C++ threading preference/abilities

Question

Hi,

I am having difficulties and questions about the different methods to generate and get the results from threads.  I am creating a Windows Store App via DirectX/XAML/C++

My task at hand is to generate some data and save it to a file, however the data can take minutes to generate.  It looks like there are two options I can take to thread it, but I am unsure which is better or if one can't be used in the scenario.

Option 1:

Using the Concurrency create_async and create_task functions, I have been able to successfully run the data generating code on a separate thread from the UI, but can't find a way to return the data from it.  It sounds like I need to convert the parameters to a HANDLE, but my attempt to do so was unsuccessful.  Below is the code that works, with the my attempt to return a HANDLE commented out.

auto runMC = create_async([this]//(HANDLE vs)
{
	m_main->GenerateMonteCarlo();//returns a std::vector<std::string>
});
create_task(runMC).then([this, file]//(HANDLE vs)
{
	//std::vector<std::string>* vecStr = reinterpret_cast<std::vector<std::string>*>(vs);;
	...
}

Option 2: ( http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh750082.aspx )

I have noticed that there may be a better way to generate threads and even show the progress of a thread, but am unsure if iit is worth using in this situation.  I tried to change the GenerateMonteCarlo function above to be a task that returns a std::vector<std::string> value, but had issues creating that function without 30-some errors cropping up.

I would prefer this option if it does allow the progress to be shown to the user.

Conclusion:

I am almost certain one of these is a viable option, but I could us some help selecting which one.  Also, if there is a better way I will be glad to check it out.

Thanks for any help,

- Moe

(Full function to save the file.  This does correctly generate and writes to a file)

void RadiationX::DirectXPage::MonteCarloButton_Click(Platform::Object^ sender, Windows::UI::Xaml::RoutedEventArgs^ e)
{
	FileSavePicker^ saveFilePicker = ref new FileSavePicker();
	saveFilePicker->SuggestedStartLocation = PickerLocationId::DocumentsLibrary;
	saveFilePicker->DefaultFileExtension = ".txt";
	saveFilePicker->SuggestedFileName = "MC.txt";
	auto radxExtensions = ref new Platform::Collections::Vector<Platform::String^>();
	radxExtensions->Append(".txt");
	saveFilePicker->FileTypeChoices->Insert("Text", radxExtensions);

	create_task(saveFilePicker->PickSaveFileAsync()).then([this](StorageFile^ file)
	{
		if (file != nullptr)
		{
			auto runMC = create_async([this]
			{
				m_main->GenerateMonteCarlo();//returns a std::vector<std::string>
			});
			create_task(runMC).then([this, file]
			{
				CachedFileManager::DeferUpdates(file);
				Platform::Collections::Vector<String^>^ lines = ref new Platform::Collections::Vector<String^>();
				lines->Append("RadiationX file -- XYcreations.com");
				lines->Append("");

				// write to file
				create_task(FileIO::WriteLinesAsync(file, lines)).then([this, file]()
				{

					// Let Windows know that we're finished changing the file so the other app can update the remote version of the file.
					// Completing updates may require Windows to ask for user input.
					create_task(CachedFileManager::CompleteUpdatesAsync(file)).then([this, file](FileUpdateStatus status)
					{
						...
					});
				});
			});
			
		}
	});
}