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How to correctly wait for callback with timeout fallback

I am testing web socket subscriptions in my tests and I would like to wait for response from callback and then end the test, if no response is received after timeout end the test.
This is what I have now (simplified) but I am not sure if its the way how to do it.
public async Task WaitForPing()
{
var cancellationTokenSource = new CancellationTokenSource(5_000);
var pinged = false;
using var _ = Client.OnPing(_ =>
{
pinged = true;
cancellationTokenSource.Cancel();
}
await Client.Run();
await Task
.Delay(-1, cancellationTokenSource.Token)
.ContinueWith(_ => { }, CancellationToken.None);
Assert(pinged);
}

A proper method should be like that:
static Task<string> WaitForResponseAsync(CancellationTokenSource cancellationTokenSource = default)
{
var tcs = new TaskCompletionSource<string>();
// Register a method that throws an exception when task cancelled.
cancellationTokenSource.Token.Register(()=> throw new Exception("Timed out!"));
// Replace this task with your async operation. Like OnPing(_ => ...
Task.Run(async () =>
{
await Task.Delay(30_000); // Response will be received after 30 seconds
tcs.SetResult("Hello World");
});
return tcs.Task; // Return awaitable task
}
And place where you call that method:
try
{
Console.WriteLine(await WaitForResponseAsync(new CancellationTokenSource(5_000))); // Time out is 5 seconds
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
}
Don't worry about the task in a task, you should replace it with your event. So if I customize it according to your method, it should be something like that:
Task WaitForPing(CancellationTokenSource cancellationTokenSource)
{
var tcs = new TaskCompletionSource();
cancellationTokenSource.Token.Register(() => throw new Exception("Timed out"));
// Or just call SetResult to finish the task before completed without exception:
// cancellationTokenSource.Token.Register(() => tcs.SetResult());
// (Personally I do not recommend this one)
using var _ = Client.OnPing(_ =>
{
tcs.SetResult();
};
return tcs.Task;
}

CancellationToken in Web API not working correctly

I have Web Api which gets CancellationToken from users, the method inside it (DoWork) also get CancellationToken:
[HttpPost]
public async Task<long> GetInfo(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
{
long result = 0;
bool notDone = true;
Task<long> t = Task.Run(async () =>
{
if (cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
cancellationToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
while (notDone && !cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
{
result = await DoWork(cancellationToken);
notDone = false;
}
return result;
}, cancellationToken);
try
{
return await t;
}
catch (AggregateException e)
{
Debug.WriteLine("Exception messages:");
foreach (var ie in e.InnerExceptions)
Debug.WriteLine(" {0}: {1}", ie.GetType().Name, ie.Message);
Debug.WriteLine("\nTask status: {0}", t.Status);
throw;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
throw;
}
}
private Task<long> DoWork(CancellationToken token)
{
long result = 0;
bool notDone = true;
Task<long> task = Task.Run(() =>
{
if (token.IsCancellationRequested)
token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
while (notDone && !token.IsCancellationRequested)
{
Thread.Sleep(8000);
result = 2;
notDone = false;
}
return result;
}, token);
return task;
}
I expect when the user cancels the request it aborts the DoWork method and not continue the function, but after sending an Exception, when "Thread.Sleep" complete, the DoWork method continue.
the user can call the API service like this method "cc" as you can see it cancel after 5 seconds and in the DoWork method "Thread.Sleep" is 9 seconds. the user gets an Exception but the method still running.
private async Task<bool> cc()
{
UriBuilder builder = new UriBuilder("http://localhost:12458/api/Test/GetInfo");
ServicePointManager.SecurityProtocol = SecurityProtocolType.Tls12;
HttpClient client = new HttpClient();
System.Threading.CancellationTokenSource s = new System.Threading.CancellationTokenSource();
s.CancelAfter(5000);
try
{
var result = client.PostAsJsonAsync<model1>(builder.ToString(), new model1 { }, s.Token).Result;
string tmp = result.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().Result;
long ApiResult = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<long>(tmp);
}
catch (TaskCanceledException ex)
{
}
catch (OperationCanceledException ex)
{
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
}
finally
{
s.Dispose();
}
return false;
}

When use Thread.Sleep(8000) actually hold the main thread for 8 seconds and It can't check the cancellation token. you should use Task.Delay with cancellation token like this:
while (notDone && !token.IsCancellationRequested)
{
await Task.Delay(8000, token);
result = 2;
notDone = false;
}
Task.Delay check the cancellation token itself.

Ok, in your code you should process CancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested too. It's not kinda of magic, you should do this work.
public void DoWork(CancellationToken ctsToken)
{
ctsToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
DoSomething();
ctsToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
DoSomethingElse();
// end so on with checking CancellationToken before every part of work
}
And your Task should look like this
Task<long> t = Task.Run(async () =>
{
cancellationToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
result = await DoWork(cancellationToken);
notDone = false;
cancellationToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
return result;
}, cancellationToken);

In my case it was because of fiddler. When I closed the fiddler app, it started working like a charm.

when Task.IsCancelled is set as true?

when will come Task.IsCanceled = true;
Code:
var cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
string result = "";
cts.CancelAfter(10000);
try
{
Task t = Task.Run(() =>
{
using (var stream = new WebClient().OpenRead("http://www.rediffmail.com"))
{
result = "success!";
}
cts.Token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
}, cts.Token);
Stopwatch timer = new Stopwatch();
timer.Start();
while (timer.IsRunning)
{
if (timer.ElapsedMilliseconds <= 10000)
{
if (result != ""){
timer.Stop();
Console.WriteLine(result);
}
}
else
{
timer.Stop();
//cts.Cancel();
//cts.Token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
}
}
}
catch (OperationCanceledException)
{
Console.WriteLine(t.IsCanceled); // still its appear in false.
}
My requirement is - Task is not completed upto 10seconds, Need to cancel the task.
So I am setting timer and watch upto the given seconds. its not completed mean cancel the task and showing error message.

You have to pass the token to your method. It should inspect the token and respect the call to Cancel() of the CancellationTokenSource.
Or you do it yourself:
Task t = Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
{
myResult = method(); // Request processing in parallel
cts.Token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested(); // React on cancellation
}, cts.Token);
A complete example is this:
async Task Main()
{
var cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
var ct = cts.Token;
cts.CancelAfter(500);
Task t = null;
try
{
t = Task.Run(() => { Thread.Sleep(1000); ct.ThrowIfCancellationRequested(); }, ct);
await t;
Console.WriteLine(t.IsCanceled);
}
catch (OperationCanceledException)
{
Console.WriteLine(t.IsCanceled);
}
}
The output is that an OperationCanceledException is thrown and the result is
True
if you remove the ct.ThrowIfCancellationRequested(); part it will show
False
Edit:
Now, you have updated the question, some comments on that. First, you won't need the timer anymore since you are using the CancelAfter method. Second, you need to await your task. So that makes something like this:
string result = "";
cts.CancelAfter(10000);
Task t = null;
try
{
t = Task.Run(() =>
{
using (var stream = new WebClient().OpenRead("http://www.rediffmail.com"))
{
cts.Token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
result = "success!";
}
}, cts.Token);
await t;
}
catch (OperationCanceledException)
{
Console.WriteLine(t.IsCanceled);
}
This should show that t.IsCanceled is true but of course only when the call of the WebClient takes longer that 10 seconds.

From documentation:
A Task will complete in the TaskStatus.Canceled state under any of the following conditions:
Its CancellationToken was marked for cancellation before the task started executing.
The task acknowledged the cancellation request on its already signaled CancellationToken by throwing an OperationCanceledException that bears the same CancellationToken.
The task acknowledged the cancellation request on its already signaled CancellationToken by calling the ThrowIfCancellationRequested method on the CancellationToken.
So basically you would need to throw an OperationCanceledException within your task to force the state for instance by executing cts.Token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested() just after you cancel it.
But the intention of this mechanism is a bit the other way around. You cancel source say while user presses cancel button on your form (from outside of your task) an task just verifies if cancellation was requested in some safe to cancel points of its code.

Better way to show error messages in async methods

The fact that we can't use the await keyword in catch blocks makes it quite awkward to show error messages from async methods in WinRT, since the MessageDialog API is asynchronous. Ideally I would like be able to write this:
private async Task DoSomethingAsync()
{
try
{
// Some code that can throw an exception
...
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
var dialog = new MessageDialog("Something went wrong!");
await dialog.ShowAsync();
}
}
But instead I have to write it like this:
private async Task DoSomethingAsync()
{
bool error = false;
try
{
// Some code that can throw an exception
...
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
error = true;
}
if (error)
{
var dialog = new MessageDialog("Something went wrong!");
await dialog.ShowAsync();
}
}
All methods that need to do this have to follow a similar pattern, which I really don't like, because it reduces the code readability.
Is there a better way to handle this?
EDIT: I came up with this (which is similar to what svick suggested in his comments):
static class Async
{
public static async Task Try(Func<Task> asyncAction)
{
await asyncAction();
}
public static async Task Catch<TException>(this Task task, Func<TException, Task> handleExceptionAsync, bool rethrow = false)
where TException : Exception
{
TException exception = null;
try
{
await task;
}
catch (TException ex)
{
exception = ex;
}
if (exception != null)
{
await handleExceptionAsync(exception);
if (rethrow)
ExceptionDispatchInfo.Capture(exception).Throw();
}
}
}
Usage:
private async Task DoSomethingAsync()
{
await Async.Try(async () =>
{
// Some code that can throw an exception
...
})
.Catch<Exception>(async ex =>
{
var dialog = new MessageDialog("Something went wrong!");
await dialog.ShowAsync();
});
}
.Catch<...> calls can be chained to mimick multiple catch blocks.
But I'm not really happy with this solution; the syntax is even more awkward than before...

you already have that functionality in TPL
await Task.Run(async () =>
{
// Some code that can throw an exception
...
}).ContinueWith(async (a) =>
{
if (a.IsFaulted)
{
var dialog = new MessageDialog("Something went wrong!\nError: "
+ a.Exception.Message);
await dialog.ShowAsync();
}
else
{
var dialog2 = new MessageDialog("Everything is OK: " + a.Result);
await dialog2.ShowAsync();
}
}).Unwrap();
In this machine I don't have Windows 8 so I tested in Windows 7 but I think is the same.
*Edit
as stated in the comments its needed .Unwrap(); in the end for the await to work

C# 6 now supports await in catch and finally, so the code can be written the way I wanted it; a workaround is no longer needed.

How to cancel a Task in await?

I'm playing with these Windows 8 WinRT tasks, and I'm trying to cancel a task using the method below, and it works to some point. The CancelNotification method DOES get called, which makes you think the task was cancelled, but in the background the task keeps running, then after it's completed, the status of the Task is always completed and never cancelled. Is there a way to completely halt the task when it's cancelled?
private async void TryTask()
{
CancellationTokenSource source = new CancellationTokenSource();
source.Token.Register(CancelNotification);
source.CancelAfter(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1));
var task = Task<int>.Factory.StartNew(() => slowFunc(1, 2), source.Token);
await task;
if (task.IsCompleted)
{
MessageDialog md = new MessageDialog(task.Result.ToString());
await md.ShowAsync();
}
else
{
MessageDialog md = new MessageDialog("Uncompleted");
await md.ShowAsync();
}
}
private int slowFunc(int a, int b)
{
string someString = string.Empty;
for (int i = 0; i < 200000; i++)
{
someString += "a";
}
return a + b;
}
private void CancelNotification()
{
}

Read up on Cancellation (which was introduced in .NET 4.0 and is largely unchanged since then) and the Task-Based Asynchronous Pattern, which provides guidelines on how to use CancellationToken with async methods.
To summarize, you pass a CancellationToken into each method that supports cancellation, and that method must check it periodically.
private async Task TryTask()
{
CancellationTokenSource source = new CancellationTokenSource();
source.CancelAfter(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1));
Task<int> task = Task.Run(() => slowFunc(1, 2, source.Token), source.Token);
// (A canceled task will raise an exception when awaited).
await task;
}
private int slowFunc(int a, int b, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
{
string someString = string.Empty;
for (int i = 0; i < 200000; i++)
{
someString += "a";
if (i % 1000 == 0)
cancellationToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
}
return a + b;
}

Or, in order to avoid modifying slowFunc (say you don't have access to the source code for instance):
var source = new CancellationTokenSource(); //original code
source.Token.Register(CancelNotification); //original code
source.CancelAfter(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1)); //original code
var completionSource = new TaskCompletionSource<object>(); //New code
source.Token.Register(() => completionSource.TrySetCanceled()); //New code
var task = Task<int>.Factory.StartNew(() => slowFunc(1, 2), source.Token); //original code
//original code: await task;
await Task.WhenAny(task, completionSource.Task); //New code
You can also use nice extension methods from https://github.com/StephenCleary/AsyncEx and have it looks as simple as:
await Task.WhenAny(task, source.Token.AsTask());

One case which hasn't been covered is how to handle cancellation inside of an async method. Take for example a simple case where you need to upload some data to a service get it to calculate something and then return some results.
public async Task<Results> ProcessDataAsync(MyData data)
{
var client = await GetClientAsync();
await client.UploadDataAsync(data);
await client.CalculateAsync();
return await client.GetResultsAsync();
}
If you want to support cancellation then the easiest way would be to pass in a token and check if it has been cancelled between each async method call (or using ContinueWith). If they are very long running calls though you could be waiting a while to cancel. I created a little helper method to instead fail as soon as canceled.
public static class TaskExtensions
{
public static async Task<T> WaitOrCancel<T>(this Task<T> task, CancellationToken token)
{
token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
await Task.WhenAny(task, token.WhenCanceled());
token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
return await task;
}
public static Task WhenCanceled(this CancellationToken cancellationToken)
{
var tcs = new TaskCompletionSource<bool>();
cancellationToken.Register(s => ((TaskCompletionSource<bool>)s).SetResult(true), tcs);
return tcs.Task;
}
}
So to use it then just add .WaitOrCancel(token) to any async call:
public async Task<Results> ProcessDataAsync(MyData data, CancellationToken token)
{
Client client;
try
{
client = await GetClientAsync().WaitOrCancel(token);
await client.UploadDataAsync(data).WaitOrCancel(token);
await client.CalculateAsync().WaitOrCancel(token);
return await client.GetResultsAsync().WaitOrCancel(token);
}
catch (OperationCanceledException)
{
if (client != null)
await client.CancelAsync();
throw;
}
}
Note that this will not stop the Task you were waiting for and it will continue running. You'll need to use a different mechanism to stop it, such as the CancelAsync call in the example, or better yet pass in the same CancellationToken to the Task so that it can handle the cancellation eventually. Trying to abort the thread isn't recommended.

I just want to add to the already accepted answer. I was stuck on this, but I was going a different route on handling the complete event. Rather than running await, I add a completed handler to the task.
Comments.AsAsyncAction().Completed += new AsyncActionCompletedHandler(CommentLoadComplete);
Where the event handler looks like this
private void CommentLoadComplete(IAsyncAction sender, AsyncStatus status )
{
if (status == AsyncStatus.Canceled)
{
return;
}
CommentsItemsControl.ItemsSource = Comments.Result;
CommentScrollViewer.ScrollToVerticalOffset(0);
CommentScrollViewer.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
CommentProgressRing.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
}
With this route, all the handling is already done for you, when the task is cancelled it just triggers the event handler and you can see if it was cancelled there.