[iLL]

So why is it that we need to use the Invoke method when updating the GUI?

The following is the way we are suppose to update GUI components:

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1. delegate void textIt(object o);
2. public partial class Form1 : Form
3. {
4.         public Form1()
5.         {
6.             InitializeComponent();
7.         }
8.         private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
9.         {
10.             //Main Thread
11.             Label l = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
12.             this.Controls.Add(l);
13.  
14.             System.Threading.Thread testThread = new System.Threading.Thread(new System.Threading.ParameterizedThreadStart(testStart));
15.             testThread.Start(l);
16.  
17.         }
18.         private void testStart(object o)
19.         {
20.             //testThread
21.             if (((Label)o).InvokeRequired)
22.             {
23.                 textIt t = new textIt(testStart);
24.                 this.Invoke(t, o);
25.             }
26.             else
27.             {
28.                 ((Label)o).Text = "TEST";
29.             }
30.        }
31. }
32.  

If I delete the delegate and change the method testStart(object o) to:

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1. private void testStart(object o)
2. {
3.        ((Label)o).Text = "TEST";
4. }
5.  

I don't get any problems. In fact, I have yet to have a problem with X number of threads changing the GUI directly as long as I implement mutual exclusion correctly.

I have read that the properties cannot be changed by any thread other then the one that created it. Is that a suggestion or a fact? If it is a suggestion, then what could go wrong? If it is a fact then how is it that I have been accessing the properties directly from different threads? does the compiler rewrite the code so that it does call Invoke?

[iLL]

Sorry for this but... Bump

[Plater]

It's not that they "CANNOT" it's that they "SHOULD NOT"
You will only ever see an exception when in debug mode.
What it could cause is messages coming in mixed up with each other because one thread tries to access the gui object while another one is in the middle of it.

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1. private delegate void ChangeTextCallback(string msg);
2.  
3. private void SetLabelText(string msg)
4. {
5.     if (this.InvokeRequired)
6.     {
7.         ChangeTextCallback d = new ChangeTextCallback(SetLabelText);
8.         this.Invoke(d, msg);
9.     }
10.     else
11.     {
12.         myLabel1.Text = msg;
13.     }
14. }
15.  

[iLL]

I'm still a little confused

If I implement mutual exclusion properly, then do I still need to worry about implementing it this way?

And if I do use this method, do I still need to use locks? And if not, what if two different threads call Invoke at the same time, how does that work? Does some sort of stack keep track of waiting Invoke calls?

[Plater]

If I understand correctly, invoke sends out a special windows message on the message pump with the applicable data as a payload.
So if multiple threads call invoke, multiple messages will be sent out, but processed one at a time?

[iLL]

Thanks ;)

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