Week 12 - Java Threads

Object Oriented Programming
Java Threads
MODULE 8 – Java Threads
What are Java Threads?
A thread is a:
 Facility to allow multiple activities within a single process

 Referred as lightweight process
 A thread is a series of executed statements
 Each thread has its own program counter, stack and local variables
 A thread is a nested sequence of method calls
 Its shares memory, files and per-process state
Whats the need of a thread or why we use Threads?
 To perform asynchronous or background processing

 Increases the responsiveness of GUI applications
 Take advantage of multiprocessor systems
 Simplify program logic when there are multiple independent entities
What happens when a thread is invoked?
When a thread is invoked, there will be two paths of execution. One path will execute the
thread and the other path will follow the statement after the thread invocation. There will be
a separate stack and memory space for each thread.
Risk Factor
 Proper co-ordination is required between threads accessing common variables [use of

synchronized and volatile] for consistence view of data
 overuse of java threads can be hazardous to program’s performance and its maintainability.
Threads in Java
Java threads facility and API is deceptively simple: Every java program creates at least one
thread [ main() thread ]. Additional threads are created through the Thread constructor or by
instantiating classes that extend the Thread class.
Thread creation in Java
Thread implementation in java can be achieved in two ways:
1. Extending the java.lang.Thread class

2. Implementing the java.lang.Runnable Interface
Note: The Thread and Runnable are available in the java.lang.* package
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Java Threads
1) By extending thread class
 The class should extend Java Thread class.

 The class should override the run() method.
 The functionality that is expected by the Thread to be executed is written in the run()
method.
void start(): Creates a new thread and makes it runnable.
void run(): The new thread begins its life inside this method.
Example:
public class MyThread extends Thread {

public void run(){
System.out.println("thread is running...");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
MyThread obj = new MyThread();
obj.start();
}
2) By Implementing Runnable interface
 The class should implement the Runnable interface

 The class should implement the run() method in the Runnable interface
 The functionality that is expected by the Thread to be executed is put in the run() method
Example:
public class MyThread implements Runnable {

public void run(){
System.out.println("thread is running..");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Thread t = new Thread(new MyThread());
t.start();
}
Extends Thread class vs Implements Runnable Interface?
 Extending the Thread class will make your class unable to extend other classes, because of the
single inheritance feature in JAVA. However, this will give you a simpler code structure. If you
implement Runnable, you can gain better object-oriented design and consistency and also
avoid the single inheritance problems.
 If you just want to achieve basic functionality of a thread you can simply implement Runnable
interface and override run() method. But if you want to do something serious with thread object
as it has other methods like suspend(), resume(), ..etc which are not available in Runnable
interface then you may prefer to extend the Thread class.
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Java Threads
Ending Thread
A Thread ends due to the following reasons:
 The thread ends when it comes when the run() method finishes its execution.
 When the thread throws an Exception or Error that is not being caught in the program.
 Java program completes or ends.
 Another thread calls stop() methods.
Synchronization of Threads
 In many cases concurrently running threads share data and two threads try to do operations
on the same variables at the same time. This often results in corrupt data as two threads try
to operate on the same data.
 A popular solution is to provide some kind of lock primitive. Only one thread can acquire a
particular lock at any particular time. This can be achieved by using a keyword “synchronized”
.
 By using the synchronize only one thread can access the method at a time and a second call
will be blocked until the first call returns or wait() is called inside the synchronized method.
Deadlock
Whenever there is multiple processes contending for exclusive access to multiple locks, there is the
possibility of deadlock. A set of processes or threads is said to be deadlocked when each is waiting
for an action that only one of the others can perform.
In Order to avoid deadlock, one should ensure that when you acquire multiple locks, you always
acquire the locks in the same order in all threads.
Guidelines for synchronization
 Keep blocks short. Synchronized blocks should be short — as short as possible while still
protecting the integrity of related data operations.
 Don’t block. Don’t ever call a method that might block, such as InputStream.read(), inside a
synchronized block or method.
 Don’t invoke methods on other objects while holding a lock. This may sound extreme, but it
eliminates the most common source of deadlock.
Sources:
Singh, C. (2013). Basics: All about Java threads.

https://beginnersbook.com/2013/03/java-threads/
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Week 12 - Java Threads

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Week 12 - Java Threads

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Object Oriented Programming

MODULE 8 – Java Threads

What are Java Threads?

 Facility to allow multiple activities within a single process

Whats the need of a thread or why we use Threads?

 To perform asynchronous or background processing

What happens when a thread is invoked?

 Proper co-ordination is required between threads accessing common variables [use of

Thread creation in Java

Thread implementation in java can be achieved in two ways:

1. Extending the java.lang.Thread class

1) By extending thread class

 The class should extend Java Thread class.

void start(): Creates a new thread and makes it runnable.

public class MyThread extends Thread {

 The class should implement the Runnable interface

public class MyThread implements Runnable {

A Thread ends due to the following reasons:

Guidelines for synchronization

Singh, C. (2013). Basics: All about Java threads.

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