Multithreading

Presented By :-
Shraddha Sheth

GLSICT MCA Sem-III

What is Thread?
 A thread is a single sequential flow of control within
a program.
 Thread does not have its own address space but uses
the memory and other resources of the process in
which it executes.
 There may be several threads in one process
 The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) manages these and
schedules them for execution.
What is Multithreading ?
 Multithreading is a conceptual programming
paradigm where a program (process) is divided
into two or more subprograms (process), which
can be implemented at the same time in parallel.
 For example, one subprogram can display an
animation on the screen while another may build
the next animation to be displayed.
 A program that contains multiple flow of control is
known as multithreaded program.
Cont..
 Since threads in java are subprograms of a main application
program and share the same memory space, they are known as
lightweight threads or lightweight processes.
 ‘threads running in parallel’ does not really mean that they
actually run at the same time.
 Since all the threads are running on a single processor, the flow of
execution is shared between the threads. The java interpreter
handles the switching of control between the threads in such a way
that it appears they are running concurrently.
 Cont..
 Multithreading enables programmers to do multiple
things at one time.
 For ex, we can send tasks such as printing into the
background and continue to perform some other task
in the foreground.
 Threads are extensively used in java-enabled browser
such as HotJava. These browsers can download a file to
the local computer, display a web page in the window,
output another web page to a printer and so on.
 The ability of a language to support multithreads is
referred to as concurrency.
A Single Threaded Program
class ABC
{ Beginning
……….
...……..
Single-threaded
………. Body of
Execution
...……..
……….
End
...……..
}
A Multithreaded Program

Main Method
Module

start start start

switching switching
Thread Life Cycle
 During the life time of a thread, there are many
states it can enter. They include:
1. Newborn state

2. Runnable State

3. Running State

4. Blocked State

5. Dead State
1. Newborn State
 When we create a thread object, the thread is born
and is said to be in newborn state. The thread is not
yet scheduled for running. At this state, we can do
only one of the following with it:
Schedule it for running using start() method.
Kill it using stop() method
 If scheduled, it moves to the runnable state. If we
attempt to use any other method at this stage, an
exception will be thrown.
Scheduling a Newborn Thread

Newborn

start stop

Runnable Dead
State State
2. Runnable state (start())
 The runnable state means that the thread is ready
for execution and is waiting for the availability of the
processor.
 That is, the thread has joined the queue of threads
that are waiting for execution.
 If all threads have equal priority, then they are given
time slots for execution in round robin fashion. i.e.
first-come, first-serve manner.
Cont..
 The thread that relinquishes control joins the queue
at the end and again waits for its turn. This process
of assigning time to threads is known as time-
slicing.
 If we want a thread to relinquish control to another
thread of equal priority before its turn comes, we
can do so by using the yield() method.
 Releasing Control Using yield()

yield()

……...... ……......

Running Thread Runnable Thread

3. Running State
 Running means that the processor has given its
time to the thread for its execution.
 The thread runs until it relinquishes control on
its own or it is preempted by a higher priority
thread.
 A running thread may relinquish its control in
one of the following situations:
1. Suspend() and resume() Methods:-
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.

suspended

resume

Running Runnable Suspended

2. Sleep() Method :-
This means that the thread is out of
the queue during this time period. The thread
re-enter the runnable state as soon as this
time period is elapsed.
sleep(t)

Runnable Sleeping
Running
3. Wait() and notify() methods :- blocked
until certain condition occurs

wait

notify

Running Runnable Waiting

4. Blocked State
 A thread is said to be blocked when it is prevented
form entering into the runnable state and
subsequently the running state.
 This happens when the thread is suspended,
sleeping, or waiting in order to satisfy certain
requirements.
 A blocked thread is considered “ not runnable” but
not dead and therefore fully qualified to run again.
5. Dead State
 A running thread ends its life when is has completed
executing its run() method. It is a natural death.
 However, we can kill it by sending the stop message
to it at any state thus causing a premature death to
it.
 A thread can be killed as soon it is born, or while it is
running, or even when it is in “not runnable”
(blocked) condition.
State diagram of a thread
New Newborn
Thread

start
stop

Active Running Runnable

Thread stop Dead
yield

Killed
Thread
suspended resume stop
sleep notify
wait

Idle Thread
(Not Runnable) Blocked
 join() method :-
 The join method allows one thread to wait for the
completion of another.
 If t is a Thread object whose thread is currently
executing, t.join(); causes the current thread to pause
execution until t's thread terminates.
 Overloads of join allow the programmer to specify a
waiting period. However, as with sleep, join is
dependent on the OS for timing, so you should not
assume that join will wait exactly as long as you
specify.
 Like sleep, join responds to an interrupt by exiting
with an InterruptedException Example
 Creating Threads
 Thread class in the java.lang package allows you to
create and manage threads. Each thread is a separate
instance of this class.
 A new thread can be created in two ways:
1. By extending a thread class

2. By implementing an interface
Extending the Thread class
 We can directly extend the Thread class
class Threadx extends Thread
{
public void run()
{
//logic for the thread
}
}
 The class ThreadX extends Thread. The logic for
the thread is contained in the run() method.
Cont..
 It can create other objects or even initiate other
threads.

Example
Implementing Runnable
Interface
 Declare a class that implements the Runnable interface.
 This method declares only one method as shown here:
public void run();

class RunnableY implements Runnable

{
Public vod run()
{
// logic for thread
}
}
Cont..
 The application can start an instance of the thread
by using the following code:
RunnableY ry = new RunnableY();
ThreadY ty= new Thread(ry);
Ty.start();
 1st line instantiate the RunnableY class.
 2nd line instantiate the Thread class. A reference to
the RunnableY object is provided as the argument to
the constructor.
 Last line starts the thread.
Example
Stopping a Thread
 Whenever we want to stop a thread form running
further, we may do so by calling its stop() method
like:
ty.stop();
 The stop() method may be used when the premature
death of a thread is desired
Blocking a Thread
 A thread can also be temporarily suspended or
blocked form entering into the runnable and
subsequently running state by using either of the
following thread methods:
 Sleep() – blocked for a specified time.

 Suspend() – blocked until further orders.

 Wait() – blocked until certain condition occurs.

Cont..
 These methods cause the thread to go into the
blocked state. The thread will return to the runnable
state when the specified time is elapsed in the case
of sleep(), the resume() method is invoked in the
case of suspend(), and the notify() method is called
in the case of wait().
Thread class
 Some of the constructors for Thread are as follows:
 Thread()

 Thread(Runnable r)

 Thread(Runnable r, String s)

 Thread(String s)

 Here, r is a reference to an object that implements

the Runnable interface and s is a String used to
identify the thread.
Methods of Thread class
 Method Description
1. Thread currentThread() returns a reference to
the current thread
2. Void sleep(long msec) causes the current Throws
InterruptedException thread to wait for
msec milliseconds
3. Void sleep(long msec, int nsec) causes the current Throws
InterruptedException to wait for msec milliseconds
plus nsec nanoseconds
4. Void yield() causes the current
thread to yield control
of the processo to other
Cont..
5. String getName() returns the name of the
thread.
6. Int getPriority() returns the priority of the
thread
7. Boolean isAlive() returns true if this thread has
been started and has not
Yet died. Otherwise, returns
false.
8. Void join() causes the caller to wait until
Throws InterruptedException this thread dies.

9. Void join(long msec) causes the caller to wait a

Throws InterruptedException max of msec until this thread
dies. if msec is zero, there is
no limit for the wait time.
Cont..
10. Void join(long msec, int nsec) causes the caller to wait a
Throws Interruptedexception max of msec plus nsec until
this thread dies. If msec plus nsec is zero, there is no limit
for the wait time.
11. Void run() comprises the body of the thread. This method is
overridden by subclasses.
12. Void setName(String s) sets the name of this thread to s.
13. Void setPriority(int p) sets the priority of this thread to p.
14. Void start() starts the thread
15. String toString() Returns the string equivalent of this thread.
Example
 Thread Priority
 In java, each thread is assigned a priority, which affects the order in
which it is scheduled for running.
 Java permits us to set the priority of a thread using the setPriority()
method as follows:
ThreadName.setPriority(intNumber);
 The intNumber may assume one of these constants or any value
between 1 and 10.
 The intNumber is an integer value to which the thread’s priority is
set. The Thread class defines several priority constants:
 MIN_PRIORITY=1
 NORM_PRIORITY=5
 MAX_PRIORITY=10
 The default setting is NORM_PRIORITY. Example
 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 is achieved is called
synchronization.
 This can be done in two ways. First, a method can be
synchronized by using the synchronized keyword as
a modifier in the method declaration.
Cont..
 When a thread begins executing a synchronized instance method,
it automatically acquires a lock on that object.
 The lock is automatically relinquished when the method
completes.
 Only one thread has this lock at any time.
 Therefore, only one thread may execute any of the synchronized
instance methods for that same object at a particular time.
Cont..
 Another way to synchronize access to common data
is via a synchronized statement block. This has the
following syntax:
synchronized(obj)
{
//statement block
}

Example
 Dead Lock
 Deadlock is an error that can be encountered in
multithreaded programs.
 It occurs when two or more threads wait for ever for
each other to relinquish locks.
 Assume that thread1 holds lock on object1 and waits
for a lock on object2. thread2 holds a lock on object2
and waits for a lock on object1. neither of these
threads may proceed. Each waits forever for the
other to relinquish the lock it needs.
Cont..
 Deadlock situations can also arise that involve more
than two threads. Assume that thread1 waits for a
lock held by thread2. thread2 waits for a lock held by
thread3. thread3 waits for a lock held by thread1.

Example
Thread Communication
 Polling is usually implemented by a loop that is used to
check some condition repeatedly. Once the condition is
true, appropriate action is taken. This wastes CPU time.
 For example, consider the classic queuing problem,
where one thread is producing some data and another
is consuming it.
 In a polling system, the consumer would waste many
CPU cycles while it waited for the producer to produce.
Once the producer was finished, it would start polling,
wasting more CPU cycles waiting for the consumer to
finish, and so on. Clearly, this situation is undesirable.
 To avoid polling, Java includes an elegant inter-
process communication mechanism via the wait( ),
notify( ), and notifyAll( ) methods. 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 method.

Example
Thank You..