Running async methods in parallel

Is there a better to run async methods in parallel, or are tasks a good approach?

Yes, the “best” approach is to utilize the Task.WhenAll method. However, your second approach should have ran in parallel. I have created a .NET Fiddle, this should help shed some light. Your second approach should actually be running in parallel. My fiddle proves this!

Consider the following:

public Task<Thing[]> GetThingsAsync()
{
    var first = GetExpensiveThingAsync();
    var second = GetExpensiveThingAsync();

    return Task.WhenAll(first, second);
}

Note

It is preferred to use the “Async” suffix, instead of GetThings and GetExpensiveThing – we should have GetThingsAsync and GetExpensiveThingAsync respectively – source.