What is the purpose of the wait(), notify(), and notifyAll() methods

The wait(), notify(), and notifyAll() methods are used to provide an efficient way for threads to wait for a shared resource. When a thread executes an object’s wait() method, it enters the waiting state. It only enters the ready state after another thread invokes the object’s notify() or notifyAll() methods.

In Java, the wait(), notify(), and notifyAll() methods are used for inter-thread communication and synchronization. They are part of the Object class and are used in conjunction with the synchronized keyword to control the execution of threads.

  1. wait():
    • The wait() method is used to make a thread wait until another thread invokes the notify() or notifyAll() method for the same object.
    • When a thread calls wait(), it releases the lock it holds, and other threads can acquire that lock and continue their execution. The thread that called wait() will remain in a waiting state until it is notified.
  2. notify():
    • The notify() method is used to wake up one of the threads that are currently waiting for the same object.
    • If multiple threads are waiting for the same object, the scheduler chooses one of them to be awakened. Which thread gets awakened is not guaranteed and depends on the scheduling algorithm.
  3. notifyAll():
    • The notifyAll() method is similar to notify(), but it wakes up all the threads that are currently waiting for the same object.
    • This is often used to ensure that all waiting threads have a chance to proceed. It is generally safer to use notifyAll() to avoid potential issues where a thread might be left waiting indefinitely.

These methods are typically used in scenarios where multiple threads need to coordinate their activities, and proper synchronization is required to avoid race conditions and ensure thread safety. They are commonly used in the context of the Producer-Consumer problem, where one thread produces data, and another consumes it.