Concurrency Utilities in Java

The java.util.concurrent package provides powerful utilities that simplify building thread-safe and scalable applications. Instead of manually handling synchronization, locks, and wait/notify, developers can use these high-level constructs to coordinate threads and manage shared resources effectively.

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1. CountDownLatch

A CountDownLatch allows one or more threads to wait until a set of operations being performed by other threads completes.

• Use case: Ensuring that a service starts only after multiple worker threads finish initialization.
• Behavior: Initialized with a count; each countDown() call decreases it. Threads calling await() block until the count reaches zero.

import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;

class CountDownLatchExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {
        CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(3);

        Runnable worker = () -> {
            try {
                Thread.sleep(1000); // simulate work
                System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getName() + " finished work");
                latch.countDown();
            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
                Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
            }
        };

        for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
            new Thread(worker).start();
        }

        latch.await(); // wait for all workers
        System.out.println("All workers finished. Proceeding...");
    }
}

✅ Pros: Simple one-time synchronization.
⚠️ Cons: Latch cannot be reset; for reusable synchronization, use CyclicBarrier.

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2. CyclicBarrier

A CyclicBarrier makes threads wait until a predefined number of threads reach the barrier, then releases all at once.

• Use case: Coordinating phases in parallel computations (e.g., divide-and-conquer algorithms).
• Behavior: Can be reused (unlike CountDownLatch). Optional barrier action runs once when all parties arrive.

import java.util.concurrent.CyclicBarrier;

class CyclicBarrierExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Runnable barrierAction = () -> System.out.println("All parties arrived, barrier lifted!");
        CyclicBarrier barrier = new CyclicBarrier(3, barrierAction);

        Runnable task = () -> {
            try {
                System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getName() + " waiting...");
                barrier.await();
                System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getName() + " passed barrier");
            } catch (Exception e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            }
        };

        for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
            new Thread(task).start();
        }
    }
}

✅ Pros: Reusable, supports barrier action.
⚠️ Cons: More complex error handling (BrokenBarrierException).

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3. Semaphore

A Semaphore controls access to a limited number of resources by maintaining permits.

• Use case: Limiting concurrent access to a shared resource (e.g., 3 threads allowed in a database connection pool).
• Behavior: Threads call acquire() to get a permit and release() to return it.

import java.util.concurrent.Semaphore;

class SemaphoreExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Semaphore semaphore = new Semaphore(3); // 3 permits

        Runnable worker = () -> {
            try {
                semaphore.acquire();
                System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getName() + " acquired permit");
                Thread.sleep(1000);
            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
                Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
            } finally {
                System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getName() + " released permit");
                semaphore.release();
            }
        };

        for (int i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
            new Thread(worker).start();
        }
    }
}

✅ Pros: Ideal for rate limiting or resource pools.
⚠️ Cons: Mismanagement (forgetting release()) can cause deadlocks.

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4. BlockingQueue

A BlockingQueue provides thread-safe producer-consumer support, blocking on put() if full and take() if empty.

• Use case: Producer-consumer systems, job queues.
• Types:
  • ArrayBlockingQueue: bounded, fixed capacity.
  • LinkedBlockingQueue: optionally bounded, scalable.
  • PriorityBlockingQueue: orders elements by priority.
  • DelayQueue: elements available only after delay.

import java.util.concurrent.*;

class BlockingQueueExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        BlockingQueue<Integer> queue = new ArrayBlockingQueue<>(5);

        Runnable producer = () -> {
            try {
                for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
                    queue.put(i);
                    System.out.println("Produced: " + i);
                }
            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
                Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
            }
        };

        Runnable consumer = () -> {
            try {
                for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
                    int item = queue.take();
                    System.out.println("Consumed: " + item);
                }
            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
                Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
            }
        };

        new Thread(producer).start();
        new Thread(consumer).start();
    }
}

✅ Pros: Simplifies producer-consumer patterns.
⚠️ Cons: Need tuning of queue size; risk of blocking under pressure.

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5. ConcurrentHashMap

A ConcurrentHashMap is a thread-safe alternative to HashMap without global locking.

• Use case: Shared mutable maps with high read/write concurrency.
• Behavior: Uses fine-grained locks (segments/buckets in older versions, synchronized nodes in JDK 8+).

import java.util.concurrent.*;

class ConcurrentHashMapExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        ConcurrentHashMap<String, Integer> map = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
        map.put("A", 1);
        map.putIfAbsent("B", 2);

        map.compute("A", (k, v) -> v + 1);
        System.out.println("Value of A: " + map.get("A"));
    }
}

✅ Pros: Highly concurrent, non-blocking reads.
⚠️ Cons: Iterators are weakly consistent (may not reflect latest changes).

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6. Thread-Safe Collections

• CopyOnWriteArrayList: Optimized for frequent reads and rare writes (writes copy entire array).
• CopyOnWriteArraySet: Backed by CopyOnWriteArrayList.
• ConcurrentLinkedQueue: Non-blocking, thread-safe queue based on CAS (compare-and-swap).

import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArrayList;

class CopyOnWriteExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        CopyOnWriteArrayList<String> list = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<>();
        list.add("A");
        list.add("B");

        for (String s : list) {
            System.out.println(s);
            list.add("C"); // safe, no ConcurrentModificationException
        }
    }
}

✅ Pros: Safe iteration during concurrent modifications.
⚠️ Cons: Expensive writes; not suitable for write-heavy scenarios.

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Summary

The Java Concurrency Utilities simplify multi-threaded programming with higher-level constructs:

• CountDownLatch and CyclicBarrier for coordination.
• Semaphore for resource control.
• BlockingQueue for producer-consumer systems.
• ConcurrentHashMap and thread-safe collections for shared data.

👉 Mastering these utilities is critical for building scalable systems and answering concurrency questions in FAANG interviews.