Task vs Asynchronous delegates in c#?

Question

I have this simple method :

static int Work (string s) { return s.Length; }

I could run it with :

Task task =          


        

Answer 1

The second form, using IAsyncResult, is significantly older, and much less powerful. Task was introduced in .NET 4, and is the preferred way of representing asynchronous operations now. It's much simpler to use, particularly in C# 5 which supports "asynchronous functions" where you can await a task (or other asynchronous operation) in a non-blocking way.

Using a Task instead of calling BeginInvoke probably won't change much about how the operation itself is executed (although it gives you more options in terms of scheduling etc), but it makes a huge difference from the perspective of the code which wants to "watch" the operation, use the results, wait for multiple tasks, handle failures etc.

If you can possibly use C# 5 (either with .NET 4.5, or with .NET 4 plus the async targeting pack) it will make your life considerably easier when it comes to managing asynchronous operations. It's the way forward :)