System.Threading.Tasks.Task class

This article provides supplementary remarks to the reference documentation for this API.

The Task class represents a single operation that does not return a value and that usually executes asynchronously. Task objects are one of the central components of the task-based asynchronous pattern first introduced in .NET Framework 4. Because the work performed by a Task object typically executes asynchronously on a thread pool thread rather than synchronously on the main application thread, you can use the Status property, as well as the IsCanceled, IsCompleted, and IsFaulted properties, to determine the state of a task. Most commonly, a lambda expression is used to specify the work that the task is to perform.

For operations that return values, you use the Task<TResult> class.

Task instantiation

The following example creates and executes four tasks. Three tasks execute an Action<T> delegate named action, which accepts an argument of type Object. A fourth task executes a lambda expression (an Action delegate) that is defined inline in the call to the task creation method. Each task is instantiated and run in a different way:

  • Task t1 is instantiated by calling a Task class constructor, but is started by calling its Start() method only after task t2 has started.

  • Task t2 is instantiated and started in a single method call by calling the TaskFactory.StartNew(Action<Object>, Object) method.

  • Task t3 is instantiated and started in a single method call by calling the Run(Action) method.

  • Task t4 is executed synchronously on the main thread by calling the RunSynchronously() method.

Because task t4 executes synchronously, it executes on the main application thread. The remaining tasks execute asynchronously typically on one or more thread pool threads.

using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Example1
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Action<object> action = (object obj) =>
                                {
                                    Console.WriteLine("Task={0}, obj={1}, Thread={2}",
                                    Task.CurrentId, obj,
                                    Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
                                };

        // Create a task but do not start it.
        Task t1 = new Task(action, "alpha");

        // Construct a started task
        Task t2 = Task.Factory.StartNew(action, "beta");
        // Block the main thread to demonstrate that t2 is executing
        t2.Wait();

        // Launch t1 
        t1.Start();
        Console.WriteLine("t1 has been launched. (Main Thread={0})",
                          Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
        // Wait for the task to finish.
        t1.Wait();

        // Construct a started task using Task.Run.
        String taskData = "delta";
        Task t3 = Task.Run(() =>
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Task={0}, obj={1}, Thread={2}",
                                                     Task.CurrentId, taskData,
                                                      Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
        });
        // Wait for the task to finish.
        t3.Wait();

        // Construct an unstarted task
        Task t4 = new Task(action, "gamma");
        // Run it synchronously
        t4.RunSynchronously();
        // Although the task was run synchronously, it is a good practice
        // to wait for it in the event exceptions were thrown by the task.
        t4.Wait();
    }
}
// The example displays output like the following:
//       Task=1, obj=beta, Thread=3
//       t1 has been launched. (Main Thread=1)
//       Task=2, obj=alpha, Thread=4
//       Task=3, obj=delta, Thread=3
//       Task=4, obj=gamma, Thread=1
open System.Threading
open System.Threading.Tasks

let action =
    fun (obj: obj) -> printfn $"Task={Task.CurrentId}, obj={obj}, Thread={Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId}"

// Create a task but do not start it.
let t1 = new Task(action, "alpha")

// Construct a started task
let t2 = Task.Factory.StartNew(action, "beta")
// Block the main thread to demonstrate that t2 is executing
t2.Wait()

// Launch t1
t1.Start()
printfn $"t1 has been launched. (Main Thread={Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId})"
// Wait for the task to finish.
t1.Wait()

// Construct a started task using Task.Run.
let taskData = "delta"

let t3 =
    Task.Run(fun () -> printfn $"Task={Task.CurrentId}, obj={taskData}, Thread={Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId}")
// Wait for the task to finish.
t3.Wait()

// Construct an unstarted task
let t4 = new Task(action, "gamma")
// Run it synchronously
t4.RunSynchronously()
// Although the task was run synchronously, it is a good practice
// to wait for it in the event exceptions were thrown by the task.
t4.Wait()


// The example displays output like the following:
//       Task=1, obj=beta, Thread=3
//       t1 has been launched. (Main Thread=1)
//       Task=2, obj=alpha, Thread=4
//       Task=3, obj=delta, Thread=3
//       Task=4, obj=gamma, Thread=1
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Threading.Tasks

Module Example2
    Public Sub Main()
        Dim action As Action(Of Object) =
              Sub(obj As Object)
                  Console.WriteLine("Task={0}, obj={1}, Thread={2}",
                 Task.CurrentId, obj,
                 Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId)
              End Sub

        ' Construct an unstarted task
        Dim t1 As New Task(action, "alpha")

        ' Construct a started task
        Dim t2 As Task = Task.Factory.StartNew(action, "beta")
        ' Block the main thread to demonstrate that t2 is executing
        t2.Wait()

        ' Launch t1 
        t1.Start()
        Console.WriteLine("t1 has been launched. (Main Thread={0})",
                          Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId)
        ' Wait for the task to finish.
        t1.Wait()

        ' Construct a started task using Task.Run.
        Dim taskData As String = "delta"
        Dim t3 As Task = Task.Run(Sub()
                                      Console.WriteLine("Task={0}, obj={1}, Thread={2}",
                                     Task.CurrentId, taskData,
                                     Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId)
                                  End Sub)
        ' Wait for the task to finish.
        t3.Wait()

        ' Construct an unstarted task
        Dim t4 As New Task(action, "gamma")
        ' Run it synchronously
        t4.RunSynchronously()
        ' Although the task was run synchronously, it is a good practice
        ' to wait for it in the event exceptions were thrown by the task.
        t4.Wait()
    End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
'       Task=1, obj=beta, Thread=3
'       t1 has been launched. (Main Thread=1)
'       Task=2, obj=alpha, Thread=3
'       Task=3, obj=delta, Thread=3
'       Task=4, obj=gamma, Thread=1

Create and execute a task

You can create Task instances in a variety of ways. The most common approach is to call the static Run method. The Run method provides a simple way to start a task using default values and without requiring additional parameters. The following example uses the Run(Action) method to start a task that loops and then displays the number of loop iterations:

using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class Example
{
   public static async Task Main()
   {
      await Task.Run( () => {
                                  // Just loop.
                                  int ctr = 0;
                                  for (ctr = 0; ctr <= 1000000; ctr++)
                                  {}
                                  Console.WriteLine("Finished {0} loop iterations",
                                                    ctr);
                               } );
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//        Finished 1000001 loop iterations
open System.Threading.Tasks

let main =
    task {
        do!
            Task.Run(fun () ->
                for i = 0 to 1000000 do
                    printfn $"Finished {i} loop iterations")
    }

main.Wait()

// The example displays the following output:
//        Finished 1000001 loop iterations
Imports System.Threading.Tasks

Module Example1
    Public Sub Main()
        Dim t As Task = Task.Run(Sub()
                                     ' Just loop.
                                     Dim ctr As Integer = 0
                                     For ctr = 0 To 1000000
                                     Next
                                     Console.WriteLine("Finished {0} loop iterations",
                                                    ctr)
                                 End Sub)
        t.Wait()
    End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'       Finished 1000001 loop iterations

An alternative is the static TaskFactory.StartNew method. The Task.Factory property returns a TaskFactory object. Overloads of the TaskFactory.StartNew method let you specify parameters to pass to the task creation options and a task scheduler. The following example uses the TaskFactory.StartNew method to start a task. It is functionally equivalent to the code in the previous example.

using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class Example2
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        Task t = Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
        {
            // Just loop.
            int ctr = 0;
            for (ctr = 0; ctr <= 1000000; ctr++)
            { }
            Console.WriteLine("Finished {0} loop iterations",
                              ctr);
        });
        t.Wait();
    }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//        Finished 1000001 loop iterations
open System.Threading.Tasks

let t =
    Task.Factory.StartNew(fun () ->
        // Just loop.
        for i = 0 to 1000000 do
            printfn $"Finished {i} loop iterations")

t.Wait()


// The example displays the following output:
//        Finished 1000001 loop iterations
Imports System.Threading.Tasks

Module Example3
    Public Sub Main()
        Dim t As Task = Task.Factory.StartNew(Sub()
                                                  ' Just loop.
                                                  Dim ctr As Integer = 0
                                                  For ctr = 0 To 1000000
                                                  Next
                                                  Console.WriteLine("Finished {0} loop iterations",
                                                    ctr)
                                              End Sub)
        t.Wait()
    End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'       Finished 1000001 loop iterations

For more complete examples, see Task-based Asynchronous Programming.

Separate task creation and execution

The Task class also provides constructors that initialize the task but that do not schedule it for execution. For performance reasons, the Task.Run or TaskFactory.StartNew method is the preferred mechanism for creating and scheduling computational tasks, but for scenarios where creation and scheduling must be separated, you can use the constructors and then call the Task.Start method to schedule the task for execution at a later time.

Wait for a task to complete

Because tasks typically run asynchronously on a thread pool thread, the thread that creates and starts the task continues execution as soon as the task has been instantiated. In some cases, when the calling thread is the main application thread, the app may terminate before the task actually begins execution. In others, your application's logic may require that the calling thread continue execution only when one or more tasks have completed execution. You can synchronize the execution of the calling thread and the asynchronous tasks it launches by calling a Wait method to wait for one or more tasks to complete.

To wait for a single task to complete, you can call its Task.Wait method. A call to the Wait method blocks the calling thread until the single class instance has completed execution.

The following example calls the parameterless Wait() method to wait unconditionally until a task completes. The task simulates work by calling the Thread.Sleep method to sleep for two seconds.

using System;   
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static Random rand = new Random();

    static void Main()
    {
        // Wait on a single task with no timeout specified.
        Task taskA = Task.Run( () => Thread.Sleep(2000));
        Console.WriteLine("taskA Status: {0}", taskA.Status);
        try {
          taskA.Wait();
          Console.WriteLine("taskA Status: {0}", taskA.Status);
       } 
       catch (AggregateException) {
          Console.WriteLine("Exception in taskA.");
       }   
    }    
}
// The example displays output like the following:
//     taskA Status: WaitingToRun
//     taskA Status: RanToCompletion
open System
open System.Threading
open System.Threading.Tasks

let rand = Random()

// Wait on a single task with no timeout specified.
let taskA = Task.Run(fun () -> Thread.Sleep 2000)
printfn $"taskA Status: {taskA.Status}"
try 
    taskA.Wait()
    printfn $"taskA Status: {taskA.Status}"

with :? AggregateException ->
    printfn "Exception in taskA."

// The example displays output like the following:
//     taskA Status: WaitingToRun
//     taskA Status: RanToCompletion
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Threading.Tasks

Module Example4
    Public Sub Main()
        ' Wait on a single task with no timeout specified.
        Dim taskA = Task.Run(Sub() Thread.Sleep(2000))
        Console.WriteLine("taskA Status: {0}", taskA.Status)
        Try
            taskA.Wait()
            Console.WriteLine("taskA Status: {0}", taskA.Status)
        Catch e As AggregateException
            Console.WriteLine("Exception in taskA.")
        End Try
    End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
'     taskA Status: WaitingToRun
'     taskA Status: RanToCompletion

You can also conditionally wait for a task to complete. The Wait(Int32) and Wait(TimeSpan) methods block the calling thread until the task finishes or a timeout interval elapses, whichever comes first. Since the following example launches a task that sleeps for two seconds but defines a one-second timeout value, the calling thread blocks until the timeout expires and before the task has completed execution.

using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class Example5
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Wait on a single task with a timeout specified.
        Task taskA = Task.Run(() => Thread.Sleep(2000));
        try
        {
            taskA.Wait(1000);       // Wait for 1 second.
            bool completed = taskA.IsCompleted;
            Console.WriteLine("Task A completed: {0}, Status: {1}",
                             completed, taskA.Status);
            if (!completed)
                Console.WriteLine("Timed out before task A completed.");
        }
        catch (AggregateException)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Exception in taskA.");
        }
    }
}
// The example displays output like the following:
//     Task A completed: False, Status: Running
//     Timed out before task A completed.
open System
open System.Threading
open System.Threading.Tasks

// Wait on a single task with a timeout specified.
let taskA = Task.Run(fun () -> Thread.Sleep 2000)

try
    taskA.Wait 1000 |> ignore // Wait for 1 second.
    let completed = taskA.IsCompleted
    printfn $"Task A completed: {completed}, Status: {taskA.Status}"

    if not completed then
        printfn "Timed out before task A completed."

with :? AggregateException ->
    printfn "Exception in taskA."


// The example displays output like the following:
//     Task A completed: False, Status: Running
//     Timed out before task A completed.
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Threading.Tasks

Module Example5
    Public Sub Main()
        ' Wait on a single task with a timeout specified.
        Dim taskA As Task = Task.Run(Sub() Thread.Sleep(2000))
        Try
            taskA.Wait(1000)        ' Wait for 1 second.
            Dim completed As Boolean = taskA.IsCompleted
            Console.WriteLine("Task.Completed: {0}, Status: {1}",
                           completed, taskA.Status)
            If Not completed Then
                Console.WriteLine("Timed out before task A completed.")
            End If
        Catch e As AggregateException
            Console.WriteLine("Exception in taskA.")
        End Try
    End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'     Task A completed: False, Status: Running
'     Timed out before task A completed.

You can also supply a cancellation token by calling the Wait(CancellationToken) and Wait(Int32, CancellationToken) methods. If the token's IsCancellationRequested property is true or becomes true while the Wait method is executing, the method throws an OperationCanceledException.

In some cases, you may want to wait for the first of a series of executing tasks to complete, but don't care which task it is. For this purpose, you can call one of the overloads of the Task.WaitAny method. The following example creates three tasks, each of which sleeps for an interval determined by a random number generator. The WaitAny(Task[]) method waits for the first task to complete. The example then displays information about the status of all three tasks.

using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class Example4
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        var tasks = new Task[3];
        var rnd = new Random();
        for (int ctr = 0; ctr <= 2; ctr++)
            tasks[ctr] = Task.Run(() => Thread.Sleep(rnd.Next(500, 3000)));

        try
        {
            int index = Task.WaitAny(tasks);
            Console.WriteLine("Task #{0} completed first.\n", tasks[index].Id);
            Console.WriteLine("Status of all tasks:");
            foreach (var t in tasks)
                Console.WriteLine("   Task #{0}: {1}", t.Id, t.Status);
        }
        catch (AggregateException)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("An exception occurred.");
        }
    }
}
// The example displays output like the following:
//     Task #1 completed first.
//     
//     Status of all tasks:
//        Task #3: Running
//        Task #1: RanToCompletion
//        Task #4: Running
open System
open System.Threading
open System.Threading.Tasks

let rnd = new Random()

let tasks =
    [| for _ = 0 to 2 do
           Task.Run(fun () -> rnd.Next(500, 3000) |> Thread.Sleep) |]

try
    let index = Task.WaitAny tasks
    printfn $"Task #{tasks[index].Id} completed first.\n"
    printfn "Status of all tasks:"

    for t in tasks do
        printfn $"   Task #{t.Id}: {t.Status}"

with :? AggregateException ->
    printfn "An exception occurred."

// The example displays output like the following:
//     Task #1 completed first.
//
//     Status of all tasks:
//        Task #3: Running
//        Task #1: RanToCompletion
//        Task #4: Running
Imports System.Threading

Module Example8
    Public Sub Main()
        Dim tasks(2) As Task
        Dim rnd As New Random()
        For ctr As Integer = 0 To 2
            tasks(ctr) = Task.Run(Sub() Thread.Sleep(rnd.Next(500, 3000)))
        Next

        Try
            Dim index As Integer = Task.WaitAny(tasks)
            Console.WriteLine("Task #{0} completed first.", tasks(index).Id)
            Console.WriteLine()
            Console.WriteLine("Status of all tasks:")
            For Each t In tasks
                Console.WriteLine("   Task #{0}: {1}", t.Id, t.Status)
            Next
        Catch e As AggregateException
            Console.WriteLine("An exception occurred.")
        End Try
    End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
'     Task #1 completed first.
'     
'     Status of all tasks:
'        Task #3: Running
'        Task #1: RanToCompletion
'        Task #4: Running

You can also wait for all of a series of tasks to complete by calling the WaitAll method. The following example creates ten tasks, waits for all ten to complete, and then displays their status.

using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class Example3
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Wait for all tasks to complete.
        Task[] tasks = new Task[10];
        for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
        {
            tasks[i] = Task.Run(() => Thread.Sleep(2000));
        }
        try
        {
            Task.WaitAll(tasks);
        }
        catch (AggregateException ae)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("One or more exceptions occurred: ");
            foreach (var ex in ae.Flatten().InnerExceptions)
                Console.WriteLine("   {0}", ex.Message);
        }

        Console.WriteLine("Status of completed tasks:");
        foreach (var t in tasks)
            Console.WriteLine("   Task #{0}: {1}", t.Id, t.Status);
    }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//     Status of completed tasks:
//        Task #2: RanToCompletion
//        Task #1: RanToCompletion
//        Task #3: RanToCompletion
//        Task #4: RanToCompletion
//        Task #6: RanToCompletion
//        Task #5: RanToCompletion
//        Task #7: RanToCompletion
//        Task #8: RanToCompletion
//        Task #9: RanToCompletion
//        Task #10: RanToCompletion
open System
open System.Threading
open System.Threading.Tasks

// Wait for all tasks to complete.
let tasks =
    [| for _ = 0 to 9 do
           Task.Run(fun () -> Thread.Sleep 2000) |]

try
    Task.WaitAll tasks

with :? AggregateException as ae ->
    printfn "One or more exceptions occurred: "

    for ex in ae.Flatten().InnerExceptions do
        printfn $"   {ex.Message}"

printfn "Status of completed tasks:"

for t in tasks do
    printfn $"   Task #{t.Id}: {t.Status}"

// The example displays the following output:
//     Status of completed tasks:
//        Task #2: RanToCompletion
//        Task #1: RanToCompletion
//        Task #3: RanToCompletion
//        Task #4: RanToCompletion
//        Task #6: RanToCompletion
//        Task #5: RanToCompletion
//        Task #7: RanToCompletion
//        Task #8: RanToCompletion
//        Task #9: RanToCompletion
//        Task #10: RanToCompletion
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Threading.Tasks

Module Example6
    Public Sub Main()
        ' Wait for all tasks to complete.
        Dim tasks(9) As Task
        For i As Integer = 0 To 9
            tasks(i) = Task.Run(Sub() Thread.Sleep(2000))
        Next
        Try
            Task.WaitAll(tasks)
        Catch ae As AggregateException
            Console.WriteLine("One or more exceptions occurred: ")
            For Each ex In ae.Flatten().InnerExceptions
                Console.WriteLine("   {0}", ex.Message)
            Next
        End Try

        Console.WriteLine("Status of completed tasks:")
        For Each t In tasks
            Console.WriteLine("   Task #{0}: {1}", t.Id, t.Status)
        Next
    End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'     Status of completed tasks:
'        Task #2: RanToCompletion
'        Task #1: RanToCompletion
'        Task #3: RanToCompletion
'        Task #4: RanToCompletion
'        Task #6: RanToCompletion
'        Task #5: RanToCompletion
'        Task #7: RanToCompletion
'        Task #8: RanToCompletion
'        Task #9: RanToCompletion
'        Task #10: RanToCompletion

Note that when you wait for one or more tasks to complete, any exceptions thrown in the running tasks are propagated on the thread that calls the Wait method, as the following example shows. It launches 12 tasks, three of which complete normally and three of which throw an exception. Of the remaining six tasks, three are cancelled before they start, and three are cancelled while they are executing. Exceptions are thrown in the WaitAll method call and are handled by a try/catch block.

using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class Example6
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Create a cancellation token and cancel it.
        var source1 = new CancellationTokenSource();
        var token1 = source1.Token;
        source1.Cancel();
        // Create a cancellation token for later cancellation.
        var source2 = new CancellationTokenSource();
        var token2 = source2.Token;

        // Create a series of tasks that will complete, be cancelled, 
        // timeout, or throw an exception.
        Task[] tasks = new Task[12];
        for (int i = 0; i < 12; i++)
        {
            switch (i % 4)
            {
                // Task should run to completion.
                case 0:
                    tasks[i] = Task.Run(() => Thread.Sleep(2000));
                    break;
                // Task should be set to canceled state.
                case 1:
                    tasks[i] = Task.Run(() => Thread.Sleep(2000),
                             token1);
                    break;
                case 2:
                    // Task should throw an exception.
                    tasks[i] = Task.Run(() => { throw new NotSupportedException(); });
                    break;
                case 3:
                    // Task should examine cancellation token.
                    tasks[i] = Task.Run(() =>
                    {
                        Thread.Sleep(2000);
                        if (token2.IsCancellationRequested)
                            token2.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
                        Thread.Sleep(500);
                    }, token2);
                    break;
            }
        }
        Thread.Sleep(250);
        source2.Cancel();

        try
        {
            Task.WaitAll(tasks);
        }
        catch (AggregateException ae)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("One or more exceptions occurred:");
            foreach (var ex in ae.InnerExceptions)
                Console.WriteLine("   {0}: {1}", ex.GetType().Name, ex.Message);
        }

        Console.WriteLine("\nStatus of tasks:");
        foreach (var t in tasks)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("   Task #{0}: {1}", t.Id, t.Status);
            if (t.Exception != null)
            {
                foreach (var ex in t.Exception.InnerExceptions)
                    Console.WriteLine("      {0}: {1}", ex.GetType().Name,
                                      ex.Message);
            }
        }
    }
}
// The example displays output like the following:
//   One or more exceptions occurred:
//      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
//      NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
//      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
//      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
//      NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
//      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
//      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
//      NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
//      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
//   
//   Status of tasks:
//      Task #13: RanToCompletion
//      Task #1: Canceled
//      Task #3: Faulted
//         NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
//      Task #8: Canceled
//      Task #14: RanToCompletion
//      Task #4: Canceled
//      Task #6: Faulted
//         NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
//      Task #7: Canceled
//      Task #15: RanToCompletion
//      Task #9: Canceled
//      Task #11: Faulted
//         NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
//      Task #12: Canceled
open System
open System.Threading
open System.Threading.Tasks

// Create a cancellation token and cancel it.
let source1 = new CancellationTokenSource()
let token1 = source1.Token
source1.Cancel()
// Create a cancellation token for later cancellation.
let source2 = new CancellationTokenSource()
let token2 = source2.Token

// Create a series of tasks that will complete, be cancelled,
// timeout, or throw an exception.
let tasks =
    [| for i in 0..11 do
           match i % 4 with
           // Task should run to completion.
           | 0 -> Task.Run(fun () -> Thread.Sleep 2000)
           // Task should be set to canceled state.
           | 1 -> Task.Run(fun () -> Thread.Sleep 2000, token1)
           // Task should throw an exception.
           | 2 -> Task.Run(fun () -> NotSupportedException())
           // Task should examine cancellation token.
           | _ ->
               Task.Run(fun () ->
                   Thread.Sleep 2000

                   if token2.IsCancellationRequested then
                       token2.ThrowIfCancellationRequested()

                   Thread.Sleep 500, token2) |]


Thread.Sleep 250
source2.Cancel()

try
    Task.WaitAll tasks

with :? AggregateException as ae ->
    printfn "One or more exceptions occurred:"

    for ex in ae.InnerExceptions do
        printfn $"   {ex.GetType().Name}: {ex.Message}"

printfn "\nStatus of tasks:"

for t in tasks do
    printfn $"   Task #{t.Id}: {t.Status}"

    if isNull t.Exception |> not then
        for ex in t.Exception.InnerExceptions do
            printfn $"      {ex.GetType().Name}: {ex.Message}"

// The example displays output like the following:
//   One or more exceptions occurred:
//      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
//      NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
//      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
//      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
//      NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
//      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
//      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
//      NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
//      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
//
//   Status of tasks:
//      Task #13: RanToCompletion
//      Task #1: Canceled
//      Task #3: Faulted
//         NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
//      Task #8: Canceled
//      Task #14: RanToCompletion
//      Task #4: Canceled
//      Task #6: Faulted
//         NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
//      Task #7: Canceled
//      Task #15: RanToCompletion
//      Task #9: Canceled
//      Task #11: Faulted
//         NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
//      Task #12: Canceled
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Threading.Tasks

Module Example7
    Public Sub Main()
        ' Create a cancellation token and cancel it.
        Dim source1 As New CancellationTokenSource()
        Dim token1 As CancellationToken = source1.Token
        source1.Cancel()
        ' Create a cancellation token for later cancellation.
        Dim source2 As New CancellationTokenSource()
        Dim token2 As CancellationToken = source2.Token

        ' Create a series of tasks that will complete, be cancelled, 
        ' timeout, or throw an exception.
        Dim tasks(11) As Task
        For i As Integer = 0 To 11
            Select Case i Mod 4
             ' Task should run to completion.
                Case 0
                    tasks(i) = Task.Run(Sub() Thread.Sleep(2000))
             ' Task should be set to canceled state.
                Case 1
                    tasks(i) = Task.Run(Sub() Thread.Sleep(2000), token1)
                Case 2
                    ' Task should throw an exception.
                    tasks(i) = Task.Run(Sub()
                                            Throw New NotSupportedException()
                                        End Sub)
                Case 3
                    ' Task should examine cancellation token.
                    tasks(i) = Task.Run(Sub()
                                            Thread.Sleep(2000)
                                            If token2.IsCancellationRequested Then
                                                token2.ThrowIfCancellationRequested()
                                            End If
                                            Thread.Sleep(500)
                                        End Sub, token2)
            End Select
        Next
        Thread.Sleep(250)
        source2.Cancel()

        Try
            Task.WaitAll(tasks)
        Catch ae As AggregateException
            Console.WriteLine("One or more exceptions occurred:")
            For Each ex In ae.InnerExceptions
                Console.WriteLine("   {0}: {1}", ex.GetType().Name, ex.Message)
            Next
        End Try
        Console.WriteLine()

        Console.WriteLine("Status of tasks:")
        For Each t In tasks
            Console.WriteLine("   Task #{0}: {1}", t.Id, t.Status)
            If t.Exception IsNot Nothing Then
                For Each ex In t.Exception.InnerExceptions
                    Console.WriteLine("      {0}: {1}", ex.GetType().Name,
                                 ex.Message)
                Next
            End If
        Next
    End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
'   One or more exceptions occurred:
'      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
'      NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
'      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
'      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
'      NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
'      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
'      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
'      NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
'      TaskCanceledException: A task was canceled.
'   
'   Status of tasks:
'      Task #13: RanToCompletion
'      Task #1: Canceled
'      Task #3: Faulted
'         NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
'      Task #8: Canceled
'      Task #14: RanToCompletion
'      Task #4: Canceled
'      Task #6: Faulted
'         NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
'      Task #7: Canceled
'      Task #15: RanToCompletion
'      Task #9: Canceled
'      Task #11: Faulted
'         NotSupportedException: Specified method is not supported.
'      Task #12: Canceled

For more information on exception handling in task-based asynchronous operations, see Exception Handling.

Tasks and culture

Starting with desktop apps that target .NET Framework 4.6, the culture of the thread that creates and invokes a task becomes part of the thread's context. That is, regardless of the current culture of the thread on which the task executes, the current culture of the task is the culture of the calling thread. For apps that target versions of .NET Framework prior to .NET Framework 4.6, the culture of the task is the culture of the thread on which the task executes. For more information, see the "Culture and task-based asynchronous operations" section in the CultureInfo topic.

Note

Store apps follow the Windows Runtime in setting and getting the default culture.

For debugger developers

For developers implementing custom debuggers, several internal and private members of task may be useful (these may change from release to release). The m_taskId field serves as the backing store for the Id property, however accessing this field directly from a debugger may be more efficient than accessing the same value through the property's getter method (the s_taskIdCounter counter is used to retrieve the next available ID for a task). Similarly, the m_stateFlags field stores information about the current lifecycle stage of the task, information also accessible through the Status property. The m_action field stores a reference to the task's delegate, and the m_stateObject field stores the async state passed to the task by the developer. Finally, for debuggers that parse stack frames, the InternalWait method serves a potential marker for when a task is entering a wait operation.