Sets the number of idle threads the ThreadPool maintains in anticipation of new requests.

[Visual Basic]
Public Shared Function SetMinThreads( _
   ByVal workerThreads As Integer, _
   ByVal completionPortThreads As Integer _
) As Boolean
[C#]
public static bool SetMinThreads(
 int workerThreads,
 int completionPortThreads
);
[C++]
public: static bool SetMinThreads(
 int workerThreads,
 int completionPortThreads
);
[JScript]
public static function SetMinThreads(
   workerThreads : int,
 completionPortThreads : int
) : Boolean;

Parameters

workerThreads

The new minimum number of idle worker threads to be maintained by the thread pool.

completionPortThreads

The new minimum number of idle asynchronous I/O threads to be maintained by the thread pool.

Remarks

Idle threads are maintained by the thread pool in order to reduce the time required to satisfy requests for thread pool threads. Idle threads in excess of the minimums are terminated, to save system resources. Maintenance of the idle threads is a background task.

Note    GetMinThreads and SetMinThreads retrieve and set the total number of idle threads maintained by the thread pool, regardless of the number of processors in the computer.

If you specify a negative number or a number larger than the maximum number of active thread pool threads (obtained using GetMaxThreads), SetMinThreads returns false and does not change either of the minimum values.

CAUTION   Reducing the number of idle threads to less than the number of processors can hurt performance. Maintaining a large number of idle threads consumes system resources. You may need to tune the number to achieve the best overall performance. A small increase in the number of idle threads can produce a significant improvement in throughput in applications that have periods of inactivity followed by bursts of heavy activity.

Example

[Visual Basic, C#, C++] The following example sets the minimum number of idle worker threads to four (4), and preserves the original value for the minimum number of idle IO completion threads.

[Visual Basic] 
Imports System
Imports System.Threading

Public Class Test
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        Dim minWorker, minIOC As Integer
        ' Get the current settings.
        ThreadPool.GetMinThreads(minWorker, minIOC)
        ' Change the minimum number of worker threads to four, but
        ' keep the old setting for minimum asynchronous I/O 
        ' completion threads.
        If ThreadPool.SetMinThreads(4, minIOC) Then
            ' The minimum number of threads was set successfully.
        Else
            ' The minimum number of threads was not changed.
        End If
    End Sub
End Class

[C#] 
using System;
using System.Threading;

public class Test
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        int minWorker, minIOC;
        // Get the current settings.
        ThreadPool.GetMinThreads(out minWorker, out minIOC);
        // Change the minimum number of worker threads to four, but
        // keep the old setting for minimum asynchronous I/O 
        // completion threads.
        if (ThreadPool.SetMinThreads(4, minIOC))
        {
            // The minimum number of threads was set successfully.
        }
        else
        {
            // The minimum number of threads was not changed.
        }
    }
}

[C++] 
#using <mscorlib.dll>

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Threading;

int main()
{
    int minWorker, minIOC;
    // Get the current settings.
    ThreadPool::GetMinThreads(&minWorker, &minIOC);
    // Change the minimum number of worker threads to four, but
    // keep the old setting for minimum asynchronous I/O
    // completion threads.
    if (ThreadPool::SetMinThreads(4, minIOC))
    {
        // The minimum number of threads was set successfully.
    }
    else
    {
        // The minimum number of threads was not changed.
    }
}

[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

See Also

ThreadPool Class | ThreadPool Members | System.Threading Namespace | GetMinThreads | GetMaxThreads | GetAvailableThreads