1

Chapter 29
Multithreading / Concurrency

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Thread
• Thread: single sequential flow of control within a
program
• Single-threaded program can handle one task at
any time.
• Multitasking allows single processor to run
several concurrent threads.
• Most modern operating systems support
multitasking.

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Advantages of Multithreading
• Reactive systems – constantly monitoring
• More responsive to user input – GUI application
can interrupt a time-consuming task
• Server can handle multiple clients
simultaneously
• Can take advantage of parallel processing

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• Different processes do not share memory space.

• A thread can execute concurrently with other
threads within a single process.
• All threads managed by the JVM share memory
space and can communicate with each other.

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 5

Threads Concept
Multiple Thread 1
threads on
Thread 2
multiple
Thread 3
CPUs

Multiple Thread 1
threads
Thread 2
sharing a
Thread 3
single CPU

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 6

Threads in Java
Creating threads in Java:

• Extend java.lang.Thread class

OR
• Implement java.lang.Runnable interface

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Threads in Java
Creating threads in Java:
• Extend java.lang.Thread class
▫ run() method must be overridden (similar to main
method of sequential program)
▫ run() is called when execution of the thread begins
▫ A thread terminates when run() returns
▫ start() method invokes run()
▫ Calling run() does not create a new thread
• Implement java.lang.Runnable interface
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Threads in Java
Creating threads in Java:
• Extend java.lang.Thread class
• Implement java.lang.Runnable interface
▫ If already inheriting another class (i.e., JApplet)
▫ Single method: public void run()
▫ Thread class implements Runnable.

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Thread States

http://www.deitel.com/articles/java_tutorials/20051126/JavaMultithrea
ding_Tutorial_Part2.html
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Thread termination
A thread becomes Not Runnable when one of
these events occurs:

• Its sleep method is invoked.

• The thread calls the wait method to wait for a
specific condition to be satisifed.
• The thread is blocking on I/O.

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Creating Tasks and Threads

java.lang.Runnable TaskClass // Client class

public class Client {
...
// Custom task class public void someMethod() {
public class TaskClass implements Runnable { ...
... // Create an instance of TaskClass
public TaskClass(...) { TaskClass task = new TaskClass(...);
...
} // Create a thread
Thread thread = new Thread(task);
// Implement the run method in Runnable
public void run() { // Start a thread
// Tell system how to run custom thread thread.start();
... ...
} }
... ...
} }

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Example:
Using the Runnable Interface to Create
and Launch Threads

• Objective: Create and run three threads:

▫ The first thread prints the letter a 100 times.
▫ The second thread prints the letter b 100
times.
▫ The third thread prints the integers 1
through 100.

TaskThreadDemo Run
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 13
The Thread Class

«interface»
java.lang.Runnable

java.lang.Thread
+Thread() Creates a default thread.
+Thread(task: Runnable) Creates a thread for a specified task.
+start(): void Starts the thread that causes the run() method to be invoked by the JVM.
+isAlive(): boolean Tests whether the thread is currently running.
+setPriority(p: int): void Sets priority p (ranging from 1 to 10) for this thread.
+join(): void Waits for this thread to finish.
+sleep(millis: long): void Puts the runnable object to sleep for a specified time in milliseconds.
+yield(): void Causes this thread to temporarily pause and allow other threads to execute.
+interrupt(): void Interrupts this thread.

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The Static yield() Method
You can use the yield() method to temporarily release
time for other threads. For example, suppose you
modify the code in Lines 53-57 in
TaskThreadDemo.java as follows:
public void run() {
for (int i = 1; i <= lastNum; i++) {
System.out.print(" " + i);
Thread.yield();
}
}

Every time a number is printed, the print100 thread is

yielded. So, the numbers are printed after the
characters.

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The Static sleep(milliseconds) Method
The sleep(long mills) method puts the thread to sleep for the
specified time in milliseconds. For example, suppose you
modify the code in Lines 53-57 in TaskThreadDemo.java as
follows:
public void run() {
for (int i = 1; i <= lastNum; i++) {
System.out.print(" " + i);
try {
if (i >= 50) Thread.sleep(1);
}
catch (InterruptedException ex) {
}
}
}

Every time a number (>= 50) is printed, the print100 thread is

put to sleep for 1 millisecond.

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The join() Method
You can use the join() method to force one thread to wait for
another thread to finish. For example, suppose you modify the
code in Lines 53-57 in TaskThreadDemo.java as follows:

public void run() { Thread Thread

Thread thread4 = new Thread( print100 printA
new PrintChar('c', 40));
thread4.start(); -char token -char token
try {
+getToken +getToken
for (int i = 1; i <= lastNum; i++) { printA.join()
+setToken +setToken
System.out.print(" " + i); +paintCompo +paintCompo
if (i == 50) thread4.join(); Wait for printA
-char
net token net
} to finish+mouseClicke +mouseClicke
} +getToken
d d
catch (InterruptedException ex) { +getToken +setToken printA finished
} +setToken +paintCompone
t
+paintComponet -char token
} +mouseClicked

The numbers after 50 are printed after thread printA is finished.

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 17
Thread States
A thread can be in one of five states:
New, Ready, Running, Blocked, or
Finished.

yield(), or Running
time out run() returns
Thread created start()
New Ready run() join() Finished

interrupt() sleep()
Target wait()
finished

Wait for target Wait for time Wait to be

to finish out notified
Time out notify() or
notifyAll()
Blocked
Interrupted()

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 18

Thread methods
isAlive()
• method used to find out the state of a thread.
• returns true: thread is in the Ready, Blocked, or
Running state
• returns false: thread is new and has not started or if it is
finished.
interrupt()
f a thread is currently in the Ready or Running state, its
interrupted flag is set; if a thread is currently blocked, it
is awakened and enters the Ready state, and an
java.io.InterruptedException is thrown.
The isInterrupt() method tests whether the thread is
interrupted.

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 19
The deprecated stop(), suspend(), and
resume() Methods

NOTE: The Thread class also contains the stop(), suspend(),

and resume() methods. As of Java 2, these methods are
deprecated (or outdated) because they are known to be
inherently unsafe. You should assign null to a Thread variable
to indicate that it is stopped rather than use the stop()
method.

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 20

Thread Priority
• Each thread is assigned a default priority of
Thread.NORM_PRIORITY (constant of 5). You
can reset the priority using setPriority(int
priority).

• Some constants for priorities include

Thread.MIN_PRIORITY Thread.MAX_PRIORITY
Thread.NORM_PRIORITY

• By default, a thread has the priority level of the

thread that created it.

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 21

Thread Scheduling
• An operating system’s thread scheduler
determines which thread runs next.
• Most operating systems use timeslicing for
threads of equal priority.
• Preemptive scheduling: when a thread of higher
priority enters the running state, it preempts the
current thread.
• Starvation: Higher-priority threads can
postpone (possible forever) the execution of
lower-priority threads.

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Example: Flashing Text

FlashingText Run

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Thread Pools
• Starting a new thread for each task could limit throughput and cause
poor performance.
• A thread pool is ideal to manage the number of tasks executing
concurrently.
• Executor interface for executing Runnable objects in a thread pool
•ExecutorService is a subinterface of Executor.

«interface»
java.util.concurrent.Executor
+execute(Runnable object): void Executes the runnable task.
\
«interface»
java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService
+shutdown(): void Shuts down the executor, but allows the tasks in the executor to
complete. Once shutdown, it cannot accept new tasks.
+shutdownNow(): List<Runnable> Shuts down the executor immediately even though there are
unfinished threads in the pool. Returns a list of unfinished
tasks.
+isShutdown(): boolean Returns true if the executor has been shutdown.
+isTerminated(): boolean Returns true if all tasks in the pool are terminated.

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 24
Creating Executors
To create an Executor object, use the static methods in the Executors
class.

java.util.concurrent.Executors
+newFixedThreadPool(numberOfThreads: Creates a thread pool with a fixed number of threads executing
int): ExecutorService concurrently. A thread may be reused to execute another task
after its current task is finished.
+newCachedThreadPool(): Creates a thread pool that creates new threads as needed, but
ExecutorService will reuse previously constructed threads when they are
available.

ExecutorDemo Run

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 25

Thread Synchronization

A shared resource may be corrupted if it is

accessed simultaneously by multiple threads.
Example: two unsynchronized threads accessing
the same bank account may cause conflict.
Step balance thread[i] thread[j]

1 0 newBalance = bank.getBalance() + 1;
2 0 newBalance = bank.getBalance() + 1;
3 1 bank.setBalance(newBalance);
4 1 bank.setBalance(newBalance);

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 26

Example: Showing Resource Conflict

• Objective: Write a program that demonstrates the problem

of resource conflict. Suppose that you create and launch
one hundred threads, each of which adds a penny to an
account. Assume that the account is initially empty.
java.lang.Runnable
-char token
100 1 1 1
AddAPennyTask
+getToken AccountWithoutSync Account
+setToken
+paintComponet -bank: Account -balance: int
+mouseClicked
+run(): void -thread: Thread[]
+getBalance(): int
+deposit(amount: int): void
+main(args: String[]): void

AccountWithoutSync

Run
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 27
Race Condition
What, then, caused the error in the example? Here is a possible scenario:

Step balance Task 1 Task 2

1 0 newBalance = balance + 1;
2 0 newBalance = balance + 1;
3 1 balance = newBalance;
4 1 balance = newBalance;
);

• Effect: Task 1 did nothing (in Step 4 Task 2 overrides the result)
• Problem: Task 1 and Task 2 are accessing a common resource in a
way that causes conflict.
• Known as a race condition in multithreaded programs.
•A thread-safe class does not cause a race condition in the presence
of multiple threads.
•The Account class is not thread-safe.
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synchronized
•Problem: race conditions
•Solution: give exclusive access to one thread at a time to code
that manipulates a shared object.
•Synchronization keeps other threads waiting until the object is
available.
•The synchronized keyword synchronizes the method so that
only one thread can access the method at a time.
•The critical region in the Listing 29.7 is the entire deposit
method.
•One way to correct the problem in Listing 29.7: make Account
thread-safe by adding the synchronized keyword in deposit:
public synchronized void deposit(double amount)

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 29
Synchronizing Instance Methods and Static
Methods
•A synchronized method acquires a lock before it
executes.
•Instance method: the lock is on the object for which it
was invoked.
•Static method: the lock is on the class.
•If one thread invokes a synchronized instance method
(respectively, static method) on an object, the lock of
that object (respectively, class) is acquired, then the
method is executed, and finally the lock is released.
•Another thread invoking the same method of that
object (respectively, class) is blocked until the lock is
released.

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 30
Synchronizing Instance Methods and Static
Methods
With the deposit method synchronized, the preceding scenario
cannot happen. If Task 2 starts to enter the method, and Task 1
is already in the method, Task 2 is blocked until Task 1 finishes
the method.
Task 1 Task 2

Acquire a-char
locktoken
on the object account -char token

+getToken +getToken
-char token +setToken +setToken
+paintComponet +paintComponet
Execute
+getToken the deposit method
+mouseClicked +mouseClicked
+setToken
+paintComponet Wait to acquire the lock
-char token
+mouseClicked
-char token
+getToken Release the lock
+setToken
+getToken
+paintComponet
-char token Acqurie a lock on the object account
+setToken
+mouseClicked
+paintComponet
+getToken -char token
+mouseClicked
+setToken
+paintComponet Execute the deposit method
+getToken
+mouseClicked +setToken
+paintComponet
-char token
+mouseClicked
+getToken Release the lock
+setToken
+paintComponet

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 31
Synchronizing Statements
•Invoking a synchronized instance method of an object acquires
a lock on the object.
•Invoking a synchronized static method of a class acquires a
lock on the class.
•A synchronized block can be used to acquire a lock on any
object, not just this object, when executing a block of code.
synchronized (expr) {
statements;
}

•expr must evaluate to an object reference.

•If the object is already locked by another thread, the thread is

blocked until the lock is released.
•When a lock is obtained on the object, the statements in the
synchronized block are executed, and then the lock is released.

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Synchronizing Statements vs. Methods
Any synchronized instance method can be converted into a
synchronized statement. Suppose that the following is a
synchronized instance method:

public synchronized void xMethod() {

// method body
}

This method is equivalent to

public void xMethod() {

synchronized (this) {
// method body
}
}

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 33
Synchronization Using Locks
•A synchronized instance method implicitly acquires a lock on
the instance before it executes the method.
•You can use locks explicitly to obtain more control for
coordinating threads.
•A lock is an instance of the Lock interface, which declares the
methods for acquiring and releasing locks.
•newCondition() method creates Condition objects, which can
be used for thread communication.
«interface»
java.util.concurrent.locks.Lock
+lock(): void Acquires the lock.
+unlock(): void Releases the lock.
+newCondition(): Condition Returns a new Condition instance that is bound to this
Lock instance.

java.util.concurrent.locks.ReentrantLock
+ReentrantLock() Same as ReentrantLock(false).
+ReentrantLock(fair: boolean) Creates a lock with the given fairness policy. When the
fairness is true, the longest-waiting thread will get the
lock. Otherwise, there is no particular access order.

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 34
Fairness Policy
•ReentrantLock:concrete implementation of Lock for
creating mutually exclusive locks.
•Create a lock with the specified fairness policy.
•True fairness policies guarantee the longest-wait
thread to obtain the lock first.
•False fairness policies grant a lock to a waiting thread
without any access order.
•Programs using fair locks accessed by many threads
may have poor overall performance than those using
the default setting, but have smaller variances in times
to obtain locks and guarantee lack of starvation.

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 35
Example: Using Locks
This example revises AccountWithoutSync.java in
Listing 29.7 to synchronize the account modification
using explicit locks.

AccountWithSyncUsingLock

Run

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 36
Cooperation Among Threads
•Conditions can be used for communication among threads.
•A thread can specify what to do under a certain condition.
•newCondition() method of Lock object.

•Condition methods:
•await() current thread waits until the condition is signaled
•signal() wakes up a waiting thread
•signalAll() wakes all waiting threads

«interface»
java.util.concurrent.Condition
+await(): void Causes the current thread to wait until the condition is signaled.
+signal(): void Wakes up one waiting thread.
+signalAll(): Condition Wakes up all waiting threads.

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Cooperation Among Threads
•Lock with a condition to synchronize operations: newDeposit
•If the balance is less than the amount to be withdrawn, the
withdraw task will wait for the newDeposit condition.
•When the deposit task adds money to the account, the task
signals the waiting withdraw task to try again.

•Interaction between the two tasks:

Withdraw Task Deposit Task

-char token -char token

lock.lock(); lock.lock();
+getToken +getToken
+setToken
-char token +setToken
-char token
+paintComponet +paintComponet
while (balance < withdrawAmount) balance += depositAmount
+mouseClicked
+mouseClicked
+getToken +getToken
newDeposit.await();
+setToken +setToken
+paintComponet +paintComponet
-char token
newDeposit.signalAll();
+mouseClicked
+mouseClicked
balance -= withdrawAmount
+getToken
-char token +setToken
lock.unlock();
+paintComponet
lock.unlock(); +mouseClicked
+getToken
-char token
+setToken
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 38
Example: Thread Cooperation
Write a program that demonstrates thread cooperation.
Suppose that you create and launch two threads, one deposits
to an account, and the other withdraws from the same account.
The second thread has to wait if the amount to be withdrawn is
more than the current balance in the account. Whenever new
fund is deposited to the account, the first thread notifies the
second thread to resume. If the amount is still not enough for a
withdrawal, the second thread has to continue to wait for more
fund in the account. Assume the initial balance is 0 and the
amount to deposit and to withdraw is randomly generated.

ThreadCooperation

Run

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 39
Java’s Built-in Monitors (Optional)
•Locks and conditions are new in Java 5.
•Prior to Java 5, thread communications were programmed
using object’s built-in monitors.
•Locks and conditions are more powerful and flexible than
the built-in monitor.
•A monitor is an object with mutual exclusion and
synchronization capabilities.
•Only one thread can execute a method at a time in the
monitor.
•A thread enters the monitor by acquiring a lock
(synchronized keyword on method / block) on the monitor
and exits by releasing the lock.
•A thread can wait in a monitor if the condition is not right
for it to continue executing in the monitor.
•Any object can be a monitor. An object becomes a monitor
once a thread locks it.

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 40
wait(), notify(), and notifyAll()
Use the wait(), notify(), and notifyAll() methods to facilitate
communication among threads.

The wait(), notify(), and notifyAll() methods must be called in a

synchronized method or a synchronized block on the calling
object of these methods. Otherwise, an
IllegalMonitorStateException would occur.

The wait() method lets the thread wait until some condition
occurs. When it occurs, you can use the notify() or notifyAll()
methods to notify the waiting threads to resume normal
execution. The notifyAll() method wakes up all waiting threads,
while notify() picks up only one thread from a waiting queue.

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 41
Example: Using Monitor
Task 1 Task 2

synchronized (anObject) {
try { synchronized (anObject) {
// Wait for the condition to become true // When condition becomes true
while (!condition) resume anObject.notify(); or anObject.notifyAll();
anObject.wait(); ...
}
// Do something when condition is true
}
catch (InterruptedException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}

• The wait(), notify(), and notifyAll() methods must be called in a

synchronized method or a synchronized block on the receiving
object of these methods. Otherwise, an
IllegalMonitorStateException will occur.
• When wait() is invoked, it pauses the thread and simultaneously
releases the lock on the object. When the thread is restarted after
being notified, the lock is automatically reacquired.
• The wait(), notify(), and notifyAll() methods on an object are
analogous to the await(), signal(), and signalAll() methods on a
condition.
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 42
Case Study: Producer/Consumer (Optional)
Consider the classic Consumer/Producer example. Suppose you use a
buffer to store integers. The buffer size is limited. The buffer provides the
method write(int) to add an int value to the buffer and the method read() to
read and delete an int value from the buffer. To synchronize the operations,
use a lock with two conditions: notEmpty (i.e., buffer is not empty) and
notFull (i.e., buffer is not full). When a task adds an int to the buffer, if the
buffer is full, the task will wait for the notFull condition. When a task
deletes an int from the buffer, if the buffer is empty, the task will wait for
the notEmpty condition. The interaction between the two tasks is shown in
Figure 29.19.
Task for adding an int Task for deleting an int

-char token -char token

while (count == CAPACITY)

+getToken while (count == 0)
+getToken
+setToken
notFull.await(); +setToken
notEmpty.await();
+paintComponet +paintComponet
+mouseClicked
-char token +mouseClicked
-char token

+getToken +getToken
Delete an int to the buffer
Add an int to the buffer
+setToken +setToken
+paintComponet +paintComponet
-char token
-char token
+mouseClicked +mouseClicked
+getToken +getToken
notEmpty.signal(); notFull.signal();
+setToken +setToken
+paintComponet +paintComponet
-char token -char token
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 43
Case Study: Producer/Consumer (Optional)
Listing 29.10 presents the complete program. The program
contains the Buffer class (lines 43-89) and two tasks for
repeatedly producing and consuming numbers to and from the
buffer (lines 15-41). The write(int) method (line 58) adds an
integer to the buffer. The read() method (line 75) deletes and
returns an integer from the buffer.

For simplicity, the buffer is implemented using a linked list

(lines 48-49). Two conditions notEmpty and notFull on the
lock are created in lines 55-56. The conditions are bound to a
lock. A lock must be acquired before a condition can be
applied. If you use the wait() and notify() methods to rewrite
this example, you have to designate two objects as monitors.

ConsumerProducer Run

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 44
Blocking Queues (Optional)
§22.8 introduced queues and priority queues. A
blocking queue causes a thread to block when you try
to add an element to a full queue or to remove an
element from an empty queue.
«interface»
java.util.Collection<E>

«interface»
java.util.Queue<E>

«interface»
java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue<E>
+put(element: E): void Inserts an element to the tail of the queue.
Waits if the queue is full.
+take(): E Retrieves and removes the head of this
queue. Waits if the queue is empty.

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 45
Concrete Blocking Queues
Three concrete blocking queues ArrayBlockingQueue,
LinkedBlockingQueue, and PriorityBlockingQueue are supported in JDK
1.5, as shown in Figure 29.22. All are in the java.util.concurrent package.
ArrayBlockingQueue implements a blocking queue using an array. You
have to specify a capacity or an optional fairness to construct an
ArrayBlockingQueue. LinkedBlockingQueue implements a blocking queue
using a linked list. You may create an unbounded or bounded
LinkedBlockingQueue. PriorityBlockingQueue is a priority queue. You may
create an unbounded or bounded priority queue.

«interface»
java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue<E>

ArrayBlockingQueue<E> LinkedBlockingQueue<E> PriorityBlockingQueue<E>

+ArrayBlockingQueue(capacity: int) +LinkedBlockingQueue() +PriorityBlockingQueue()
+ArrayBlockingQueue(capacity: int, +LinkedBlockingQueue(capacity: int) +PriorityBlockingQueue(capacity: int)
fair: boolean)

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 46
Producer/Consumer Using Blocking Queues
Listing 29.11 gives an example of using an ArrayBlockingQueue
to simplify the Consumer/Producer example in Listing 29.11.

ConsumerProducerUsingBlockingQueue Run

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 47
Semaphores (Optional)
Semaphores can be used to restrict the number of threads that
access a shared resource. Before accessing the resource, a
thread must acquire a permit from the semaphore. After
finishing with the resource, the thread must return the permit
back to the semaphore, as shown in Figure 29.29.

A thread accessing a shared resource A thread accessing a shared resource

-char token
-char token
+getToken
Acquire a permit from a semaphore. semaphore.acquire();
+setToken
Wait if the permit is not available. +getToken
+paintComponet +setToken
+mouseClicked
-char token +paintComponet
+mouseClicked
+getToken
Access the resource Access the resource
+setToken
+paintComponet
-char token -char token
+mouseClicked
+getToken +getToken
Release the permit to the semaphore semaphore.release();
+setToken +setToken
+paintComponet +paintComponet
-char token -char token

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 48
Creating Semaphores
To create a semaphore, you have to specify the number of
permits with an optional fairness policy, as shown in
Figure 29.29. A task acquires a permit by invoking the
semaphore’s acquire() method and releases the permit by
invoking the semaphore’s release() method. Once a permit
is acquired, the total number of available permits in a
semaphore is reduced by 1. Once a permit is released, the
total number of available permits in a semaphore is
increased by 1.

java.util.concurrent.Semaphore
+Semaphore(numberOfPermits: int) Creates a semaphore with the specified number of permits. The
fairness policy is false.
+Semaphore(numberOfPermits: int, fair: Creates a semaphore with the specified number of permits and
boolean) the fairness policy.
+acquire(): void Acquires a permit from this semaphore. If no permit is
available, the thread is blocked until one is available.
+release(): void Releases a permit back to the semaphore.

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 49
Deadlock
•Sometimes two or more threads need to acquire the locks on several
shared objects.
•This could cause deadlock, in which each thread has the lock on one of the
objects and is waiting for the lock on the other object.
•In the figure below, the two threads wait for each other to release the in
order to get a lock, and neither can continue to run.

Step Thread 1 Thread 2

1 synchronized (object1) {
2 synchronized (object2) {
3 // do something here
4 // do something here
5 synchronized (object2) {
6 synchronized (object1) {
// do something here // do something here
} }
} }

Wait for Thread 2 to Wait for Thread 1 to

release the lock on object2 release the lock on object1

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 50
Preventing Deadlock
•Deadlock can be easily avoided by resource ordering.
•With this technique, assign an order on all the objects whose
locks must be acquired and ensure that the locks are acquired
in that order.
•How does this prevent deadlock in the previous example?

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 51
Synchronized Collections
•The classes in the Java Collections Framework are not thread-
safe.
•Their contents may be corrupted if they are accessed and
updated concurrently by multiple threads.
•You can protect the data in a collection by locking the
collection or using synchronized collections.
The Collections class provides six static methods for creating
synchronization wrappers.

java.util.Collections
+synchronizedCollection(c: Collection): Collection Returns a synchronized collection.
+synchronizedList(list: List): List Returns a synchronized list from the specified list.
+synchronizedMap(m: Map): Map Returns a synchronized map from the specified map.
+synchronizedSet(s: Set): Set Returns a synchronized set from the specified set.
+synchronizedSortedMap(s: SortedMap): SortedMap Returns a synchronized sorted map from the specified
sorted map.
+synchronizedSortedSet(s: SortedSet): SortedSet Returns a synchronized sorted set.

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 52
Vector, Stack, and Hashtable
Invoking synchronizedCollection(Collection c) returns a new
Collection object, in which all the methods that access and update
the original collection c are synchronized. These methods are
implemented using the synchronized keyword. For example, the
add method is implemented like this:
public boolean add(E o) {
synchronized (this) { return c.add(o); }
}

The synchronized collections can be safely accessed and modified

by multiple threads concurrently.
The methods in java.util.Vector, java.util.Stack, and Hashtable
are already synchronized. These are old classes introduced in
JDK 1.0. In JDK 1.5, you should use java.util.ArrayList to replace
Vector, java.util.LinkedList to replace Stack, and java.util.Map to
replace Hashtable. If synchronization is needed, use a
synchronization wrapper.

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 53
Fail-Fast
The synchronization wrapper classes are thread-safe, but the iterator is fail-
fast. This means that if you are using an iterator to traverse a collection
while the underlying collection is being modified by another thread, then
the iterator will immediately fail by throwing
java.util.ConcurrentModificationException, which is a subclass of
RuntimeException. To avoid this error, you need to create a synchronized
collection object and acquire a lock on the object when traversing it. For
example, suppose you want to traverse a set, you have to write the code like
this:

Set hashSet = Collections.synchronizedSet(new HashSet());

synchronized (hashSet) { // Must synchronize it
Iterator iterator = hashSet.iterator();
while (iterator.hasNext()) {
System.out.println(iterator.next());
}
}

Failure to do so may result in nondeterministic behavior, such as

ConcurrentModificationException.

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 54

GUI Event Dispatcher Thread

GUI event handling and painting code executes in a
single thread, called the event dispatcher thread.
This ensures that each event handler finishes
executing before the next one executes and the
painting isn’t interrupted by events.

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 55

invokeLater and invokeAndWait

In certain situations, you need to run the code in the event
dispatcher thread to avoid possible deadlock. You can use
the static methods, invokeLater and invokeAndWait, in
the javax.swing.SwingUtilities class to run the code in the
event dispatcher thread. You must put this code in the run
method of a Runnable object and specify the Runnable
object as the argument to invokeLater and
invokeAndWait. The invokeLater method returns
immediately, without waiting for the event dispatcher
thread to execute the code. The invokeAndWait method is
just like invokeLater, except that invokeAndWait doesn't
return until the event-dispatching thread has executed the
specified code.

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 56
Launch Application from Main Method
So far, you have launched your GUI application from
the main method by creating a frame and making it
visible. This works fine for most applications. In certain
situations, however, it could cause problems. To avoid
possible thread deadlock, you should launch GUI
creation from the event dispatcher thread as follows:

public static void main(String[] args) {

SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
// Place the code for creating a frame and setting it properties
}
});
}
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 57
Case Study: Clock with Audio (Optional)

The example creates an applet that displays a running clock and

announces the time at one-minute intervals. For example, if the
current time is 6:30:00, the applet announces, "six o’clock thirty
minutes a.m." If the current time is 20:20:00, the applet announces,
"eight o’clock twenty minutes p.m." Also add a label to display the
digital time.
ClockWithAudio Run

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 58
Run Audio on Separate Thread

When you run the preceding program, you will notice that the second
hand does not display at the first, second, and third seconds of the
minute. This is because sleep(1500) is invoked twice in the
announceTime() method, which takes three seconds to announce the
time at the beginning of each minute. Thus, the next action event is
delayed for three seconds during the first three seconds of each
minute. As a result of this delay, the time is not updated and the clock
was not repainted for these three seconds. To fix this problem, you
should announce the time on a separate thread. This can be
accomplished by modifying the announceTime method.

ClockWithAudioOnSeparateThread Run

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 59
SwingWorker
As discussed in §29.6, all Swing GUI events are processed in a
single event dispatch thread. If an event requires a long time to
process, the thread cannot attend to other tasks in the queue.
To solve this problem, you should run the time-consuming task
for processing the event in a separate thread. Java 6 introduced
SwingWorker. SwingWorker is an abstract class that
implements Runnable. You can define a task class that extends
SwingWorker, run the time-consuming task in the task, and
update the GUI using the results produced from the task.
Figure 29.28 defines SwingWorker.

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 60
SwingWorker
«interface»
java.lang.Runnable

javax.swing.SwingWorker<T, V>
#doInBackground(): T Performs the task and return a result of type T.
#done(): void Executed on the Event Dispatch Thread after doInBackground is
finished.
+execute(): void Schedules this SwingWorker for execution on a worker thread.
+get(): T Waits if necessary for the computation to complete, and then retrieves
its result (i.e., the result returned doInBackground).
+isDone(): boolean Returns true if this task is completed.
+cancel(): boolean Attempts to cancel this task.
#publish(data V...): void Sends data for processing by the process method. This method is to be
used from inside doInBackground to deliver intermediate results
for processing on the event dispatch thread inside the process
method. Note that V… denotes variant arguments.
#process(data: java.util.List<V>): void Receives data from the publish method asynchronously on the Event
Dispatch Thread.
#setProgress(int progress): void Sets the progress bound property. The value should be from 0 to 100.
#getProgress(): void Returns the progress bound property.

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 61
SwingWorker Demo

SwingWorkerDemo Run
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 62
TIP
Two things to remember when
writing Swing GUI programs,
• Time-consuming tasks should be
run in SwingWorker.
• Swing components should be
accessed from the event dispatch
thread only.

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 63

Tutorial
• http://www.deitel.com/articles/java_tutorials/2
0051126/JavaMultithreading_Tutorial_Part1.ht
ml

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