subject: Create Java Thread Model And Cut Down Cpu Cycles [print this page] The Java run-time system depends on threads for many things, and all the class libraries are designed with multithreading in mind. In fact, Java uses threads to enable the entire environment to be asynchronous. This helps reduce inefficiency by preventing the waste of CPU cycles.
The value of a multithreaded environment is best understood in contrast to its counterpart. Single-threaded systems use an approach called an event loop with polling. In this model, a single thread of control runs in an infinite loop, polling a single event queue to decide what to do next. Once this polling mechanism returns with, say, a signal that a network file is ready to be read, then the event loop dispatches control to the appropriate event handler. Until this event handler returns, nothing else can happen in the system. This wastes CPU time. It can also result in one part of a program dominating the system and preventing any other events from being processed. In general, in a singled-threaded environment, when a thread blocks (that is, suspends execution) because it is waiting for some resource, the entire program stops running.
The benefit of Javas multithreading is that the main loop/polling mechanism is eliminated. One thread can pause without stopping other parts of your program. For example, the idle time created when a thread reads data from a network or waits for user input can be utilized elsewhere. Multithreading allows animation loops to sleep for a second between each frame without causing the whole system to pause. When a thread blocks in a Java Program, only the single thread that is blocked pauses. All other threads continue to run.
Threads exist in several states. A thread can be running. It can be ready to run as soon as it gets CPU time. A suspended thread can then be resumed, allowing it to pick up where it left off. A thread can be blocked when waiting for a resource. At any time, a thread can be terminated, which halts its execution immediately. Once terminated, a thread cannot be resumed.
Other Thread Priorities: Java assigns to each thread a priority that determines how that thread should be treated with respect to the others. Thread priorities are integers that specify the relative priority of one thread to another. As an absolute value, a priority is meaningless; a higher-priority thread doesnt run any faster than a lower-priority thread if it is the only thread running. Instead, a threads priority is used to decide when to switch from one running thread to the next. This is called a context switch. The rules that determine when a context switch takes place are simple:
A thread can voluntarily relinquish control. This is done by explicitly yielding, sleeping, or blocking on pending I/O. In this scenario, all other threads are examined, and the highest-priority thread that is ready to run is given the CPU.
A thread can be preempted by a higher-priority thread. In this case, a lower-priority thread that does not yield the processor is simply preemptedno matter what it is doingby a higher-priority thread. Basically, as soon as a higher-priority thread wants to run, it does. This is called preemptive multitasking.
In cases where two threads with the same priority are competing for CPU cycles, the situation is a bit complicated. For operation systems such as Windows 98, threads of equal priority are time=sliced automatically in round-robin fashion. For other types of operating systems, threads of equal priority must voluntarily yield control to their peers. If they dont the other threads will not run.
How to Synchroniz these modules: Because multithreading introduces an asynchronous behavior to your programs, there must be a way for you to enforce synchronicity when you need it. For example, if you want two threads to communicate and share a complicated data structure, such as a linked list, you need some way to ensure that they dont conflict with each other. That is, you must prevent one thread from writing data while another thread is in the middle of reading it. For this purpose, Java implements an elegant twist on an age-old model of interprocess synchronization: the monitor. The monitor is a control mechanism first defined by C.A.R Hoare. You can think of a monitor as a very small box that can hold only one thread. Once a thread enters a monitor, all other threads must wait until that thread exists the monitor. In this way, a monitor can be used to protect a shared asset from being manipulated by more than one thread at a time.
Most multithreaded systems expose monitors as objects that your program must explicitly acquire and manipulate. Java provides a cleaner solution. There is no class Monitor; instead, each object has its own implicit monitor that is automatically entered when one of the objects synchronized methods is called. Once a thread is inside a synchronized method, no other thread can call any other synchronized method on the same object. This enables you to write very clear and concise multithreaded code, because synchronization support is built in to the language.
Java Messaging: After you divide your program into separate threads, you need to define how they will communicate with each other. When programming with most other languages, you must depend on the operating system to establish communication between threads. This, of course, adds overhead. By contrast, Java provides a clean. Low-cost way for two or more threads to talk to each other, via calls to predefined methods that all objects have. Javas messaging system allows a thread to enter a synchronized method on an object, and then wait there until some other thread explicitly notifies it to come out.
