Testing Java Singleton class for Multi-Threading with JUnit

Last update on May 23 2025 13:13:20 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

9. Test Singleton in Multi-threaded Context

Write a Java program that tests a singleton class, ensuring it behaves as expected in a multi-threaded environment.

Sample Solution:

Java Code:

// Singleton.java
public class Singleton {

    private static volatile Singleton instance;

    private Singleton() {
        // Private constructor to prevent instantiation
    }

    public static Singleton getInstance() {
        if (instance == null) {
            synchronized (Singleton.class) {
                if (instance == null) {
                    instance = new Singleton();
                }
            }
        }
        return instance;
    }
}

// SingletonTest.java

import org.junit.Test;

import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;


public class SingletonTest {

    @Test
    public void testSingletonInstance() throws InterruptedException {
        // Create multiple threads to access the singleton instance concurrently
        Thread thread1 = new Thread(() -> {
            Singleton instance1 = Singleton.getInstance();
            try {
                Thread.sleep(100); // Simulate some work in the thread
            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            }
            Singleton instance2 = Singleton.getInstance();

            // Assert that both instances obtained in the same thread are the same
            assertEquals(instance1, instance2);
        });

        Thread thread2 = new Thread(() -> {
            Singleton instance3 = Singleton.getInstance();
            try {
                Thread.sleep(100); // Simulate some work in the thread
            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            }
            Singleton instance4 = Singleton.getInstance();

            // Assert that both instances obtained in the same thread are the same
            assertEquals(instance3, instance4);
        });

        // Start the threads
        thread1.start();
        thread2.start();

        // Wait for threads to finish
        thread1.join();
        thread2.join();
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Run the JUnit test
        org.junit.runner.JUnitCore.main("SingletonTest");
    }
}

Sample Output:

JUnit version 4.10
.
Time: 0.114

OK (1 test)

Explanation:

The above exercise code consists of two Java classes:

Singleton.java

This class represents a singleton pattern implementation using double-check locking to ensure thread safety during lazy initialization.
The class has a private static volatile instance variable, which is the single instance of the class.
The constructor is private to prevent external instantiation.
The "getInstance()" method is a static method that returns the singleton instance. It uses double-check locking to ensure that only one instance is created, even in a multi-threaded environment.

SingletonTest.java:

This class contains a JUnit test to verify the behavior of the "Singleton" class in a multi-threaded environment.
The "testSingletonInstance()" method creates two threads, each trying to obtain the singleton instance concurrently.
In each thread, it asserts that the instances obtained before and after a short sleep are the same, ensuring thread safety.
The "main" method is provided for running the JUnit test using "JUnitCore".

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

Write a Java program to create a test case that validates a singleton instance remains unique when accessed concurrently by multiple threads.
Write a Java program to implement a test case that simulates race conditions and verifies that the singleton pattern is maintained.
Write a Java program to design a test case using concurrent threads to call getInstance() and assert all returned instances are the same.
Write a Java program to construct a test case that stresses a singleton class with high parallelism to confirm thread safety.

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