Class CyclicBarrier

java.lang.Object
EDU.oswego.cs.dl.util.concurrent.CyclicBarrier
All Implemented Interfaces:
Barrier

public class CyclicBarrier extends Object implements Barrier
A cyclic barrier is a reasonable choice for a barrier in contexts involving a fixed sized group of threads that must occasionally wait for each other. (A Rendezvous better handles applications in which any number of threads meet, n-at-a-time.)

CyclicBarriers use an all-or-none breakage model for failed synchronization attempts: If threads leave a barrier point prematurely because of timeout or interruption, others will also leave abnormally (via BrokenBarrierException), until the barrier is restarted. This is usually the simplest and best strategy for sharing knowledge about failures among cooperating threads in the most common usages contexts of Barriers. This implementation has the property that interruptions among newly arriving threads can cause as-yet-unresumed threads from a previous barrier cycle to return out as broken. This transmits breakage as early as possible, but with the possible byproduct that only some threads returning out of a barrier will realize that it is newly broken. (Others will not realize this until a future cycle.) (The Rendezvous class has a more uniform, but sometimes less desirable policy.)

Barriers support an optional Runnable command that is run once per barrier point.

Sample usage Here is a code sketch of a barrier in a parallel decomposition design.

 class Solver {
   final int N;
   final float[][] data;
   final CyclicBarrier barrier;
   
   class Worker implements Runnable {
      int myRow;
      Worker(int row) { myRow = row; }
      public void run() {
         while (!done()) {
            processRow(myRow);

            try {
              barrier.barrier(); 
            }
            catch (InterruptedException ex) { return; }
            catch (BrokenBarrierException ex) { return; }
         }
      }
   }

   public Solver(float[][] matrix) {
     data = matrix;
     N = matrix.length;
     barrier = new CyclicBarrier(N);
     barrier.setBarrierCommand(new Runnable() {
       public void run() { mergeRows(...); }
     });
     for (int i = 0; i invalid input: '<' N; ++i) {
       new Thread(new Worker(i)).start();
     waitUntilDone();
    }
 }
 

[ Introduction to this package. ]

  • Field Summary

    Fields
    Modifier and Type
    Field
    Description
    protected Runnable
     
    protected boolean
     
    protected int
     
    protected final int
     
    protected int
     
  • Constructor Summary

    Constructors
    Constructor
    Description
    CyclicBarrier(int parties)
    Create a CyclicBarrier for the indicated number of parties, and no command to run at each barrier.
    CyclicBarrier(int parties, Runnable command)
    Create a CyclicBarrier for the indicated number of parties.
  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    int
    attemptBarrier(long msecs)
    Enter barrier and wait at most msecs for the other parties()-1 threads.
    int
    Enter barrier and wait for the other parties()-1 threads.
    boolean
    Returns true if the barrier has been compromised by threads leaving the barrier before a synchronization point (normally due to interruption or timeout).
    protected int
    doBarrier(boolean timed, long msecs)
     
    int
    Return the number of parties that must meet per barrier point.
    void
    Reset to initial state.
    Set the command to run at the point at which all threads reach the barrier.

    Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

    clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait
  • Field Details

    • parties_

      protected final int parties_
    • broken_

      protected boolean broken_
    • barrierCommand_

      protected Runnable barrierCommand_
    • count_

      protected int count_
    • resets_

      protected int resets_
  • Constructor Details

    • CyclicBarrier

      public CyclicBarrier(int parties)
      Create a CyclicBarrier for the indicated number of parties, and no command to run at each barrier.
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if parties less than or equal to zero.
    • CyclicBarrier

      public CyclicBarrier(int parties, Runnable command)
      Create a CyclicBarrier for the indicated number of parties. and the given command to run at each barrier point.
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if parties less than or equal to zero.
  • Method Details

    • setBarrierCommand

      public Runnable setBarrierCommand(Runnable command)
      Set the command to run at the point at which all threads reach the barrier. This command is run exactly once, by the thread that trips the barrier. The command is not run if the barrier is broken.
      Parameters:
      command - the command to run. If null, no command is run.
      Returns:
      the previous command
    • broken

      public boolean broken()
      Description copied from interface: Barrier
      Returns true if the barrier has been compromised by threads leaving the barrier before a synchronization point (normally due to interruption or timeout). Barrier methods in implementation classes throw throw BrokenBarrierException upon detection of breakage. Implementations may also support some means to clear this status.
      Specified by:
      broken in interface Barrier
    • restart

      public void restart()
      Reset to initial state. Clears both the broken status and any record of waiting threads, and releases all currently waiting threads with indeterminate return status. This method is intended only for use in recovery actions in which it is somehow known that no thread could possibly be relying on the the synchronization properties of this barrier.
    • parties

      public int parties()
      Description copied from interface: Barrier
      Return the number of parties that must meet per barrier point. The number of parties is always at least 1.
      Specified by:
      parties in interface Barrier
    • barrier

      public int barrier() throws InterruptedException, BrokenBarrierException
      Enter barrier and wait for the other parties()-1 threads.
      Returns:
      the arrival index: the number of other parties that were still waiting upon entry. This is a unique value from zero to parties()-1. If it is zero, then the current thread was the last party to hit barrier point and so was responsible for releasing the others.
      Throws:
      BrokenBarrierException - if any other thread in any previous or current barrier since either creation or the last restart operation left the barrier prematurely due to interruption or time-out. (If so, the broken status is also set.) Threads that are notified to have been interrupted after being released are not considered to have broken the barrier. In all cases, the interruption status of the current thread is preserved, so can be tested by checking Thread.interrupted.
      InterruptedException - if this thread was interrupted during the barrier, and was the one causing breakage. If so, broken status is also set.
    • attemptBarrier

      public int attemptBarrier(long msecs) throws InterruptedException, TimeoutException, BrokenBarrierException
      Enter barrier and wait at most msecs for the other parties()-1 threads.
      Returns:
      if not timed out, the arrival index: the number of other parties that were still waiting upon entry. This is a unique value from zero to parties()-1. If it is zero, then the current thread was the last party to hit barrier point and so was responsible for releasing the others.
      Throws:
      BrokenBarrierException - if any other thread in any previous or current barrier since either creation or the last restart operation left the barrier prematurely due to interruption or time-out. (If so, the broken status is also set.) Threads that are noticed to have been interrupted after being released are not considered to have broken the barrier. In all cases, the interruption status of the current thread is preserved, so can be tested by checking Thread.interrupted.
      InterruptedException - if this thread was interrupted during the barrier. If so, broken status is also set.
      TimeoutException - if this thread timed out waiting for the barrier. If the timeout occured while already in the barrier, broken status is also set.
    • doBarrier

      protected int doBarrier(boolean timed, long msecs) throws InterruptedException, TimeoutException, BrokenBarrierException
      Throws:
      InterruptedException
      TimeoutException
      BrokenBarrierException