Net4x.SmartThreadPool 1.5.0.7

Net4x.SmartThreadPool

Net4x.SmartThreadPool is a lightweight, cross-targeted thread pool implementation and utilities intended for desktop and server scenarios where you need more control than the CLR thread-pool provides or where you must support older .NET frameworks.

Authors: Piero Viano

Purpose

This project provides a flexible thread-pool abstraction with helpers for queuing work items, scheduling delayed or periodic tasks, and controlling worker thread behavior across many target frameworks (including legacy .NET Framework versions). It is useful when you need deterministic task scheduling, custom throttling, or compatibility with older runtimes that don't expose newer concurrency primitives.

Key features

• Queue and execute work items on a managed thread pool
• Support for delayed and periodic scheduling (timer-like helpers)
• Work item prioritization and cancellation support (where available)
• Lightweight APIs suitable for embedding in libraries that target multiple TFMs
• Builds for many TFMs including net20..net48, netstandard2.0, and modern net5+/net6+/net7+ configurations

Supported targets

The project includes builds that target a wide range of frameworks. Typical TFMs include:

• .NET Framework 2.0 through 4.8
• .NET Standard 2.0
• .NET 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (and Windows-specific variations where applicable)

See the project file Net4x.SmartThreadPool.csproj for the exact TFMs produced by this project.

Quick start

Add a reference to the Net4x.SmartThreadPool project or the built assembly appropriate for your target framework, then queue work items or schedule timers.

Example (conceptual):

// Create or obtain a SmartThreadPool instance (factory or static API may exist)
using(var pool = new Net4x.SmartThreadPool.SmartThreadPool(maxWorkers: 4))
{
    // Queue a short-running action
    pool.QueueWorkItem(() => {
        // do background work
    });

    // Queue work with a result and wait for completion
    var handle = pool.QueueWorkItem(() => ComputeResult());
    var result = handle.WaitForResult();

    // Schedule a periodic task
    var timer = pool.SchedulePeriodic(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1), () => {
        // periodic work
    });

    // Cancel a queued or running work item if supported
    handle.Cancel();
}

Note: The public API surface may vary between TFMs. Check the source types under src/SmartThreadPool for exact type and member names.

Building

• For SDK-style configurations (netstandard/net5+): use dotnet build in the src/SmartThreadPool project directory.
• For .NET Framework targets: open the containing solution in Visual Studio and build the specific project configuration.

Build only the TFMs you need � the repository contains many cross-targeted project configurations.

Tests

Unit tests for the SmartThreadPool are located in corresponding test projects under tests/. Use dotnet test for SDK-style projects or run tests from Visual Studio for .NET Framework test projects.

Contributing

Contributions and bug reports are welcome. Please:

• Open an issue describing the problem or feature request.
• Provide small, focused pull requests when possible.
• Add or update unit tests for any behavioral changes.

If you want the README to contain exact code samples using the project's real public types and members, I can extract those names from the code and update the examples accordingly.

License

See the repository LICENSE.txt for licensing details.