Task parallelism is the approach where the application execution is broken down in smaller independent tasks. Those tasks are typically executed by a thread pool; as long as they are independent, they can be executed concurrently. If any synchronization or mutual exclusion is needed, one can still use locks or events as usual; but you need to remain cautious, as thread pools and synchronization may not play well together and can lead to tricky deadlock or livelock situations.

The strongest attribute of this paradigm is the fact that it scales very well, assuming the program is able to provide enough independent tasks to feed the thread pool.

This approach has gained a lot of traction since the new millennium, especially as it fits very well the basic needs of http servers: they expose a stateless service,each request being short-lived.

Pros:

• Scale well
• Relatively easy to master

Cons:

• No help regarding synchronization needs
• Implies tasks are short-lived.

Bottom line: THE PARADIGM OF CHOICE for server-side applications, but you need to think ahead your synchronisation/mutex needs.