ECET-490

Threads and Synchronization

Whenever we have multiple entities working together to get something done we have the
pro!lem o" synchronization !etween the entities# $rocesses working together or threads
in one or many processes working together need tools to protect critical sections and to
signal one another when important events occur# %ava provides thread and
synchronization mechanisms which programmers can use to coordinate their activities#
The "ollowing pro!lem re&uires that many threads coordinate their activities to assure
that the program runs correctly#
' university wants to demonstrate its political correctness !y applying the Supreme
court(s )Separate !ut e&ual is inherently une&ual* doctrine to gender as well as race# 's
such it has decided that !oth genders will use the same !athroom "acilities# +owever in
order to preserve some tradition it decrees that when a woman is in the !athroom only
other women may enter and when a man is in the !athroom only other men may enter#
Each politically correct !athroom will have a sign on the outside indicating what state the
!athroom is in, Empty Women $resent or -en $resent#
.our /o! is to implement a multi-threaded simulation o" this politically correct !athroom#
.ou may use whatever counters and synchronization mechanisms you need to make sure
that your politically correct !athroom works according to the university decree#
.our implementation must generate some status report whenever anyone enters or leaves
the !athroom which should include the se0 o" the person entering or leaving# This status
report should include the state o" the !athroom the num!er o" men and1or women
waiting and the num!er and se0 o" the occupants currently in the !athroom#
2nce a person 3thread4 enters the !athroom that person(s stay in the !athroom should !e
determined !y a random num!er# The minimum stay should !e 5 seconds and the
ma0imum stay should !e 6 seconds#
2nce a person 3thread4 has le"t the !athroom use random num!ers to determine when
that thread will try to gain access again# 7 suggest that the wait should range "rom 4
seconds to 80 seconds#
.our program should start 6 male threads and 6 "emale threads# Each thread should visit
the !athroom 80 times# 'nalyze the output to make sure things are working correctly#
Capture a sample o" your program(s status reports# 'lso print out your source code#
9emonstrate your program to the pro"essor and get a sign o""#
Turn in your output sample and source code, and your signed-off coversheet.
Basic Program Structure for PCB (Politically Correct Bathroom)
$C: Class
This class really does all the work o" synchronizing access to the $C:# The "irst
&uestion to ask is what in"ormation does the $C: need to keep# The $C: has a state
which re"lects i" it is empty or i" there are males or "emales inside# 7t also must keep
track o" the num!er o" occupants which are inside and the num!er that are waiting to get
inside# There can !e males or "emales inside or waiting#
The $C: must also have a means o" !locking a thread which is trying to gain
access i" the state o" the $C: does not permit access "or this thread at this time# 7n order
to !lock a thread the $C: can use the wait method which will !e used to !lock threads
which must wait until the state o" the $C: permits access# The $C: should keep a
counter which indicates how many males or "emales are !locked waiting to get into the
$C:#
Since the $C: has multiple mem!er varia!les which must !e read and written !y
multiple threads we must synchronize access to these mem!er varia!les !y making the
methods o" this class synchronized methods#
The constructor "or the $C: class must initialize all mem!er varia!les including
all the state and counter varia!les#
There should !e a maleEnters3 4 and a "emaleEnters3 4 method# These methods
check the state to see whether the male or "emale thread is allowed to enter or must !e
!locked# ;emem!er reading and1or writing the mem!er varia!les must !e done inside a
critical section which is protected !y the synchronized methods# State and1or counter
varia!les must !e updated appropriately# 7" the male or "emale must wait to enter the
wait method is used to !lock the thread# ;eturning "rom one o" these methods indicates
that the thread was success"ul in entering the $C:#
There should also !e a "emaleE0its3 4 and a maleE0its3 4 method# These methods
update the counter and state mem!er varia!les appropriately# 7" the thread e0iting the
!athroom is the last one out the state mem!er varia!le must change and any waiting
threads must !e un!locked so that they can attempt to enter again# The notifyAll method
can !e used to wake up all the threads which are !locked waiting to get into the $C:#
;emem!er that something in your simulation must output the state and counter
in"o "re&uently or whenever any thread enters or e0its the $C:#
-aleThread and <emaleThread Classes
These classes contain the code that simulates the actions o" a male or "emale thread
entering and e0iting the $C:# These two classes can either inherit "rom the Thread class
or implement the ;unna!le inter"ace# The constructor "or these two classes should accept
a $C: o!/ect so that all the male and "emale threads are using the same $C: o!/ect# The
run method o" these two classes should contain a loop which e0ecuted 80 times# 7nside
the loop a thread would sleep "or a random amount o" time !etween 4 and 80 seconds
and then call the appropriate entry method on the $C:# 2nce that method returns the
thread has gained access to the $C: and should wait "or !etween 5 and 6 seconds !e"ore
calling the appropriate e0it method on the $C: o!/ect#
-ain Test $rogram
This program controls the simulation#The main program must create a $C: o!/ect
to !e used !y the male and "emale threads# 7t must also create 6 -aleThread o!/ects and 6
<emaleThread o!/ects and start all the male and "emale threads e0ecuting#
7t is up to you how to display the output "rom your simulation# .ou can use a
console window and report status every time a thread enters starts waiting stops waiting
or e0its the $C: o!/ect# 2r you can use a simple =>7 and use the main thread to
periodically 3every 800 msec4 update a display that shows in some way the threads that
are in the $C: or that are waiting to get in and whether they are male or "emale threads#