Sharing a variable between multiple different threads

Question

I want to share a variable between multiple threads like this:

boolean flag = true;
T1 main = new T1();
T2 help = new T2();
main.start();
help.start();

I'd like to share flag between main and help thread where these are two different Java classes I've created. Is any way to do this? Thanks!

Answer 1

Both T1 and T2 can refer to a class containing this variable.
You can then make this variable volatile, and this means that
Changes to that variable are immediately visible in both threads.

See this article for more info.

Volatile variables share the visibility features of synchronized but none of the atomicity features. This means that threads will automatically see the most up-to-date value for volatile variables. They can be used to provide thread safety, but only in a very restricted set of cases: those that do not impose constraints between multiple variables or between a variable's current value and its future values.

And note the pros/cons of using volatile vs more complex means of sharing state.

Answer 2

In addition to the other suggestions - you can also wrap the flag in a control class and make a final instance of it in your parent class:

public class Test {
  class Control {
    public volatile boolean flag = false;
  }
  final Control control = new Control();

  class T1 implements Runnable {
    @Override
    public void run() {
      while ( !control.flag ) {

      }
    }
  }

  class T2 implements Runnable {
    @Override
    public void run() {
      while ( !control.flag ) {

      }
    }
  }

  private void test() {
    T1 main = new T1();
    T2 help = new T2();

    new Thread(main).start();
    new Thread(help).start();
  }

  public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {
    try {
      Test test = new Test();
      test.test();
    } catch (Exception e) {
      e.printStackTrace();
    }
  }
}

Answer 3

To make it visible between the instances of T1 and T2 you could make the two classes contain a reference to an object that contains the variable.

If the variable is to be modified when the threads are running, you need to consider synchronization. The best approach depends on your exact requirements, but the main options are as follows:

• make the variable volatile;
• turn it into an AtomicBoolean;
• use full-blown synchronization around code that uses it.