CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javamultithreading
posdef
posdef

Reputation: 6532

Multiple threads modifying a collection in Java?

The project I am working on requires a whole bunch of queries towards a database. In principle there are two types of queries I am using:

  1. read from excel file, check for a couple of parameters and do a query for hits in the database. These hits are then registered as a series of custom classes. Any hit may (and most likely will) occur more than once so this part of the code checks and updates the occurrence in a custom list implementation that extends ArrayList.

  2. for each hit found, do a detail query and parse the output, so that the classes created in (I) get detailed info.

I figured I would use multiple threads to optimize time-wise. However I can't really come up with a good way to solve the problem that occurs with the collection these items are stored in. To elaborate a little bit; throughout the execution objects are supposed to be modified by both (I) and (II).

I deliberately didn't c/p any code, as it would be big chunks of code to make any sense.. I hope it make some sense with the description above.

Thanks,

Upvotes: 5

Views: 2271

Answers (2)

Péter Török
Péter Török

Reputation: 116266

In Java 5 and above, you may either use CopyOnWriteArrayList or a synchronized wrapper around your list. In earlier Java versions, only the latter choice is available. The same is true if you absolutely want to stick to the custom ArrayList implementation you mention.

CopyOnWriteArrayList is feasible if the container is read much more often than written (changed), which seems to be true based on your explanation. Its atomic addIfAbsent() method may even help simplify your code.

[Update] On second thought, a map sounds more fitting to the use case you describe. So if changing from a list to e.g. a map is an option, you should consider ConcurrentHashMap. [/Update]

Changing the objects within the container does not affect the container itself, however you need to ensure that the objects themselves are thread-safe.

Upvotes: 8

Gandalf
Gandalf

Reputation: 9845

Just use the new java.util.concurrent packages.

Classes like ConcurrentLinkedQueue and ConcurrentHashMap are already there for you to use and are all thread-safe.

Upvotes: 3

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