SynchronizationContextHelpers

Overview

SynchronizationContextHelpers provides a property and a type to assist working with SynchronizationContext.

CurrentOrDefault returns the current SynchronizationContext unless it is null, in which case it returns a new default SynchronizationContext instance (representing the thread pool).

SynchronizationContextSwitcher temporarily replaces the current SynchronizationContext, and reinstates it when disposed.

API

// Provides helper types for SynchronizationContext.
public static class SynchronizationContextHelpers
{
  // Retrieves the current synchronization context, or the default synchronization context if there is no current synchronization context.
  public static SynchronizationContext CurrentOrDefault { get; }

  // Utility class for temporarily switching SynchronizationContext implementations.
  public sealed class SynchronizationContextSwitcher : IDisposable
  {
    // Initializes a new instance of the SynchronizationContextSwitcher class, installing the new SynchronizationContext.
    public SynchronizationContextSwitcher(SynchronizationContext newContext);
  }
}

Platform Support

The full API is available on all platforms; however, the SynchronizationContextSwitcher may not work due to security restrictions. This is particularly a problem on Silverlight and Windows Phone platforms.