volatile is a lightweight synchronization mechanism in Java to ensure variable visibility and orderliness. It is suitable for scenarios where variable changes need to be perceived in a timely manner in a multi-threaded environment. 1. It ensures that the thread reads the latest value of the variable and forces read and write to directly operate the main memory; 2. It prohibits instruction reordering and maintains the program execution order; 3. It does not guarantee atomicity and is not suitable for compound operations such as i. Common uses include status flags, one-time releases, and independent observation updates. When using it, use it with lock or CAS operation to avoid concurrent errors caused by misuse.
In Java, the function of the volatile
keyword is to ensure the visibility and order of variables. It is mainly used in multi-threaded programming to avoid threads reading expired data. It cannot guarantee atomicity, but it can solve the problem of data inconsistency in some concurrent scenarios.

What are volatile
variables?
volatile
is a lightweight synchronization mechanism provided by Java. When you declare a variable as volatile
, Java ensures:

- All threads read the variable to see the latest writes from other threads to the variable.
- Instructions are prohibited from reordering optimization, thereby ensuring the consistency of variable reading and writing order.
For example: If multiple threads share a Boolean flag variable to control whether the loop continues to execute, using volatile
can ensure that the main thread's modification of this variable can be sensed by the worker thread in a timely manner.
Applicable scenarios for volatile
volatile
is not suitable for composite operations (such as autoincrement i) because it does not guarantee atomicity. But it applies to the following situations:

- Status flags : For example, switch variables used to control the running state of a thread.
- One-time safe release : such as configuration information after initialization is completed.
- Independent observation value update : such as the temperature value that the sensor is constantly updated.
A common practice is to set a variable to volatile
so that other threads can see its changes in time.
For example:
public class Worker { private volatile boolean running = true; public void stop() { running = false; } public void run() { while (running) { // do work } } }
In this example, the loop exits as long as stop()
method is called.
How does volatile affect memory models?
The Java Memory Model (JMM) specifies how threads interact with main memory. Each thread has its own local memory, and variables may be cached in local memory. volatile
force thread to obtain variables from the main memory every time it reads, and writes are immediately refreshed to the main memory.
In addition, volatile
also provides a "wappens-before" relationship, that is:
- Write operation to the
volatile
variable happens-before The subsequent read operation to the variable. - All operations before the write operation will occur before the write operation.
- All operations after the read operation will occur later than the read operation.
This effectively prevents concurrency problems caused by reordering the code by the compiler or processor.
Notes on using volatile
Although volatile
is convenient, there are some limitations to pay attention to:
- It cannot replace locks (synchronized or lock). If your operation involves multiple steps (such as read-change-write), you still need to add a lock.
- Don't overuse
volatile
. Use only in scenarios where visibility and sequence are really required. - It is better to use with CAS operations, such as
AtomicBoolean
,AtomicInteger
and other categories.
Common misuses include:
- Using
volatile
on the counter results in an error in the result. - It is believed that
volatile
can solve all concurrency problems and ignore the importance of synchronization mechanism.
Basically that's it. Only by mastering the role and boundaries of volatile
can we use it reasonably in concurrent programming.
The above is the detailed content of Purpose and Usage of the 'volatile' Keyword in Java. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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