The Recognition Component and Multi-Threading

The ImageGear Recognition component API is thread safe. This means that the same API functions can be called from different threads simultaneously. Specifically, the application can recognize images simultaneously in different threads.

Note, however, that Recognition component objects are not thread-safe. If an application needs to access the same object from different threads, it is the application's responsibility to synchronize access to the object.

An application can use multiple setting collections. This allows the use of different sets of settings in different threads. It is also possible to use one setting collection for several threads; in this case a setting change made in one thread becomes actual for the rest of the threads that use the same collection.

The expression "thread-safe" does not mean all the CSDK elements can work simultaneously.

Some parts of the CSDK (e.g., output converting) can run only one instance at a time, i.e., if they are called simultaneously, one waits for the other.
There are some operations that must be called one after the other sequentially, because one waits for output from another. In such a case there is no point in calling them at the same time (e.g., the preprocessing of a page must precede the recognition of that page). However, these operations can be called simultaneously for different pages.