c# - Do .NET Timers Run Asynchronously?

Question

I have a messaging aspect of my application using Jabber-net (an XMPP library.)

What I would like to do, if for some reason the connection to the Server is ended, is keep trying to connect every minute or so.

If I start a Timer to wait for a period of time before the next attempt, does that timer run asynchronously and the resulting Tick event join the main thread, or would I need to start my own thread and start the timer from within there?

Answer 1

What kind of timer are you using?

• System.Windows.Forms.Timer will execute in the UI thread
• System.Timers.Timer executes in a thread-pool thread unless you specify a SynchronizingObject
• System.Threading.Timer executes its callback in a thread-pool thread

In all cases, the timer itself will be asynchronous - it won't "take up" a thread until it fires.