Java volatile keyword behaviour changes due to remove local variable - java

From the link, it provide a demo of the java keyword 'volatile'. The demo code works fine. But I try to do a little modification. the behaviour is defferent.
My code :
public class VolatileTest4 {
private static int MY_INT = 0;
public static void main(String[] args) {
new ChangeListener().start();
new ChangeMaker().start();
}
static class ChangeListener extends Thread {
#Override
public void run() {
while (MY_INT < 5) {
System.out.println("Got Change for MY_INT : " + MY_INT);
}
}
}
static class ChangeMaker extends Thread {
#Override
public void run() {
while (MY_INT < 5) {
System.out.println("Incrementing MY_INT to " + MY_INT);
MY_INT++;
try {
Thread.sleep(500);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
}
}
What I do is just remove the local variable of local_value.
The post says 'Without the volatile keyword, the change listener loop infinitely'.
But My code is Without the volatile keyword, the change listener ends normally.
What is the defference? what cause the change listener end?

I've compared the code you've provided to the code in the article and there are substantive differences. Having modified and run the code from the article in the manner described by the author, I was able to replicate his results. My code is as follows:
public class VolatileTest {
private static int MY_INT = 0;
public static void main(String[] args) {
new ChangeListener().start();
new ChangeMaker().start();
}
static class ChangeListener extends Thread {
#Override
public void run() {
int local_value = MY_INT;
while ( local_value < 5){
if( local_value!= MY_INT){
System.out.println(String.format("Got Change for MY_INT : %S", MY_INT));
local_value= MY_INT;
}
}
}
}
static class ChangeMaker extends Thread{
#Override
public void run() {
int local_value = MY_INT;
while (MY_INT <5){
System.out.println(String.format("Incrementing MY_INT to %S", local_value+1));
MY_INT = ++local_value;
try {
Thread.sleep(500);
} catch (InterruptedException e) { e.printStackTrace(); }
}
}
}
}
The volatile keyword changes a variable's visibility semantics. Changes to a member marked volatile become visible to all threads after the write operation completes. However, the absence of volatile doesn't mean that the changes won't be visible. volatile provides some certainty around visibility; without it, you can't be sure when changes made to a value will become visible in other threads, if ever.
The author is trying to make the point that because the variable is not marked volatile the changes made by the ChangeMaker are not visible to the ChangeReader and in turn, the ChangeListener never terminates. See this article for a better treatment of the volatile keyword.

Related

Print 1-1000 with two threads (even and odd) from the same class

So my task is this:
Instantiate two object of the same class
Provide a constructor argument, to designate a thread as even and another as odd .
Start both threads right one after other
Odd thread prints odd numbers from 0 to 1000
Even thread prints even numbers from 0 to 1000
However they should be in sync the prints should be 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 .....
One number on each line
However I can't seem to get the locks to release correctly. I've tried reading some of the similar problems on here but they all use multiple classes. What am I doing wrong?
Edit: My main class is doing this -
NumberPrinter oddPrinter = new NumberPrinter("odd");
NumberPrinter evenPrinter = new NumberPrinter("even");
oddPrinter.start();
evenPrinter.start();
and my output is -
odd: 1
even: 2
...
public class NumberPrinter extends Thread {
private String name;
private int starterInt;
private boolean toggle;
public NumberPrinter(String name) {
super.setName(name);
this.name=name;
if(name.equals("odd")) {
starterInt=1;
toggle = true;
}
else if(name.equals("even")) {
starterInt=2;
toggle = false;
}
}
#Override
public synchronized void run() {
int localInt = starterInt;
boolean localToggle = toggle;
if(name.equals("odd")) {
while(localInt<1000) {
while(localToggle == false)
try {
wait();
}catch(InterruptedException e) {
System.out.println("Main thread Interrupted");
}
System.out.println(name+": "+localInt);
localInt +=2;
localToggle = false;
notify();
}
}
else {
while(localInt<1000) {
while(localToggle == true)
try {
wait();
}catch(InterruptedException e) {
System.out.println("Main thread Interrupted");
}
System.out.println(name+": "+localInt);
localInt +=2;
localToggle = true;
notify();
}
}
}
}
The key problem here is that the two threads have no way to coordinate with each other. When you have a local variable (localToggle in this case) nothing outside the method can observe or alter its value.
If you share one object with both threads, however, its state can change, and if used correctly, those state changes will be visible to both threads.
You will see examples where the shared object is an AtomicInteger, but when you use synchronized, wait() and notify(), you don't need the extra concurrency overhead built into the atomic wrappers.
Here's a simple outline:
class Main {
public static main(String... args) {
Main state = new Main();
new Thread(new Counter(state, false)).start();
new Thread(new Counter(state, true)).start();
}
int counter;
private static class Counter implements Runnable {
private final Main state;
private final boolean even;
Counter(Main state, boolean even) {
this.state = state;
this.even = even;
}
#Override
public void run() {
synchronized(state) {
/* Here, use wait and notify to read and update state.counter
* appropriately according to the "even" flag.
*/
}
}
}
}
I'm not clear whether using wait() and notify() yourself is part of the assignment, but an alternative to this outline would be to use something like a BlockingQueue to pass a token back and forth between the two threads. The (error-prone) condition monitoring would be built into the queue, cleaning up your code and making mistakes less likely.
I finally got it working in a way that meets the standards required by my assignment.
Thank you all for your input. I'll leave the answer here for anyone who might need it.
public class Demo {
public static void main(String[] args) {
NumberPrinter oddPrinter = new NumberPrinter("odd");
NumberPrinter evenPrinter = new NumberPrinter("even");
oddPrinter.start();
evenPrinter.start();
System.out.println("Calling thread Done");
}
public class NumberPrinter extends Thread {
private int max = 1000;
static Object lock = new Object();
String name;
int remainder;
static int startNumber=1;
public NumberPrinter(String name) {
this.name = name;
if(name.equals("even")) {
remainder=0;
}else {
remainder=1;
}
}
#Override
public void run() {
while(startNumber<max) {
synchronized(lock) {
while(startNumber%2 !=remainder) {
try {
lock.wait();
}catch(InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
System.out.println(name+": "+startNumber);
startNumber++;
lock.notifyAll();
}
}
}
}

Threading, volatile variable not updagting

I looked around and seemed similar code but mine is not working. My volatile variable is chaning in the class clock but my class vistor is not getting the changed variable. I will post my code. If theres a similar queston please link. Thank you for the help.
I tried by setting the declarations in all my classes for the volatile boolean variables to false. It didn't help.
public class Main {
volatile static boolean isInSession;
volatile static boolean sessionOver;
public static void main (String [] args)
{
for (int i = 0; i < 25; i++) {
Visitor visitor = new Visitor(i, isInSession);
visitor.start();
}
Thread clock = new Thread(new Clock(isInSession, sessionOver));
clock.start();
}
}
public class Visitor extends Thread {
volatile static boolean isInSession;
private int visitorId;
volatile static int seats = 5;
Visitor(int visotrId, boolean isInSession)
{
this.isInSession = isInSession;
setName("visitorId " + visitorId);
}
#Override
public void run() {
while(true)
{
while(isInSession){}
System.out.println("In visitor isInSession " + isInSession);
if(isInSession)
System.out.println("Visitor isInSession " + isInSession);
try {
Thread.currentThread().sleep(5000);
}
catch(InterruptedException e)
{ }
}
}
public void msg(String m) {
System.out.println("["+(System.currentTimeMillis()-time)+"]
"+getName()+": "+m);
}
}
public class Clock implements Runnable {
volatile static boolean isInSession;
volatile static boolean sessionOver;
private int session = 0;
public Clock(boolean isInSession, boolean sessionOver)
{
this.isInSession = isInSession;
this.sessionOver = sessionOver;
}
#Override
public void run() {
while(true)
{
try {
Thread.currentThread().sleep(5000);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
}
isInSession = false;
msg("Theater is open");
try {
Thread.currentThread().sleep(5000);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
}
isInSession = true;
//System.out.println("In clock isInSession " + isInSession);
session++;
}
}// end of run
public void msg(String m) {
System.out.println("["+(System.currentTimeMillis()-time)+"]" +"Clock:
"+ m);
}
}
You can use AtomicBoolean for your purpose.
As JB Nizet has pointed out, arguments in Java are passed-by-value. Here's an answer on another SO post that explains this in detail.
For your purpose, it suffices to know that, "when we pass the value of an object, we are passing the reference to it" (a quote from the SO post mentioned above). By creating an AtomicBoolean object and passing it to both the Clock and Visitor objects, when Clock updates the value of the AtomicBoolean, the Visitor objects will receive the updated value too.
So, your main class should look like this:
public class Main {
static AtomicBoolean isInSession = new AtomicBoolean(); // default value is false
static AtomicBoolean sessionOver = new AtomicBoolean();
public static void main (String [] args)
{
for (int i = 0; i < 25; i++) {
Visitor visitor = new Visitor(i, isInSession);
visitor.start();
}
Thread clock = new Thread(new Clock(isInSession, sessionOver));
clock.start();
}
}
To access the value of the AtomicBoolean in Visitor or to update the value in Clock, you can use the get() and set(boolean) method respectively.

Replacing volatile with synchronized block is not working

I was going through this tutorial. I understood the volatile keyword usage. But when i tried to achieve same result without using volatile keyword with doing operation on the concern variable with in synchronized block, it is not working. It throws IllegalMonitorStateException. Here is the modified code i tried.
public class VolatileTest {
private static Integer MY_INT = 0;
public static void main(String[] args) {
new ChangeListener().start();
new ChangeMaker().start();
}
static class ChangeListener extends Thread {
#Override
public void run() {
synchronized(MY_INT){
int local_value = MY_INT;
while ( local_value < 5){
if( local_value!= MY_INT){
System.out.format("Got Change for MY_INT : {0}", MY_INT);
local_value= MY_INT;
try {
MY_INT.wait();
} catch (Exception e) { e.printStackTrace(); }}
}
}
}
}
static class ChangeMaker extends Thread{
#Override
public void run() {
synchronized(MY_INT){
int local_value = MY_INT;
while (MY_INT <5){
System.out.format("Incrementing MY_INT to {0}", local_value+1);
MY_INT = ++local_value;
try {
MY_INT.notify();
} catch (Exception e) { e.printStackTrace(); }
}
}
}}}
What I want to know is, in this case is volatile replaceable with synchronized block, if yes then how to do that?
Thanks.
The problem is here:
MY_INT = ++local_value;
MY_INT is an Integer variable, and when you assign a new value to it, the object that you are locking here:
synchronized(MY_INT){
will be different to the object that you are notifying here:
MY_INT.notify();
... and that will lead to the exception.
The solution is to make the lock object static final. Obviously that means you can't assign to it ... but that is the whole point!

While loop and checking static variable

I have two threads and in one thread I set static variable and in another I check static variable via function like this
Test test= new Test();
while(!Temp.isVarSet()){
}
System.out.println("Variable set");
But this codes hangs - doesn't go to println statement. But the following code works
Test test= new Test();
while(!Temp.isVarSet()){
System.out.println("I am still here");
}
System.out.println("Variable set");
The Temp class
public class Temp {
private volatile static boolean varSet=false;
public synchronized static void setVarSet() {
Temp.varSet=true;
}
public synchronized static boolean isVarSet() {
return Temp.varSet;
}
}
Test class
public class Test{
public Test() {
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
Model model= new Model();
View view = new View();
Controller controller=new Controller(model, view);
Temp.setVarSet();
...
}
});
}
}
What can be reason? I set method isVarSet() synchronized but it didn't help.
EDIT
This code works too.
Test test = Test()
while(!Temp.isVarSet()){
Thread.sleep(100);
}
You didn't publish what happens in Temp and isVarSet but most probably you change a variable. This variable must be marked volatile.
If your class looks like this:
public class Temp {
private static boolean someFlag;
public static boolean isVarSet() {
return someFlag;
}
}
And your loop is the same as the example, the compiler thinks that there's no need to read the flag over and over again because the flag is not changed inside the loop and it optimizes to not read the flag over and over.
Marking someFlag as volatile:
private static volatile boolean someFlag;
Will force the runtime to check the flag on each iteration and not just assume that the value hasn't changed. In this case, it will work.
From Oracle docs about atomic access:
Atomic actions cannot be interleaved, so they can be used without fear
of thread interference. However, this does not eliminate all need to
synchronize atomic actions, because memory consistency errors are
still possible. Using volatile variables reduces the risk of memory
consistency errors, because any write to a volatile variable
establishes a happens-before relationship with subsequent reads of
that same variable. This means that changes to a volatile variable are
always visible to other threads. What's more, it also means that when
a thread reads a volatile variable, it sees not just the latest change
to the volatile, but also the side effects of the code that led up the
change.
Even after you made variable as volatile .
if you add SOP in while loop it is working
These two usecase gives me another thought. just try it.
Since your read and write methods are sync , in your while loop
while(!Temp.isVarSet()){
}
It is nothing doing other than calling the method, it may possible this sync method holds the lock on the Temp Object which does not allow other thread to modify the values (though sync setMethod) .
While add SOP inside the while , it is doing some work on IO and thus it is allowing some time slice to other thread get the lock of Temp and modify the same.
Could you please try remove Sync from read method , just for testing purpose and post your results.
public class Temp {
private volatile static boolean varSet=false;
public synchronized static void setVarSet() {
Temp.varSet=true;
}
public static boolean isVarSet() {
return Temp.varSet;
}
}
This works perfect for me:
public class ThreadTest {
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
Thread t1 = new TheThread();
t1.start();
// wait
Thread.sleep(500);
System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getId() + " will now setVarSet()");
Temp.setVarSet();
System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getId() + " setVarSet() setted");
t1.join();
System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getId() + " end programm");
}
private static class TheThread extends Thread {
#Override
public void run() {
System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getId() + " enter run");
while (!Temp.isVarSet()) {
System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getId() + " running");
try {
Thread.sleep((int) (Math.random() * 100));
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// ignore
}
}
System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getId() + " exit run");
}
}
private static class Temp {
private volatile static boolean varSet = false;
public static void setVarSet() {
Temp.varSet = true;
}
public static boolean isVarSet() {
return Temp.varSet;
}
}
}
Can you please post a complete example?
Its working as expected without hanging the program.
private volatile static boolean varSet = false;
public synchronized static void setVarSet() {
varSet = true;
}
public synchronized static boolean isVarSet() {
return varSet;
}
public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {
Thread t1 = new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
while (!TestDemo.isVarSet()) {
// System.out.println("I am still here");
}
System.out.println("Variable set");
}
});
t1.start();
Thread.sleep(1000); // put delay to give the chance to execute above thread
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
// Model model= new Model();
// View view = new View();
// Controller controller=new Controller(model, view);
setVarSet();
}
});
}

Thread output inconsistent even when using synchronized keyword

I am very new to threads. I wrote a code and expected my output as 20000 consistently. But that's not the case. Please find the code below:
class Runner4 implements Runnable {
static int count = 0;
public synchronized void increase() {
count++;
}
#Override
public void run() {
for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++) {
increase();
}
}
}
public class threading4 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Thread t1 = new Thread(new Runner4());
t1.start();
Thread t2 = new Thread(new Runner4());
t2.start();
try {
t1.join();
t2.join();
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
System.out.println(Runner4.count);
}
}
Any explanation?
Thanks!!
You are synchronizing on two different objects in your code (corresponding to the two objects you created). As such, there is no protection of the shared static variable, and you get unpredictable results. Basically, there is no effective synchronization going on in your program. You can fix this with a simple modification.
Change:
public synchronized void increase(){
count++;
}
To:
public void increase(){
synchronized(Runner4.class) {
count++;
}
}
Note that I am not saying this is the best way to accomplish this kind of synchronization - but the important take-away is that, if you are modifying a class level variable, you need class level synchronization as well.
Your code would work if count was not static.
public synchronized void increase() {
// method body
}
is equivalent to
public void increase() {
synchronized(this) {
// method body
}
}
Since count is static, both t1 and t2 are accessing it with different locks, resulting in non-deterministic behavior. Either make Runner4.increase synchronize on a common lock (Runner4.class or a private static lock object would work just fine), or make count non-static.
The way you're trying to achieve what you want is is not really the best way.
A better way to do it is define a class called Counter, as the following:
public class Counter
{
int count;
public Counter()
{
count = 0;
}
public synchronized void increase() {
count++;
}
public int getCount()
{
return count;
}
}
The class has the methods of increasing the counter and getting it.
What you need to do now is have a Counter object to be shared by two threads that call the increase() method. So your thread class would look like this:
class Runner4 extends Thread {
Counter count;
public Runner4(Counter c)
{
count = c;
}
#Override
public void run() {
for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++) {
count.increase();
}
}
}
Notice that the class takes a Counter object and calls the increase method. Also the class extends Thread instead of implementing Runnable. There is really no much difference, it's just now your Runner4 can use Thread class methods.
From your main defines a Counter object and two Runner4 threads, and then pass the Counter object to each one of them:
public static void main(String[] args) {
Counter count = new Counter();
Thread t1 = new Runner4(count);
t1.start();
Thread t2 = new Runner4(count);
t2.start();
try {
t1.join();
t2.join();
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
System.out.println(count.getCount());
}

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