Microsoft® Visual Basic® 2010 Developer’s Handbook

Chapter 28. Programming with the Task Parallel Library (TPL)

In this chapter:
Introduction to Threading
Various Options for Starting a Thread
How to Access Windows Controls from Non-UI Threads
Parallelization with Parallel.For and Parallel.ForEach
Working with Tasks
Synchronizing Threads
What’s Next?

Introduction to Threading

With his theory of relativity, Einstein proved that simultaneity is actually an illusion. A modern computer gives the impression that it really can do multiple things at the same time. For example, my computer is playing The Black Eyed Peas in the background while defragging the hard drive, all while I’m writing this chapter in Microsoft Word. On the surface, these actions might seem as if they’re happening simultaneously, ...