Compares two 32-bit signed integers for equality and, if they are equal, replaces one of the values.

[Visual Basic]
Overloads Public Shared Function CompareExchange( _
   ByRef location1 As Integer, _
   ByVal value As Integer, _
   ByVal comparand As Integer _
) As Integer
[C#]
public static int CompareExchange(
   ref int location1,
 int value,
 int comparand
);
[C++]
public: static int CompareExchange(
 int* location1,
 int value,
 int comparand
);
[JScript]
public static function CompareExchange(
   location1 : int,
 value : int,
 comparand : int
) : int;

Parameters

location1

The destination value that will be compared with the value of the comparand parameter and will possibly be replaced.

value

The value that will replace the destination value if the comparison results in equality.

comparand

The value to be compared to the location1 parameter.

Return Value

The original value of the location1 parameter.

Remarks

If comparand and location1 are equal, then value is stored in the destination. Otherwise, no operation is performed. The compare and exchange operations are performed as an atomic operation.

Example

[Visual Basic] 
' This example demonstrates a thread-safe method that adds to a
' running total.  It cannot be run directly.  You can compile it
' as a library, or add the class to a project.
Imports System.Threading

Public Class ThreadSafe
    ' Field totalValue contains a running total that can be updated
    ' by multiple threads. It must be protected from unsynchronized 
    ' access.
    Private totalValue As Integer = 0

    ' The Total property returns the running total.
    Public ReadOnly Property Total As Integer
        Get
            Return totalValue
        End Get
    End Property

    ' AddToTotal safely adds a value to the running total.
    Public Function AddToTotal(ByVal addend As Integer) As Integer
        Dim initialValue, computedValue As Integer
        Do
            ' Save the current running total in a local variable.
            initialValue = totalValue

            ' Add the new value to the running total.
            computedValue = initialValue + addend

            ' CompareExchange compares totalValue to initialValue. If
            ' they are not equal, then another thread has updated the
            ' running total since this loop started. CompareExchange
            ' does not update totalValue. CompareExchange returns the
            ' contents of totalValue, which do not equal initialValue,
            ' so the loop executes again.
        Loop While initialValue <> Interlocked.CompareExchange( _
            totalValue, computedValue, initialValue)
        ' If no other thread updated the running total, then 
        ' totalValue and initialValue are equal when CompareExchange
        ' compares them, and computedValue is stored in totalValue.
        ' CompareExchange returns the value that was in totalValue
        ' before the update, which is equal to initialValue, so the 
        ' loop ends.

        ' The function returns computedValue, not totalValue, because
        ' totalValue could be changed by another thread between
        ' the time the loop ends and the function returns.
        Return computedValue
    End Function
End Class

[C#] 
// This example demonstrates a thread-safe method that adds to a
// running total.  It cannot be run directly.  You can compile it
// as a library, or add the class to a project.
using System.Threading;

public class ThreadSafe {
    // totalValue contains a running total that can be updated
    // by multiple threads. It must be protected from unsynchronized 
    // access.
    private int totalValue = 0;

    // The Total property returns the running total.
    public int Total {
        get { return totalValue; }
    }

    // AddToTotal safely adds a value to the running total.
    public int AddToTotal(int addend) {
        int initialValue, computedValue;
        do {
            // Save the current running total in a local variable.
            initialValue = totalValue;

            // Add the new value to the running total.
            computedValue = initialValue + addend;

            // CompareExchange compares totalValue to initialValue. If
            // they are not equal, then another thread has updated the
            // running total since this loop started. CompareExchange
            // does not update totalValue. CompareExchange returns the
            // contents of totalValue, which do not equal initialValue,
            // so the loop executes again.
        } while (initialValue != Interlocked.CompareExchange(
            ref totalValue, computedValue, initialValue));
        // If no other thread updated the running total, then 
        // totalValue and initialValue are equal when CompareExchange
        // compares them, and computedValue is stored in totalValue.
        // CompareExchange returns the value that was in totalValue
        // before the update, which is equal to initialValue, so the 
        // loop ends.

        // The function returns computedValue, not totalValue, because
        // totalValue could be changed by another thread between
        // the time the loop ends and the function returns.
        return computedValue;
    }
}

[C++] 
// This example demonstrates a thread-safe method that adds to a
// running total.  It cannot be run directly.  You can compile it
// as a library, or add the class to a project.

#using <mscorlib.dll>
#using <system.dll>

using namespace System::Threading;

public __gc class ThreadSafe 
{
    // totalValue contains a running total that can be updated
    // by multiple threads. It must be protected from unsynchronized 
    // access.
private:
    int totalValue;

    // The Total property returns the running total.
public:
    __property int get_Total()
    {
        return totalValue;
    }

    // AddToTotal safely adds a value to the running total.
public:
    int AddToTotal(int addend) 
    {
        int initialValue, computedValue;
        do 
        {
            // Save the current running total in a local variable.
            initialValue = totalValue;

            // Add the new value to the running total.
            computedValue = initialValue + addend;

            // CompareExchange compares totalValue to initialValue. If
            // they are not equal, then another thread has updated the
            // running total since this loop started. CompareExchange
            // does not update totalValue. CompareExchange returns the
            // contents of totalValue, which do not equal initialValue,
            // so the loop executes again.
        }
        while (initialValue != Interlocked::CompareExchange(&totalValue, computedValue, initialValue));
        // If no other thread updated the running total, then 
        // totalValue and initialValue are equal when CompareExchange
        // compares them, and computedValue is stored in totalValue.
        // CompareExchange returns the value that was in totalValue
        // before the update, which is equal to initialValue, so the 
        // loop ends.

        // The function returns computedValue, not totalValue, because
        // totalValue could be changed by another thread between
        // the time the loop ends and the function returns.
        return computedValue;
    }
};

[JScript] No example is available for JScript. To view a Visual Basic, C#, or C++ example, click the Language Filter button in the upper-left corner of the page.

Requirements

Platforms: Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003 family, .NET Compact Framework, Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) Standard

See Also

Interlocked Class | Interlocked Members | System.Threading Namespace | Interlocked.CompareExchange Overload List | Threading | Interlocked