How can I convert this foreach code to Parallel.ForEach?

Question

I am a bit of confused about Parallel.ForEach.
What is Parallel.ForEach and what does it exactly do?
Please don't reference any MSDN link.

Here's a simple example :

string[] lines = File.ReadAllLines(txtProxyListPath.Text);
List<string> list_lines = new List<string>(lines);

foreach (string line in list_lines)
{
    //My Stuff
}

How can I rewrite this example with Parallel.ForEach?

Answer 1

Foreach loop:

• Iterations takes place sequentially, one by one
• foreach loop is run from a single Thread.
• foreach loop is defined in every framework of .NET
• Execution of slow processes can be slower, as they're run serially
  • Process 2 can't start until 1 is done. Process 3 can't start until 2 & 1 are done...
• Execution of quick processes can be faster, as there is no threading overhead

Parallel.ForEach:

• Execution takes place in parallel way.
• Parallel.ForEach uses multiple Threads.
• Parallel.ForEach is defined in .Net 4.0 and above frameworks.
• Execution of slow processes can be faster, as they can be run in parallel
  • Processes 1, 2, & 3 may run concurrently (see reused threads in example, below)
• Execution of quick processes can be slower, because of additional threading overhead

The following example clearly demonstrates the difference between traditional foreach loop and

Parallel.ForEach() Example

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace ParallelForEachExample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main()
        {
            string[] colors = {
                                  "1. Red",
                                  "2. Green",
                                  "3. Blue",
                                  "4. Yellow",
                                  "5. White",
                                  "6. Black",
                                  "7. Violet",
                                  "8. Brown",
                                  "9. Orange",
                                  "10. Pink"
                              };
            Console.WriteLine("Traditional foreach loop\n");
            //start the stopwatch for "for" loop
            var sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
            foreach (string color in colors)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("{0}, Thread Id= {1}", color, Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
                Thread.Sleep(10);
            }
            Console.WriteLine("foreach loop execution time = {0} seconds\n", sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds);
            Console.WriteLine("Using Parallel.ForEach");
            //start the stopwatch for "Parallel.ForEach"
             sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
            Parallel.ForEach(colors, color =>
            {
                Console.WriteLine("{0}, Thread Id= {1}", color, Thread.CurrentThread.ManagedThreadId);
                Thread.Sleep(10);
            }
            );
            Console.WriteLine("Parallel.ForEach() execution time = {0} seconds", sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds);
            Console.Read();
        }
    }
}

Output

Traditional foreach loop
1. Red, Thread Id= 10
2. Green, Thread Id= 10
3. Blue, Thread Id= 10
4. Yellow, Thread Id= 10
5. White, Thread Id= 10
6. Black, Thread Id= 10
7. Violet, Thread Id= 10
8. Brown, Thread Id= 10
9. Orange, Thread Id= 10
10. Pink, Thread Id= 10
foreach loop execution time = 0.1054376 seconds

Using Parallel.ForEach example

1. Red, Thread Id= 10
3. Blue, Thread Id= 11
4. Yellow, Thread Id= 11
2. Green, Thread Id= 10
5. White, Thread Id= 12
7. Violet, Thread Id= 14
9. Orange, Thread Id= 13
6. Black, Thread Id= 11
8. Brown, Thread Id= 10
10. Pink, Thread Id= 12
Parallel.ForEach() execution time = 0.055976 seconds