Implementing a timeout on a function returning a value

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Here is a generic solution that allows you to wrap any method in a timeout:

http://kossovsky.net/index.php/2009/07/csharp-how-to-limit-method-execution-time/

It uses the useful Thread.Join overload that accepts a timeout in milliseconds rather than manually using timers. The only thing I would do differently is swap the success flag and result value to match the TryParse pattern, as follows:

public static T Execute<T>(Func<T> func, int timeout)
{
    T result;
    TryExecute(func, timeout, out result);
    return result;
}

public static bool TryExecute<T>(Func<T> func, int timeout, out T result)
{
    var t = default(T);
    var thread = new Thread(() => t = func());
    thread.Start();
    var completed = thread.Join(timeout);
    if (!completed) thread.Abort();
    result = t;
    return completed;
}

And this is how you would use it:

var func = new Func<string>(() =>
    {
        Thread.Sleep(200);
        return "success";
    });
string result;
Debug.Assert(!TryExecute(func, 100, out result));
Debug.Assert(result == null);
Debug.Assert(TryExecute(func, 300, out result));
Debug.Assert(result == "success");

You could also add overloads that accept Action instead of Func if you want to execute a method that doesn’t return a value.

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