Task parallel library replacement for BackgroundWorker?

Question

Does the task parallel library have anything that would be considered a replacement or improvement over the BackgroundWorker class?

I have a WinForms application with a wizard-style UI, and it does some long-running tasks. I want to be able to have a responsive UI with the standard progress bar and ability to cancel the operation. I've done this before with BackgroundWorker, but I'm wondering if there are some TPL patterns that can be used instead?

Answer 1

Background worker is still a valid way of achieving this - if you are running multiple large operations concurrently then the parallel extensions would be worth considering, if its just the one then I would stick with the backgroundworker.

Answer 2

The Task class is an improvement over the BackgroundWorker; it naturally supports nesting (parent/child tasks), uses the new cancellation API, task continuations, etc.

I have an example on my blog, showing the old BackgroundWorker way of doing things and the new Task way of doing things. I do have a small helper class for tasks that need to report progress, because I find the syntax rather awkward. The example covers result values, error conditions, cancellation, and progress reporting.