rudironsoni dotnet-csharp-concurrency-patterns
Thread synchronization primitives, concurrent data structures, and a decision framework for choosing the right
concurrency mechanism. Covers lock/Monitor, SemaphoreSlim, Interlocked, ConcurrentDictionary,
ConcurrentQueue, ReaderWriterLockSlim, and SpinLock. This skill is the authoritative source for synchronization
and thread-safe data access patterns.
Version assumptions: .NET 8.0+ baseline. All primitives covered are available from .NET Core 1.0+ but examples use modern C# idioms.
Scope
- lock/Monitor, SemaphoreSlim, and Interlocked patterns
- ConcurrentDictionary, ConcurrentQueue, and concurrent collections
- ReaderWriterLockSlim and SpinLock for advanced scenarios
- Concurrency primitive decision framework
Out of scope
- Async/await and Task-based patterns -- see [skill:dotnet-csharp-async-patterns]
- Producer/consumer with Channel -- see [skill:dotnet-channels]
- Naming and style conventions -- see [skill:dotnet-csharp-coding-standards]
Cross-references: [skill:dotnet-csharp-async-patterns] for async/await patterns, [skill:dotnet-channels] for producer/consumer, [skill:dotnet-csharp-coding-standards] for naming conventions.
Concurrency Primitive Decision Framework
Choose the simplest primitive that meets the requirement. Complexity increases downward:
Is the shared state a single scalar (int, long, reference)?
YES -> Use Interlocked (lock-free, lowest overhead)
Is the shared state a key-value lookup or queue?
YES -> Use ConcurrentDictionary / ConcurrentQueue (thread-safe by design)
Does the critical section contain `await`?
YES -> Use SemaphoreSlim (async-compatible via WaitAsync)
NO -> Does the critical section need many readers, few writers?
YES -> Use ReaderWriterLockSlim (only if profiling shows lock contention)
NO -> Use lock (simplest, lowest cognitive overhead)
Is the critical section extremely short (< 100 ns) with high contention?
YES -> Consider SpinLock (advanced, measure first)
```text
### Quick Reference Table
| Primitive | Async-Safe | Reentrant | Use Case |
| --------------------------- | ----------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| `lock` / `Monitor` | No | Yes (same thread) | Short critical sections without `await` |
| `SemaphoreSlim` | Yes (`WaitAsync`) | No | Async-compatible mutual exclusion, throttling |
| `Interlocked` | N/A (lock-free) | N/A | Atomic scalar operations (increment, compare-exchange) |
| `ConcurrentDictionary<K,V>` | N/A (thread-safe) | N/A | Thread-safe key-value cache/lookup |
| `ConcurrentQueue<T>` | N/A (thread-safe) | N/A | Thread-safe FIFO queue |
| `ReaderWriterLockSlim` | No | Optional (`LockRecursionPolicy`) | Many-readers/few-writers (profile-driven only) |
| `SpinLock` | No | No | Ultra-short critical sections under extreme contention |
---
## lock and Monitor
`lock` is syntactic sugar for `Monitor.Enter`/`Monitor.Exit`. Use it for short, synchronous critical sections.
### Correct Usage
```csharp
public sealed class Counter
{
private readonly object _lock = new();
private int _count;
public void Increment()
{
lock (_lock)
{
_count++;
}
}
public int GetCount()
{
lock (_lock)
{
return _count;
}
}
}
```text
### Lock Object Rules
| Rule | Rationale |
| --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Use a private, dedicated `object` field | Prevents external code from locking on the same object |
| Never lock on `this` | Any external code with a reference can cause deadlocks |
| Never lock on `typeof(T)` | Global lock shared by all code in the AppDomain |
| Never lock on string literals | String interning means different code may share the same reference |
| Never lock on value types | Boxing creates a new object each time -- lock is never acquired |
### Monitor.Wait / Monitor.Pulse
For signaling between threads (producer/consumer without `Channel<T>`):
```csharp
public sealed class BoundedBuffer<T>
{
private readonly Queue<T> _queue = new();
private readonly object _lock = new();
private readonly int _maxSize;
public BoundedBuffer(int maxSize) => _maxSize = maxSize;
public void Enqueue(T item)
{
lock (_lock)
{
while (_queue.Count >= _maxSize)
Monitor.Wait(_lock);
_queue.Enqueue(item);
Monitor.Pulse(_lock);
}
}
public T Dequeue()
{
lock (_lock)
{
while (_queue.Count == 0)
Monitor.Wait(_lock);
var item = _queue.Dequeue();
Monitor.Pulse(_lock);
return item;
}
}
}
```text
For modern code, prefer `Channel<T>` (see [skill:dotnet-channels]) over Monitor.Wait/Pulse.
---
## SemaphoreSlim
The only built-in .NET synchronization primitive that supports `await`. Use it whenever a critical section contains
async operations.
### Mutual Exclusion (1,1)
```csharp
public sealed class AsyncCache
{
private readonly SemaphoreSlim _semaphore = new(1, 1);
private readonly Dictionary<string, object> _cache = new();
public async Task<T> GetOrAddAsync<T>(string key,
Func<CancellationToken, Task<T>> factory,
CancellationToken ct = default)
{
await _semaphore.WaitAsync(ct);
try
{
if (_cache.TryGetValue(key, out var existing))
return (T)existing;
var value = await factory(ct);
_cache[key] = value!;
return value;
}
finally
{
_semaphore.Release();
}
}
}
```text
### Throttling (N concurrent operations)
```csharp
public sealed class ThrottledProcessor
{
private readonly SemaphoreSlim _throttle;
public ThrottledProcessor(int maxConcurrency)
=> _throttle = new SemaphoreSlim(maxConcurrency, maxConcurrency);
public async Task ProcessAllAsync(IEnumerable<WorkItem> items,
CancellationToken ct = default)
{
var tasks = items.Select(async item =>
{
await _throttle.WaitAsync(ct);
try
{
await ProcessItemAsync(item, ct);
}
finally
{
_throttle.Release();
}
});
await Task.WhenAll(tasks);
}
private Task ProcessItemAsync(WorkItem item, CancellationToken ct) =>
Task.CompletedTask; // implementation
}
```text
### SemaphoreSlim Disposal
`SemaphoreSlim` implements `IDisposable`. Dispose it when the owning object is disposed:
```csharp
public sealed class ManagedResource : IDisposable
{
private readonly SemaphoreSlim _semaphore = new(1, 1);
public void Dispose() => _semaphore.Dispose();
}
```text
---
## Interlocked Operations
Lock-free atomic operations for scalar values. The lowest-overhead synchronization mechanism.
### Common Operations
```csharp
private int _counter;
private long _totalBytes;
private object? _current;
// Atomic increment / decrement
Interlocked.Increment(ref _counter);
Interlocked.Decrement(ref _counter);
// Atomic add
Interlocked.Add(ref _totalBytes, bytesRead);
// Atomic exchange -- returns the old value
var previous = Interlocked.Exchange(ref _current, newValue);
// Compare-and-swap -- only writes if current value matches expected
var original = Interlocked.CompareExchange(ref _counter,
newValue: 10,
comparand: 0); // Sets to 10 only if current value is 0
```text
### Volatile Read/Write
For visibility guarantees without atomicity (reading the latest value written by another thread):
```csharp
private int _flag;
// Write with release semantics (all prior writes visible to readers)
Volatile.Write(ref _flag, 1);
// Read with acquire semantics (sees all writes prior to the last Volatile.Write)
var value = Volatile.Read(ref _flag);
```text
### Interlocked vs volatile vs lock
| Mechanism | Atomicity | Ordering | Use Case |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| `Interlocked` | Yes | Full fence | Counters, flags, CAS loops |
| `Volatile.Read/Write` | No (single read/write is naturally atomic for aligned <= pointer-size) | Acquire/release | Signal flags, publication patterns |
| `lock` | Yes (for entire block) | Full fence | Multi-step operations on shared state |
---
## ConcurrentDictionary
Thread-safe key-value store. The most commonly used concurrent collection.
### Safe Patterns
```csharp
private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<int, Widget> _cache = new();
// Atomic get-or-add
var widget = _cache.GetOrAdd(id, key => LoadWidget(key));
// Atomic add-or-update
var updated = _cache.AddOrUpdate(id,
addValueFactory: key => CreateDefault(key),
updateValueFactory: (key, existing) => existing with { LastAccessed = DateTime.UtcNow });
// Safe removal
if (_cache.TryRemove(id, out var removed))
{
// Process removed item
}
```text
### Delegate Execution Caveats
`GetOrAdd` and `AddOrUpdate` factory delegates may execute multiple times under contention. Only one result is stored,
but the factory runs for each competing thread:
```csharp
// WRONG -- factory has side effects (database write) that may run multiple times
var widget = _cache.GetOrAdd(id, key =>
{
var w = new Widget(key);
_db.Insert(w); // May execute more than once!
return w;
});
// CORRECT -- use Lazy<T> to ensure factory runs exactly once
private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<int, Lazy<Widget>> _cache = new();
var widget = _cache.GetOrAdd(id,
key => new Lazy<Widget>(() => LoadAndSaveWidget(key))).Value;
```text
### Composite Operations Are Not Atomic
```csharp
// WRONG -- check-then-act race condition
if (!_cache.ContainsKey(key))
{
_cache[key] = ComputeValue(key); // Another thread may have added between check and set
}
// CORRECT -- single atomic operation
var value = _cache.GetOrAdd(key, k => ComputeValue(k));
```text
---
## ReaderWriterLockSlim
Allows concurrent reads while serializing writes. Only beneficial when reads significantly outnumber writes AND
profiling shows `lock` contention on the read path.
```csharp
public sealed class ReadHeavyCache<TKey, TValue> : IDisposable
where TKey : notnull
{
private readonly ReaderWriterLockSlim _rwLock = new();
private readonly Dictionary<TKey, TValue> _data = new();
public TValue? TryGet(TKey key)
{
_rwLock.EnterReadLock();
try
{
return _data.TryGetValue(key, out var value) ? value : default;
}
finally
{
_rwLock.ExitReadLock();
}
}
public void Set(TKey key, TValue value)
{
_rwLock.EnterWriteLock();
try
{
_data[key] = value;
}
finally
{
_rwLock.ExitWriteLock();
}
}
public void Dispose() => _rwLock.Dispose();
}
```text
**When NOT to use ReaderWriterLockSlim:**
- Reads and writes are roughly equal -- `lock` is simpler and faster
- Critical sections contain `await` -- not async-compatible; use `SemaphoreSlim`
- You need a concurrent dictionary -- use `ConcurrentDictionary` directly
---
## SpinLock
A low-level primitive for ultra-short critical sections where thread switching overhead exceeds the wait time. **Measure
before using.**
```csharp
private SpinLock _spinLock = new(enableThreadOwnerTracking: false);
public void UpdateCounter()
{
bool lockTaken = false;
try
{
_spinLock.Enter(ref lockTaken);
_counter++; // Must be extremely fast -- no I/O, no allocations
}
finally
{
if (lockTaken)
_spinLock.Exit(useMemoryBarrier: false);
}
}
```text
**Rules:**
- Never use `SpinLock` for anything longer than ~100 nanoseconds
- Never use in async code (thread affinity required)
- Never use `enableThreadOwnerTracking: true` in production (debug only -- adds overhead)
- `SpinLock` is a `struct` -- always pass by reference, never copy
---
## Thread-Safe Patterns
### Immutable Snapshots
Prefer immutable data for sharing across threads without synchronization:
```csharp
// Thread-safe via immutability -- no locks needed for reads
private ImmutableList<Widget> _widgets = ImmutableList<Widget>.Empty;
public void AddWidget(Widget widget)
{
// Atomic swap using Interlocked.CompareExchange loop
ImmutableList<Widget> original, updated;
do
{
original = _widgets;
updated = original.Add(widget);
}
while (Interlocked.CompareExchange(ref _widgets, updated, original) != original);
}
public ImmutableList<Widget> GetWidgets() => _widgets; // No lock needed
```text
### Double-Checked Locking
For lazy initialization when `Lazy<T>` is not appropriate:
```csharp
private volatile Widget? _instance;
private readonly object _lock = new();
public Widget GetInstance()
{
var instance = _instance;
if (instance is not null)
return instance;
lock (_lock)
{
instance = _instance;
if (instance is not null)
return instance;
instance = CreateWidget();
_instance = instance;
return instance;
}
}
```text
For most cases, prefer `Lazy<T>` which handles this correctly:
```csharp
private readonly Lazy<Widget> _instance = new(() => CreateWidget());
public Widget Instance => _instance.Value;
```csharp
---
## Agent Gotchas
1. **Do not use `lock` inside `async` methods** -- `lock` is thread-affine; the continuation after `await` may resume on
a different thread, causing `SynchronizationLockException`. Use `SemaphoreSlim.WaitAsync` instead.
2. **Do not assume `volatile` provides atomicity** -- `volatile` only provides ordering guarantees (acquire/release
semantics). Compound operations like `_counter++` are still non-atomic on volatile fields. Use `Interlocked` for
atomic operations.
3. **Do not use `ConcurrentDictionary.ContainsKey` followed by indexer set** -- this is a check-then-act race condition.
Use `GetOrAdd`, `AddOrUpdate`, or `TryAdd` for atomic composite operations.
4. **Do not use `ReaderWriterLockSlim` without profiling evidence** -- it has higher overhead than `lock` and is only
beneficial when reads significantly outnumber writes. Default to `lock` and only switch if contention is measured.
5. **Do not copy `SpinLock`** -- it is a struct. Copying creates a new, unlocked instance. Always pass by reference and
store in a field (not a local variable that gets captured by a lambda).
6. **Do not use `lock(this)` or `lock(typeof(T))`** -- external code can acquire the same lock, causing unexpected
contention or deadlocks. Always use a private, dedicated lock object.
7. **Do not forget to release `SemaphoreSlim` in `finally`** -- if an exception occurs between `WaitAsync` and
`Release`, the semaphore stays acquired permanently, blocking all subsequent callers.
8. **Do not assume `GetOrAdd` factory executes exactly once** -- under contention, the factory delegate may run on
multiple threads simultaneously. Only one result is stored, but side effects in the factory execute multiple times.
Use `Lazy<T>` wrapping for exactly-once semantics.
---
## Prerequisites
- .NET 8.0+ SDK
- Understanding of async/await patterns (see [skill:dotnet-csharp-async-patterns])
- Understanding of producer/consumer patterns (see [skill:dotnet-channels])
- `System.Collections.Concurrent` namespace
- `System.Collections.Immutable` namespace (for immutable collection patterns)
---
## References
- [Threading in C# (Joseph Albahari)](https://www.albahari.com/threading/)
- [Concurrency in C# Cookbook (Stephen Cleary)](https://blog.stephencleary.com/)
- [System.Threading.Interlocked](https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/system.threading.interlocked)
- [ConcurrentDictionary best practices](https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/system.collections.concurrent.concurrentdictionary-2)
- [SemaphoreSlim class](https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/system.threading.semaphoreslim)
- [ReaderWriterLockSlim class](https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/system.threading.readerwriterlockslim)