Namespace: System.Threading

The System.Threading namespace provides classes and interfaces that enable multithreaded programming. This namespace includes a ThreadPool class that manages groups of threads, a Timer class that enables a delegate to be called after a specified amount of time, and a Mutex class for synchronizing mutually exclusive threads. System.Threading also provides classes for thread scheduling, wait notification, and deadlock resolution.

Members of System.Threading Namespace

Classes

Class	Description
class AutoResetEvent	Notifies one or more waiting threads that an event has occurred. This class cannot be inherited.
class Interlocked	Provides atomic operations for variables that are shared by multiple threads.
class ManualResetEvent	Occurs when notifying one or more waiting threads that an event has occurred. This class cannot be inherited.
class Monitor	Provides a mechanism that synchronizes access to objects.
class Mutex	A synchronization primitive than can also be used for interprocess synchronization.
class Overlapped	This type supports the .NET Framework infrastructure and is not intended to be used directly from your code. Used to pack and unpack the managed overlapped class to and from the native overlapped class.
class ReaderWriterLock	Defines the lock that implements single-writer and multiple-reader semantics.
class RegisteredWaitHandle	Represents a handle that has been registered when calling ThreadPool.RegisterWaitForSingleObject. This class cannot be inherited.
class SynchronizationLockException	The exception that is thrown when a synchronized method is invoked from an unsynchronized block of code.
class Thread	Creates and controls a thread, sets its priority, and gets its status.
class ThreadAbortException	The exception that is thrown when a call is made to the Thread.Abort method. This class cannot be inherited.
class ThreadInterruptedException	The exception that is thrown when a Thread is interrupted while it is in a waiting state.
class ThreadPool	Provides a pool of threads that can be used to post work items, process asynchronous I/O, wait on behalf of other threads, and process timers.
class ThreadStateException	The exception that is thrown when a Thread is in an invalid Thread.ThreadState for the method call.
class Timeout	Contains a constant used to specify an infinite amount of time. This class cannot be inherited.
class Timer	Provides a mechanism for executing methods at specified intervals. This class cannot be inherited.
class WaitHandle	Encapsulates operating system-specific objects that wait for exclusive access to shared resources.

Structures

Structure	Description
structure LockCookie	Defines the lock that implements single-writer/multiple-reader semantics. This is a value type.
structure NativeOverlapped	Provides an explicit layout that is visible from unmanaged code and that will have the same layout as the Win32 OVERLAPPED structure with additional reserved fields at the end.

Delegates

Delegate	Description
delegate ThreadStart	Represents the method that will handle the event of the Thread class.
delegate TimerCallback	Represents the method that will handle the state of a Timer.
delegate WaitCallback	Defines the callback method for thread pool user work items. That method must match this delegate.
delegate WaitOrTimerCallback	Receives a parameter that determines whether the handle was signaled or the timed out.