Could there be such a thing as a painless introduction to asynchronous programming which has become the default style for most applications? Read on ...
Asynchronous programming is the default style for most applications. Anything that has a GUI is bound to be asynchronous, as is anything that uses event handling. In most cases you can just ignore the fact that you are working asynchronously and write event handlers without worrying about blocking the thread that makes everything work. There comes a time, however, when an operation typically takes so long that blocking the thread isn't an option and so you need to recognize the fact that your code is executing in an asynchronous environment.

The usual solution is to run the code in a non-blocking mode and use a callback - but this is horribly messy. The new facilities in C# 4.0 for asynchronous programming - the Async CTP - allow you to hide the callbacks in syntactic sugar - and this is really good. It makes your code read more like the order of execution suggests it should and this makes it more meaningful, easier to understand and hence less likely to harbor bugs.
If you would like a painless introduction to the Async CPT then take a look at the videos below produced by the Async team and posted on MSDN. The two sets are identical except one uses C# and the other VB. Each video is around five minutes in length.
If you prefer reading about the Async CTP then see our introductory article: Async, Await and the UI problem.
Visual C#
Introduction to the Async CTP


Offloading Work with TaskEx.Run

Polling and Cancellation

Refactoring Functionality into a Library

Visual Basic
Introduction to the Async CTP

Polling and Cancellation

Offloading Work with TaskEx.Run

Concurrent Downloading with TaskEx.WhenAll

Refactoring Functionality into a Library

More information
Async, Await and the UI problem
The videos on MSDN
The Async forum on MSDN
The Async CTP home page

Microsoft Chooses Linux for IoT 18/04/2018
Microsoft has chosen a Linux kernel for its latest move into IoT, despite the recent launch of Windows 10 IoT. Azure Sphere is the operating system that runs on micro controllers powering IoT devices. [ ... ]
|
Udacity Withdraws Jobs Guarantee 17/04/2018
Udacity's Nanodegree Plus option, in which the Plus was that graduating students would be helped to get a job within 6 months of graduating or receive a full refund of what they had paid for tuition, [ ... ]
| More News |
|