Thread.VolatileWrite Method (Byte, Byte) (System.Threading)

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.NET Framework Class Library
Thread.VolatileWrite Method (Byte%, Byte)

Updated: May 2011

Writes a value to a field immediately, so that the value is visible to all processors in the computer.

Namespace:  System.Threading
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Syntax
Visual Basic
Public Shared Sub VolatileWrite ( _
	ByRef address As Byte, _
	value As Byte _
)
C#
public static void VolatileWrite(
	ref byte address,
	byte value
)
Visual C++
public:
static void VolatileWrite(
	unsigned char% address, 
	unsigned char value
)
F#
static member VolatileWrite : 
        address:byte byref * 
        value:byte -> unit

Parameters

address
Type: System.Byte%
The field to which the value is to be written.
value
Type: System.Byte
The value to be written.
Remarks

VolatileRead and VolatileWrite are for special cases of synchronization. Under normal circumstances, the C# lock statement, the Visual Basic SyncLock statement, and the Monitor class provide easier alternatives.

On a multiprocessor system, VolatileWrite ensures that a value written to a memory location is immediately visible to all processors. This might require flushing processor caches.

Even on a uniprocessor system, VolatileRead and VolatileWrite ensure that a value is read or written to memory, and not cached (for example, in a processor register). Thus, you can use them to synchronize access to a field that can be updated by another thread, or by hardware.

Calling this method affects only a single memory access. To provide effective synchronization for a field, all access to the field must use VolatileRead or VolatileWrite.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1
Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
See Also

Reference

Thread Class
VolatileWrite Overload
System.Threading Namespace
Change History

Date

History

Reason

May 2011

Removed erroneous statement about C#.

Content bug fix.