Synchronizing the getter methods of a shared mutable state in Java can be a good idea in some cases, but it depends on the specific requirements and constraints of the application. Here are some factors to consider:
- If the shared mutable state is accessed by multiple threads concurrently and the state is critical to the correctness of the program, then synchronizing the getter methods may be necessary to ensure that the state is accessed and modified atomically and consistently. For example, if a shared counter is used by multiple threads to increment and read its value, then synchronizing the getter and setter methods would be necessary to ensure that the counter value is always correct.
- On the other hand, if the shared mutable state is only accessed by a single thread or if the state is not critical to the correctness of the program, then synchronizing the getter methods may not be necessary and can potentially introduce unnecessary overhead and performance degradation.
If we don’t synchronize the getter methods of a shared mutable state, there is a risk of data races and other concurrency issues. Data races occur when multiple threads access a shared variable concurrently without proper synchronization, and the resulting behavior is undefined and unpredictable. In the case of a shared mutable state, this can lead to inconsistent or incorrect state, and potentially corrupt the entire program.
In general, it’s important to carefully consider the concurrency needs and constraints of your application and choose the appropriate synchronization mechanisms accordingly. Synchronizing-getter methods can be an effective way to ensure thread safety and consistency of shared mutable state, but they should only be used when necessary and with care to avoid unnecessary overhead and potential deadlock or contention issues.