What is Volatile variable in Java?
volatile variable in Java is a special variable which is used to signal threads, a compiler that this particular variables value are going to be updated by multiple threads inside Java application. By making a variable volatile using the volatile keyword in Java, application programmer ensures that its value should always be read from main memory and thread should not use cached value of that variable from their own stack. With the introduction of Java memory model from Java 5 onwards along with introduction of CountDownLatch, CyclicBarrier, Semaphore and ConcurrentHashMap, volatile variable also guarantees "happens-before" relationship, which means not only another thread has visibility of latest value of volatile variable but also all the variable is seen by the thread which has updated value of volatile variable before these threads sees it.
What is volatile variable and when to use it is always a popular Java threading question?
The important point related to the volatile keyword in Java
Since volatile keyword is used to make any variable volatile in Java environment, it's good to know more about What is a volatile keyword, what is its limitation and How to use the volatile keyword in Java.
The volatile keyword can only be applied to a variable, it can not be applied to class or method. using volatile keyword along with class and method is a compiler error.
A volatile is also referred as modifier in Java.
When to use Volatile variable in Java?
What is volatile variable in Java and when to use it
When to use volatile variable in Java is also a famous multi-threading interview question in Java. here are some of the scenario where you can use volatile variable in Java :
1) Any variable which is shared between multiple threads should be made variable, in order to ensure that all thread must see the latest value of the volatile variable.
2) A signal to compiler and JIT to ensure that compiler does not change ordering or volatile variable and moves them out of synchronized context.
3) You want to save the cost of synchronization as volatile variables are less expensive than synchronization.
