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Synchronization in Java

Synchronization in Java allows controlling access to shared resources by multiple threads. There are three main types of synchronization: synchronized methods which lock an object; synchronized blocks which lock a specific block of code; and static synchronization which locks on the class. Without synchronization, inconsistent output can occur due to thread interference. Synchronization ensures threads access shared resources sequentially to avoid consistency problems.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
345 views

Synchronization in Java

Synchronization in Java allows controlling access to shared resources by multiple threads. There are three main types of synchronization: synchronized methods which lock an object; synchronized blocks which lock a specific block of code; and static synchronization which locks on the class. Without synchronization, inconsistent output can occur due to thread interference. Synchronization ensures threads access shared resources sequentially to avoid consistency problems.

Uploaded by

vinothssundaram
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Synchronization in Java

Synchronization in java is the capability of control the access of multiple threads to


any shared resource.
Java Synchronization is better option where we want to allow only one thread to
access the shared resource.

Why use Synchronization


The synchronization is mainly used to
1. To prevent thread interference.
2. To prevent consistency problem.

Types of Synchronization
There are two types of synchronization
1. Process Synchronization
2. Thread Synchronization
Here, we will discuss only thread synchronization.

Thread Synchronization
There are two types of thread synchronization mutual exclusive and inter-thread
communication.
1. Mutual Exclusive
1. Synchronized method.
2. Synchronized block.
3. static synchronization.
2. Cooperation (Inter-thread communication in java)

Mutual Exclusive

Mutual Exclusive helps keep threads from interfering with one another while sharing
data. This can be done by three ways in java:
1. by synchronized method
2. by synchronized block
3. by static synchronization

Understanding the concept of Lock in Java


Synchronization is built around an internal entity known as the lock or monitor. Every
object has an lock associated with it. By convention, a thread that needs consistent
access to an object's fields has to acquire the object's lock before accessing them, and
then release the lock when it's done with them.
From Java 5 the package java.util.concurrent.locks contains several lock
implementations.

Understanding the problem without Synchronization


In this example, there is no synchronization, so output is inconsistent. Let's see the
example:
1. Class Table{
2.
3. void printTable(int n){//method not synchronized
4.
for(int i=1;i<=5;i++){
5.
System.out.println(n*i);
6.
try{
7.
Thread.sleep(400);
8.
}catch(Exception e){System.out.println(e);}
9.
}
10.
11. }
12. }
13.
14. class MyThread1 extends Thread{
15. Table t;
16. MyThread1(Table t){
17. this.t=t;
18. }
19. public void run(){
20. t.printTable(5);
21. }
22.

23. }
24. class MyThread2 extends Thread{
25. Table t;
26. MyThread2(Table t){
27. this.t=t;
28. }
29. public void run(){
30. t.printTable(100);
31. }
32. }
33.
34. class Use{
35. public static void main(String args[]){
36. Table obj = new Table();//only one object
37. MyThread1 t1=new MyThread1(obj);
38. MyThread2 t2=new MyThread2(obj);
39. t1.start();
40. t2.start();
41. }
42. }
Output: 5
100
10
200
15
300
20
400
25
500

Java synchronized method


If you declare any method as synchronized, it is known as synchronized method.
Synchronized method is used to lock an object for any shared resource.
When a thread invokes a synchronized method, it automatically acquires the lock for
that object and releases it when the thread completes its task.
1. //example of java synchronized method
2. Class Table{
3. synchronized void printTable(int n){//synchronized method
4.
for(int i=1;i<=5;i++){
5.
System.out.println(n*i);

6.
try{
7.
Thread.sleep(400);
8.
}catch(Exception e){System.out.println(e);}
9.
}
10.
11. }
12. }
13.
14. class MyThread1 extends Thread{
15. Table t;
16. MyThread1(Table t){
17. this.t=t;
18. }
19. public void run(){
20. t.printTable(5);
21. }
22.
23. }
24. class MyThread2 extends Thread{
25. Table t;
26. MyThread2(Table t){
27. this.t=t;
28. }
29. public void run(){
30. t.printTable(100);
31. }
32. }
33.
34. class Use{
35. public static void main(String args[]){
36. Table obj = new Table();//only one object
37. MyThread1 t1=new MyThread1(obj);
38. MyThread2 t2=new MyThread2(obj);
39. t1.start();
40. t2.start();
41. }
42. }
Output: 5
10
15
20
25
100
200
300
400
500

Same Example of synchronized method by using


annonymous class
In this program, we have created the two threads by annonymous class, so less
coding is required.
1. //Program of synchronized method by using annonymous class
2. Class Table{
3. synchronized void printTable(int n){//synchronized method
4.
for(int i=1;i<=5;i++){
5.
System.out.println(n*i);
6.
try{
7.
Thread.sleep(400);
8.
}catch(Exception e){System.out.println(e);}
9.
}
10.
11. }
12. }
13.
14. class Use{
15. public static void main(String args[]){
16. final Table obj = new Table();//only one object
17.
18. Thread t1=new Thread(){
19. public void run(){
20. obj.printTable(5);
21. }
22. };
23. Thread t2=new Thread(){
24. public void run(){
25. obj.printTable(100);
26. }
27. };
28.
29. t1.start();
30. t2.start();
31. }
32. }
Output: 5
10
15
20
25
100
200
300
400
500

Synchronized block
Synchronized block can be used to perform synchronization on any specific resource of
the method.
Suppose you have 50 lines of code in your method, but you want to synchronize only
5 lines, you can use synchronized block.
If you put all the codes of the method in the synchronized block, it will work same as
the synchronized method.

Points to remember for Synchronized block

Synchronized block is used to lock an object for any shared resource.


Scope of synchronized block is smaller than the method.

Syntax to use synchronized block


1. synchronized (object reference expression) {
2.
//code block
3. }

Example of synchronized block


Let's see the simple example of synchronized block.
1. <b><i>//Program of synchronized block</i></b>
2.
3. class Table{
4.
5. void printTable(int n){
6.
synchronized(this){//synchronized block
7.
for(int i=1;i<=5;i++){
8.
System.out.println(n*i);
9.
try{
10.
Thread.sleep(400);
11.
}catch(Exception e){System.out.println(e);}
12.
}
13. }
14. }//end of the method
15. }
16.
17. class MyThread1 extends Thread{
18. Table t;
19. MyThread1(Table t){
20. this.t=t;
21. }
22. public void run(){
23. t.printTable(5);
24. }

25.
26. }
27. class MyThread2 extends Thread{
28. Table t;
29. MyThread2(Table t){
30. this.t=t;
31. }
32. public void run(){
33. t.printTable(100);
34. }
35. }
36.
37. class Use{
38. public static void main(String args[]){
39. Table obj = new Table();//only one object
40. MyThread1 t1=new MyThread1(obj);
41. MyThread2 t2=new MyThread2(obj);
42. t1.start();
43. t2.start();
44. }
45. }
Output:5
10
15
20
25
100
200
300
400
500

Same Example of synchronized block by using annonymous


class:
1. <b><i>//Program of synchronized block by using annonymous class</i></b>
2.
3. class Table{
4.
5. void printTable(int n){
6.
synchronized(this){//synchronized block
7.
for(int i=1;i<=5;i++){
8.
System.out.println(n*i);
9.
try{
10.
Thread.sleep(400);
11.
}catch(Exception e){System.out.println(e);}

12.
}
13. }
14. }//end of the method
15. }
16.
17. class Use{
18. public static void main(String args[]){
19. final Table obj = new Table();//only one object
20.
21. Thread t1=new Thread(){
22. public void run(){
23. obj.printTable(5);
24. }
25. };
26. Thread t2=new Thread(){
27. public void run(){
28. obj.printTable(100);
29. }
30. };
31.
32. t1.start();
33. t2.start();
34. }
35. }
Output:5
10
15
20
25
100
200
300
400
500

Static synchronization
If you make any static method as synchronized, the lock will be on the class not on
object.

Problem without static synchronization


Suppose there are two objects of a shared class(e.g. Table) named object1 and
object2.In case of synchronized method and synchronized block there cannot be
interference between t1 and t2 or t3 and t4 because t1 and t2 both refers to a
common object that have a single lock.But there can be interference between t1 and
t3 or t2 and t4 because t1 acquires another lock and t3 acquires another lock.I want
no interference between t1 and t3 or t2 and t4.Static synchronization solves this
problem.

Example of static synchronization


In this example we are applying synchronized keyword on the static method to
perform static synchronization.
1. class Table{
2.
3. synchronized static void printTable(int n){
4.
for(int i=1;i<=10;i++){
5.
System.out.println(n*i);
6.
try{
7.
Thread.sleep(400);
8.
}catch(Exception e){}
9.
}
10. }
11. }
12.
13. class MyThread1 extends Thread{
14. public void run(){
15. Table.printTable(1);

16. }
17. }
18.
19. class MyThread2 extends Thread{
20. public void run(){
21. Table.printTable(10);
22. }
23. }
24.
25. class MyThread3 extends Thread{
26. public void run(){
27. Table.printTable(100);
28. }
29. }
30.
31.
32.
33.
34. class MyThread4 extends Thread{
35. public void run(){
36. Table.printTable(1000);
37. }
38. }
39.
40. class Use{
41. public static void main(String t[]){
42. MyThread1 t1=new MyThread1();
43. MyThread2 t2=new MyThread2();
44. MyThread3 t3=new MyThread3();
45. MyThread4 t4=new MyThread4();
46. t1.start();
47. t2.start();
48. t3.start();
49. t4.start();
50. }
51. }
Output: 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
10
20
30

40
50
60
70
80
90
100
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000

Same example of static synchronization by annonymous


class
In this example, we are using annonymous class to create the threads.
1. class Table{
2.
3. synchronized static void printTable(int n){
4.
for(int i=1;i<=10;i++){
5.
System.out.println(n*i);
6.
try{
7.
Thread.sleep(400);

8.
}catch(Exception e){}
9.
}
10. }
11. }
12.
13. public class Test {
14. public static void main(String[] args) {
15.
16.
Thread t1=new Thread(){
17.
public void run(){
18.
Table.printTable(1);
19.
}
20.
};
21.
22.
Thread t2=new Thread(){
23.
public void run(){
24.
Table.printTable(10);
25.
}
26.
};
27.
28.
Thread t3=new Thread(){
29.
public void run(){
30.
Table.printTable(100);
31.
}
32.
};
33.
34.
Thread t4=new Thread(){
35.
public void run(){
36.
Table.printTable(1000);
37.
}
38.
};
39.
t1.start();
40.
t2.start();
41.
t3.start();
42.
t4.start();
43.
44. }
45. }
Output: 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
10
20

30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000

Synchronized block on a class lock:


The block synchronizes on the lock of the object denoted by the reference .class name
.class. A static synchronized method printTable(int n) in class Table is equivalent to
the following declaration:
1. static void printTable(int n) {
2.
synchronized (Table.class) {
3.
// ...
4.
}

// Synchronized block on class A

5. }

Deadlock:
Deadlock can occur in a situation when a thread is waiting for an object lock, that is
acquired by another thread and second thread is waiting for an object lock that is
acquired by first thread. Since, both threads are waiting for each other to release
the lock, the condition is called deadlock.

Example of Deadlock in java:


1. public class DeadlockExample {
2.
public static void main(String[] args) {
3.
final String resource1 = "ratan jaiswal";
4.
final String resource2 = "vimal jaiswal";
5.
// t1 tries to lock resource1 then resource2
6.
Thread t1 = new Thread() {
7.
public void run() {
8.
synchronized (resource1) {
9.
System.out.println("Thread 1: locked resource 1");
10.
11.
try { Thread.sleep(100);} catch (Exception e) {}
12.
13.
synchronized (resource2) {
14.
System.out.println("Thread 1: locked resource 2");
15.
}
16.
}
17.
}
18.
};
19.
20.
// t2 tries to lock resource2 then resource1
21.
Thread t2 = new Thread() {
22.
public void run() {
23.
synchronized (resource2) {
24.
System.out.println("Thread 2: locked resource 2");
25.

26.
try { Thread.sleep(100);} catch (Exception e) {}
27.
28.
synchronized (resource1) {
29.
System.out.println("Thread 2: locked resource 1");
30.
}
31.
}
32.
}
33.
};
34.
35.
36.
t1.start();
37.
t2.start();
38. }
39. }
40.
Output: Thread 1: locked resource 1
Thread 2: locked resource 2

Inter-thread communication in Java


Inter-thread communication or Co-operation is all about allowing synchronized
threads to communicate with each other.
Cooperation (Inter-thread communication) is a mechanism in which a thread is paused
running in its critical section and another thread is allowed to enter (or lock) in the
same critical section to be executed.It is implemented by following methods of Object
class:

wait()
notify()
notifyAll()

1) wait() method
Causes current thread to release the lock and wait until either another thread invokes
the notify() method or the notifyAll() method for this object, or a specified amount of
time has elapsed.
The current thread must own this object's monitor, so it must be called from the
synchronized method only otherwise it will throw exception.

Method

Description

public final void wait()throws InterruptedException

waits until object is notified.

public final void wait(long timeout)throws

waits for the specified amount

InterruptedException

time.

2) notify() method
Wakes up a single thread that is waiting on this object's monitor. If any threads are
waiting on this object, one of them is chosen to be awakened. The choice is arbitrary
and occurs at the discretion of the implementation. Syntax:
public final void notify()

3) notifyAll() method
Wakes up all threads that are waiting on this object's monitor. Syntax:
public final void notifyAll()

Understanding the process of inter-thread communication

The point to point explanation of the above diagram is as follows:


1. Threads enter to acquire lock.

2. Lock is acquired by on thread.


3. Now thread goes to waiting state if you call wait() method on the object.
Otherwise it releases the lock and exits.
4. If you call notify() or notifyAll() method, thread moves to the notified state
(runnable state).
5. Now thread is available to acquire lock.
6. After completion of the task, thread releases the lock and exits the monitor
state of the object.

Why wait(), notify() and notifyAll() methods are defined in


Object class not Thread class?
It is because they are related to lock and object has a lock.

Difference between wait and sleep?


Let's see the important differences between wait and sleep methods.
wait()

sleep()

wait() method releases the lock

sleep() method doesn't release the lock.

is the method of Object class

is the method of Thread class

is the non-static method

is the static method

is the non-static method

is the static method

should be notified by notify() or notifyAll()

after the specified amount of time, sleep is

methods

completed.

Example of inter thread communication in java


Let's see the simple example of inter thread communication.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

class Customer{
int amount=10000;
synchronized void withdraw(int amount){
System.out.println("going to withdraw...");

6.
7. if(this.amount<amount){
8. System.out.println("Less balance; waiting for
9. try{wait();}catch(Exception e){}
10. }
11. this.amount-=amount;
12. System.out.println("withdraw completed...");
13. }
14.
15. synchronized void deposit(int amount){
16. System.out.println("going to deposit...");
17. this.amount+=amount;
18. System.out.println("deposit completed... ");
19. notify();
20. }
21. }
22.
23. class Test{
24. public static void main(String args[]){
25. final Customer c=new Customer();
26. new Thread(){
27. public void run(){c.withdraw(15000);}
28. }.start();
29. new Thread(){
30. public void run(){c.deposit(10000);}
31. }.start();
32.
33. }}

deposit...");

Output: going to withdraw...


Less balance; waiting for deposit...
going to deposit...
deposit completed...
withdraw completed

Interrupting a Thread:
If any thread is in sleeping or waiting state (i.e. sleep() or wait() is invoked),
calling the interrupt() method on the thread, breaks out the sleeping or waiting
state throwing InterruptedException. If the thread is not in the sleeping or waiting
state, calling the interrupt() method performs normal behaviour and doesn't
interrupt the thread but sets the interrupt flag to true. Let's first see the methods
provided by the Thread class for thread interruption.

The 3 methods provided by the Thread class for interrupting a thread

public void interrupt()


public static boolean interrupted()
public boolean isInterrupted()

Example of interrupting a thread that stops working


In this example, after interrupting the thread, we are propagating it, so it will stop
working. If we don't want to stop the thread, we can handle it where sleep() or
wait() method is invoked. Let's first see the example where we are propagating the
exception.
1. class A extends Thread{
2. public void run(){
3. try{
4. Thread.sleep(1000);
5. System.out.println("task");
6. }catch(InterruptedException e){
7. throw new RuntimeException("Thread interrupted..."+e);
8. }
9.
10. }
11.
12. public static void main(String args[]){
13. A t1=new A();
14. t1.start();
15. try{
16. t1.interrupt();
17. }catch(Exception e){System.out.println("Exception handled "+e);}
18.
19. }
20. }
download this example
Output:Exception in thread-0
java.lang.RuntimeException: Thread interrupted...
java.lang.InterruptedException: sleep interrupted
at A.run(A.java:7)

Example of interrupting a thread that doesn't stop working


In this example, after interrupting the thread, we handle the exception, so it will
break out the sleeping but will not stop working.

1. class A extends Thread{


2. public void run(){
3. try{
4. Thread.sleep(1000);
5. System.out.println("task");
6. }catch(InterruptedException e){
7. System.out.println("Exception handled "+e);
8. }
9. System.out.println("thread is running...");
10. }
11.
12. public static void main(String args[]){
13. A t1=new A();
14. t1.start();
15.
16. t1.interrupt();
17.
18. }
19. }
download this example
Output:Exception handled
java.lang.InterruptedException: sleep interrupted
thread is running...

Example of interrupting thread that behaves normally


If thread is not in sleeping or waiting state, calling the interrupt() method sets the
interrupted flag to true that can be used to stop the thread by the java
programmer later.
1. class A extends Thread{
2.
3. public void run(){
4. for(int i=1;i<=5;i++)
5. System.out.println(i);
6. }
7.
8. public static void main(String args[]){
9. A t1=new A();
10. t1.start();
11.
12. t1.interrupt();
13.
14. }
15. }
Output:1
2
3

4
5

What about isInterrupted and interrupted method?


The isInterrupted() method returns the interrupted flag either true or false. The
static interrupted() method returns the interrupted flag afterthat it sets the flag to
false if it is true.
1. class InterruptedDemo extends Thread{
2.
3. public void run(){
4. for(int i=1;i<=2;i++){
5. if(Thread.interrupted()){
6. System.out.println("code for interrupted thread");
7. }
8. else{
9. System.out.println("code for normal thread");
10. }
11.
12. }//end of for loop
13. }
14.
15. public static void main(String args[]){
16.
17. InterruptedDemo t1=new InterruptedDemo();
18. InterruptedDemo t2=new InterruptedDemo();
19.
20. t1.start();
21. t1.interrupt();
22.
23. t2.start();
24.
25. }
26. }
Output:Code for interrupted thread
code for normal thread
code for normal thread
code for normal thread

Reentrant Monitor in Java

According to Sun Microsystems, Java monitors are reentrant means java thread
can reuse the same monitor for different synchronized methods if method is called
from the method.

Advantage of Reentrant Monitor


It eliminates the possibility of single thread deadlocking

Let's understand the java reentrant monitor by the example given below:
1. class Reentrant {
2.
public synchronized void m() {
3.
n();
4.
System.out.println("this is m() method");
5.
}
6.
public synchronized void n() {
7.
System.out.println("this is n() method");
8.
}
9. }
In this class, m and n are the synchronized methods. The m() method internally calls
the n() method.
Now let's call the m() method on a thread. In the class given below, we are creating
thread using annonymous class.
1. class ReentrantExample{
2. public static void main(String args[]){
3. final Reentrant re=new Reentrant();
4.
5. Thread t1=new Thread(){
6. public void run(){
7. re.m();//calling method of Reentrant class
8. }
9. };
10. t1.start();
11. }}
Output: this is n() method
this is m() method

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