DotNetBrightener.Core.BackgroundTasks 2025.0.6-preview-368

DotNetBrightener Background Tasks

Overview

The DotNetBrightener Background Tasks module provides a comprehensive, cron-based task scheduling system for .NET applications. It enables developers to schedule and execute background tasks with precise timing control, overlap prevention, and robust error handling.

Key Features

• Flexible Scheduling: Support for cron expressions, predefined intervals, and one-time execution
• Overlap Prevention: Built-in locking mechanism to prevent concurrent execution of the same task
• Multiple Task Types: Support for both interface-based tasks (IBackgroundTask) and method-based tasks
• Event-Driven Architecture: Integration with EventPubSub system for task lifecycle events
• Database Persistence: Optional database storage for task definitions and execution history
• Timezone Support: Execute tasks in specific timezones
• Conditional Execution: Execute tasks based on custom predicates
• Dependency Injection: Full integration with .NET's dependency injection container
• Comprehensive Logging: Detailed logging for monitoring and debugging

Architecture

Core Components

IScheduler

The main interface for scheduling and managing background tasks. Provides methods to:

• Schedule tasks by type or method
• Execute tasks at specific times
• Cancel running tasks
• Unschedule tasks

IBackgroundTask

Interface that background task classes must implement:

public interface IBackgroundTask
{
    Task Execute();
}

ICancellableTask

Extended interface for tasks that support cancellation:

public interface ICancellableTask : IBackgroundTask
{
    CancellationToken CancellationToken { get; set; }
}

IScheduleConfig

Fluent interface for configuring task schedules with methods like:

• EverySecond(), EveryMinute(), Hourly(), Daily()
• Cron(string expression)
• PreventOverlapping()
• When(Func<Task<bool>> predicate)
• AtTimeZone(TimeZoneInfo timeZoneInfo)

Task Execution Flow

1. SchedulerHostedService runs every second
2. Scheduler checks all registered tasks for due execution
3. Tasks are executed in parallel with proper scoping
4. Events are published for task lifecycle (Started, Ended, Failed)
5. Overlap prevention is enforced if configured
6. Results and errors are logged

Getting Started

1. Installation and Setup

Add the background tasks services to your application:

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Enable background task services
builder.Services.EnableBackgroundTaskServices(builder.Configuration);

var app = builder.Build();

2. Creating Background Tasks

Interface-Based Tasks

public class EmailCleanupTask : IBackgroundTask
{
    private readonly IEmailService _emailService;
    private readonly ILogger<EmailCleanupTask> _logger;

    public EmailCleanupTask(IEmailService emailService, ILogger<EmailCleanupTask> logger)
    {
        _emailService = emailService;
        _logger = logger;
    }

    public async Task Execute()
    {
        _logger.LogInformation("Starting email cleanup task");
        await _emailService.DeleteOldEmails();
        _logger.LogInformation("Email cleanup task completed");
    }
}

Cancellable Tasks

public class DataProcessingTask : ICancellableTask
{
    public CancellationToken CancellationToken { get; set; }
    
    public async Task Execute()
    {
        while (!CancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
        {
            // Process data
            await ProcessBatch();
            await Task.Delay(1000, CancellationToken);
        }
    }
}

3. Registering Tasks

// Register background tasks
builder.Services.AddBackgroundTask<EmailCleanupTask>();
builder.Services.AddBackgroundTask<DataProcessingTask>();

4. Scheduling Tasks

var scheduler = app.Services.GetService<IScheduler>();

// Schedule with predefined intervals
scheduler.ScheduleTask<EmailCleanupTask>()
         .Daily()
         .PreventOverlapping();

// Schedule with custom intervals
scheduler.ScheduleTask<DataProcessingTask>()
         .EverySeconds(30)
         .PreventOverlapping();

// Schedule with cron expressions
scheduler.ScheduleTask<EmailCleanupTask>()
         .Cron("0 2 * * *") // Daily at 2 AM
         .AtTimeZone(TimeZoneInfo.FindSystemTimeZoneById("Eastern Standard Time"));

// One-time execution
scheduler.ScheduleTask<DataProcessingTask>()
         .Once();

Advanced Features

Method-Based Scheduling

You can schedule methods directly without implementing IBackgroundTask:

public class UtilityService
{
    public async Task CleanupTempFiles()
    {
        // Cleanup logic
    }
    
    public void GenerateReports()
    {
        // Report generation logic
    }
}

// Schedule methods
var methodInfo = typeof(UtilityService).GetMethod(nameof(UtilityService.CleanupTempFiles));
scheduler.ScheduleTask(methodInfo)
         .Hourly()
         .PreventOverlapping();

Conditional Execution

Execute tasks only when certain conditions are met:

scheduler.ScheduleTask<BackupTask>()
         .Daily()
         .When(async () => await IsMaintenanceWindowOpen())
         .PreventOverlapping();

Timezone-Aware Scheduling

scheduler.ScheduleTask<ReportTask>()
         .DailyAt(9, 0) // 9:00 AM
         .AtTimeZone(TimeZoneInfo.FindSystemTimeZoneById("Pacific Standard Time"));

Configuration

Basic Configuration

Configure the scheduler interval in appsettings.json:

{
  "BackgroundTaskOptions": {
    "Interval": "00:00:30"
  }
}

Database Storage (Optional)

For persistent task definitions and execution history:

builder.Services.AddBackgroundTaskStorage(options =>
{
    options.UseSqlServer(connectionString);
});

This creates a BackgroundTaskDefinition table to store:

• Task assembly and type information
• Cron expressions and timezone settings
• Execution history and error logs
• Enable/disable status

Event System Integration

The background tasks system publishes events through the EventPubSub system:

Available Events

• ScheduledEventStarted: Published when a task begins execution
• ScheduledEventEnded: Published when a task completes successfully
• ScheduledEventFailed: Published when a task throws an exception

Event Handlers

public class TaskMonitoringHandler : IEventHandler<ScheduledEventFailed>
{
    public async Task<bool> HandleEvent(ScheduledEventFailed eventMessage)
    {
        // Log error, send notifications, etc.
        return true;
    }
}

Scheduling Options Reference

Predefined Intervals

• EverySecond() - Every second
• EverySeconds(int seconds) - Every N seconds
• EveryMinute() - Every minute
• EveryFiveMinutes() - Every 5 minutes
• EveryTenMinutes() - Every 10 minutes
• EveryFifteenMinutes() - Every 15 minutes
• EveryThirtyMinutes() - Every 30 minutes
• Hourly() - Every hour
• HourlyAt(int minute) - Every hour at specified minute
• Daily() - Every day at midnight
• DailyAt(int hour, int minute) - Every day at specified time
• Weekly() - Every week
• Monthly() - Every month

Day-of-Week Restrictions

• Monday(), Tuesday(), Wednesday(), Thursday(), Friday(), Saturday(), Sunday()
• Weekday() - Monday through Friday
• Weekend() - Saturday and Sunday

Cron Expressions

Support for standard 5 or 6-part cron expressions:

• 5-part: minute hour day month weekday
• 6-part: second minute hour day month weekday

Examples:

• "0 2 * * *" - Daily at 2:00 AM
• "*/15 * * * *" - Every 15 minutes
• "0 0 * * 0" - Every Sunday at midnight
• "30 14 1 * *" - 2:30 PM on the 1st of every month

Error Handling and Monitoring

Logging

The system provides comprehensive logging at various levels:

• Task execution start/end
• Error details with stack traces
• Performance metrics (execution duration)
• Overlap prevention actions

Exception Handling

• Exceptions in tasks are caught and logged
• Failed tasks don't affect other scheduled tasks
• ScheduledEventFailed events are published for monitoring

Performance Monitoring

• Execution duration tracking
• Concurrent execution monitoring
• Scheduler iteration counts

Best Practices

1. Use Dependency Injection: Register tasks as scoped services for proper resource management
2. Implement Proper Logging: Use structured logging for better monitoring
3. Handle Cancellation: Implement ICancellableTask for long-running tasks
4. Prevent Overlapping: Use PreventOverlapping() for tasks that shouldn't run concurrently
5. Use Appropriate Intervals: Don't over-schedule tasks; consider system resources
6. Monitor Performance: Watch execution times and adjust schedules accordingly
7. Handle Exceptions: Implement proper error handling within tasks
8. Use Timezone Awareness: Specify timezones for business-critical scheduling

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Tasks Not Executing: Check if EnableBackgroundTaskServices() is called
2. Dependency Resolution Errors: Ensure tasks are registered with AddBackgroundTask<T>()
3. Overlapping Prevention Not Working: Verify unique identifiers are properly set
4. Timezone Issues: Use IANA timezone identifiers for cross-platform compatibility

Debugging

Enable detailed logging to troubleshoot issues:

builder.Services.AddLogging(logging =>
{
    logging.SetMinimumLevel(LogLevel.Debug);
    logging.AddConsole();
});

Migration and Deployment

When using database storage, the system automatically handles database migrations through the MigrateBackgroundTaskDbContextHostedService.

Performance Considerations

• The scheduler runs every second by default
• Tasks execute in parallel using separate service scopes
• Overlap prevention uses in-memory locking with configurable timeouts
• Database operations are optimized with proper indexing