caching the result from a [n async] factory method iff it doesn't throw

Question

UPDATE: Heavily revised after @usr pointed out I'd incorrectly assumed Lazy<T>'s default thread safety mode was LazyThreadSafetyMode.PublicationOnly...

I want to lazily compute a value via an async Factory Method (i.e. it returns Task<T>) and have it cached upon success. On exception, I want to have that be available to me. I do not however, want to fall prey to the exception caching behavior that Lazy<T> has in its default mode (LazyThreadSafetyMode.ExecutionAndPublication)

Exception caching: When you use factory methods, exceptions are cached. That is, if the factory method throws an exception the first time a thread tries to access the Value property of the Lazy object, the same exception is thrown on every subsequent attempt. This ensures that every call to the Value property produces the same result and avoids subtle errors that might arise if different threads get different results. The Lazy stands in for an actual T that otherwise would have been initialized at some earlier point, usually during startup. A failure at that earlier point is usually fatal. If there is a potential for a recoverable failure, we recommend that you build the retry logic into the initialization routine (in this case, the factory method), just as you would if you weren’t using lazy initialization.

Stephen Toub has an AsyncLazy class and writeup that seems just right:

public class AsyncLazy<T> : Lazy<Task<T>>
{
    public AsyncLazy(Func<Task<T>> taskFactory) :
        base(() => Task.Factory.StartNew(() => taskFactory()).Unwrap())
    { }

    public TaskAwaiter<T> GetAwaiter() { return Value.GetAwaiter(); }
}

however that's effectively the same behavior as a default Lazy<T> - if there's a problem, there will be no retries.

I'm looking for a Task<T> compatible equivalent of Lazy<T>(Func<T>, LazyThreadSafetyMode.PublicationOnly), i.e. it should behave as that is specified:-

Alternative to locking In certain situations, you might want to avoid the overhead of the Lazy object's default locking behavior. In rare situations, there might be a potential for deadlocks. In such cases, you can use the Lazy(LazyThreadSafetyMode) or Lazy(Func, LazyThreadSafetyMode) constructor, and specify LazyThreadSafetyMode.PublicationOnly. This enables the Lazy object to create a copy of the lazily initialized object on each of several threads if the threads call the Value property simultaneously. The Lazy object ensures that all threads use the same instance of the lazily initialized object and discards the instances that are not used. Thus, the cost of reducing the locking overhead is that your program might sometimes create and discard extra copies of an expensive object. In most cases, this is unlikely. The examples for the Lazy(LazyThreadSafetyMode) and Lazy(Func, LazyThreadSafetyMode) constructors demonstrate this behavior.

IMPORTANT

When you specify PublicationOnly, exceptions are never cached, even if you specify a factory method.

Is there any FCL, Nito.AsyncEx or similar construct that might fit in nicely here? Failing this, can anyone see an elegant way to gate the "attempt in progress" bit (I'm OK with each caller making its own attempt in the same way that a Lazy<T>( ..., (LazyThreadSafetyMode.PublicationOnly) does) and yet still have that and the cache management encapsulated neatly?

Answer 1

Does this get anywhere near your requirements?

The behaviour falls somewhere between ExecutionAndPublication and PublicationOnly.

While the initializer is in-flight all calls to Value will be handed the same task (which is cached temporarily but could subsequently succeed or fail); if the initializer succeeds then that completed task is cached permanently; if the initializer fails then the next call to Value will create a completely new initialization task and the process begins again!

public sealed class TooLazy<T>
{
    private readonly object _lock = new object();
    private readonly Func<Task<T>> _factory;
    private Task<T> _cached;

    public TooLazy(Func<Task<T>> factory)
    {
        if (factory == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("factory");
        _factory = factory;
    }

    public Task<T> Value
    {
        get
        {
            lock (_lock)
            {
                if ((_cached == null) ||
                    (_cached.IsCompleted && (_cached.Status != TaskStatus.RanToCompletion)))
                {
                    _cached = Task.Run(_factory);
                }
                return _cached;
            }
        }
    }
}