Multithreading Interview Questions

1) What is multithreading?
Multithreading is a process of executing multiple threads simultaneously.
Multithreading is used to obtain the multitasking. It consumes less memory and
gives the fast and efficient performance. Its main advantages are:

o Threads share the same address space.

o The thread is lightweight.
o The cost of communication between the processes is low.

More details.

2) What is the thread?

A thread is a lightweight subprocess. It is a separate path of execution because each
thread runs in a different stack frame. A process may contain multiple threads.
Threads share the process resources, but still, they execute independently.
More details.

3) Differentiate between process and thread?

There are the following differences between the process and thread.

o A Program in the execution is called the process whereas; A thread is a subset

of the process
o Processes are independent whereas threads are the subset of process.
o Process have different address space in memory, while threads contain a
shared address space.
o Context switching is faster between the threads as compared to processes.
o Inter-process communication is slower and expensive than inter-thread
communication.
o Any change in Parent process doesn't affect the child process whereas
changes in parent thread can affect the child thread.

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4) What do you understand by inter-thread communication?
o The process of communication between synchronized threads is termed as
inter-thread communication.
o Inter-thread communication is used to avoid thread polling in Java.
o The 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.
o It can be obtained by wait(), notify(), and notifyAll() methods.

5) What is the purpose of wait() method in Java?

The wait() method is provided by the Object class in Java. This method is used for
inter-thread communication in Java. The java.lang.Object.wait() is used to pause the
current thread, and wait until another thread does not call the notify() or notifyAll()
method. Its syntax is given below.

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public final void wait()

6) Why must wait() method be called from the synchronized

block?
We must call the wait method otherwise it will throw
java.lang.IllegalMonitorStateException exception. Moreover, we need wait()
method for inter-thread communication with notify() and notifyAll(). Therefore It
must be present in the synchronized block for the proper and correct
communication.

7) What are the advantages of multithreading?

Multithreading programming has the following advantages:

o Multithreading allows an application/program to be always reactive for input,

even already running with some background tasks
o Multithreading allows the faster execution of tasks, as threads execute
independently.
o Multithreading provides better utilization of cache memory as threads share
the common memory resources.
o Multithreading reduces the number of the required server as one server can
execute multiple threads at a time.

8) What are the states in the lifecycle of a Thread?

A thread can have one of the following states during its lifetime:

1. New: In this state, a Thread class object is created using a new operator, but
the thread is not alive. Thread doesn't start until we call the start() method.
2. Runnable: In this state, the thread is ready to run after calling the start()
method. However, the thread is not yet selected by the thread scheduler.
3. Running: In this state, the thread scheduler picks the thread from the ready
state, and the thread is running.
4. Waiting/Blocked: In this state, a thread is not running but still alive, or it is
waiting for the other thread to finish.
5. Dead/Terminated: A thread is in terminated or dead state when the run()
method exits.

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9) What is the difference between preemptive scheduling and
time slicing?
Under preemptive scheduling, the highest priority task executes until it enters the
waiting or dead states or a higher priority task comes into existence. Under time
slicing, a task executes for a predefined slice of time and then reenters the pool of
ready tasks. The scheduler then determines which task should execute next, based on
priority and other factors.

10) What is context switching?

In Context switching the state of the process (or thread) is stored so that it can be
restored and execution can be resumed from the same point later. Context switching
enables the multiple processes to share the same CPU.

11) Differentiate between the Thread class and Runnable

interface for creating a Thread?
The Thread can be created by using two ways.

o By extending the Thread class

o By implementing the Runnable interface

However, the primary differences between both the ways are given below:

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 o By extending the Thread class, we cannot extend any other class, as Java does
not allow multiple inheritances while implementing the Runnable interface; we
can also extend other base class(if required).
o By extending the Thread class, each of thread creates the unique object and
associates with it while implementing the Runnable interface; multiple threads
share the same object
o Thread class provides various inbuilt methods such as getPriority(), isAlive and
many more while the Runnable interface provides a single method, i.e., run().

12) What does join() method?

The join() method waits for a thread to die. In other words, it causes the currently
running threads to stop executing until the thread it joins with completes its task.
Join method is overloaded in Thread class in the following ways.

o public void join()throws InterruptedException

o public void join(long milliseconds)throws InterruptedException

More details.

13) Describe the purpose and working of sleep() method.

The sleep() method in java is used to block a thread for a particular time, which
means it pause the execution of a thread for a specific time. There are two methods
of doing so.
Syntax:

o public static void sleep(long milliseconds)throws InterruptedException

o public static void sleep(long milliseconds, int nanos)throws
InterruptedException

Working of sleep() method

When we call the sleep() method, it pauses the execution of the current thread for
the given time and gives priority to another thread(if available). Moreover, when the
waiting time completed then again previous thread changes its state from waiting to
runnable and comes in running state, and the whole process works so on till the
execution doesn't complete.

14) What is the difference between wait() and sleep() method?

wait() sleep()
1) The wait() method is defined in Object The sleep() method is defined in Thread
class. class.
The sleep() method doesn't release the
2) The wait() method releases the lock.
lock.

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15) Is it possible to start a thread twice?
No, we cannot restart the thread, as once a thread started and executed, it goes to
the Dead state. Therefore, if we try to start a thread twice, it will give a
runtimeException "java.lang.IllegalThreadStateException". Consider the following
example.

1. public class Multithread1 extends Thread

2. {
3. public void run()
4. {
5. try {
6. System.out.println("thread is executing now........");
7. } catch(Exception e) {
8. }
9. }
10. public static void main (String[] args) {
11. Multithread1 m1= new Multithread1();
12. m1.start();
13. m1.start();
14. }
15. }

Output
ADVERTISING
thread is executing now........
Exception in thread "main"
java.lang.IllegalThreadStateException
at java.lang.Thread.start(Thread.java:708)
at Multithread1.main(Multithread1.java:13)
More details.

16) Can we call the run() method instead of start()?

Yes, calling run() method directly is valid, but it will not work as a thread instead it
will work as a normal object. There will not be context-switching between the
threads. When we call the start() method, it internally calls the run() method, which
creates a new stack for a thread while directly calling the run() will not create a new
stack.
More details.

17) What about the daemon threads?

The daemon threads are the low priority threads that provide the background
support and services to the user threads. Daemon thread gets automatically
terminated by the JVM if the program remains with the daemon thread only, and all

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other user threads are ended/died. There are two methods for daemon thread
available in the Thread class:

o public void setDaemon(boolean status): It used to mark the thread daemon

thread or a user thread.
o public boolean isDaemon(): It checks the thread is daemon or not.

More details.

18)Can we make the user thread as daemon thread if the

thread is started?
No, if you do so, it will throw IllegalThreadStateException. Therefore, we can only
create a daemon thread before starting the thread.

1. class Testdaemon1 extends Thread{

2. public void run(){
3. System.out.println("Running thread is daemon...");
4. }
5. public static void main (String[] args) {
6. Testdaemon1 td= new Testdaemon1();
7. td.start();
8. setDaemon(true);// It will throw the exception: td.
9. }
10. }

Output
Running thread is daemon...
Exception in thread "main"
java.lang.IllegalThreadStateException
at java.lang.Thread.setDaemon(Thread.java:1359)
at Testdaemon1.main(Testdaemon1.java:8)
More details.

19)What is shutdown hook?

The shutdown hook is a thread that is invoked implicitly before JVM shuts down. So
we can use it to perform clean up the resource or save the state when JVM shuts
down normally or abruptly. We can add shutdown hook by using the following
method:

1. public void addShutdownHook(Thread hook){}

2. Runtime r=Runtime.getRuntime();
3. r.addShutdownHook(new MyThread());

Some important points about shutdown hooks are :

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 o Shutdown hooks initialized but can only be started when JVM shutdown
occurred.
o Shutdown hooks are more reliable than the finalizer() because there are very
fewer chances that shutdown hooks not run.
o The shutdown hook can be stopped by calling the halt(int) method of Runtime
class.

More details.

20)When should we interrupt a thread?

We should interrupt a thread when we want to break out the sleep or wait state of a
thread. We can interrupt a thread by calling the interrupt() throwing the
InterruptedException.
More details.

21) What is the synchronization?

Synchronization is the capability to control the access of multiple threads to any
shared resource. It is used:

1. To prevent thread interference.

2. To prevent consistency problem.

When the multiple threads try to do the same task, there is a possibility of an
erroneous result, hence to remove this issue, Java uses the process of
synchronization which allows only one thread to be executed at a time.
Synchronization can be achieved in three ways:

o by the synchronized method

o by synchronized block
o by static synchronization

Syntax for synchronized block

1. synchronized(object reference expression)

2. {
3. //code block
4. }
5.

More details.

22) What is the purpose of the Synchronized block?

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The Synchronized block can be used to perform synchronization on any specific
resource of the method. Only one thread at a time can execute on a particular
resource, and all other threads which attempt to enter the synchronized block are
blocked.

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

o The scope of the synchronized block is limited to the block on which, it is
applied. Its scope is smaller than a method.

More details.

23)Can Java object be locked down for exclusive use by a

given thread?
Yes. You can lock an object by putting it in a "synchronized" block. The locked object
is inaccessible to any thread other than the one that explicitly claimed it.

24) What is static synchronization?

If you make any static method as synchronized, the lock will be on the class not on
the object. If we use the synchronized keyword before a method so it will lock the
object (one thread can access an object at a time) but if we use static synchronized
so it will lock a class (one thread can access a class at a time). More details.

25)What is the difference between notify() and notifyAll()?

The notify() is used to unblock one waiting thread whereas notifyAll() method is used
to unblock all the threads in waiting state.

26)What is the deadlock?

Deadlock is a situation in which every thread is waiting for a resource which is held
by some other waiting thread. In this situation, Neither of the thread executes nor it
gets the chance to be executed. Instead, there exists a universal waiting state among
all the threads. Deadlock is a very complicated situation which can break our code at
runtime.
More details.

27) How to detect a deadlock condition? How can it be

avoided?
We can detect the deadlock condition by running the code on cmd and collecting
the Thread Dump, and if any deadlock is present in the code, then a message will
appear on cmd.
Ways to avoid the deadlock condition in Java:

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 o Avoid Nested lock: Nested lock is the common reason for deadlock as
deadlock occurs when we provide locks to various threads so we should give
one lock to only one thread at some particular time.
o Avoid unnecessary locks: we must avoid the locks which are not required.
o Using thread join: Thread join helps to wait for a thread until another thread
doesn't finish its execution so we can avoid deadlock by maximum use of join
method.

28) What is Thread Scheduler in java?

In Java, when we create the threads, they are supervised with the help of a Thread
Scheduler, which is the part of JVM. Thread scheduler is only responsible for deciding
which thread should be executed. Thread scheduler uses two mechanisms for
scheduling the threads: Preemptive and Time Slicing.
Java thread scheduler also works for deciding the following for a thread:

o It selects the priority of the thread.

o It determines the waiting time for a thread
o It checks the Nature of thread

29) Does each thread have its stack in multithreaded

programming?
Yes, in multithreaded programming every thread maintains its own or separate stack
area in memory due to which every thread is independent of each other.

30) How is the safety of a thread achieved?

If a method or class object can be used by multiple threads at a time without any
race condition, then the class is thread-safe. Thread safety is used to make a program
safe to use in multithreaded programming. It can be achieved by the following ways:

o Synchronization
o Using Volatile keyword
o Using a lock based mechanism
o Use of atomic wrapper classes

31) What is race-condition?

A Race condition is a problem which occurs in the multithreaded programming when
various threads execute simultaneously accessing a shared resource at the same
time. The proper use of synchronization can avoid the Race condition.

32) What is the volatile keyword in java?

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Volatile keyword is used in multithreaded programming to achieve the thread safety,
as a change in one volatile variable is visible to all other threads so one variable can
be used by one thread at a time.

33) What do you understand by thread pool?

o Java Thread pool represents a group of worker threads, which are waiting for
the task to be allocated.
o Threads in the thread pool are supervised by the service provider which pulls
one thread from the pool and assign a job to it.
o After completion of the given task, thread again came to the thread pool.
o The size of the thread pool depends on the total number of threads kept at
reserve for execution.

The advantages of the thread pool are :

o Using a thread pool, performance can be enhanced.

o Using a thread pool, better system stability can occur.

Concurrency Interview Questions

34) What are the main components of concurrency API?
Concurrency API can be developed using the class and interfaces of
java.util.Concurrent package. There are the following classes and interfaces in
java.util.Concurrent package.

o Executor
o FarkJoinPool
o ExecutorService
o ScheduledExecutorService
o Future
o TimeUnit(Enum)
o CountDownLatch
o CyclicBarrier
o Semaphore
o ThreadFactory
o BlockingQueue
o DelayQueue
o Locks
o Phaser

35) What is the Executor interface in Concurrency API in Java?

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The Executor Interface provided by the package java.util.concurrent is the simple
interface used to execute the new task. The execute() method of Executor interface is
used to execute some given command. The syntax of the execute() method is given
below.
void execute(Runnable command)
Consider the following example:

1. import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
2. import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
3. import java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor;
4. import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
5.
6. public class TestThread {
7. public static void main(final String[] arguments) throws InterruptedExcepti
on {
8. Executor e = Executors.newCachedThreadPool();
9. e.execute(new Thread());
10. ThreadPoolExecutor pool = (ThreadPoolExecutor)e;
11. pool.shutdown();
12. }
13.
14. static class Thread implements Runnable {
15. public void run() {
16. try {
17. Long duration = (long) (Math.random() * 5);
18. System.out.println("Running Thread!");
19. TimeUnit.SECONDS.sleep(duration);
20. System.out.println("Thread Completed");
21. } catch (InterruptedException ex) {
22. ex.printStackTrace();
23. }
24. }
25. }
26. }

Output
Running Thread!
Thread Completed

36) What is BlockingQueue?

The java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue is the subinterface of Queue that supports
the operations such as waiting for the space availability before inserting a new value
or waiting for the queue to become non-empty before retrieving an element from it.
Consider the following example.

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 1.
2. import java.util.Random;
3. import java.util.concurrent.ArrayBlockingQueue;
4. import java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue;
5.
6. public class TestThread {
7.
8. public static void main(final String[] arguments) throws InterruptedExcepti
on {
9. BlockingQueue<Integer> queue = new ArrayBlockingQueue<Integer>(10)
;
10.
11. Insert i = new Insert(queue);
12. Retrieve r = new Retrieve(queue);
13.
14. new Thread(i).start();
15. new Thread(r).start();
16.
17. Thread.sleep(2000);
18. }
19.
20.
21. static class Insert implements Runnable {
22. private BlockingQueue<Integer> queue;
23.
24. public Insert(BlockingQueue queue) {
25. this.queue = queue;
26. }
27.
28. @Override
29. public void run() {
30. Random random = new Random();
31.
32. try {
33. int result = random.nextInt(200);
34. Thread.sleep(1000);
35. queue.put(result);
36. System.out.println("Added: " + result);
37.
38. result = random.nextInt(10);
39. Thread.sleep(1000);
40. queue.put(result);
41. System.out.println("Added: " + result);

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 42.
43. result = random.nextInt(50);
44. Thread.sleep(1000);
45. queue.put(result);
46. System.out.println("Added: " + result);
47. } catch (InterruptedException e) {
48. e.printStackTrace();
49. }
50. }
51. }
52.
53. static class Retrieve implements Runnable {
54. private BlockingQueue<Integer> queue;
55.
56. public Retrieve(BlockingQueue queue) {
57. this.queue = queue;
58. }
59.
60. @Override
61. public void run() {
62.
63. try {
64. System.out.println("Removed: " + queue.take());
65. System.out.println("Removed: " + queue.take());
66. System.out.println("Removed: " + queue.take());
67. } catch (InterruptedException e) {
68. e.printStackTrace();
69. }
70. }
71. }
72. }

Output
Added: 96
Removed: 96
Added: 8
Removed: 8
Added: 5
Removed: 5

37) How to implement producer-consumer problem by using

BlockingQueue?
The producer-consumer problem can be solved by using BlockingQueue in the
following way.

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 1.
2. import java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue;
3. import java.util.concurrent.LinkedBlockingQueue;
4. import java.util.logging.Level;
5. import java.util.logging.Logger;
6. public class ProducerConsumerProblem {
7. public static void main(String args[]){
8. //Creating shared object
9. BlockingQueue sharedQueue = new LinkedBlockingQueue();
10.
11. //Creating Producer and Consumer Thread
12. Thread prod = new Thread(new Producer(sharedQueue));
13. Thread cons = new Thread(new Consumer(sharedQueue));
14.
15. //Starting producer and Consumer thread
16. prod.start();
17. cons.start();
18. }
19.
20. }
21.
22. //Producer Class in java
23. class Producer implements Runnable {
24.
25. private final BlockingQueue sharedQueue;
26.
27. public Producer(BlockingQueue sharedQueue) {
28. this.sharedQueue = sharedQueue;
29. }
30.
31. @Override
32. public void run() {
33. for(int i=0; i<10; i++){
34. try {
35. System.out.println("Produced: " + i);
36. sharedQueue.put(i);
37. } catch (InterruptedException ex) {
38. Logger.getLogger(Producer.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null,
ex);
39. }
40. }
41. }
42.

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 43. }
44.
45. //Consumer Class in Java
46. class Consumer implements Runnable{
47.
48. private final BlockingQueue sharedQueue;
49.
50. public Consumer (BlockingQueue sharedQueue) {
51. this.sharedQueue = sharedQueue;
52. }
53.
54. @Override
55. public void run() {
56. while(true){
57. try {
58. System.out.println("Consumed: "+ sharedQueue.take());
59. } catch (InterruptedException ex) {
60. Logger.getLogger(Consumer.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null
, ex);
61. }
62. }
63. }
64. }

Output
Produced: 0
Produced: 1
Produced: 2
Produced: 3
Produced: 4
Produced: 5
Produced: 6
Produced: 7
Produced: 8
Produced: 9
Consumed: 0
Consumed: 1
Consumed: 2
Consumed: 3
Consumed: 4
Consumed: 5
Consumed: 6
Consumed: 7
Consumed: 8
Consumed: 9

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38) What is the difference between Java Callable interface and
Runnable interface?
The Callable interface and Runnable interface both are used by the classes which
wanted to execute with multiple threads. However, there are two main differences
between the both :

o A Callable <V> interface can return a result, whereas the Runnable interface
cannot return any result.
o A Callable <V> interface can throw a checked exception, whereas the
Runnable interface cannot throw checked exception.
o A Callable <V> interface cannot be used before the Java 5 whereas the
Runnable interface can be used.

39) What is the Atomic action in Concurrency in Java?

o The Atomic action is the operation which can be performed in a single unit of
a task without any interference of the other operations.
o The Atomic action cannot be stopped in between the task. Once started it fill
stop after the completion of the task only.
o An increment operation such as a++ does not allow an atomic action.
o All reads and writes operation for the primitive variable (except long and
double) are the atomic operation.
o All reads and writes operation for the volatile variable (including long and
double) are the atomic operation.
o The Atomic methods are available in java.util.Concurrent package.

40) What is lock interface in Concurrency API in Java?

The java.util.concurrent.locks.Lock interface is used as the synchronization
mechanism. It works similar to the synchronized block. There are a few differences
between the lock and synchronized block that are given below.

o Lock interface provides the guarantee of sequence in which the waiting thread
will be given the access, whereas the synchronized block doesn't guarantee it.
o Lock interface provides the option of timeout if the lock is not granted
whereas the synchronized block doesn't provide that.
o The methods of Lock interface, i.e., Lock() and Unlock() can be called in
different methods whereas single synchronized block must be fully contained
in a single method.

41) Explain the ExecutorService Interface.

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The ExecutorService Interface is the subinterface of Executor interface and adds the
features to manage the lifecycle. Consider the following example.

1.
2. import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
3. import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
4. import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
5.
6. public class TestThread {
7. public static void main(final String[] arguments) throws InterruptedExcepti
on {
8. ExecutorService e = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor();
9.
10. try {
11. e.submit(new Thread());
12. System.out.println("Shutdown executor");
13. e.shutdown();
14. e.awaitTermination(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
15. } catch (InterruptedException ex) {
16. System.err.println("tasks interrupted");
17. } finally {
18.
19. if (!e.isTerminated()) {
20. System.err.println("cancel non-finished tasks");
21. }
22. e.shutdownNow();
23. System.out.println("shutdown finished");
24. }
25. }
26.
27. static class Task implements Runnable {
28.
29. public void run() {
30.
31. try {
32. Long duration = (long) (Math.random() * 20);
33. System.out.println("Running Task!");
34. TimeUnit.SECONDS.sleep(duration);
35. } catch (InterruptedException ex) {
36. ex.printStackTrace();
37. }
38. }
39. }

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 40. }

Output
Shutdown executor
shutdown finished

42) What is the difference between Synchronous programming

and Asynchronous programming regarding a thread?
Synchronous programming: In Synchronous programming model, a thread is
assigned to complete a task and hence thread started working on it, and it is only
available for other tasks once it will end the assigned task.
Asynchronous Programming: In Asynchronous programming, one job can be
completed by multiple threads and hence it provides maximum usability of the
various threads.

43) What do you understand by Callable and Future in Java?

Java Callable interface: In Java5 callable interface was provided by the package
java.util.concurrent. It is similar to the Runnable interface but it can return a result,
and it can throw an Exception. It also provides a run() method for execution of a
thread. Java Callable can return any object as it uses Generic.
Syntax:
public interface Callable<V>
Java Future interface: Java Future interface gives the result of a concurrent process.
The Callable interface returns the object of java.util.concurrent.Future.
Java Future provides following methods for implementation.

o cancel(boolean mayInterruptIfRunning): It is used to cancel the execution

of the assigned task.
o get(): It waits for the time if execution not completed and then retrieved the
result.
o isCancelled(): It returns the Boolean value as it returns true if the task was
canceled before the completion.
o isDone(): It returns true if the job is completed successfully else returns false.

44. What is the difference between ScheduledExecutorService

and ExecutorService interface?
ExecutorServcie and ScheduledExecutorService both are the interfaces of
java.util.Concurrent package but scheduledExecutorService provides some additional
methods to execute the Runnable and Callable tasks with the delay or every fixed
time period.
45) Define FutureTask class in Java?

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Java FutureTask class provides a base implementation of the Future interface. The
result can only be obtained if the execution of one task is completed, and if the
computation is not achieved then get method will be blocked. If the execution is
completed, then it cannot be re-started and can't be canceled.
Syntax
public class FutureTask<V> extends Object implements RunnableFuture<V>

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