C# - Making sync function to async

Question

Hi,

I am just wondering if below code changes (New Code) make any difference in performance with respective to calling cosmos from a web api

Old Code:

public string GetDocs()
{
return JsonConvert.SerializeObject(CreateDocumentQuery().ToList());
}

New Code:

public Task<string> GetDocs()
{
return JsonConvert.SerializeObject(CreateDocumentQuery().ToList());
}

So adding Task<string> makes the method async or will it make any difference?

please help in understanding this, Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Sravan kumar

Answer 1

I think that you can also do this:

public async Task<string> GetDocs()
{
   return await Task.Run(() => JsonConvert.SerializeObject(CreateDocumentQuery().ToList()));
}

(By the way, if you consider the new System.Text.Json.JsonSerializer class, available in modern .NET, you will find a series of async functions, such as SerializeAsync).

Answer 2

Hello,

If you want to write this correctly you should mark the method async, here is a base framework. The main reason for using async is to keep things responsive, otherwise stick with synchronous code.

Requires System.Text.Json reference as this is not Newtonsoft library.

public class Demo
{
    public static async Task<string> WorkTask(object obj)
    {
        string json = string.Empty;
        await using var stream = new MemoryStream();
        await JsonSerializer.SerializeAsync(stream, obj, obj.GetType());
        stream.Position = 0;
        using var reader = new StreamReader(stream);
        return await reader.ReadToEndAsync();
    }
}

Answer 3

Hi @sravankumar-3852 ，

Check the relevant document, you can know:

If the method that the async keyword modifies doesn't contain an await expression or statement, the method executes synchronously. A compiler warning alerts you to any async methods that don't contain await statements, because that situation might indicate an error.

So the method you mentioned (new code) will have the same effect as the old method and get a warning. Therefore I do not recommend that you define the method this way, it would be better to follow the documentation.

For more about asynchronous programming, you can refer to this document: Asynchronous programming with async and await

Best regards,
Xudong Peng

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Answer 4

Also see if the statement will accept a ToListAsync().

Answer 5

Why is asking Microsoft a question like asking a politician for an answer
You never get an answer to the questions ask