Default SynchronizationContext vs Default TaskScheduler

Question

This is going to be a bit long, so please bear with me.

I was thinking that the behavior of the default task scheduler (ThreadPoolTaskScheduler) is very similar to that of the default "ThreadPool" SynchronizationContext (the latter can be referenced implicitly via await or explicitly via TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext()). They both schedule tasks to be executed on a random ThreadPool thread. In fact, SynchronizationContext.Post merely calls ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem.

However, there is a subtle but important difference in how TaskCompletionSource.SetResult works, when used from a task queued on the default SynchronizationContext. Here's a simple console app illustrating it:

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

namespace ConsoleTcs
{
    class Program
    {
        static async Task TcsTest(TaskScheduler taskScheduler)
        {
            var tcs = new TaskCompletionSource<bool>();

            var task = Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
                {
                    Thread.Sleep(1000);
                    Console.WriteLine("before tcs.SetResult, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
                    tcs.SetResult(true);
                    Console.WriteLine("after tcs.SetResult, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
                    Thread.Sleep(2000);
                },
                CancellationToken.None,
                TaskCreationOptions.None,
                taskScheduler);

            Console.WriteLine("before await tcs.Task, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
            await tcs.Task.ConfigureAwait(true);
            Console.WriteLine("after await tcs.Task, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);

            await task.ConfigureAwait(true);
            Console.WriteLine("after await task, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
        }

        // Main
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // SynchronizationContext.Current is null
            // install default SynchronizationContext on the thread
            SynchronizationContext.SetSynchronizationContext(new SynchronizationContext());

            // use TaskScheduler.Default for Task.Factory.StartNew
            Console.WriteLine("Test #1, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
            TcsTest(TaskScheduler.Default).Wait();

            // use TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext() for Task.Factory.StartNew
            Console.WriteLine("\nTest #2, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
            TcsTest(TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext()).Wait();

            Console.WriteLine("\nPress enter to exit, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

The output:

Test #1, thread: 9
before await tcs.Task, thread: 9
before tcs.SetResult, thread: 10
after await tcs.Task, thread: 10
after tcs.SetResult, thread: 10
after await task, thread: 10

Test #2, thread: 9
before await tcs.Task, thread: 9
before tcs.SetResult, thread: 10
after tcs.SetResult, thread: 10
after await tcs.Task, thread: 11
after await task, thread: 11

Press enter to exit, thread: 9

This is a console app, its Main thread doesn't have any synchronization context by default, so I explicitly install the default one at the beginning, before running tests: SynchronizationContext.SetSynchronizationContext(new SynchronizationContext()).

Initially, I thought I fully comprehended the execution workflow during the test #1 (where the task is scheduled with TaskScheduler.Default). There tcs.SetResult synchronously invokes the first continuation part (await tcs.Task), then the execution point returns to tcs.SetResult and continues synchronously ever after, including the second await task. That did make sense to me, until I realized the following. As we now have the default synchronization context installed on the thread that does await tcs.Task, it should be captured and the continuation should occur asynchronously (i.e., on a different pool thread as queued by SynchronizationContext.Post). By analogy, if I ran the test #1 from within a WinForms app, it would have been continued asynchronously after await tcs.Task, on WinFormsSynchronizationContext upon a future iteration of the message loop.

But that's not what happens inside the test #1. Out of curiosity, I changed ConfigureAwait(true) to ConfigureAwait(false) and that did not have any effect on the output. I'm looking for an explanation of this.

Now, during the test #2 (the task is scheduled with TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext()) there's indeed one more thread switch, as compared to #1. As can been seen from the output, the await tcs.Task continuation triggered by tcs.SetResult does happen asynchronously, on another pool thread. I tried ConfigureAwait(false) too, that didn't change anything either. I also tried installing SynchronizationContext immediately before starting the test #2, rather than at the beginning. That resulted in exactly the same output, either.

I actually like the behavior of the test #2 more, because it leaves less gap for side effects (and, potentially, deadlocks) which may be caused by the synchronous continuation triggered by tcs.SetResult, even though it comes at a price of an extra thread switch. However, I don't fully understand why such thread switch takes place regardless of ConfigureAwait(false).

I'm familiar with the following excellent resources on the subject, but I'm still looking for a good explanation of the behaviors seen in test #1 and #2. Can someone please elaborate on this?

The Nature of TaskCompletionSource
Parallel Programming: Task Schedulers and Synchronization Context
Parallel Programming: TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext
It's All About the SynchronizationContext

---

[UPDATE] My point is, the default synchronization context object has been explicitly installed on the main thread, before the thread hits the first await tcs.Task in test #1. IMO, the fact that it is not a GUI synchronization context doesn't mean it should not be captured for continuation after await. That's why I expect the continuation after tcs.SetResult to take place on a different thread from the ThreadPool (queued there by SynchronizationContext.Post), while the main thread may still be blocked by TcsTest(...).Wait(). This is a very similar scenario to the one described here.

So I went ahead and implemented a dumb synchronization context class TestSyncContext, which is just a wrapper around SynchronizationContext. It's now installed instead of the SynchronizationContext itself:

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

namespace ConsoleTcs
{
    public class TestSyncContext : SynchronizationContext
    {
        public override void Post(SendOrPostCallback d, object state)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("TestSyncContext.Post, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
            base.Post(d, state);
        }

        public override void Send(SendOrPostCallback d, object state)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("TestSyncContext.Send, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
            base.Send(d, state);
        }
    };

    class Program
    {
        static async Task TcsTest(TaskScheduler taskScheduler)
        {
            var tcs = new TaskCompletionSource<bool>();

            var task = Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
                {
                    Thread.Sleep(1000);
                    Console.WriteLine("before tcs.SetResult, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
                    tcs.SetResult(true);
                    Console.WriteLine("after tcs.SetResult, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
                    Thread.Sleep(2000);
                },
                CancellationToken.None,
                TaskCreationOptions.None,
                taskScheduler);

            Console.WriteLine("before await tcs.Task, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
            await tcs.Task.ConfigureAwait(true);
            Console.WriteLine("after await tcs.Task, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
            await task.ConfigureAwait(true);
            Console.WriteLine("after await task, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
        }

        // Main
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // SynchronizationContext.Current is null
            // install default SynchronizationContext on the thread
            SynchronizationContext.SetSynchronizationContext(new TestSyncContext());

            // use TaskScheduler.Default for Task.Factory.StartNew
            Console.WriteLine("Test #1, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
            TcsTest(TaskScheduler.Default).Wait();

            // use TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext() for Task.Factory.StartNew
            Console.WriteLine("\nTest #2, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
            TcsTest(TaskScheduler.FromCurrentSynchronizationContext()).Wait();

            Console.WriteLine("\nPress enter to exit, thread: " + Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

Magically, things have changed in a better way! Here's the new output:

Test #1, thread: 10
before await tcs.Task, thread: 10
before tcs.SetResult, thread: 6
TestSyncContext.Post, thread: 6
after tcs.SetResult, thread: 6
after await tcs.Task, thread: 11
after await task, thread: 6

Test #2, thread: 10
TestSyncContext.Post, thread: 10
before await tcs.Task, thread: 10
before tcs.SetResult, thread: 11
TestSyncContext.Post, thread: 11
after tcs.SetResult, thread: 11
after await tcs.Task, thread: 12
after await task, thread: 12

Press enter to exit, thread: 10

Now test #1 now behaves as expected (await tcs.Task is asynchronously queued to a pool thread). #2 appears to be OK, too. Let's change ConfigureAwait(true) to ConfigureAwait(false):

Test #1, thread: 9
before await tcs.Task, thread: 9
before tcs.SetResult, thread: 10
after await tcs.Task, thread: 10
after tcs.SetResult, thread: 10
after await task, thread: 10

Test #2, thread: 9
TestSyncContext.Post, thread: 9
before await tcs.Task, thread: 9
before tcs.SetResult, thread: 11
after tcs.SetResult, thread: 11
after await tcs.Task, thread: 10
after await task, thread: 10

Press enter to exit, thread: 9

Test #1 still behaves correctly as expected: ConfigureAwait(false) makes the await tcs.Task ignore the synchronization context (the TestSyncContext.Post call is gone), so now it continues synchronously after tcs.SetResult.

Why is this different from the case when the default SynchronizationContext is used? I'm still curious to know. Perhaps, the default task scheduler (which is responsible for await continuations) checks the runtime type information of the thread's synchronization context, and give some special treatment to SynchronizationContext?

Now, I still can't explain the behavior of test #2 for when ConfigureAwait(false). It's one less TestSyncContext.Post call, that's understood. However, await tcs.Task still gets continued on a different thread from tcs.SetResult (unlike in #1), that's not what I'd expect. I'm still seeking for a reason for this.

Solution 1

When you start diving this deep into the implementation details, it's important to differentiate between documented/reliable behavior and undocumented behavior. Also, it's not really considered proper to have SynchronizationContext.Current set to new SynchronizationContext(); some types in .NET treat null as the default scheduler, and other types treat null or new SynchronizationContext() as the default scheduler.

When you await an incomplete Task, the TaskAwaiter by default captures the current SynchronizationContext - unless it is null (or its GetType returns typeof(SynchronizationContext)), in which case the TaskAwaiter captures the current TaskScheduler. This behavior is mostly documented (the GetType clause is not AFAIK). However, please note that this describes the behavior of TaskAwaiter, not TaskScheduler.Default or TaskFactory.StartNew.

After the context (if any) is captured, then await schedules a continuation. This continuation is scheduled using ExecuteSynchronously, as described on my blog (this behavior is undocumented). However, do note that ExecuteSynchronously does not always execute synchronously; in particular, if a continuation has a task scheduler, it will only request to execute synchronously on the current thread, and the task scheduler has the option to refuse to execute it synchronously (also undocumented).

Finally, note that a TaskScheduler can be requested to execute a task synchronously, but a SynchronizationContext cannot. So, if the await captures a custom SynchronizationContext, then it must always execute the continuation asynchronously.

So, in your original Test #1:

• StartNew starts a new task with the default task scheduler (on thread 10).
• SetResult synchronously executes the continuation set by await tcs.Task.
• At the end of the StartNew task, it synchronously executes the continuation set by await task.

In your original Test #2:

• StartNew starts a new task with a task scheduler wrapper for a default-constructed synchronization context (on thread 10). Note that the task on thread 10 has TaskScheduler.Current set to a SynchronizationContextTaskScheduler whose m_synchronizationContext is the instance created by new SynchronizationContext(); however, that thread's SynchronizationContext.Current is null.
• SetResult attempts to execute the await tcs.Task continuation synchronously on the current task scheduler; however, it cannot because SynchronizationContextTaskScheduler sees that thread 10 has a SynchronizationContext.Current of null while it is requiring a new SynchronizationContext(). Thus, it schedules the continuation asynchronously (on thread 11).
• A similar situation happens at the end of the StartNew task; in this case, I believe it's coincidental that the await task continues on the same thread.

In conclusion, I must emphasize that depending on undocumented implementation details is not wise. If you want to have your async method continue on a thread pool thread, then wrap it in a Task.Run. That will make the intent of your code much clearer, and also make your code more resilient to future framework updates. Also, don't set SynchronizationContext.Current to new SynchronizationContext(), since the handling of that scenario is inconsistent.

Solution 2

SynchronizationContext always simply calls ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem on the post--which explains why you always see a different thread in test #2.

In test #1 you're using a smarter TaskScheduler. await is supposed to continue on the same thread (or "stay on the current thread" ). In a Console app there's no way to "schedule" return to the main thread like there is in message-queue-based UI frameworks. An await in a console application would have to block the main thread until the work is done (leaving the main thread with nothing to do) in order to continue on that same thread. If the scheduler knows this, then it might as well run the code synchronously on the same thread as it would have the same result without having to create another thread and risk a context switch.

More information can be found here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/pfxteam/archive/2012/01/20/10259049.aspx

Update: In terms of the ConfigureAwait. Console applications have no way to "marshal" back to the main thread so, presumably, ConfigureAwait(false) means nothing in a console app.

See also: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/jj991977.aspx

Comments

[noseratio]

Hmm, in fact I'm not expecting the await tcs.Task to continue on the same thread in test #1. I would, if I did not install the sync. context. But once it's there when I do the await, I expect it to be captured (as it's ConfigureAwait(true)) and used for continuation, so it would be posted to another pool thread. Why doesn't this happen?

[Peter Ritchie]

That's what await does--as a means of more easily writing asynchronous code in a GUI-based applications. This is because operations on GUI controls need to happen on the one and only GUI thread--thus everything after await defaults to continuing on the same thread. In a console app, the main thread cannot be asynchronous (if it were, it could exit before async operations complete) and has no way for await to marshal back to it in the continuation.

[noseratio]

I use TcsTest(...).Wait() to avoid premature exit in the main thread of my console app, so this is not an issue: the main thread is blocked while waiting. At the same time, I can put await Task.Delay(1000) or simply await Task.Yield() at the beginning of TcsTest, and execution will continue every time on a new thread after such await, while the main thread is still waiting, verified.

[noseratio]

This experiment shows that ConfigureAwait works in a console app, at least for a custom synchronization context. Perhaps, it is not for the standard SynchronizationContext?

[Peter Ritchie]

How does that experiment show that ConfigureAwait "works"? You don't compare it to using the false parameter.

[noseratio]

I do compare, actually: for ConfigureAwait(false) the context is not captured in the updated #1, the fact that TestSyncContext.Post is no longer called shows that, as opposed to the ConfigureAwait(true) case.

[noseratio]

Does the default SynchronizationContext ever get used directly anywhere in the Framework (besides for deriving from it)? I wonder why they did not make it abstract.

[Stephen Cleary]

I agree it's not the best design. There are a number of local uses like localContext = SynchronizationContext.Current ?? new SynchronizationContext(). But I haven't gone through the whole framework. :)