Life Cycle of Thread in Java

Basics of Java Threads:

A thread in Java facilitates the performance of multiple activities inside a single process. It is regarded as a lightweight process. A thread can also be defined as a sequence of executed statements. Every thread in Java has its own stack, program counter and local variables. Java threads may also be a nested series of method calls. The memory, per-process state and files are shared by threads. 

The Uses of the Life Cycle of Thread in Java

• The life cycle of thread in Java is used to manage and control the behaviour of threads. It is a multithreading mechanism that helps to coordinate multiple threads running concurrently in a program or application.
• Threads are created using the Thread class, which provides various methods to manage their state and behaviour. These include pause(), resume(), yield(), etc., which can be used to pause or stop a thread from executing when needed. This helps maintain synchronization between different threads by controlling how many resources each thread can access at any given time.
• The life cycle of thread in Java consists of five states: New, Runnable, Running, Blocked, and Dead/ Terminated. Each state has its own operations that must be performed before it can transition to the next state.
• In New state, a thread is created but not yet started. Once the start() method is called, it will enter Runnable state and wait for the scheduler to select it for execution.
• In Runnable state, the thread is eligible to be selected by the scheduler for execution and enters the Running state once selected.
• The Running state is when the JVM has chosen a thread to execute some code which means that this thread gets CPU time and executes instructions until completion or preemption (interruption) occurs due to other threads wanting access to resources or higher priority threads getting priority over low priority threads.
• In a Blocked state, a thread is blocked from executing due to some external resources not being available or because of synchronization issues with other threads in the program. The thread is unblocked when the resource becomes available and can enter the Runnable state again.
• Finally, when a thread completes its task or is terminated, it will enter Dead/ Terminated state, meaning that this thread cannot be reused anymore and must be recreated to execute new tasks.

To illustrate this concept further, let’s look at thread life cycle example program in Java:

public class ThreadLifeCycle {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Thread t1 = new Thread(new MyRunnable());
System.out.println("Thread in New State: " + t1.getState());
t1.start(); // start the thread, entering Runnable state
System.out.println("Thread in Runnable State: " + t1.getState());
// wait for the thread to transition to Running state or interrupt it
while (t1.isAlive()) {
System.out.println("Thread in Running State: "+ t1.getState());
try {
Thread.sleep(200); // wait for the thread to finish or be blocked
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}

System.out.println(“Thread in Dead/Terminated State: ” + t1.getState()); //at this point, the thread is dead and cannot be restarted again

}

static class MyRunnable implements Runnable {

public void run() {

Some task here… //the thread is now executing its instructions in the Running state

}
}
}

By understanding the life cycle of thread in Java, developers can write programs that make use of the multithreading capabilities of the JVM. This will lead to an efficient and optimized code base and better application performance.

If you’re asked to write a Java program to implement thread life cycle , you can use the example program above as a reference to get started. Additionally, make sure to read more about thread life cycle in Java and understand all of its components and states before attempting to write your program. With practice and guidance from experienced mentors, you should be able to create an effective implementation of thread life cycle in Java.

Uses of threads in Java:

•  
  • To perform background or asynchronous processing
  • To enhance the sensitivity of GUI applications
  • To implement the positive sides of multiprocessor systems
  • To streamline programming logic in the case of the existence of multiple

There exist two execution paths when a thread is called. One of the two paths is used for thread execution and the other one will trail the statement succeeding the thread invocation. Each thread in Java has a separate memory space and stack. 

The risk factors encountered while using threads in Java codes are as follows.

• Proper coordination between the threads is required in cases where threads access common variables to view data consistently.
• The performance and maintenance of threads, if overused in the programs, becomes difficult.

Life Cycle of Threads in Java:

At any instant of program execution, the threads in Java exist in any one of the below-mentioned states. 

1. New
2. Blocked
3. Runnable
4. Timed waiting
5. Waiting
6. Terminated 

A detailed view of Life Cycle of thread in Java

New thread:

The newly created thread is in the state ‘New’. It is not progressed to run at this state. The execution of the code of a thread in the new state is yet to take place. It is yet to run. 

Runnable state:

The threads in the runnable state are ready to run. A thread in this state maybe ready to run at any time instant or may already be running. The thread scheduler hones the responsibility of allocating time for the thread to run. Each individual thread is allocated a specific time in a multi-threaded program. Each individual thread runs for a small duration and then encounters a pause. The CPU is then relinquished to another thread to provide a chance for the other threads to run. At this point, all the ready to run threads that are waiting for the CPU and the threads that are running currently lie in a runnable state.

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Waiting /Blocked state:

A thread is in any one of the below-mentioned states when it is temporarily not operating. 

• Waiting
• Blocked

A thread waiting for the completion of I/O is in a blocked state. The thread scheduler’s function is to schedule the execution of a blocked or waiting thread by reactivating it. Any thread in this state is not allowed for the further continuation of execution till it is transformed to a runnable state. The threads in the block or waiting state do not use any CPU cycle. 

A thread is forced to be blocked when it attempts to access a code’s protected section that is protected by some other thread at present. The scheduler transforms one of the threads waiting for a protected section into a runnable state when the section is unlocked for all the threads. On the other hand, a thread exists in a waiting state while it waits for the other thread on a particular condition. The threads in the waiting state are pushed to a runnable state once the condition specified for waiting is satisfied. If a thread running at present is moved to a waiting / blocked state, the thread scheduler schedules another thread from the runnable sequence to run.

Timed Waiting:

When a method is invoked with a time out argument, the thread exists in a timed waiting state. A thread continues to lie in this state till the completion of specified timeout or until the reception of a notification. For example, a thread is shifted to a timed waiting state if it invokes conditional wait or sleep. 

Terminated state:

The termination of threads takes place because of any one of the following reasons. 

• The Normal exit of the thread on completion of the execution of the code segments within the thread.
• Occurrence of any rare erroneous event such as an unhandled exception and segmentation fault. 

A thread in a terminated state does not consume any CPU cycles. 

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Implementation of thread states in Java:

To accomplish the current state of a thread in Java, we use the method Thread.getState(). Java also offers the java.lang.Thread.State class in which the ENUM constants for a thread’s state is defined. The details are summarized in the table below. 

The thread rests in a NEW state when it is just created. When the .start() method is invoked on a thread, it is moved to a Runnable state by the thread scheduler. When the join() method is invoked on a thread instance, the thread that is executing the code statement currently will wait for this thread to terminate. So, prior to the printing of the final statement on the console, the join() function is invoked on thread 2 by the program and keeps the thread1 on wait till the thread2 completes its execution and moves to the Terminated State. Since thread1 is waiting for the completion of thread2’s execution, it is put in the WAITING state.

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Merits and Limitations of using threads in Java programs:

The use of threads in Java programs has the following benefits. 

• Reduction in time taken to develop the code
• Reduced maintenance costs
• Enhanced performance of complex applications
• Boosting the responsivity of the user interfaces
• Parallelizing the tasks
• Threads are used in server applications to improve the high throughput and utilization of resources. 
• If all the CPU’s computing resources cannot be used by a thread, the running of another thread will keep these engaged. 
• If the same set of data is operated on by several threads, their cache can be shared. This leads to the better usage of cache or harmonization of its values.

There are several drawbacks of using threads in Java programs. Some of them are listed below.

• While sharing caches, translation lookaside buffers (TLBs) or any other hardware resources, multiple threads may interfere with each other. 
• Even when only a single thread is operating, the execution time of a thread cannot be enhanced. However, the degradation of the execution time is permitted. This may be due to the additional pipeline stages and/or the slower frequencies that are required for the accommodation of the thread-switching hardware.
• Numerous changes are required in both operating systems and application programs as compared to multiprocessing because hardware support is more exposed to the software in multithreading.

Conclusion 

The life cycle of a thread in Java is an essential part of the process of programming multi-threaded applications. It helps us to understand the various states that a thread can transition between and how these transitions occur throughout program execution. Furthermore, understanding the merits and limitations of using threads in a program can help us decide whether or not they are the right choice for our specific application. Ultimately, knowledge about thread life cycles provides us with an invaluable resource when writing multi-threaded applications in Java. With this information at hand, we have a better chance of transforming our code into efficient and robust programs.

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