Java Thread

Thread

A thread is a lightweight process which exist within a program and executed to perform a special task. Several threads of execution may be associated with a single process. Thus a process that has only one thread is referred to as a single-threaded process, while a process with multiple threads is referred to as a multi-threaded process. Every thread maintains its own separate stack, called Runtime Stack but they share the same memory. Elements of the stack are the method invocations,
called activation records or stack frame. The activation record contains pertinent information about a method like local variables.

In Java Programming language, thread is a sequential path of code execution within a program. Each thread has its own local variables, program counter and lifetime. In single threaded runtime environment, operations are executes sequentially i.e. next operation can execute only when the previous one is complete. It exists in a common memory space and can share both data and code of a program. Threading concept is very important in Java through which we can increase the speed of any application.



Main Thread

When any standalone application is running, it firstly execute the main() method runs in a one thread, called the main thread. If no other threads are created by the main thread, then program terminates when the main() method complete its execution. The main thread creates some other threads called child threads. The main() method execution can finish, but the program will keep running until the all threads have complete its execution.

Life Cycle of A Thread

1. New state – After the creations of Thread instance the thread is in this state but before the start() method invocation. At this point, the thread is considered not alive.

2. Runnable (Ready-to-run) state – A thread start its life from Runnable state. A thread first enters runnable state after the invoking of start() method but a thread can return to this state after either running, waiting, sleeping or coming back from blocked state also. On this state a thread is waiting for a turn on the processor.

3. Running state – A thread is in running state that means the thread is currently executing. There are several ways to enter in Runnable state but there is only one way to enter in Running state: the scheduler select a thread from runnable pool.

4. Dead state – A thread can be considered dead when its run() method completes. If any thread comes on this state that means it cannot ever run again.

5. Blocked - A thread can enter in this state because of waiting the resources that are hold by another thread.


Thread Implementation

I. Extending the java.lang.Thread Class

For creating a thread a class have to extend the Thread Class. For creating a thread by this procedure you have to follow these steps:

1. Extend the java.lang.Thread Class.
2. Override the run( ) method in the subclass from the Thread class to define the code executed by the thread.
3. Create an instance of this subclass. This subclass may call a Thread class constructor by subclass constructor.
4. Invoke the start( ) method on the instance of the class to make the thread eligible for running.

II. Implementing the java.lang.Runnable Interface

The procedure for creating threads by implementing the Runnable Interface is as follows:

1. A Class implements the Runnable Interface, override the run() method to define the code executed by thread. An object of this class is Runnable Object.
2. Create an object of Thread Class by passing a Runnable object as argument.
3. Invoke the start( ) method on the instance of the Thread class.

There are two reasons for implementing a Runnable interface preferable to extending the Thread Class:

1. If you extend the Thread Class, that means that subclass cannot extend any other Class, but if you implement Runnable interface then you can do this.
2. The class implementing the Runnable interface can avoid the full overhead of Thread class which can be excessive.

Daemon threads

Daemon threads are threads with low priority and runs in the back ground doing the garbage collection operation for the java runtime system. The setDaemon() method is used to create a daemon thread. These threads run without the intervention of the user. To determine if a thread is a daemon thread, use the accessor method isDaemon()

When a standalone application is run then as long as any user threads are active the JVM cannot terminate, otherwise the JVM terminates along with any daemon threads which might be active. Thus a daemon thread is at the mercy of the runtime system. Daemon threads exist only to serve user threads.

Synchronization

With respect to multithreading, Synchronization is a process of controlling the access of shared resources by the multiple threads in such a manner that only one thread can access a particular resource at a time. In non synchronized multithreaded application, it is possible for one thread to modify a shared object while another thread is in the process of using or updating the object's value. Synchronization prevents such type of data corruption which may otherwise lead to dirty reads and significant errors.
E.g. synchronizing a function:
public synchronized void Method1 () {
// method code.
}
E.g. synchronizing a block of code inside a function:
public Method2 (){
synchronized (this) {
// synchronized code here.
}
}
Synchronized methods are methods that are used to control access to an object. A thread only executes a synchronized method after it has acquired the lock for the method's object or class. Synchronized statements are similar to synchronized methods. A synchronized statement can only be executed after a thread has acquired the lock for the object or class referenced in the synchronized statement. Synchronized blocks place locks for shorter periods than synchronized methods.



Mutual exclusion

Mutual exclusion is a phenomenon where no two processes can access critical regions of memory at the same time. Using Java multithreading we can arrive at mutual exclusion. For mutual exclusion, you can simply use the synchronized keyword and explicitly or implicitly provide an Object, any Object, to synchronize on. The synchronized keyword can be applied to a class, to a method, or to a block of code. There are several methods in Java used for communicating mutually exclusive threads such as wait( ), notify( ), or notifyAll( ). For example, the notifyAll( ) method wakes up all threads that are in the wait list of an object.