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Java™ Platform
Standard Ed. 6

java.util.concurrent
Class CountDownLatch

java.lang.Object
  extended by java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch

public class CountDownLatch
extends Object

A synchronization aid that allows one or more threads to wait until a set of operations being performed in other threads completes.

A CountDownLatch is initialized with a given count. The await methods block until the current count reaches zero due to invocations of the countDown() method, after which all waiting threads are released and any subsequent invocations of await return immediately. This is a one-shot phenomenon -- the count cannot be reset. If you need a version that resets the count, consider using a CyclicBarrier.

A CountDownLatch is a versatile synchronization tool and can be used for a number of purposes. A CountDownLatch initialized with a count of one serves as a simple on/off latch, or gate: all threads invoking await wait at the gate until it is opened by a thread invoking countDown(). A CountDownLatch initialized to N can be used to make one thread wait until N threads have completed some action, or some action has been completed N times.

A useful property of a CountDownLatch is that it doesn't require that threads calling countDown wait for the count to reach zero before proceeding, it simply prevents any thread from proceeding past an await until all threads could pass.

Sample usage: Here is a pair of classes in which a group of worker threads use two countdown latches:

 class Driver { // ...
   void main() throws InterruptedException {
     CountDownLatch startSignal = new CountDownLatch(1);
     CountDownLatch doneSignal = new CountDownLatch(N);

     for (int i = 0; i < N; ++i) // create and start threads
       new Thread(new Worker(startSignal, doneSignal)).start();

     doSomethingElse();            // don't let run yet
     startSignal.countDown();      // let all threads proceed
     doSomethingElse();
     doneSignal.await();           // wait for all to finish
   }
 }

 class Worker implements Runnable {
   private final CountDownLatch startSignal;
   private final CountDownLatch doneSignal;
   Worker(CountDownLatch startSignal, CountDownLatch doneSignal) {
      this.startSignal = startSignal;
      this.doneSignal = doneSignal;
   }
   public void run() {
      try {
        startSignal.await();
        doWork();
        doneSignal.countDown();
      } catch (InterruptedException ex) {} // return;
   }

   void doWork() { ... }
 }

 

Another typical usage would be to divide a problem into N parts, describe each part with a Runnable that executes that portion and counts down on the latch, and queue all the Runnables to an Executor. When all sub-parts are complete, the coordinating thread will be able to pass through await. (When threads must repeatedly count down in this way, instead use a CyclicBarrier.)

 class Driver2 { // ...
   void main() throws InterruptedException {
     CountDownLatch doneSignal = new CountDownLatch(N);
     Executor e = ...

     for (int i = 0; i < N; ++i) // create and start threads
       e.execute(new WorkerRunnable(doneSignal, i));

     doneSignal.await();           // wait for all to finish
   }
 }

 class WorkerRunnable implements Runnable {
   private final CountDownLatch doneSignal;
   private final int i;
   WorkerRunnable(CountDownLatch doneSignal, int i) {
      this.doneSignal = doneSignal;
      this.i = i;
   }
   public void run() {
      try {
        doWork(i);
        doneSignal.countDown();
      } catch (InterruptedException ex) {} // return;
   }

   void doWork() { ... }
 }

 

Memory consistency effects: Actions in a thread prior to calling countDown() happen-before actions following a successful return from a corresponding await() in another thread.

Since:
1.5

Constructor Summary
CountDownLatch(int count)
          Constructs a CountDownLatch initialized with the given count.
 
Method Summary
 void await()
          Causes the current thread to wait until the latch has counted down to zero, unless the thread is interrupted.
 boolean await(long timeout, TimeUnit unit)
          Causes the current thread to wait until the latch has counted down to zero, unless the thread is interrupted, or the specified waiting time elapses.
 void countDown()
          Decrements the count of the latch, releasing all waiting threads if the count reaches zero.
 long getCount()
          Returns the current count.
 String toString()
          Returns a string identifying this latch, as well as its state.
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait
 

Constructor Detail

CountDownLatch

public CountDownLatch(int count)
Constructs a CountDownLatch initialized with the given count.

Parameters:
count - the number of times countDown() must be invoked before threads can pass through await()
Throws:
IllegalArgumentException - if count is negative
Method Detail

await

public void await()
           throws InterruptedException
Causes the current thread to wait until the latch has counted down to zero, unless the thread is interrupted.

If the current count is zero then this method returns immediately.

If the current count is greater than zero then the current thread becomes disabled for thread scheduling purposes and lies dormant until one of two things happen:

If the current thread:

then InterruptedException is thrown and the current thread's interrupted status is cleared.

Throws:
InterruptedException - if the current thread is interrupted while waiting

await

public boolean await(long timeout,
                     TimeUnit unit)
              throws InterruptedException
Causes the current thread to wait until the latch has counted down to zero, unless the thread is interrupted, or the specified waiting time elapses.

If the current count is zero then this method returns immediately with the value true.

If the current count is greater than zero then the current thread becomes disabled for thread scheduling purposes and lies dormant until one of three things happen:

If the count reaches zero then the method returns with the value true.

If the current thread:

then InterruptedException is thrown and the current thread's interrupted status is cleared.

If the specified waiting time elapses then the value false is returned. If the time is less than or equal to zero, the method will not wait at all.

Parameters:
timeout - the maximum time to wait
unit - the time unit of the timeout argument
Returns:
true if the count reached zero and false if the waiting time elapsed before the count reached zero
Throws:
InterruptedException - if the current thread is interrupted while waiting

countDown

public void countDown()
Decrements the count of the latch, releasing all waiting threads if the count reaches zero.

If the current count is greater than zero then it is decremented. If the new count is zero then all waiting threads are re-enabled for thread scheduling purposes.

If the current count equals zero then nothing happens.


getCount

public long getCount()
Returns the current count.

This method is typically used for debugging and testing purposes.

Returns:
the current count

toString

public String toString()
Returns a string identifying this latch, as well as its state. The state, in brackets, includes the String "Count =" followed by the current count.

Overrides:
toString in class Object
Returns:
a string identifying this latch, as well as its state

Java™ Platform
Standard Ed. 6

Submit a bug or feature
For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java SE Developer Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.

Copyright 2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Use is subject to license terms. Also see the documentation redistribution policy.

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