Threading-Thread deadlock in java

Thread Deadlock is a situation which can occur in any  Java application  which  has multiple threads .In this section we are discussing the concept of thread deadlock in java with suitable example.

Thread deadlock in java

Deadlock is a situation , when two or more threads are waiting each other   and hence blocked forever.Our application freezes in such a situation . If our application is a GUI based application , then the GUI will freeze . The deadlock situation can be well understood with the help of any profiler. By inspecting the heap dump , it is possible to identify which all threads   are locked each other.(If we are using  newer versions of JDK , then the JDK/bin contains the JVisualVM.exe. It is the  inbuilt profiler within the JDK. Just open the profiler and profile our application which is suspecting for thread deadlock. Then  click on the heap dump option)

Thread deadlock in Java example

Let us see this with an example.

We have two threads .One thread for printing even numbers and the other for printing odd numbers.Also we have two shared objects .

First thread is:

public class EvenThread extends Thread {
private Object sharedFirst = null;
private Object sharedSecond = null;
public EvenThread(String name, Object sharedFirst, Object sharedSecond) {
super(name);
this.sharedFirst = sharedFirst;
this.sharedSecond = sharedSecond;

}
public void run() {
synchronized (sharedFirst) {
System.out.println("Thread " + getName() + " acquired lock on sharedFirst");
synchronized (sharedSecond) {
System.out.println("Thread " + getName() + " acquired lock on sharedSecond");
int num = 0;
while (num <= 100) { System.out.println("Even number = " + num); num = num + 2; } } } } }

Now the second thread is:

public class OddThread extends Thread {
private Object sharedFirst = null;
private Object sharedSecond = null;
public OddThread(String name, Object sharedFirst, Object sharedSecond) {
super(name);
this.sharedFirst = sharedFirst;
this.sharedSecond = sharedSecond;

}

public void run() {
synchronized (sharedSecond) {
System.out.println("Thread " + getName() + " acquired lock on sharedSecond");
synchronized (sharedFirst) {
System.out.println("Thread " + getName() + " acquired lock on sharedFirst");
int num = 1;
while (num <= 100) { System.out.println("Odd number = " + num); num = num + 2; } } } } }

Now let us see the main to run the above threads,

public class DeadLockMain {
public DeadLockMain(){
}
public static void main(String[]args){
Object sharedFirst = new Object();
Object sharedSecond = new Object();
EvenThread evenThread = new EvenThread("Even",sharedFirst,sharedSecond);
OddThread oddThread = new OddThread("Odd",sharedFirst,sharedSecond);
evenThread.start();
oddThread.start();
}
}

The deadlock scenario is explained below.

1)EvenThread acquires lock on sharedFirst.

2)OddThread acquires lock on sharedSecond.

3) EvenThread is trying to acquire lock on sharedSecond which is locked for OddThread.So EvenThread is waiting for OddThread .(Second synchronized block of run() method in  EvenThread.java )

4)OddThread is  trying to acquire lock on sharedFirst which is locked for EvenThread.So OddThread is waiting for EvenThread .(Second synchronized block  of run() method in OddThread.java)

So both these threads are waiting each other. They will never come out of that stage. The output makes the concept a bit more clear.

Output

Thread Even acquired lock on sharedFirst

Thread Odd acquired lock on sharedSecond

Two threads executes reaches in the first synchronized block.There both the threads waiting each other.(If you take the heap dump , then the deadlock  will be reported there.If we use any profiler then also it is possible to identify the deadlock.)

Resolving thread deadlock

If we have synchronized blocks inside another , then the order should be given with proper care. Care should be taken if we call a synchronized method from another synchronized method.Use synchronized keyword when it is necessary only.

 

See Related Discussions

Threading Basics

Thread Safety in Java

Thread Communication in Java

Thread Priorities in Java

The join() method in Threading

The yield() method in Threading

The sleep() method in threading

Daemon Threads in Java

ThreadPoolExecutor in Java

Creating Thread Pools in Java

Thread Live lock in Java

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  1. Pingback: Thread safety in Java | CoderPanda

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