Queue.IsSynchronized Property in C#

The Queue.IsSynchronized property in C# is used to determine whether access to the Queue is synchronized, meaning it is thread-safe for concurrent access by multiple threads.

Syntax

Following is the syntax for the IsSynchronized property −

public virtual bool IsSynchronized { get; }

Return Value

The property returns a bool value −

• true − if access to the Queue is synchronized (thread-safe)

• false − if access to the Queue is not synchronized

Using IsSynchronized with Regular Queue

By default, a regular Queue is not synchronized and returns false for the IsSynchronized property −

using System;
using System.Collections;

public class Demo {
    public static void Main() {
        Queue queue = new Queue();
        queue.Enqueue(100);
        queue.Enqueue(200);
        queue.Enqueue(300);
        queue.Enqueue(400);
        queue.Enqueue(500);
        
        Console.WriteLine("Queue elements:");
        IEnumerator demoEnum = queue.GetEnumerator();
        while (demoEnum.MoveNext()) {
            Console.WriteLine(demoEnum.Current);
        }
        
        Console.WriteLine("Is Queue synchronized? = " + queue.IsSynchronized);
    }
}

The output of the above code is −

Queue elements:
100
200
300
400
500
Is Queue synchronized? = False

Using Queue.Synchronized() Method

To create a synchronized version of a Queue, you can use the Queue.Synchronized() method. The synchronized queue will return true for the IsSynchronized property −

using System;
using System.Collections;

public class Demo {
    public static void Main() {
        Queue queue = new Queue();
        queue.Enqueue("AB");
        queue.Enqueue("BC");
        queue.Enqueue("CD");
        queue.Enqueue("DE");
        
        Console.WriteLine("Original Queue elements:");
        IEnumerator demoEnum = queue.GetEnumerator();
        while (demoEnum.MoveNext()) {
            Console.WriteLine(demoEnum.Current);
        }
        
        Console.WriteLine("Is original Queue synchronized? = " + queue.IsSynchronized);
        
        Queue syncQueue = Queue.Synchronized(queue);
        Console.WriteLine("Is synchronized Queue thread-safe? = " + syncQueue.IsSynchronized);
    }
}

The output of the above code is −

Original Queue elements:
AB
BC
CD
DE
Is original Queue synchronized? = False
Is synchronized Queue thread-safe? = True

Thread Safety Comparison

Conclusion

The IsSynchronized property helps you determine if a Queue instance is thread-safe. Regular queues return false, while queues created with Queue.Synchronized() return true, indicating they can be safely accessed by multiple threads concurrently.