ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue Class

Implements a thread-safe dictionary, which can be a good alternative for ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue where it is not available (.NET Framework 3.5), or where ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue has a poorer performance.

Definition

Namespace: KGySoft.Collections
Assembly: KGySoft.CoreLibraries (in KGySoft.CoreLibraries.dll) Version: 9.0.0-preview.1
C#
[SerializableAttribute]
public class ThreadSafeDictionary<TKey, TValue> : IDictionary<TKey, TValue>, 
	ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>, IEnumerable<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>, 
	IEnumerable, IDictionary, ICollection, ISerializable, IDeserializationCallback, 
	IReadOnlyDictionary<TKey, TValue>, IReadOnlyCollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>
Inheritance
Object    ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue
Implements
ICollectionKeyValuePairTKey, TValue, IDictionaryTKey, TValue, IEnumerableKeyValuePairTKey, TValue, IReadOnlyCollectionKeyValuePairTKey, TValue, IReadOnlyDictionaryTKey, TValue, ICollection, IDictionary, IEnumerable, IDeserializationCallback, ISerializable

Type Parameters

TKey
Type of the keys stored in the dictionary.
TValue
Type of the values stored in the dictionary.

Remarks

The purpose of ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue is similar to ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue but its approach is somewhat different. The ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue uses a group of locks to perform modifications (their amount can be configured or depends on the number of CPU cores); on the other hand, ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue uses two separate internal storage: items with new keys are added to a temporary storage using a single lock, which might regularly be merged into a faster lock-free storage, depending on the value of the MergeInterval property. Once the items are merged, their access (both read and write) becomes lock free. Even deleting and re-adding a value for the same key becomes faster after the key is merged into the lock-free storage.

  Note

Therefore, ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue is not always a good alternative of ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue. If new keys are continuously added, then always a shared lock is used, in which case ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue might perform better, unless you need to use some members, which are very slow in ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue (see the table below). If the newly added elements are regularly removed, make sure the PreserveMergedKeys property is ; otherwise, the already merged keys are not removed from the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue even if they are deleted or when you call the Clear method. To remove even the merged keys you must call the Reset method, or to remove the deleted keys only you can explicitly call the TrimExcess method.

Comparison with ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue

When to use ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue:

  • If it is known that a fixed set of keys will be used. ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue is fast if the already added keys are updated, or even deleted and re-added with any value. In this case consider to set the PreserveMergedKeys to , so it is not checked whether a cleanup should be performed due to many deleted items.
  • If you access mainly existing keys by the AddOrUpdate methods, which are separate try get/add/update operations at ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue but are optimized at ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue to avoid multiple lookups.
  • If it is needed to access Count, enumerate the items or Keys/Values, or you need to call ToArray, which are particularly slow in case of ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue.
  • If it is expected that there will be many hash collisions.
  • If the dictionary is needed to be serialized.

Performance comparison with ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue (default concurrency level depends on ProcessorCount):

Member(s) or operationThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValueConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue, concurrency level = 2ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue, concurrency level = 8
CountFastest5.01x slower530.44x slower
TryAdd (10 million new keys, sequential)1.07x slowerFastest1.25x slower
TryAdd (10 million new keys, parallel)1.02x slowerFastest1.53x slower
TryGetValue (no collisions, TKey is int)1.55x slowerFastestFastest
TryGetValue (no collisions, TKey is string)Fastest1.26x slower1.26x slower
TryGetValue (many key collisions)Fastest1.92x slower2.01x slower
Indexer set (sequential, TKey is int)Fastest1.07x slower1.07x slower
Indexer set (parallel, TKey is int)Fastest2.03x slower1.01x slower
TryUpdate (sequential)Fastest1.21x slower1.17x slower
TryUpdate (parallel)Fastest4.02x slower1.27x slower
TryRemove + TryAdd (same key, sequential)Fastest1.12x slower1.16x slower
TryRemove + TryAdd (same key, parallel)Fastest2.53x slower2.43x slower
Enumerating itemsFastest2.87x slower262.45x slower
Enumerating KeysFastest117.92x slower368.11x slower
ToArray1.69x slowerFastest2.12x slower
AddOrUpdate (random existing keys, sequential)Fastest3.35x slower3.16x slower
AddOrUpdate (random existing keys, parallel)Fastest9.74x slower2.27x slower
GetOrAdd (random existing keys)1.11x slowerFastestFastest

Incompatibilities with ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue:

  • Constructor signatures are different
  • The Keys and Values property of ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue return wrappers for the current keys and values (enumerating the same instance again and again may yield different items), whereas ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue returns a snapshot for these properties.
  • The SyncRoot property of Keys and Values throw a NotSupportedException just like for their owner ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue instance. In contrast, in case of ConcurrentDictionaryTKey, TValue only the dictionary itself throws an exception when accessing the SyncRoot, whereas its keys and values don't.

Incompatibilities with DictionaryTKey, TValue:

Constructors

ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue Initializes a new instance of the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue class that is empty and uses the default comparer and Auto hashing strategy.
ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue(IEqualityComparerTKey, HashingStrategy) Initializes a new instance of the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue class that is empty and uses the specified comparer and hashing strategy.
ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue(Int32, HashingStrategy) Initializes a new instance of the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue class that is empty and uses the default comparer and the specified hashing strategy.
ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue(SerializationInfo, StreamingContext) Initializes a new instance of the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue class from serialized data.
ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue(IEnumerableKeyValuePairTKey, TValue, IEqualityComparerTKey, HashingStrategy) Initializes a new instance of the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue class from the specified collection and uses the specified comparer and hashing strategy.
ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue(Int32, IEqualityComparerTKey, HashingStrategy) Initializes a new instance of the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue class that is empty and uses the specified comparer and hashing strategy.

Properties

Comparer Gets the IEqualityComparerT that is used to determine equality of keys for this ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.
Count Gets the number of elements contained in this ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.
IsEmpty Gets whether this ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue is empty.
Item Gets or sets the value associated with the specified key.
Keys Gets a collection reflecting the keys stored in this ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.
MergeInterval Gets or sets the minimum lifetime for the temporarily created internal locking storage when adding new keys to the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.
Default value: 100 milliseconds.
PreserveMergedKeys Gets or sets whether keys of entries that have already been merged into the faster lock-free storage are preserved even when their value is removed.
Default value: .
Values Gets a collection reflecting the values stored in this ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.

Methods

Add Adds an element with the provided key and value to the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.
AddOrUpdate(TKey, TValue, TValue) Adds or updates a key/value pair in the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue based on whether the specified key already exists.
AddOrUpdate(TKey, TValue, FuncTKey, TValue, TValue) Adds a key/value pair to the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue if the key does not already exist, or updates a key/value pair in the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue by using the specified updateValueFactory if the key already exists.
AddOrUpdate(TKey, FuncTKey, TValue, FuncTKey, TValue, TValue) Uses the specified delegates to add a key/value pair to the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue if the key does not already exist, or to update a key/value pair in the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue if the key already exists.
AddOrUpdateTArg(TKey, FuncTKey, TArg, TValue, FuncTKey, TValue, TArg, TValue, TArg) Uses the specified delegates to add a key/value pair to the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue if the key does not already exist, or to update a key/value pair in the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue if the key already exists.
Clear Removes all items from the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.
ContainsKey Determines whether the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue contains an element with the specified key.
ContainsValue Determines whether the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue contains an element with the specified value.
EnsureMerged Ensures that all elements in this ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue are merged into the faster lock-free storage.
See the Remarks section of the MergeInterval property for details.
GetEnumerator Returns an enumerator that iterates through the keys and values of this ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.
GetObjectData In a derived class populates a SerializationInfo with the additional data of the derived type needed to serialize the target object.
GetOrAdd(TKey, TValue) Adds a key/value pair to the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue if the key does not already exist, and returns either the added or the existing value.
GetOrAdd(TKey, FuncTKey, TValue) Adds a key/value pair to the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue by using the specified addValueFactory if the key does not already exist, and returns either the added or the existing value.
GetOrAddTArg(TKey, FuncTKey, TArg, TValue, TArg) Adds a key/value pair to the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue by using the specified addValueFactory if the key does not already exist, and returns either the added or the existing value.
OnDeserialization In a derived class restores the state the deserialized instance.
Remove Tries to remove the value with the specified key from the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue. This method just calls the TryRemove method. It exists just for providing compatibility with the DictionaryTKey, TValue type.
Reset Removes all keys and values from the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.
See the Remarks section of the Clear method for details.
ToArray Copies the key and value pairs stored in the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue to a new array.
TrimExcess Forces to perform a merge while removing all possibly allocated but already deleted entries from the lock-free storage, even if the PreserveMergedKeys property is .
See the Remarks section of the PreserveMergedKeys property for details.
TryAdd Tries to add the specified key and value to the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.
TryGetValue Tries to get the value associated with the specified key from the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.
TryRemove(TKey) Tries to remove the value with the specified key from the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.
TryRemove(TKey, TValue) Tries to remove the item from the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue that has the specified key and value.
TryRemove(TKey, TValue) Tries to remove and return the value with the specified key from the ThreadSafeDictionaryTKey, TValue.
TryUpdate Updates the value associated with key to newValue if the existing value with key is equal to originalValue.

Extension Methods

AddRangeKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Adds a collection to the target ICollectionT.
(Defined by CollectionExtensions)
AsThreadSafeKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Returns a LockingCollectionT, which provides a thread-safe wrapper for the specified collection. This only means that if the members are accessed through the returned LockingCollectionT, then the inner state of the wrapped collection remains always consistent and not that all the multi-threading concerns can be ignored.
See the Remarks section of the LockingCollectionT class for details and some examples.
(Defined by CollectionExtensions)
Convert Converts an Object specified in the obj parameter to the desired targetType.
See the Examples section of the generic ConvertTTarget(Object, CultureInfo) overload for an example.
(Defined by ObjectExtensions)
ConvertTTarget Converts an Object specified in the obj parameter to the desired TTarget.
(Defined by ObjectExtensions)
ForEachKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Similarly to the List<T>.ForEach method, processes an action on each element of an enumerable collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
GetRandomElementKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Gets a random element from the enumerable source using a new FastRandom instance.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
GetRandomElementKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Gets a random element from the enumerable source using a specified Random instance.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
In Gets whether item is among the elements of set.
See the Examples section of the generic InT(T, T) overload for an example.
(Defined by ObjectExtensions)
IndexOf Searches for an element in the source enumeration where the specified predicate returns .
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
IndexOf Searches for an element in the source enumeration.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
IndexOfKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Searches for an element in the source enumeration where the specified predicate returns .
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
IndexOfKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Searches for an element in the source enumeration.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
IsNullOrEmpty Determines whether the specified source is or empty (has no elements).
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
IsNullOrEmptyKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Determines whether the specified source is or empty (has no elements).
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
JoinKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Concatenates the items of the source collection into a new string instance using the specified separator between the items.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
JoinKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Concatenates the items of the source collection into a new string instance using the specified separator between the items.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
ShuffleKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Shuffles an enumerable source (randomizes its elements) using a new FastRandom instance.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
ShuffleKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Shuffles an enumerable source (randomizes its elements) using the provided seed with a new FastRandom instance.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
ShuffleKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Shuffles an enumerable source (randomizes its elements) using the provided seed with a new FastRandom instance.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
ShuffleKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Shuffles an enumerable source (randomizes its elements) using a specified Random instance.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
ToCircularListKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Creates a CircularListT from an IEnumerableT.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
ToStringKeyedDictionaryKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Creates a StringKeyedDictionaryTValue from an IEnumerableT instance using the specified keySelector delegate and a comparer.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
ToStringKeyedDictionaryKeyValuePairTKey, TValue, TValue Creates a StringKeyedDictionaryTValue from an IEnumerableT instance using the specified key and value selector delegates and a comparer.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryAdd Tries to add the specified item to the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryAddKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Tries to add the specified item to the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryAddRange Tries to add the specified collection to the target collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryAddRangeKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Tries to add the specified collection to the target collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryClear Tries to remove all elements from the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryClearKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Tries to remove all elements from the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryConvert Tries to convert an Object specified in the obj parameter to the desired targetType.
See the Examples section of the ConvertTTarget(Object, CultureInfo) method for a related example.
(Defined by ObjectExtensions)
TryConvert Tries to convert an Object specified in the obj parameter to the desired targetType.
See the Examples section of the ConvertTTarget(Object, CultureInfo) method for a related example.
(Defined by ObjectExtensions)
TryConvertTTarget Tries to convert an Object specified in the obj parameter to the desired TTarget.
See the Examples section of the ConvertTTarget(Object, CultureInfo) method for a related example.
(Defined by ObjectExtensions)
TryConvertTTarget Tries to convert an Object specified in the obj parameter to the desired TTarget.
See the Examples section of the ConvertTTarget(Object, CultureInfo) method for a related example.
(Defined by ObjectExtensions)
TryGetCount Tries to get the number of elements in the source enumeration without enumerating it.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryGetCountKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Tries to get the number of elements in the source enumeration without enumerating it.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryGetElementAt Tries to get an item at the specified index in the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryGetElementAtKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Tries to get an item at the specified index in the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryInsert Tries to insert the specified item at the specified index to the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryInsertKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Tries to insert the specified item at the specified index to the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryInsertRange Tries to insert the specified collection into the target collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryInsertRangeKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Tries to insert the specified collection into the target collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryRemove Tries to remove the specified item from to the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryRemoveKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Tries to remove the specified item from to the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryRemoveAt Tries to remove an item at the specified index from the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryRemoveAtKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Tries to remove an item at the specified index from the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryRemoveRange Tries to remove count amount of items from the specified collection at the specified index.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryRemoveRangeKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Tries to remove count amount of items from the specified collection at the specified index.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryReplaceRange Tries to remove count amount of items from the target at the specified index, and to insert the specified collection at the same position. The number of elements in collection can be different from the amount of removed items.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TryReplaceRangeKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Tries to remove count amount of items from the target at the specified index, and to insert the specified collection at the same position. The number of elements in collection can be different from the amount of removed items.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TrySetElementAt Tries to set the specified item at the specified index in the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)
TrySetElementAtKeyValuePairTKey, TValue Tries to set the specified item at the specified index in the collection.
(Defined by EnumerableExtensions)

Thread Safety

Static members of this type are safe for multi-threaded operations. Instance members of this type are safe for multi-threaded operations.

See Also