Java theory and practice: Introduction to nonblocking algorithms

Java theory and practice: Introduction to nonblocking algorithms:

Summary:  Java™ 5.0 makes it possible for the first time to develop nonblocking algorithms in the Java language, and the java.util.concurrent package uses this capability extensively. Nonblocking algorithms are concurrent algorithms that derive their thread safety not from locks, but from low-level atomic hardware primitives such as compare-and-swap. Nonblocking algorithms can be extremely difficult to design and implement, but they can offer better throughput and greater resistance to liveness problems such as deadlock and priority inversion. In this installment of Java theory and practice, concurrency guru Brian Goetz illustrates how several of the simpler nonblocking algorithms work.