Create but not start a task with a custom task factory?

Question

I'd like to be able to create a task without starting it, similar to running var a = new Task(); a.Start(); but with a custom factory. Factories provide StartNew(), but I can't find a method to separate the two actions. Is this possible?

Answer 1

A TaskFactory is basically two sets of default options (creation and continuation), a default cancellation token, and a task scheduler.

You can specify the cancellation token and the creation options when you just new up a task - and then start it on whatever scheduler you want. So:

Task task = new Task(action,
                     factory.CancellationToken,
                     factory.CreationOptions);
...
task.Start(factory.Scheduler);

should do the job other than continuation options. The continuation options are only relevant when you add a continuation anyway, which you can specify directly. Is there anything which isn't covered by this?

(One thing to note is that the Task-based Asynchronous Pattern generally revolves around "hot" tasks which are started by the time you see them anyway. So you probably want to avoid exposing the unstarted tasks too widely.)