Multithreading in Java (1)

Multithreading allows two parts of the same program to run concurrently. This article discusses how to pull off this performance-improving feat in Java. It is excerpted from chapter 10 of the book Java Demystified, written by Jim Keogh (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2004; ISBN: 0072254548).

Marathon runners sometimes are faced with a dilemma when two major races fall during the same week because they have to choose which race to run in. They probably wish there was a way a part of them could go to one race and another part to the other race. That can’t happen—that is, unless the runner is a Java program, because two parts of the same Java program can run concurrently by using multithreading. You’ll learn about multithreading and how to run parts of your program concurrently in this chapter.

Multitasking

Multitasking is performing two or more tasks at the same time. Nearly all operating systems are capable of multitasking by using one of two multitasking techniques: process-based multitasking and thread-based multitasking.

Process-based multitasking is running two programs concurrently. Programmers refer to a program as a process. Therefore, you could say that process-based multitasking is program-based multitasking.

Thread-based multitasking is having a program perform two tasks at the same time. For example, a word processing program can check the spelling of words in a document while you write the document. This is thread-based multitasking.

A good way to remember the difference between process-based multitasking and thread-based multitasking is to think of process-based as working with multiple programs and thread-based as working with parts of one program.

The objective of multitasking is to utilize the idle time of the CPU. Think of the CPU as the engine of your car. Your engine keeps running regardless of whether the car is moving. Your objective is to keep your car moving as much as possible so you can get the most miles from a gallon of gas. An idling engine wastes gas.

The same concept applies to the CPU in your computer. You want your CPU cycles to be processing instructions and data rather than waiting for something to process. A CPU cycle is somewhat similar to your engine running.

It may be hard to believe, but the CPU idles more than it processes in many desktop computers. Let’s say that you are using a word processor to write a document. For the most part, the CPU is idle until you enter a character from the keyboard or move the mouse. Multitasking is designed to use the fraction of a second between strokes to process instructions from either another program or from a different part of the same program.

Making efficient use of the CPU may not be too critical for applications running on a desktop computer because most of us rarely need to run concurrent programs or run parts of the same program at the same time. However, programs that run in a networked environment, such as those that process transactions from many computers, need to make a CPU’s idle time productive.