NeoSmart.AsyncLock 3.2.1

Prefix Reserved
dotnet add package NeoSmart.AsyncLock --version 3.2.1                
NuGet\Install-Package NeoSmart.AsyncLock -Version 3.2.1                
This command is intended to be used within the Package Manager Console in Visual Studio, as it uses the NuGet module's version of Install-Package.
<PackageReference Include="NeoSmart.AsyncLock" Version="3.2.1" />                
For projects that support PackageReference, copy this XML node into the project file to reference the package.
paket add NeoSmart.AsyncLock --version 3.2.1                
#r "nuget: NeoSmart.AsyncLock, 3.2.1"                
#r directive can be used in F# Interactive and Polyglot Notebooks. Copy this into the interactive tool or source code of the script to reference the package.
// Install NeoSmart.AsyncLock as a Cake Addin
#addin nuget:?package=NeoSmart.AsyncLock&version=3.2.1

// Install NeoSmart.AsyncLock as a Cake Tool
#tool nuget:?package=NeoSmart.AsyncLock&version=3.2.1                

AsyncLock: An async/await-friendly lock

AsyncLock is an async/await-friendly lock implementation for .NET Standard, making writing code like the snippet below (mostly) possible:

lock (_lockObject)
{
    await DoSomething();
}

Unlike most other so-called "async locks" for C#, AsyncLock is actually designed to support the programming paradigm lock encourages, not just the technical elements. You can read more about the pitfalls with other so-called asynchronous locks and the difficulties of creating a reentrance-safe implementation here.

With AsyncLock, you don't have to worry about which thread is running what code in order to determine whether or not your locks will have any effect or if they'll be bypassed completely, you just write code the way you normally would and you'll find AsyncLock to correctly marshal access to protected code segments.

Using AsyncLock

There are only three functions to familiarize yourself with: the AsyncLock() constructor and the two locking variants Lock()/LockAsync() .

AsyncLock() creates a new asynchronous lock. A separate AsyncLock should be used for each "critical operation" you will be performing. (Or you can use a global lock just like some people still insist on using global mutexes and semaphores. We won't judge too harshly.)

Everywhere you would normally use lock (_lockObject) you will now use one of

  • using (_lock.Lock()) or
  • using (await _lock.LockAsync())

That's all there is to it!

Async-friendly locking by design

Much like theSemaphoreSlim class, AsyncLock offers two different "wait" options, a blocking Lock() call and the asynchronous LockAsync() call. The utmost scare should be taken to never call LockAsync() without an await before it, for obvious reasons.

Upon using LockAsync(), AsyncLock will attempt to obtain exclusive access to the lock. Should that not be possible in the current state, it will cede its execution slot and return to the caller, allowing the system to marshal resources efficiently as needed without blocking until the lock becomes available. Once the lock is available, the AsyncLock() call will resume, transferring execution to the protected section of the code.

AsyncLock usage example

private class AsyncLockTest
{
    var _lock = new AsyncLock();

    void Test()
    {
        // The code below will be run immediately (likely in a new thread)
        Task.Run(async () =>
             {
                 // A first call to LockAsync() will obtain the lock without blocking
                 using (await _lock.LockAsync())
                 {
                     // A second call to LockAsync() will be recognized as being
                     // reentrant and permitted to go through without blocking.
                     using (await _lock.LockAsync())
                     {
                         // We now exclusively hold the lock for 1 minute
                         await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1));
                     }
                 }
             }).Wait(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30));

        // This call to obtain the lock is made synchronously from the main thread.
        // It will, however, block until the asynchronous code which obtained the lock
        // above finishes.
        using (_lock.Lock())
        {
            // Now we have obtained exclusive access.
            // <Safely perform non-thread-safe operation safely here>
        }
    }
}
Product Compatible and additional computed target framework versions.
.NET net5.0 is compatible.  net5.0-windows was computed.  net6.0 was computed.  net6.0-android was computed.  net6.0-ios was computed.  net6.0-maccatalyst was computed.  net6.0-macos was computed.  net6.0-tvos was computed.  net6.0-windows was computed.  net7.0 was computed.  net7.0-android was computed.  net7.0-ios was computed.  net7.0-maccatalyst was computed.  net7.0-macos was computed.  net7.0-tvos was computed.  net7.0-windows was computed.  net8.0 was computed.  net8.0-android was computed.  net8.0-browser was computed.  net8.0-ios was computed.  net8.0-maccatalyst was computed.  net8.0-macos was computed.  net8.0-tvos was computed.  net8.0-windows was computed. 
.NET Core netcoreapp1.0 was computed.  netcoreapp1.1 was computed.  netcoreapp2.0 was computed.  netcoreapp2.1 was computed.  netcoreapp2.2 was computed.  netcoreapp3.0 was computed.  netcoreapp3.1 was computed. 
.NET Standard netstandard1.3 is compatible.  netstandard1.4 was computed.  netstandard1.5 was computed.  netstandard1.6 was computed.  netstandard2.0 was computed.  netstandard2.1 was computed. 
.NET Framework net46 was computed.  net461 was computed.  net462 was computed.  net463 was computed.  net47 was computed.  net471 was computed.  net472 was computed.  net48 was computed.  net481 was computed. 
MonoAndroid monoandroid was computed. 
MonoMac monomac was computed. 
MonoTouch monotouch was computed. 
Tizen tizen30 was computed.  tizen40 was computed.  tizen60 was computed. 
Universal Windows Platform uap was computed.  uap10.0 was computed. 
Xamarin.iOS xamarinios was computed. 
Xamarin.Mac xamarinmac was computed. 
Xamarin.TVOS xamarintvos was computed. 
Xamarin.WatchOS xamarinwatchos was computed. 
Compatible target framework(s)
Included target framework(s) (in package)
Learn more about Target Frameworks and .NET Standard.

NuGet packages (19)

Showing the top 5 NuGet packages that depend on NeoSmart.AsyncLock:

Package Downloads
ZayniFramework.Common

Common used C# .NET libraries such as configuration management, extensions API, dynamic object libraries API, reflection libraries, AOP interceptors, delegate invokers, TaskQueue, AsyncWorker... etc. It also provides common used IResult interface, dynamic BaseResult class and built-in ConsoleCommandService with ICommand interface. GitLab Repository: https://gitlab.com/ponylin1985/zayniframework

Mindbox.EasyCaching.InMemory

A simple in-memory caching provider.

Mindbox.EasyCaching.Redis

A simple distributed caching provider based on StackExchange.Redis.

NeoSmart.Synchronization

Assorted async-friendly mutexes and locks. Includes a scoped mutex (ScopedMutex) for cross-platform key-based locking, async countdown event (CountdownEvent), and others.

IRO.Storage

Simple key-value storage for client applications.

GitHub repositories (1)

Showing the top 1 popular GitHub repositories that depend on NeoSmart.AsyncLock:

Repository Stars
BartoszCichecki/LenovoLegionToolkit
Lightweight Lenovo Vantage and Hotkeys replacement for Lenovo Legion laptops.
Version Downloads Last updated
3.2.1 2,558,559 1/10/2022
3.2.0 20,678 12/15/2021
3.2.0-preview2 1,146 10/29/2021
3.2.0-preview1 776 10/18/2021
3.1.0 133,120 4/29/2021
3.1.0-BETA1 1,167 2/17/2021
3.0.1 35,802 12/18/2020
3.0.0 1,225 12/15/2020
0.3.0.2 593,827 5/17/2017
0.3.0.1 1,513 5/17/2017
0.3.0 1,614 5/17/2017
0.2.0 1,499 5/16/2017
0.1.0 1,889 5/14/2017

3.2: New TryLock() and TryLockAsync() methods, CancellationToken support for synchronous locking routines.

3.0: Smarter method of detecting recursion for faster and more-reliable locking on all platforms.

3.1: Added synchronous locking that may be intermixed with async locking.

3.2: Added TryLock() and TryLockAsync() methods.