12. Given the scenario: This class is intended to allow users to write a series of messages, so that each message is identified with a timestamp and the name of the thread that wrote the message:
public class Logger {
private StringBuilder contents = new StringBuilder();
public void log(String message) {
contents.append(System.currentTimeMillis());
contents.append(": ");
contents.append(Thread.currentThread().getName());
contents.append(message);
contents.append("\n");
}
public String getContents() { return contents.toString(); }
}
How can we ensure that instances of this class can be safely used by multiple threads?
A. This class is already thread-safe.
B. Replacing StringBuilder with StringBuffer will make this class thread-safe.
C. Synchronize the log() method only.
D. Synchronize the getContents() method only.
E. Synchronize both log() and getContents().
F. This class cannot be made thread-safe.
My answer was F but the correct answer is E. Even if you make both the methods synchronized, the following situation will totally mess the message up:
1.
Thread 1 calls log("message");
2. Before thread 2 could do getContent(), thread 2 gets lock and calls log("message2"); This causes the message to contain "message1message2".
3. Thread 1 calls getContent()
4. Thread 2 calls getContent()
Basically, I feel that this class is structurally unsound and cannot be made thread safe.
Am I missing something?
