cons: Every time a value is updated, a new Tuple<T> is instantiated, adding pressure on the .NET garbage collector. This reduces the appeal of this approach in case the values are updated too frequently. Also if you have dozens of properties like these, it might be easy to introduce subtle bugs by omitting the important volatile keyword by mistake.

Change and read properties of objects in ConcurrentDictionary in thread safe manner

I use ConcurrentDictionary to collect data in memory in web api application. Using api methods I add and update objects in ConcurrentDictionary. And there is background thread which analyze and clean up this dictionary based on object properties. Now I'm considering two approaches:
1. use lock on dictionary item in updateValueFactory in AddOrUpdate method, but question is how to read properties properly to be sure I have the latest version of it and that I'm not reading property in not stable state.
public class ThreadsafeService2
{
private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, ThreadSafeItem2> _storage =
new ConcurrentDictionary<string, ThreadSafeItem2>();
public void AddOrUpdate(string name)
{
var newVal = new ThreadSafeItem2();
_storage.AddOrUpdate(name, newVal, (key, oldVal) =>
{
//use lock
lock (oldVal)
{
oldVal.Increment();
}
return oldVal;
});
}
public void Analyze()
{
foreach (var key in _storage.Keys)
{
if (_storage.TryGetValue(key, out var item))
{
//how to read it properly?
long ticks = item.ModifiedTicks;
}
}
}
}
public class ThreadSafeItem2
{
private long _modifiedTicks;
private int _counter;
public void Increment()
{
//no interlocked here
_modifiedTicks = DateTime.Now.Ticks;
_counter++;
}
//now interlocked here
public long ModifiedTicks => _modifiedTicks;
public int Counter => _counter;
}
2. use Interlocked and memory barriers on property level without lock, looks a bit verbose for me.
public class ThreadsafeService1
{
private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, ThreadSafeItem1> _storage =
new ConcurrentDictionary<string, ThreadSafeItem1>();
public void AddOrUpdate(string name)
{
var newVal = new ThreadSafeItem1();
_storage.AddOrUpdate(name, newVal, (key, oldVal) =>
{
//no lock here
oldVal.Increment();
return oldVal;
});
}
public void Analyze()
{
foreach(var key in _storage.Keys)
{
if(_storage.TryGetValue(key, out var item))
{
//reading through interloacked
long ticks = item.ModifiedTicks;
}
}
}
}
public class ThreadSafeItem1
{
private long _modifiedTicks;
private int _counter;
public void Increment()
{
//make changes in atomic manner
Interlocked.Exchange(ref _modifiedTicks, DateTime.Now.Ticks);
Interlocked.Increment(ref _counter);
}
public long ModifiedTicks => Interlocked.Read(ref _modifiedTicks);
public int Counter => Thread.VolatileRead(ref _counter);
}
What is the best practices here?

So both of your implementations have major problems. The first solution locks when incrementing, but doesn't lock when reading, meaning the other places accessing the data can read invalid state.
A non-technical problem, but a major issue nonetheless, is that you've named your class ThreadSaveItem and yet it's not actually designed to be accessed safely from multiple threads. It's the callers responsibility, in this implementation, to ensure that the item isn't accessed from multiple threads. If I see a class called ThreadSafeItem I'm going to assume it's safe to access it from multiple threads, and that I don't need to synchronize my access to it so long as each operation I perform is the only thing that needs to be logically atomic.
Your Interlocked solution is problematic in that you have to fields that you're modifying, that are conceptually tied together, but you don't synchronize their changes together, meaning someone can observe a modification to one and not the other, which is a problem for that code.
Next, your use of AddOrUpdate in both solutions isn't really appropriate. The whole point of the method call is to add an item or replace it with another item, not to mutate the provided item (that's why it takes a return value; you're supposed to produce a new item). If you want to go with the approach of getting a mutable item and mutating it, the way to go would be to call GetOrAdd to either get an existing item or create a new one, and then to mutate it in a thread safe manner using the returned value.
The whole solution is radically simplified by simply making ThreadSafeItem immutable. It lets you use AddOrUpdate on the ConcurrentDictionary for the update, and it means that the only synchronization that needs to be done is the updating of the value of the ConcurrentDictionary, and it already handles synchronization of its own state, no synchronization needs to be done at all when accessing ThreadSafeItem, because all access to the data is inherently thread safe because it's immutable. This means that you never actually need to write any synchronization code at all, which is exactly what you want to strive for whenever possible.
And finally, we have the actual code:
public class ThreadsafeService3
{
private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, ThreadSafeItem3> _storage =
new ConcurrentDictionary<string, ThreadSafeItem3>();
public void AddOrUpdate(string name)
{
_storage.AddOrUpdate(name, _ => new ThreadSafeItem3(), (_, oldValue) => oldValue.Increment());
}
public void Analyze()
{
foreach (var pair in _storage)
{
long ticks = pair.Value.ModifiedTicks;
//Note, the value may have been updated since we checked;
//you've said you don't care and it's okay for a newer item to be removed here if it loses the race.
if (isTooOld(ticks))
_storage.TryRemove(pair.Key, out _);
}
}
}
public class ThreadSafeItem3
{
public ThreadSafeItem3()
{
Counter = 0;
}
private ThreadSafeItem3(int counter)
{
Counter = counter;
}
public ThreadSafeItem3 Increment()
{
return new ThreadSafeItem3(Counter + 1);
}
public long ModifiedTicks { get; } = DateTime.Now.Ticks;
public int Counter { get; }
}

The solution proposed by Servy (using an immutable Item type) is probably the best solution for your scenario. I would also suggest switching from class to readonly struct for reducing the allocations, although the ConcurrentDictionary is probably going to wrap the struct in a reference-type Node internally, so you might not gain anything from this.
For the sake of completeness I will propose an alternative solution, which is to use the GetOrAdd instead of the AddOrUpdate, and lock on the Item whenever you are doing anything with it:
public class Item // Mutable and thread-unsafe
{
public long ModifiedTicks { get; private set; }
public int Counter { get; private set; }
public void Increment()
{
ModifiedTicks = DateTime.Now.Ticks;
Counter++;
}
}
public class Service
{
private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, Item> _storage = new();
public void AddOrUpdate(string name)
{
Item item = _storage.GetOrAdd(name, _ => new());
lock (item) item.Increment(); // Dont't forget to lock!
}
public void Analyze()
{
foreach (var (key, item) in _storage.ToArray())
{
lock (item) // Dont't forget to lock!
{
long ticks = item.ModifiedTicks;
}
}
}
}
This solution offers probably the best performance, but the burden of remembering to lock correctly everywhere cannot be underestimated.

I can't comment on the specifics of what exactly you are doing, but interlock and Concurrent dictionary is better than locks you do yourself.
I would question this approach though. Your data is important enough, but not so important to persist it? Depending on the usage of the application this approach will slow it down by some degree. Again, not knowing exactly what you are doing, you could throw each "Add" into an MSMQ, and then have an external exe run at some schedule to process the items. The website will just fire and forget, with no threading requirements.

C# updating a dictionary in a different class

I have a dictionary which holds data and I have threads which handle concurrent client requests. I want some of the client requests to change the values in the dictionary when needed but not sure how to fix scope issues when dealing with threads and classes.
A simplified example of what I'm trying to do is below:
class Program
{
public static Dictionary<string, int> teamInformation = new Dictionary<string, int>();
static void Main(string[] args)
{
runserver();
}
static void runServer()
{
//connection stuff
while(true)
{
threadRequest = new Handler();
Thread t = new Thread (() => threadRequest.clientInteraction(connection));
t.Start();
}
}
class Handler
{
public void clientInteraction(Socket connection)
{
//does stuff
teamInformation.Add(pTeamName, 0); //where pTeamName has been read from the client input
}
}
How would I go about making changes to the Dictionary (which needs to be accessible by all threads) in the Handler class?
I don't know how to index the threads either or at least flag them in the dictionary entries. I'm having trouble figuring out a way to send a specific value to a specific thread.

Starting with .NET 4.0 collections have a better handle on thread safety. You can have many threads write to them with no problems. (https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd997305(v=vs.110).aspx). The same goes for multiple readers.
The problem lies when you have both operations happening at the same time as enumerating through a collection that gets modified is a problem.
A better alternative would be to use a datatype that supports thread safety such as ConcurrentDictionary which is thread safe and allows readers and writers at the same time. (Excludes some members accessed through interfaces that ConcurrentDictionary implements).
The change is most likely a drop in change for you from:
public static Dictionary<string, int> teamInformation = new Dictionary<string, int>(); to public static ConcurrentDictionary<string, int> teamInformation = new ConcurrentDictionary<string, int>();
See https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd287191(v=vs.110).aspx for greater depth
EDIT: Here is an example of it's usage:
using System;
using System.Collections.Concurrent;
using System.Threading;
namespace SO
{
public class Program
{
public static ConcurrentDictionary<string, int> teamInformation = new ConcurrentDictionary<string, int>();
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Start();
Console.WriteLine("ConcurrentDictionary contains : " + teamInformation.Count);
Console.ReadKey();
}
static void Start()
{
for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
var threadRequest = new Handler();
var thread = new Thread(() => threadRequest.ClientInteraction(teamInformation));
thread.Start();
}
}
}
public class Handler
{
public void ClientInteraction(ConcurrentDictionary<string, int> teamInformation)
{
for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
teamInformation.AddOrUpdate(Guid.NewGuid().ToString(), i, (key, val) => val);
}
}
}
}
As the ConcurrentDictionary is thread safe you can just pass it right to your thread. This code simply spawns a load of threads and creates a new entry for each.
However by using AddOrUpdate you can specify that if your key (or team) exists you can update the existing entry with the third Func param.
Other options for sharing the property would be through a static class or singleton. You may want to consider what will be using this property and your current architecture to see where to slot it in.

You could put the dictionary as paramter in the start function like:
Thread t = new Thread (() => threadRequest.clientInteraction(connection));
t.Start(ref teamInformation);
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/6x4c42hc%28v=vs.110%29.aspx
Important is to use call by reference so you can access the same dictionary and not a copy. But im not sure if the compiler will accept the 'ref' here

A static property in static class when used concurrently

I have a static class 'Logger' with a public property called 'LogLevels' as in code below.
When the property is used concurrently in a multi-user or multi-threaded environment, could it cause problems?
Do I need to use thread synchronization for the code within the property 'LogLevels'?
public class Logger
{
private static List<LogLevel> _logLevels = null;
public static List<LogLevel> LogLevels
{
get
{
if (_logLevels == null)
{
_logLevels = new List<LogLevel>();
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["LogLevels"]))
{
string[] lls = System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["LogLevels"].Split(",".ToCharArray());
foreach (string ll in lls)
{
_logLevels.Add((LogLevel)System.Enum.Parse(typeof(LogLevel), ll));
}
}
}
if (_logLevels.Count == 0)
{
_logLevels.Add(LogLevel.Error);
}
return _logLevels;
}
}
}
UPDATE: I ended up using thread synchronization to solve concurrency problem in a static class, as in code below.
public class Logger
{
private static readonly System.Object _object = new System.Object();
private static List<LogLevel> _logLevels = null;
private static List<LogLevel> LogLevels
{
get
{
//Make sure that in a multi-threaded or multi-user scenario, we do not run into concurrency issues with this code.
lock (_object)
{
if (_logLevels == null)
{
_logLevels = new List<LogLevel>();
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["SimpleDBLogLevelsLogger"]))
{
string[] lls = System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["SimpleDBLogLevelsLogger"].Split(",".ToCharArray());
foreach (string ll in lls)
{
_logLevels.Add((LogLevel)System.Enum.Parse(typeof(LogLevel), ll));
}
}
}
if (_logLevels.Count == 0)
{
_logLevels.Add(LogLevel.Error);
}
}
return _logLevels;
}
}
}

When the property is used concurrently in a multi-user or multi-threaded environment, could it cause problems?
Absolutely. List<T> is not designed for multiple threads, except for the case where there are just multiple readers (no writers).
Do I need to use thread synchronization for the code within the property 'LogLevels'?
Well that's one approach. Or just initialize it on type initialization, and then return a read-only wrapper around it. (You really don't want multiple threads modifying it.)
Note that in general, doing significant amounts of work in a static constructor is a bad idea. Are you happy enough that if this fails, every access to this property will fail, forever?

This code posses race conditions and cannot be safely executed from multiple threads. The primary problem is the List<T> type is not thread safe yet this code will freely write to. This mean the writes can occur in parallel and hence break the implicit contract of List<T>

The short answer is "yes" and "yes" you do need threads synchronization.
The other question is, why re-invent the wheel? You can use something like log4net or .NET logging framework.

Global thread-safe multi-value custom Dictionary with single instantiation

I would like to have a global object similar to a multi-value Dictionary that is shared among different Threads.
I would like the object to be created only once (for example getting the data from a Database) and then used by the different Threads.
The Object should be easily extendable with additional properties (currently have only JobName and URL).
If possible, I would prefer to avoid locking.
I am facing the following issues:
The current version displayed below is not Thread safe;
I cannot use a ConcurrentDictionary since I have extended the Dictionary object to allow multiple values for each key;
This is the object structure that should be modified easily:
public struct JobData
{
public string JobName;
public string URL;
}
I have extended the Dictionary object to allow multiple values for each key:
public class JobsDictionary : Dictionary<string, JobData>
{
public void Add(string key, string jobName, string url)
{
JobData data;
data.JobName = jobName;
data.URL = url;
this.Add(key, data);
}
}
Static class that is shared among Threads.
As you can see it creates a Dictionary entry for the specific Job the first time it is called for that Job.
For instance, the first time it is called for "earnings" it will create the "earnings" dictionary entry. This creates issues with Thread safety:
public static class GlobalVar
{
private static JobsDictionary jobsDictionary = new JobsDictionary();
public static JobData Job(string jobCat)
{
if (jobsDictionary.ContainsKey(jobCat))
return jobsDictionary[jobCat];
else
{
String jobName;
String url = null;
//TODO: get the Data from the Database
switch (jobCat)
{
case "earnings":
jobName="EarningsWhispers";
url = "http://www.earningswhispers.com/stocks.asp?symbol={0}";
break;
case "stock":
jobName="YahooStock";
url = "http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s={0}";
break;
case "functions":
jobName = "Functions";
url = null;
break;
default:
jobName = null;
url = null;
break;
}
jobsDictionary.Add(jobCat, jobName, url);
return jobsDictionary[jobCat];
}
}
In each Thread I get the specific Job property in this way:
//Get the Name
string JobName= GlobalVar.Job(jobName).JobName;
//Get the URL
string URL = string.Format((GlobalVar.Job(jobName).URL), sym);
How can I create a custom Dictionary that is "instantiated" once (I know it is not the right term since it is static...) and it is Thread-safe ?
Thanks
UPDATE
Ok, here is the new version.
I have simplified the code by removing the switch statement and loading all dictionary items at once (I need all of them anyway).
The advantage of this solution is that it is locked only once: when the dictionary data is added (the first Thread entering the lock will add data to the dictionary).
When the Threads access the dictionary for reading, it is not locked.
It should be Thread-Safe and it should not incur in deadlocks since jobsDictionary is private.
public static class GlobalVar
{
private static JobsDictionary jobsDictionary = new JobsDictionary();
public static JobData Job(string jobCat)
{
JobData result;
if (jobsDictionary.TryGetValue(jobCat, out result))
return result;
//if the jobsDictionary is not initialized yet...
lock (jobsDictionary)
{
if (jobsDictionary.Count == 0)
{
//TODO: get the Data from the Database
jobsDictionary.Add("earnings", "EarningsWhispers", "http://www.earningswhispers.com/stocks.asp?symbol={0}");
jobsDictionary.Add("stock", "YahooStock", "http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s={0}");
jobsDictionary.Add("functions", "Functions", null);
}
return jobsDictionary[jobCat];
}
}
}

If you are populating the collection once, you don't need any locking at all, since a Dictionary is thread-safe when it is only read from. If you want prevent multiple threads from initializing multiple times you can use a double-checked lock during initalization, like this:
static readonly object syncRoot = new object();
static Dictionary<string, JobData> cache;
static void Initialize()
{
if (cache == null)
{
lock (syncRoot)
{
if (cache == null)
{
cache = LoadFromDatabase();
}
}
}
}
Instead of allowing every thread to access the dictionary, hide it behind a facade that only exposes the operations you really need. This makes it much easier to reason about thread-safety. For instance:
public class JobDataCache : IJobData
{
readonly object syncRoot = new object();
Dictionary<string, JobData> cache;
public void AddJob(string key, JobData data)
{
lock (this.syncRoot)
{
cache[key] = data;
}
}
}
Trying to prevent locking without having measured that locking actually has a too big impact on performance is bad. Prevent doing that. Often using a simple lock statement is much simpler than writing lock-free code. There is a nasty problem with concurrency bugs compared to normal software bugs. They are very hard to reproduce and very hard to track down. If you can, prevent writing concurrency bugs. You can do this by writing the simplest code you can, even if it is slower. If it proves to be too slow, you can always optimize.
If you want to write lock-free code anyway, try using immutable data structures, or prevent changing existing data. This is one trick I used when writing the Simple Injector (a reusable library). In this framework, I never update the internal dictionary, but always completely replace it with a new one. The dictionary itself is therefore never changed, the reference to that instance is just replaced with a completely new dictionary. This prevents you from having to do locks completely. However, you must realize that it is possible to loose updates. In other words, when multiple threads are updating that dictionary, one can loose its changes, simply because each thread creates a new copy of that dictionary and adds its own value too its own copy, before making that reference public to other threads.
In other words, you can only use this method when external callers only read (and you can recover from lost changes, for instance by querying the database again).
UPDATE
Your updated version is still not thread-safe, because of the reasons I explained on #ili's answer. The following will do the trick:
public static class GlobalVar
{
private static readonly object syncRoot = new object();
private static JobsDictionary jobsDictionary = null;
public static JobData Job(string jobCat)
{
Initialize();
return jobsDictionary[jobCat];
}
private void Initialize()
{
// Double-checked lock.
if (jobsDictionary == null)
{
lock (syncRoot)
{
if (jobsDictionary == null)
{
jobsDictionary = CreateJobsDictionary();
}
}
}
}
private static JobsDictionary CreateJobsDictionary()
{
var jobs = new JobsDictionary();
//TODO: get the Data from the Database
jobs.Add("earnings", "EarningsWhispers", "http://...");
jobs.Add("stock", "YahooStock", "http://...");
jobs.Add("functions", "Functions", null);
return jobs;
}
}
You can also use the static constructor, which would prevent you from having to write the double checked lock yourself. However, it is dangarous to call the database inside a static constructor, because a static constructor will only run once and when it fails, the complete type will be unusable for as long as the AppDomain lives. In other words your application must be restarted when this happens.
UPDATE 2:
You can also use .NET 4.0's Lazy<T>, which is safer than a double checked lock, since it is easier to implement (and easier to implement correctly) and is is also thread-safe on processor architectures with weak memory models (weaker than x86 such as ARM):
static Lazy<Dictionary<string, JobData>> cache =
new Lazy<Dictionary<string, JobData>>(() => LoadFromDatabase());

1) Use singleton patern to have one instance (one of the ways is to use static class as you have done)
2) To make anything thread safe you should use lock or it's analog. If you are afraids of unnessessary locks do like this:
public object GetValue(object key)
{
object result;
if(_dictionary.TryGetValue(key, out result)
return result;
lock(_dictionary)
{
if(_dictionary.TryGetValue(key, out result)
return result;
//some get data code
_dictionary[key]=result;
return result;
}
}