Synchronizing Multiple Threads in the ThreadPool

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Introduction

This snippet demonstrates one way of synchronizing multiple user worker threads by means of ManualResetEvents. I came across the question wherein you might have a number of computational threads and each thread has a number of computational stages. The constraint was that none of the threads can proceed to the next stage 'n+1' unless all threads completed stage 'n'.

Background

ThreadPool is beneficial in cases when the threads are not highly CPU intensive and are not prioritized. By using the thread pool, you save valuable resources on the actual thread creation.

Using the Code

The project consists of three main objects:

• The GUI frmSwitchBoard
• The synchronizing object CPoolSynchronizer
• The object CComputeItem containing compute functions 'func'

From the GUI, you can control how many compute threads you wish to place in the ThreadPool.

You might also find it useful how to interact with WinForm controls asynchronously. CComputeItems update the progress independently from each other by calling Invoke() on the control.

History

• 17^th January, 2006 - Initial version submitted