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UI only partly responsive while running tasks and updating ui

i have the following ui -
For each line connection to crm should be tested. This is done in separate thread.
The test status of the connection to crm system is then updated in last column.
The problem is that the ui is only partly reponsive during threads run and updating of the ui, i.e.
i would like to click through the lines whilst updating.
Here is my code:
private async void btnTestAllConnections_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
await TestConnectionsAsync();
}
private async Task TestConnectionsAsync()
{
try
{
int idxConn = columnLookup[ColumnIndex.Connection].Index;
if (lvInitParameters.Items.Count == 0)
return;
ManagedConnection connection = null;
btnTestAllConnections.Visible = false;
btnTestConnection.Visible = false;
panel2.Enabled = false;
panel3.Enabled = false;
tableLayoutPanel1.Enabled = false;
btnCancelTest.Visible = true;
List<Task> tasks = new List<Task>();
var cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
CancellationToken token = cts.Token;
foreach (ListViewItem lvi in lvInitParameters.Items)
{
InitParamProxy currentProfile = (InitParamProxy)lvi.Tag;
lvi.SubItems[idxConn].Text = "Testing...";
Task<bool> result =null;
try
{
result = Task.Run(
() =>
{
try
{
connection = currentProfile.ManagedConnection;
return connection?.ConnectionSuccess ?? false;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
// crm exception
return false;
}
}, token);
if (token.IsCancellationRequested)
{
Console.WriteLine("\nCancellation requested in continuation...\n");
token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
}
ListViewItem testItem =
items.Where(si => ((InitParamProxy)lvi.Tag).ProfileKey.Equals(((InitParamProxy)si.Tag).ProfileKey)).SingleOrDefault();
lvi.SubItems[idxConn].Text = (result.Result) ? "Success" : "Fail";
if (testItem != null)
testItem.SubItems[idxConn].Text = (result.Result) ? "Success" : "Fail";
}
catch
{
ListViewItem testItem =
items.Where(si => ((InitParamProxy)lvi.Tag).ProfileKey.Equals(((InitParamProxy)si.Tag).ProfileKey)).SingleOrDefault();
lvi.SubItems[idxConn].Text = "Canceled";
if (testItem != null)
testItem.SubItems[idxConn].Text = "Canceled";
}
tasks.Add(result);
}
Task.WaitAll(tasks.ToArray());
btnTestAllConnections.Visible = true;
btnTestConnection.Visible = true;
panel2.Enabled = true;
panel3.Enabled = true;
tableLayoutPanel1.Enabled = true;
btnCancelTest.Visible = false;
}
catch (Exception)
{
}
}

In the end of your method you have
Task.WaitAll(tasks.ToArray());
This will block until all tasks are done. You should instead use WhenAll
await Task.WhenAll(tasks.ToArray());
You are also using result.Result in several places, and this also blocks. This should be replaced by awaiting the task, i.e. await result

Alternatives for Monitor (Wait, PluseAll) in Async Tasks in C#

I implemented Task synchronization using Monitor in C#.
However, I have read Monitor should not be used in asynchronous operation.
In the below code, how do I implement Monitor methods Wait and PulseAll with a construct that works with Task (asynchronous operations).
I have read that SemaphoreSlim.WaitAsync and Release methods can help.
But how do they fit in the below sample where multiple tasks need to wait on a lock object, and releasing the lock wakes up all waiting tasks ?
private bool m_condition = false;
private readonly Object m_lock = new Object();
private async Task<bool> SyncInteralWithPoolingAsync(
SyncDatabase db,
List<EntryUpdateInfo> updateList)
{
List<Task> activeTasks = new List<Task>();
int addedTasks = 0;
int removedTasks = 0;
foreach (EntryUpdateInfo entryUpdateInfo in updateList)
{
Monitor.Enter(m_lock);
//If 5 tasks are waiting in ProcessEntryAsync method
if(m_count >= 5)
{
//Do some batch processing to obtian values to set for adapterEntry.AdapterEntryId in ProcessEntryAsync
//.......
//.......
m_condition = true;
Monitor.PulseAll(m_lock); // Wakes all waiters AFTER lock is released
}
Monitor.Exit(m_lock);
removedTasks += activeTasks.RemoveAll(t => t.IsCompleted);
Task processingTask = Task.Run(
async () =>
{
await this.ProcessEntryAsync(
entryUpdateInfo,
db)
.ContinueWith(this.ProcessEntryCompleteAsync)
.ConfigureAwait(false);
});
activeTasks.Add(processingTask);
addedTasks++;
}
}
private async Task<bool> ProcessEntryAsync(SyncDatabase db, EntryUpdateInfo entryUpdateInfo)
{
SyncEntryAdapterData adapterEntry =
updateInfo.Entry.AdapterEntries.FirstOrDefault(e => e.AdapterId == this.Config.Id);
if (adapterEntry == null)
{
adapterEntry = new SyncEntryAdapterData()
{
SyncEntry = updateInfo.Entry,
AdapterId = this.Config.Id
};
updateInfo.Entry.AdapterEntries.Add(adapterEntry);
}
m_condition = false;
Monitor.Enter(m_lock);
while (!m_condition)
{
m_count++;
Monitor.Wait(m_lock);
}
m_count--;
adapterEntry.AdapterEntryId = .... //Set Value obtained form batch processing
Monitor.Exit(m_lock);
}
private void ProcessEntryCompleteAsync(Task<bool> task, object context)
{
EntryProcessingContext ctx = (EntryProcessingContext)context;
try
{
string message;
if (task.IsCanceled)
{
Logger.Warning("Processing was cancelled");
message = "The change was cancelled during processing";
}
else if (task.Exception != null)
{
Exception ex = task.Exception;
Logger.Warning("Processing failed with {0}: {1}", ex.GetType().FullName, ex.Message);
message = "An error occurred while synchronzing the changed.";
}
else
{
message = "The change was successfully synchronized";
if (task.Result)
{
//Processing
//...
//...
}
}
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Logger.Info(
"Caught an exception while completing entry processing. " + e);
}
finally
{
}
}
Thanks

Correct way of starting a forever-running loop with Async

I've an existing code I wrote some time ago, that works but I dislike the fact that the thread I start remains in loop.
This piece of code is a consumer on an IBMMQ code, waiting for messages to be processed.The problem I've is that with the following code
private Task ExecuteQueuePolling(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
{
return Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
{
ConnectToAccessQueue();
Logger.Debug($"Accessed to the queue {queueName}");
Logger.DebugFormat("Repeating timer started, checking frequency: {checkingFrequency}",
checkingFrequency);
while (!cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
{
Logger.Trace( () => "Listening on queues for new messages");
// isChecking = true;
var mqMsg = new MQMessage();
var mqGetMsgOpts = new MQGetMessageOptions
{ WaitInterval = (int)checkingFrequency.TotalMilliseconds };
// 15 second limit for waiting
mqGetMsgOpts.Options |= MQC.MQGMO_WAIT | MQC.MQGMO_FAIL_IF_QUIESCING |
MQC.MQCNO_RECONNECT_Q_MGR | MQC.MQOO_INPUT_AS_Q_DEF;
try
{
mqQueue.Get(mqMsg, mqGetMsgOpts);
if (string.Compare(mqMsg.Format, MQC.MQFMT_STRING, StringComparison.Ordinal) == 0)
{
var text = mqMsg.ReadString(mqMsg.MessageLength);
Logger.Debug($"Message received : [{text}]");
Message message = new Message { Content = text };
foreach (var observer in observers)
observer.OnNext(message);
}
else
{
Logger.Warn("Non-text message");
}
}
catch (MQException ex)
{
if (ex.Message == MQC.MQRC_NO_MSG_AVAILABLE.ToString())
{
Logger.Trace("No messages available");
//nothing to do, emtpy queue
}
else if (ex.Message == MQC.MQRC_CONNECTION_BROKEN.ToString())
{
Logger.ErrorException("MQ Exception, trying to recconect", ex);
throw new ReconnectException();
}
}
Thread.Sleep(100);
}
},cancellationToken);
}
//Calling method
try
{
string queueManagerName = configuration.GetValue<string>("IBMMQ:QUEUE_MANAGER_NAME");
// var queueManager = new MQQueueManager(queueManagerName,dictionary2);
QueueMonitor monitor = new QueueMonitor(configuration, "IMPORTER_RECEIVER_TEST");
//_subscription = monitor.Subscribe(receiver);
await monitor.StartAsync(cts.Token).ConfigureAwait(false);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
log.Error(e, "Error creating the queue monitor or it's subscription");
}
finally
{
WaitForCancel(cts);
}
The call to await monitor.StartAsync(cts.Token).ConfigureAwait(false); remains pending.
How should I modify my code, so that the call returns and in background the task continue to loop?
Thanks in advance

Here is how you can simplify your code by replacing Thread.Sleep with Task.Delay:
private async Task ExecuteQueuePolling(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
{
while (true)
{
// Process mqQueue here
await Task.Delay(100, cancellationToken);
}
}
Task.Delay has the advantage that accepts a CancellationToken, so in case of cancellation the loop will exit immediately. This could be important if the pooling of the MQ was lazier (for example every 5 seconds).

private static Task _runningTask;
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
_runningTask = ExecuteQueuePolling(cts.Token);
WaitForCancel(cts);
}
private static void WaitForCancel(CancellationTokenSource cts)
{
var spinner = new SpinWait();
while (!cts.IsCancellationRequested
&& _runningTask.Status == TaskStatus.Running) spinner.SpinOnce();
}
private static Task ExecuteQueuePolling(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
{
var t = new Task(() =>
{
while (!cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
; // your code
if (cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
throw new OperationCanceledException();
}, cancellationToken, TaskCreationOptions.LongRunning);
t.Start();
return t;
}

Block concurrent threads only when Windows was closed

I have code
private void AbrirConexao(string strConexao)
{
try
{
conexao = new NpgsqlConnection(strConexao);
conexao.Open();
}
catch (Exception)
{
ReconectarDB(null, strConexao);
}
}
public bool ReconectarDB(string strConexao)
{
bool erroConexao = false;
BackgroundWorker bw = new BackgroundWorker();
bw.DoWork += (obj, ea) =>
{
int erro = 0;
while (erro <= 4)
{
Thread.Sleep(1000);
try
{
conexao = new NpgsqlConnection(strConexao);
conexao.Open();
erroConexao = false;
break;
}
catch
{
erro++;
erroConexao = true;
}
}
};
bw.RunWorkerCompleted += (obj, ea) =>
{
if (erroConexao)
DialogReconectando.AlterarTela(ErroConexao.SemConexao);
else
DialogReconectando.Close();
};
bw.RunWorkerAsync();
Application.Current.Dispatcher.Invoke(new Action(() =>
{
if (DialogReconectando == null || Conexao.DialogReconectando.IsLoaded == false)
DialogReconectando = new DialogErroConexao(ErroConexao.Reconectando);
if(DialogReconectando.ShowActivated)
{
DialogReconectando.ShowActivated = true;
DialogReconectando.ShowDialog();
}
}));
return erroConexao;
}
I am using the Open Connection method to connect to the database. and when the connection fails, ReconnectDB is trying to reconnect with the database. If it fails, a Window is opened that there are two buttons, Retry and Abort the System.
The problem is that there are situations that I use other concurrent threads that makes requests with the database. In those cases, I would not want it to display a new Window. So if there is a Window open, I would like the Thread to lock until the Window is closed. I tried to solve the problem using EventWaitHandle. However, Window is also caught in this situation. Would you have any idea how you could solve this problem?

It depends on what you want the second thread to do. If you want the second thread to simply skip over showing the window, you can use a semaphore to ensure that only a single thread shows the window, like this:
SemaphoreSlim semaphore = new SemaphoreSlim(1, 1);
private void ShowWindowNonBlocking()
{
bool acquiredLock = false;
try
{
acquiredLock = semaphore.Wait(0);
if (acquiredLock)
{
// This thread now has exclusive access to the isWindowShown variable
var result = MessageBox.Show(
"Retry the connection?",
"Connection Failed",
MessageBoxButtons.RetryCancel);
if (result == DialogResult.Retry)
{
// Retry the connection
}
}
else
{
// Another thread is showing the window
}
}
finally
{
if (acquiredLock)
{
semaphore.Release();
}
}
}
Here is a good site that I refer back to from time to time on locking mechanisms: http://www.albahari.com/threading/part2.aspx#_Semaphore
If however, you want the second thread to block until the first window is finished (for example, if you want to know what the result of the window was in order to know whether to retry on the second thread), you can use a lock, like this:
private object windowLock = new object();
private void ShowWindowBlocking()
{
lock (windowLock)
{
var result = MessageBox.Show(
"Retry the connection?",
"Connection Failed",
MessageBoxButtons.RetryCancel);
if (result == DialogResult.Retry)
{
// Retry the connection
}
}
}
If you need further clarification, let me know and I will try to expand the answer.

Task continuation to maintain UI thread responsiveness

I'm using Tasks in WinForms to remove expensive methods from my UI thread. In my updateComplete and updateFailed tasks, I have to set _updateMessageTaskInProgress to false and enable my controls. Is there any way I can do this in a separate task which either updateComplete or updateFailed continues too once either is complete (as I currently have duplicate code)? Plus, is there a better way of implementing _updateMessageTaskInProgress - I don't want more than one task to run at the same time.
private void PerformUpdate()
{
if (!_updateMessageTaskInProgress)
{
LoadButton.Enabled = false;
MonthEndDateEdit.Enabled = false;
BankIssuerListEdit.Enabled = false;
Task updateMessages = Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
{
_updateMessageTaskInProgress = true;
ExpensiveMethod();
});
// Task runs when updateMessages completes without exception. Runs on UI thread.
Task updateComplete = updateMessages.ContinueWith(update =>
{
DoSuccessfulStuff();
_updateMessageTaskInProgress = false;
LoadButton.Enabled = true;
MonthEndDateEdit.Enabled = true;
BankIssuerListEdit.Enabled = true;
}, System.Threading.CancellationToken.None, TaskContinuationOptions.NotOnFaulted, TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext());
// Task runs when updateMessages completes with exception. Runs on UI thread.
Task updateFailed = updateMessages.ContinueWith(task =>
{
DoFailureStuff();
_updateMessageTaskInProgress = false;
LoadButton.Enabled = true;
MonthEndDateEdit.Enabled = true;
BankIssuerListEdit.Enabled = true;
}, System.Threading.CancellationToken.None, TaskContinuationOptions.OnlyOnFaulted, TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext());
}
}

Why don't you just extract a method?
private void SetLock(bool lock)
{
LoadButton.Enabled = !lock;
MonthEndDateEdit.Enabled = !lock;
BankIssuerListEdit.Enabled = !lock;
_updateMessageTaskInProgress = lock;
}
private void PerformUpdate()
{
if (!_updateMessageTaskInProgress)
{
SetLock(true);
Task updateMessages = Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
{
ExpensiveMethod();
});
// Task runs when updateMessages completes without exception. Runs on UI thread.
Task updateComplete = updateMessages.ContinueWith(update =>
{
DoSuccessfulStuff();
SetLock(false);
}, System.Threading.CancellationToken.None, TaskContinuationOptions.NotOnFaulted, TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext());
// Task runs when updateMessages completes with exception. Runs on UI thread.
Task updateFailed = updateMessages.ContinueWith(task =>
{
DoFailureStuff();
SetLock(false);
}, System.Threading.CancellationToken.None, TaskContinuationOptions.OnlyOnFaulted, TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext());
}
}

I would use the Event Based Asynchronous-TYPE Pattern for this. A simplified version of the code I use to spin-off method onto a background thread using TPL is below
private void TaskSpin(TaskScheduler uiScheduler,
Func<TaskScheduler, object[], bool> asyncMethod,
object[] methodParameters)
{
try
{
Task asyncTask = Task.Factory.StartNew<bool>(() =>
asyncMethod(uiScheduler, methodParameters));
// Callback for finish/cancellation.
asyncTask.ContinueWith(task =>
{
// Check task status.
switch (task.Status)
{
// Handle any exceptions to prevent UnobservedTaskException.
case TaskStatus.RanToCompletion:
if (asyncTask.Result)
UpdateUI(uiScheduler, "OK");
else
{
string strErrComplete = "Process failed.";
UpdateUI(uiScheduler, strErrComplete);
}
break;
case TaskStatus.Faulted:
string strFatalErr = String.Empty;
UpdateUI(uiScheduler, "Fatal Error);
if (task.Exception != null)
strFatalErr = task.Exception.InnerException.Message;
else
strFatalErr = "Operation failed";
MessageBox.Show(strFatalErr);
break;
}
asyncTask.Dispose();
return;
}, TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext());
}
catch (Exception eX)
{
Utils.ErrMsg(eX.Message);
}
}
I hope this helps.
Edit. Note, in the above uiScheduler is the TaskScheduler for the UI Thread. That is
TaskSheduler uiScheduler = TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext();