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Chapter 6
Multithreading - Java

Computer Science (Anna University)

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Multithreading

Multithreading is a conceptual programming concept where a program (process) is divided

into two or more subprograms (process), which can be implemented at the same time in
parallel. A multithreaded program contains two or more parts that can run concurrently. Each
part of such a program is called a thread, and each thread defines a separate path of execution.
A process consists of the memory space allocated by the operating system that can contain
one or more threads. A thread cannot exist on its own; it must be a part of a process.

There are two distinct types of Multitasking i.e. Processor-Based and Thread-Based
multitasking.

Q: What is the difference between thread-based and process-based multitasking?

Ans: As both are types of multitasking there is very basic difference between the two.
Process-Based multitasking is a feature that allows your computer to run two or more
programs concurrently. For example you can listen to music and at the same time chat with
your friends on Facebook using browser. In Thread-based multitasking, thread is the smallest
unit of code, which means a single program can perform two or more tasks simultaneously.
For example a text editor can print and at the same time you can edit text provided that those
two tasks are perform by separate threads.

Q: Why multitasking thread requires less overhead than multitasking processor?

Ans: A multitasking thread requires less overhead than multitasking processor because of the
following reasons:

 Processes are heavyweight tasks where threads are lightweight

 Processes require their own separate address space where threads share the address
space

 Interprocess communication is expensive and limited where Interthread

communication is inexpensive, and context switching from one thread to the next is
lower in cost.

Benefits of Multithreading

1. Enables programmers to do multiple things at one time

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2. Programmers can divide a long program into threads and execute them in parallel
which eventually increases the speed of the program execution

3. Improved performance and concurrency

4. Simultaneous access to multiple applications

Life Cycle of Thread

A thread can be in any of the five following states

1. Newborn State: When a thread object is created a new thread is born and said to be
in Newborn state.

2. Runnable State: If a thread is in this state it means that the thread is ready for
execution and waiting for the availability of the processor. If all threads in queue are of
same priority then they are given time slots for execution in round robin fashion

3. Running State: It means that the processor has given its time to the thread for
execution. A thread keeps running until the following conditions occurs

a. Thread give up its control on its own and it can happen in the following
situations

i. A thread gets suspended using suspend() method which can only be

revived with resume() method

ii. A thread is made to sleep for a specified period of time using

sleep(time) method, where time in milliseconds

iii. A thread is made to wait for some event to occur using wait () method.
In this case a thread can be scheduled to run again using notify ()
method.

b. A thread is pre-empted by a higher priority thread

4. Blocked State: If a thread is prevented from entering into runnable state and
subsequently running state, then a thread is said to be in Blocked state.

5. Dead State: A runnable thread enters the Dead or terminated state when it completes
its task or otherwise terminates.

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Fig: Life Cycle of Thread

Main Thread

Every time a Java program starts up, one thread begins running which is called as the main
thread of the program because it is the one that is executed when your program begins.

 Child threads are produced from main thread

 Often it is the last thread to finish execution as it performs various shut down
operations

Creating a Thread

Java defines two ways in which this can be accomplished:

 You can implement the Runnable interface.

 You can extend the Thread class, itself.

Create Thread by Implementing Runnable

The easiest way to create a thread is to create a class that implements the Runnable interface.
To implement Runnable, a class need only implement a single method called run( ), which is
declared like this:

public void run( )

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You will define the code that constitutes the new thread inside run() method. It is important
to understand that run() can call other methods, use other classes, and declare variables, just
like the main thread can.

After you create a class that implements Runnable, you will instantiate an object of type
Thread from within that class. Thread defines several constructors. The one that we will use is
shown here:

Thread(Runnable threadOb, String threadName);

Here threadOb is an instance of a class that implements the Runnable interface and the name
of the new thread is specified by threadName. After the new thread is created, it will not start
running until you call its start( ) method, which is declared within Thread. The start( )
method is shown here:

void start( );

Example to Create a Thread using Runnable Interface

Output:

Create Thread by Extending Thread

The second way to create a thread is to create a new class that extends Thread, and then to
create an instance of that class. The extending class must override the run( ) method,

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which is the entry point for the new thread. It must also call start( ) to begin execution of the
new thread.

Example to Create a Thread by Extending Thread Class

Output:

Thread Methods

SN Methods with Description

1 public void start()
Starts the thread in a separate path of execution, then invokes the run() method on this
Thread object.
2 public void run()
If this Thread object was instantiated using a separate Runnable target, the run()
method is invoked on that Runnable object.
3 public final void setName(String name)
Changes the name of the Thread object. There is also a getName() method for
retrieving the name.
4 public final void setPriority(int priority)
Sets the priority of this Thread object. The possible values are between 1 and 10.
5 public final void setDaemon(boolean on)
A parameter of true denotes this Thread as a daemon thread.
6 public final void join(long millisec)
The current thread invokes this method on a second thread, causing the current thread

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to block until the second thread terminates or the specified number of milliseconds
passes.
7 public void interrupt()
Interrupts this thread, causing it to continue execution if it was blocked for any reason.
8 public final boolean isAlive()
Returns true if the thread is alive, which is any time after the thread has been started
but before it runs to completion.

Q: Can we start a thread twice?

Ans: No, if a thread is started it can never be started again, if you do so, an
illegalThreadStateException is thrown. Example is shown below in which a same thread is
coded to start again

As you can see two statements to start

a same thread is written in the code
which will not give error during
compilation but when you run it you
can see an Exception as shown in the
Output Screenshot.

Output:

Use of Yield() Method

Causes the currently running thread to yield to any other threads of the same priority that are
waiting to be scheduled

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Example

Condition is checked and when i==2

yield() method is evoked taking
control to thread B

As you can see in the output below, thread A gets started and when condition if(i==2)
gets satisfied yield() method gets evoked and the control is relinquished from thread
A to thread B which run to its completion and only after that thread a regain the control
back.

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Output

Use of stop() Method

The stop() method kills the thread on execution

Example

Condition is checked and when i==2

stop() method is evoked causing
termination of thread execution

Output

Use of sleep() Method

Causes the currently running thread to block for at least the specified number of milliseconds.
You need to handle exception while using sleep() method.

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Example

Condition is checked and when i==2

sleep() method is evoked which halts
the execution of the thread for 1000
milliseconds. When you see output
there is no change but there is delay in
execution.

Output

Use of suspend() and resume() method

A suspended thread can be revived by using the resume() method. This approach is useful
when we want to suspend a thread for some time due to certain reason but do not want to kill
it.

Following is the example in which two threads C and A are created. Thread C is started ahead
of Thread A, but C is suspended using suspend() method causing Thread A to get hold of the
processor allowing it to run and when Thread C is resumed using resume() method it runs to
its completion.

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Example

Although Thread ‘C’ is started earlier

than Thread ‘A’ but due to suspend
method Thread ‘A’ gets completed
ahead of Thread ‘C’

Output

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Thread Priority

Every Java thread has a priority that helps the operating system determine the order in which
threads are scheduled.

Java priorities are in the range between MIN_PRIORITY (a constant of 1) and

MAX_PRIORITY (a constant of 10). By default, every thread is given priority
NORM_PRIORITY (a constant of 5).

Threads with higher priority are more important to a program and should be allocated
processor time before lower-priority threads. However, thread priorities cannot guarantee the
order in which threads execute and very much platform dependent.

Example

In the above code, you can see Priorities of Thread is set to maximum for Thread A which lets
it to run to completion ahead of C which is set to minimum priority.

Output:

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Use of isAlive() and join() method

The java.lang.Thread.isAlive() method tests if this thread is alive. A thread is alive if it has been
started and has not yet died. Following is the declaration for java.lang.Thread.isAlive() method

public final boolean isAlive()

This method returns true if this thread is alive, false otherwise.

join() method waits for a thread to die. It causes the currently thread to stop executing until
the thread it joins with completes its task.

Example

At this point Thread A is

alive so the value gets
printed by isAlive()
method is “true”

join() method is called

from Thread A which
stops executing of further
statement until A is Dead

Now isAlive() method

returns the value false as
Output the Thread A is complete

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Synchronization

When two or more threads need access to a shared resource, they need some way to ensure
that the resource will be used by only one thread at a time. The process by which this
synchronization is achieved is called thread synchronization. The synchronized keyword in
Java creates a block of code referred to as a critical section. Every Java object with a critical
section of code gets a lock associated with the object. To enter a critical section, a thread needs
to obtain the corresponding object's lock.

synchronized(object)
{
// statements to be synchronized
}
Problem without using Synchronization

In the following example method updatesum() is not synchronized and access by both the
threads simultaneously which results in inconsistent output. Making a method synchronized,
Java creates a “monitor” and hands it over to the thread that calls the method first time. As
long as the thread holds the monitor, no other thread can enter the synchronized section of
the code. Writing the method as synchronized will make one thread enter the method and till
execution is not complete no other thread can get access to the method.

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Output when
method is declared
as synchronized

Output

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Interthread Communication

It is all about making synchronized threads communicate with each other. It is a mechanism
in which a thread is paused running in its critical section and another thread is allowed to
enter in the same critical section to be executed. It is implemented by the following methods
of Object Class:

 wait( ): This method tells the calling thread to give up the monitor and go to sleep
until some other thread enters the same monitor and calls notify( ).
 notify( ): This method wakes up the first thread that called wait( ) on the same object.
 notifyAll( ): This method wakes up all the threads that called wait( ) on the same
object. The highest priority thread will run first.

These methods are implemented as final methods in Object, so all classes have them. All three
methods can be called only from within a synchronized context.

Example

If both these methods are commented

which means there is no communication,
output will be inconsistent. See Output 2

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Output 1:

Output 2:

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