I was researching timers the other day and realized that there are three variations in the .NET Framework.

The three types of timers are explained below.

1 – System.Timers.Timer

The System.Timers.Timer class timer is considered a server-based timer that was designed and optimized for use in multithreaded environments. It can be accessed safely from multiple threads.

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2 – System.Threading.Timer

The System.Threading.Timer class timer uses a TimerCallBack Delegate to specify the associated methods. The methods do not execute in the thread that created the timer; they execute in a separate thread that is automatically allocated by the system.

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3 – Windows.Forms.Timer

The Windows.Forms.Timer class works synchronously with the Windows Form, so that it will not interrupt any operations. It initializes on the UI thread.

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There are three choices for timers in .NET.  It just depends on what you want to do.

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More Information

• Comparing the Timer Classes in the .NET Framework Class Library
• System.Timers.Timer vs System.Threading.Timer
• Working with Timer Control in VB.NET

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Until next time…