JavaTM 2 Platform
Standard Ed. 5.0

java.util.concurrent
Class ConcurrentLinkedQueue<E>

java.lang.Object
  extended by java.util.AbstractCollection<E>
      extended by java.util.AbstractQueue<E>
          extended by java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentLinkedQueue<E>
Type Parameters:
E - the type of elements held in this collection
All Implemented Interfaces:
Serializable, Iterable<E>, Collection<E>, Queue<E>

public class ConcurrentLinkedQueue<E>
extends AbstractQueue<E>
implements Queue<E>, Serializable

An unbounded thread-safe queue based on linked nodes. This queue orders elements FIFO (first-in-first-out). The head of the queue is that element that has been on the queue the longest time. The tail of the queue is that element that has been on the queue the shortest time. New elements are inserted at the tail of the queue, and the queue retrieval operations obtain elements at the head of the queue. A ConcurrentLinkedQueue is an appropriate choice when many threads will share access to a common collection. This queue does not permit null elements.

This implementation employs an efficient "wait-free" algorithm based on one described in Simple, Fast, and Practical Non-Blocking and Blocking Concurrent Queue Algorithms by Maged M. Michael and Michael L. Scott.

Beware that, unlike in most collections, the size method is NOT a constant-time operation. Because of the asynchronous nature of these queues, determining the current number of elements requires a traversal of the elements.

This class and its iterator implement all of the optional methods of the Collection and Iterator interfaces.

This class is a member of the Java Collections Framework.

Since:
1.5
See Also:
Serialized Form

Constructor Summary
ConcurrentLinkedQueue()
          Creates a ConcurrentLinkedQueue that is initially empty.
ConcurrentLinkedQueue(Collection<? extends E> c)
          Creates a ConcurrentLinkedQueue initially containing the elements of the given collection, added in traversal order of the collection's iterator.
 
Method Summary
 boolean add(E o)
          Adds the specified element to the tail of this queue.
 boolean contains(Object o)
          Returns true if this collection contains the specified element.
 boolean isEmpty()
          Returns true if this collection contains no elements.
 Iterator<E> iterator()
          Returns an iterator over the elements in this queue in proper sequence.
 boolean offer(E o)
          Inserts the specified element to the tail of this queue.
 E peek()
          Retrieves, but does not remove, the head of this queue, returning null if this queue is empty.
 E poll()
          Retrieves and removes the head of this queue, or null if this queue is empty.
 boolean remove(Object o)
          Removes a single instance of the specified element from this collection, if it is present (optional operation).
 int size()
          Returns the number of elements in this queue.
 Object[] toArray()
          Returns an array containing all of the elements in this collection.
<T> T[]
toArray(T[] a)
          Returns an array containing all of the elements in this collection; the runtime type of the returned array is that of the specified array.
 
Methods inherited from class java.util.AbstractQueue
addAll, clear, element, remove
 
Methods inherited from class java.util.AbstractCollection
containsAll, removeAll, retainAll, toString
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait
 
Methods inherited from interface java.util.Queue
element, remove
 
Methods inherited from interface java.util.Collection
addAll, clear, containsAll, equals, hashCode, removeAll, retainAll
 

Constructor Detail

ConcurrentLinkedQueue

public ConcurrentLinkedQueue()
Creates a ConcurrentLinkedQueue that is initially empty.


ConcurrentLinkedQueue

public ConcurrentLinkedQueue(Collection<? extends E> c)
Creates a ConcurrentLinkedQueue initially containing the elements of the given collection, added in traversal order of the collection's iterator.

Parameters:
c - the collection of elements to initially contain
Throws:
NullPointerException - if c or any element within it is null
Method Detail

add

public boolean add(E o)
Adds the specified element to the tail of this queue.

Specified by:
add in interface Collection<E>
Overrides:
add in class AbstractQueue<E>
Parameters:
o - the element to add.
Returns:
true (as per the general contract of Collection.add).
Throws:
NullPointerException - if the specified element is null

offer

public boolean offer(E o)
Inserts the specified element to the tail of this queue.

Specified by:
offer in interface Queue<E>
Parameters:
o - the element to add.
Returns:
true (as per the general contract of Queue.offer).
Throws:
NullPointerException - if the specified element is null

poll

public E poll()
Description copied from interface: Queue
Retrieves and removes the head of this queue, or null if this queue is empty.

Specified by:
poll in interface Queue<E>
Returns:
the head of this queue, or null if this queue is empty.

peek

public E peek()
Description copied from interface: Queue
Retrieves, but does not remove, the head of this queue, returning null if this queue is empty.

Specified by:
peek in interface Queue<E>
Returns:
the head of this queue, or null if this queue is empty.

isEmpty

public boolean isEmpty()
Description copied from class: AbstractCollection
Returns true if this collection contains no elements.

This implementation returns size() == 0.

Specified by:
isEmpty in interface Collection<E>
Overrides:
isEmpty in class AbstractCollection<E>
Returns:
true if this collection contains no elements.

size

public int size()
Returns the number of elements in this queue. If this queue contains more than Integer.MAX_VALUE elements, returns Integer.MAX_VALUE.

Beware that, unlike in most collections, this method is NOT a constant-time operation. Because of the asynchronous nature of these queues, determining the current number of elements requires an O(n) traversal.

Specified by:
size in interface Collection<E>
Specified by:
size in class AbstractCollection<E>
Returns:
the number of elements in this queue.

contains

public boolean contains(Object o)
Description copied from class: AbstractCollection
Returns true if this collection contains the specified element. More formally, returns true if and only if this collection contains at least one element e such that (o==null ? e==null : o.equals(e)).

This implementation iterates over the elements in the collection, checking each element in turn for equality with the specified element.

Specified by:
contains in interface Collection<E>
Overrides:
contains in class AbstractCollection<E>
Parameters:
o - object to be checked for containment in this collection.
Returns:
true if this collection contains the specified element.

remove

public boolean remove(Object o)
Description copied from class: AbstractCollection
Removes a single instance of the specified element from this collection, if it is present (optional operation). More formally, removes an element e such that (o==null ? e==null : o.equals(e)), if the collection contains one or more such elements. Returns true if the collection contained the specified element (or equivalently, if the collection changed as a result of the call).

This implementation iterates over the collection looking for the specified element. If it finds the element, it removes the element from the collection using the iterator's remove method.

Note that this implementation throws an UnsupportedOperationException if the iterator returned by this collection's iterator method does not implement the remove method and this collection contains the specified object.

Specified by:
remove in interface Collection<E>
Overrides:
remove in class AbstractCollection<E>
Parameters:
o - element to be removed from this collection, if present.
Returns:
true if the collection contained the specified element.

toArray

public Object[] toArray()
Description copied from class: AbstractCollection
Returns an array containing all of the elements in this collection. If the collection makes any guarantees as to what order its elements are returned by its iterator, this method must return the elements in the same order. The returned array will be "safe" in that no references to it are maintained by the collection. (In other words, this method must allocate a new array even if the collection is backed by an Array). The caller is thus free to modify the returned array.

This implementation allocates the array to be returned, and iterates over the elements in the collection, storing each object reference in the next consecutive element of the array, starting with element 0.

Specified by:
toArray in interface Collection<E>
Overrides:
toArray in class AbstractCollection<E>
Returns:
an array containing all of the elements in this collection.

toArray

public <T> T[] toArray(T[] a)
Description copied from class: AbstractCollection
Returns an array containing all of the elements in this collection; the runtime type of the returned array is that of the specified array. If the collection fits in the specified array, it is returned therein. Otherwise, a new array is allocated with the runtime type of the specified array and the size of this collection.

If the collection fits in the specified array with room to spare (i.e., the array has more elements than the collection), the element in the array immediately following the end of the collection is set to null. This is useful in determining the length of the collection only if the caller knows that the collection does not contain any null elements.)

If this collection makes any guarantees as to what order its elements are returned by its iterator, this method must return the elements in the same order.

This implementation checks if the array is large enough to contain the collection; if not, it allocates a new array of the correct size and type (using reflection). Then, it iterates over the collection, storing each object reference in the next consecutive element of the array, starting with element 0. If the array is larger than the collection, a null is stored in the first location after the end of the collection.

Specified by:
toArray in interface Collection<E>
Overrides:
toArray in class AbstractCollection<E>
Parameters:
a - the array into which the elements of the collection are to be stored, if it is big enough; otherwise, a new array of the same runtime type is allocated for this purpose.
Returns:
an array containing the elements of the collection.

iterator

public Iterator<E> iterator()
Returns an iterator over the elements in this queue in proper sequence. The returned iterator is a "weakly consistent" iterator that will never throw ConcurrentModificationException, and guarantees to traverse elements as they existed upon construction of the iterator, and may (but is not guaranteed to) reflect any modifications subsequent to construction.

Specified by:
iterator in interface Iterable<E>
Specified by:
iterator in interface Collection<E>
Specified by:
iterator in class AbstractCollection<E>
Returns:
an iterator over the elements in this queue in proper sequence.

JavaTM 2 Platform
Standard Ed. 5.0

Submit a bug or feature
For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java 2 SDK SE Developer Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Use is subject to license terms. Also see the documentation redistribution policy.