The security manager is a class that allows applications to implement a security policy. It allows an application to determine, before performing a possibly unsafe or sensitive operation, what the operation is and whether it is being attempted in a security context that allows the operation to be performed. The application can allow or disallow the operation.

The SecurityManager class contains many methods with names that begin with the word check. These methods are called by various methods in the Java libraries before those methods perform certain potentially sensitive operations. The invocation of such a check method typically looks like this:

     SecurityManager security = System.getSecurityManager();
     if (security != null) {
         security.checkXXX(argument,  . . . );
     }
 

The security manager is thereby given an opportunity to prevent completion of the operation by throwing an exception. A security manager routine simply returns if the operation is permitted, but throws a SecurityException if the operation is not permitted. The only exception to this convention is checkTopLevelWindow, which returns a boolean value.

The current security manager is set by the setSecurityManager method in class System. The current security manager is obtained by the getSecurityManager method.

The special method determines whether an access request indicated by a specified permission should be granted or denied. The default implementation calls

   AccessController.checkPermission(perm);
 

If a requested access is allowed, checkPermission returns quietly. If denied, a SecurityException is thrown.

As of Java 2 SDK v1.2, the default implementation of each of the other check methods in SecurityManager is to call the SecurityManager checkPermission method to determine if the calling thread has permission to perform the requested operation.

Note that the checkPermission method with just a single permission argument always performs security checks within the context of the currently executing thread. Sometimes a security check that should be made within a given context will actually need to be done from within a different context (for example, from within a worker thread). The getSecurityContext method and the checkPermission method that includes a context argument are provided for this situation. The getSecurityContext method returns a "snapshot" of the current calling context. (The default implementation returns an AccessControlContext object.) A sample call is the following:

   Object context = null;
   SecurityManager sm = System.getSecurityManager();
   if (sm != null) context = sm.getSecurityContext(); 
 

The checkPermission method that takes a context object in addition to a permission makes access decisions based on that context, rather than on that of the current execution thread. Code within a different context can thus call that method, passing the permission and the previously-saved context object. A sample call, using the SecurityManager sm obtained as in the previous example, is the following:

   if (sm != null) sm.checkPermission(permission, context);
 

Permissions fall into these categories: File, Socket, Net, Security, Runtime, Property, AWT, Reflect, and Serializable. The classes managing these various permission categories are java.io.FilePermission, java.net.SocketPermission, java.net.NetPermission, java.security.SecurityPermission, java.lang.RuntimePermission, java.util.PropertyPermission, java.awt.AWTPermission, java.lang.reflect.ReflectPermission, and java.io.SerializablePermission.

All but the first two (FilePermission and SocketPermission) are subclasses of java.security.BasicPermission, which itself is an abstract subclass of the top-level class for permissions, which is java.security.Permission. BasicPermission defines the functionality needed for all permissions that contain a name that follows the hierarchical property naming convention (for example, "exitVM", "setFactory", "queuePrintJob", etc). An asterisk may appear at the end of the name, following a ".", or by itself, to signify a wildcard match. For example: "a.*" or "*" is valid, "*a" or "a*b" is not valid.

FilePermission and SocketPermission are subclasses of the top-level class for permissions (java.security.Permission). Classes like these that have a more complicated name syntax than that used by BasicPermission subclass directly from Permission rather than from BasicPermission. For example, for a java.io.FilePermission object, the permission name is the path name of a file (or directory).

Some of the permission classes have an "actions" list that tells the actions that are permitted for the object. For example, for a java.io.FilePermission object, the actions list (such as "read, write") specifies which actions are granted for the specified file (or for files in the specified directory).

Other permission classes are for "named" permissions - ones that contain a name but no actions list; you either have the named permission or you don't.

Note: There is also a java.security.AllPermission permission that implies all permissions. It exists to simplify the work of system administrators who might need to perform multiple tasks that require all (or numerous) permissions.

See Permissions in the JDK for permission-related information. This document includes, for example, a table listing the various SecurityManager check methods and the permission(s) the default implementation of each such method requires. It also contains a table of all the version 1.2 methods that require permissions, and for each such method tells which permission it requires.

For more information about SecurityManager changes made in the JDK and advice regarding porting of 1.1-style security managers, see the security documentation.

Constructs a new SecurityManager.

If there is a security manager already installed, this method first calls the security manager's checkPermission method with the RuntimePermission("createSecurityManager") permission to ensure the calling thread has permission to create a new security manager. This may result in throwing a SecurityException.

Throws
java.lang.SecurityExceptionif a security manager already exists and its checkPermission method doesn't allow creation of a new security manager.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not permitted to accept a socket connection from the specified host and port number.

This method is invoked for the current security manager by the accept method of class ServerSocket.

This method calls checkPermission with the SocketPermission(host+":"+port,"accept") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkAccept at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
hostthe host name of the socket connection.
portthe port number of the socket connection.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to accept the connection.
NullPointerExceptionif the host argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to modify the thread argument.

This method is invoked for the current security manager by the stop, suspend, resume, setPriority, setName, and setDaemon methods of class Thread.

If the thread argument is a system thread (belongs to the thread group with a null parent) then this method calls checkPermission with the RuntimePermission("modifyThread") permission. If the thread argument is not a system thread, this method just returns silently.

Applications that want a stricter policy should override this method. If this method is overridden, the method that overrides it should additionally check to see if the calling thread has the RuntimePermission("modifyThread") permission, and if so, return silently. This is to ensure that code granted that permission (such as the JDK itself) is allowed to manipulate any thread.

If this method is overridden, then super.checkAccess should be called by the first statement in the overridden method, or the equivalent security check should be placed in the overridden method.

Parameters
tthe thread to be checked.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to modify the thread.
NullPointerExceptionif the thread argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to modify the thread group argument.

This method is invoked for the current security manager when a new child thread or child thread group is created, and by the setDaemon, setMaxPriority, stop, suspend, resume, and destroy methods of class ThreadGroup.

If the thread group argument is the system thread group ( has a null parent) then this method calls checkPermission with the RuntimePermission("modifyThreadGroup") permission. If the thread group argument is not the system thread group, this method just returns silently.

Applications that want a stricter policy should override this method. If this method is overridden, the method that overrides it should additionally check to see if the calling thread has the RuntimePermission("modifyThreadGroup") permission, and if so, return silently. This is to ensure that code granted that permission (such as the JDK itself) is allowed to manipulate any thread.

If this method is overridden, then super.checkAccess should be called by the first statement in the overridden method, or the equivalent security check should be placed in the overridden method.

Parameters
gthe thread group to be checked.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to modify the thread group.
NullPointerExceptionif the thread group argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to access the AWT event queue.

This method calls checkPermission with the AWTPermission("accessEventQueue") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkAwtEventQueueAccess at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to access the AWT event queue.
@since
JDK1.1
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to open a socket connection to the specified host and port number.

A port number of -1 indicates that the calling method is attempting to determine the IP address of the specified host name.

This method calls checkPermission with the SocketPermission(host+":"+port,"connect") permission if the port is not equal to -1. If the port is equal to -1, then it calls checkPermission with the SocketPermission(host,"resolve") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkConnect at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
hostthe host name port to connect to.
portthe protocol port to connect to.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to open a socket connection to the specified host and port.
NullPointerExceptionif the host argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the specified security context is not allowed to open a socket connection to the specified host and port number.

A port number of -1 indicates that the calling method is attempting to determine the IP address of the specified host name.

If context is not an instance of AccessControlContext then a SecurityException is thrown.

Otherwise, the port number is checked. If it is not equal to -1, the context's checkPermission method is called with a SocketPermission(host+":"+port,"connect") permission. If the port is equal to -1, then the context's checkPermission method is called with a SocketPermission(host,"resolve") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkConnect at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
hostthe host name port to connect to.
portthe protocol port to connect to.
contexta system-dependent security context.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the specified security context is not an instance of AccessControlContext (e.g., is null), or does not have permission to open a socket connection to the specified host and port.
NullPointerExceptionif the host argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to create a new class loader.

This method calls checkPermission with the RuntimePermission("createClassLoader") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkCreateClassLoader at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to create a new class loader.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to delete the specified file.

This method is invoked for the current security manager by the delete method of class File.

This method calls checkPermission with the FilePermission(file,"delete") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkDelete at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
filethe system-dependent filename.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to delete the file.
NullPointerExceptionif the file argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to create a subprocess.

This method is invoked for the current security manager by the exec methods of class Runtime.

This method calls checkPermission with the FilePermission(cmd,"execute") permission if cmd is an absolute path, otherwise it calls checkPermission with FilePermission("<<ALL FILES>>","execute").

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkExec at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
cmdthe specified system command.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to create a subprocess.
NullPointerExceptionif the cmd argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to cause the Java Virtual Machine to halt with the specified status code.

This method is invoked for the current security manager by the exit method of class Runtime. A status of 0 indicates success; other values indicate various errors.

This method calls checkPermission with the RuntimePermission("exitVM") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkExit at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
statusthe exit status.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to halt the Java Virtual Machine with the specified status.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to dynamic link the library code specified by the string argument file. The argument is either a simple library name or a complete filename.

This method is invoked for the current security manager by methods load and loadLibrary of class Runtime.

This method calls checkPermission with the RuntimePermission("loadLibrary."+lib) permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkLink at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
libthe name of the library.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to dynamically link the library.
NullPointerExceptionif the lib argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to wait for a connection request on the specified local port number.

If port is not 0, this method calls checkPermission with the SocketPermission("localhost:"+port,"listen"). If port is zero, this method calls checkPermission with SocketPermission("localhost:1024-","listen").

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkListen at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
portthe local port.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to listen on the specified port.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to access members.

The default policy is to allow access to PUBLIC members, as well as access to classes that have the same class loader as the caller. In all other cases, this method calls checkPermission with the RuntimePermission("accessDeclaredMembers") permission.

If this method is overridden, then a call to super.checkMemberAccess cannot be made, as the default implementation of checkMemberAccess relies on the code being checked being at a stack depth of 4.

Parameters
clazzthe class that reflection is to be performed on.
whichtype of access, PUBLIC or DECLARED.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the caller does not have permission to access members.
NullPointerExceptionif the clazz argument is null.
@since
JDK1.1
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to use (join/leave/send/receive) IP multicast.

This method calls checkPermission with the java.net.SocketPermission(maddr.getHostAddress(), "accept,connect") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkMulticast at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
maddrInternet group address to be used.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread is not allowed to use (join/leave/send/receive) IP multicast.
NullPointerExceptionif the address argument is null.
@since
JDK1.1
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to use (join/leave/send/receive) IP multicast.

This method calls checkPermission with the java.net.SocketPermission(maddr.getHostAddress(), "accept,connect") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkMulticast at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
maddrInternet group address to be used.
ttlvalue in use, if it is multicast send. Note: this particular implementation does not use the ttl parameter.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread is not allowed to use (join/leave/send/receive) IP multicast.
NullPointerExceptionif the address argument is null.
@since
JDK1.1
@deprecated
Use #checkPermission(java.security.Permission) instead
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to access the package specified by the argument.

This method is used by the loadClass method of class loaders.

This method first gets a list of restricted packages by obtaining a comma-separated list from a call to java.security.Security.getProperty("package.access"), and checks to see if pkg starts with or equals any of the restricted packages. If it does, then checkPermission gets called with the RuntimePermission("accessClassInPackage."+pkg) permission.

If this method is overridden, then super.checkPackageAccess should be called as the first line in the overridden method.

Parameters
pkgthe package name.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to access the specified package.
NullPointerExceptionif the package name argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to define classes in the package specified by the argument.

This method is used by the loadClass method of some class loaders.

This method first gets a list of restricted packages by obtaining a comma-separated list from a call to java.security.Security.getProperty("package.definition"), and checks to see if pkg starts with or equals any of the restricted packages. If it does, then checkPermission gets called with the RuntimePermission("defineClassInPackage."+pkg) permission.

If this method is overridden, then super.checkPackageDefinition should be called as the first line in the overridden method.

Parameters
pkgthe package name.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to define classes in the specified package.
Throws a SecurityException if the requested access, specified by the given permission, is not permitted based on the security policy currently in effect.

This method calls AccessController.checkPermission with the given permission.

Parameters
permthe requested permission.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif access is not permitted based on the current security policy.
NullPointerExceptionif the permission argument is null.
@since
1.2
Throws a SecurityException if the specified security context is denied access to the resource specified by the given permission. The context must be a security context returned by a previous call to getSecurityContext and the access control decision is based upon the configured security policy for that security context.

If context is an instance of AccessControlContext then the AccessControlContext.checkPermission method is invoked with the specified permission.

If context is not an instance of AccessControlContext then a SecurityException is thrown.

Parameters
permthe specified permission
contexta system-dependent security context.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the specified security context is not an instance of AccessControlContext (e.g., is null), or is denied access to the resource specified by the given permission.
NullPointerExceptionif the permission argument is null.
@since
1.2
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to initiate a print job request.

This method calls checkPermission with the RuntimePermission("queuePrintJob") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkPrintJobAccess at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to initiate a print job request.
@since
JDK1.1
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to access or modify the system properties.

This method is used by the getProperties and setProperties methods of class System.

This method calls checkPermission with the PropertyPermission("*", "read,write") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkPropertiesAccess at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to access or modify the system properties.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to access the system property with the specified key name.

This method is used by the getProperty method of class System.

This method calls checkPermission with the PropertyPermission(key, "read") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkPropertyAccess at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
keya system property key.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to access the specified system property.
NullPointerExceptionif the key argument is null.
IllegalArgumentExceptionif key is empty.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to read from the specified file descriptor.

This method calls checkPermission with the RuntimePermission("readFileDescriptor") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkRead at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
fdthe system-dependent file descriptor.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to access the specified file descriptor.
NullPointerExceptionif the file descriptor argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to read the file specified by the string argument.

This method calls checkPermission with the FilePermission(file,"read") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkRead at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
filethe system-dependent file name.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to access the specified file.
NullPointerExceptionif the file argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the specified security context is not allowed to read the file specified by the string argument. The context must be a security context returned by a previous call to getSecurityContext.

If context is an instance of AccessControlContext then the AccessControlContext.checkPermission method will be invoked with the FilePermission(file,"read") permission.

If context is not an instance of AccessControlContext then a SecurityException is thrown.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkRead at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
filethe system-dependent filename.
contexta system-dependent security context.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the specified security context is not an instance of AccessControlContext (e.g., is null), or does not have permission to read the specified file.
NullPointerExceptionif the file argument is null.
Determines whether the permission with the specified permission target name should be granted or denied.

If the requested permission is allowed, this method returns quietly. If denied, a SecurityException is raised.

This method creates a SecurityPermission object for the given permission target name and calls checkPermission with it.

See the documentation for java.security.SecurityPermission for a list of possible permission target names.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkSecurityAccess at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
targetthe target name of the SecurityPermission.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission for the requested access.
NullPointerExceptionif target is null.
IllegalArgumentExceptionif target is empty.
@since
JDK1.1
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to set the socket factory used by ServerSocket or Socket, or the stream handler factory used by URL.

This method calls checkPermission with the RuntimePermission("setFactory") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkSetFactory at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to access the system clipboard.

This method calls checkPermission with the AWTPermission("accessClipboard") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkSystemClipboardAccess at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to access the system clipboard.
@since
JDK1.1
Returns false if the calling thread is not trusted to bring up the top-level window indicated by the window argument. In this case, the caller can still decide to show the window, but the window should include some sort of visual warning. If the method returns true, then the window can be shown without any special restrictions.

See class Window for more information on trusted and untrusted windows.

This method calls checkPermission with the AWTPermission("showWindowWithoutWarningBanner") permission, and returns true if a SecurityException is not thrown, otherwise it returns false.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkTopLevelWindow at the point the overridden method would normally return false, and the value of super.checkTopLevelWindow should be returned.

Parameters
windowthe new window that is being created.
Return
true if the calling thread is trusted to put up top-level windows; false otherwise.
Throws
NullPointerExceptionif the window argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to write to the specified file descriptor.

This method calls checkPermission with the RuntimePermission("writeFileDescriptor") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkWrite at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
fdthe system-dependent file descriptor.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to access the specified file descriptor.
NullPointerExceptionif the file descriptor argument is null.
Throws a SecurityException if the calling thread is not allowed to write to the file specified by the string argument.

This method calls checkPermission with the FilePermission(file,"write") permission.

If you override this method, then you should make a call to super.checkWrite at the point the overridden method would normally throw an exception.

Parameters
filethe system-dependent filename.
Throws
SecurityExceptionif the calling thread does not have permission to access the specified file.
NullPointerExceptionif the file argument is null.
Indicates whether some other object is "equal to" this one.

The equals method implements an equivalence relation on non-null object references:

  • It is reflexive: for any non-null reference value x, x.equals(x) should return true.
  • It is symmetric: for any non-null reference values x and y, x.equals(y) should return true if and only if y.equals(x) returns true.
  • It is transitive: for any non-null reference values x, y, and z, if x.equals(y) returns true and y.equals(z) returns true, then x.equals(z) should return true.
  • It is consistent: for any non-null reference values x and y, multiple invocations of x.equals(y) consistently return true or consistently return false, provided no information used in equals comparisons on the objects is modified.
  • For any non-null reference value x, x.equals(null) should return false.

The equals method for class Object implements the most discriminating possible equivalence relation on objects; that is, for any non-null reference values x and y, this method returns true if and only if x and y refer to the same object (x == y has the value true).

Note that it is generally necessary to override the hashCode method whenever this method is overridden, so as to maintain the general contract for the hashCode method, which states that equal objects must have equal hash codes.

Parameters
objthe reference object with which to compare.
Return
true if this object is the same as the obj argument; false otherwise.
Returns the runtime class of an object. That Class object is the object that is locked by static synchronized methods of the represented class.
Return
The java.lang.Class object that represents the runtime class of the object. The result is of type {@code Class} where X is the erasure of the static type of the expression on which getClass is called.
Tests if there is a security check in progress.
Return
the value of the inCheck field. This field should contain true if a security check is in progress, false otherwise.
@deprecated
This type of security checking is not recommended. It is recommended that the checkPermission call be used instead.
Creates an object that encapsulates the current execution environment. The result of this method is used, for example, by the three-argument checkConnect method and by the two-argument checkRead method. These methods are needed because a trusted method may be called on to read a file or open a socket on behalf of another method. The trusted method needs to determine if the other (possibly untrusted) method would be allowed to perform the operation on its own.

The default implementation of this method is to return an AccessControlContext object.

Return
an implementation-dependent object that encapsulates sufficient information about the current execution environment to perform some security checks later.
Returns the thread group into which to instantiate any new thread being created at the time this is being called. By default, it returns the thread group of the current thread. This should be overridden by a specific security manager to return the appropriate thread group.
Return
ThreadGroup that new threads are instantiated into
@since
JDK1.1
Returns a hash code value for the object. This method is supported for the benefit of hashtables such as those provided by java.util.Hashtable.

The general contract of hashCode is:

  • Whenever it is invoked on the same object more than once during an execution of a Java application, the hashCode method must consistently return the same integer, provided no information used in equals comparisons on the object is modified. This integer need not remain consistent from one execution of an application to another execution of the same application.
  • If two objects are equal according to the equals(Object) method, then calling the hashCode method on each of the two objects must produce the same integer result.
  • It is not required that if two objects are unequal according to the method, then calling the hashCode method on each of the two objects must produce distinct integer results. However, the programmer should be aware that producing distinct integer results for unequal objects may improve the performance of hashtables.

As much as is reasonably practical, the hashCode method defined by class Object does return distinct integers for distinct objects. (This is typically implemented by converting the internal address of the object into an integer, but this implementation technique is not required by the JavaTM programming language.)

Return
a hash code value for this object.
Wakes up a single thread that is waiting on this object's monitor. If any threads are waiting on this object, one of them is chosen to be awakened. The choice is arbitrary and occurs at the discretion of the implementation. A thread waits on an object's monitor by calling one of the wait methods.

The awakened thread will not be able to proceed until the current thread relinquishes the lock on this object. The awakened thread will compete in the usual manner with any other threads that might be actively competing to synchronize on this object; for example, the awakened thread enjoys no reliable privilege or disadvantage in being the next thread to lock this object.

This method should only be called by a thread that is the owner of this object's monitor. A thread becomes the owner of the object's monitor in one of three ways:

  • By executing a synchronized instance method of that object.
  • By executing the body of a synchronized statement that synchronizes on the object.
  • For objects of type Class, by executing a synchronized static method of that class.

Only one thread at a time can own an object's monitor.

Throws
IllegalMonitorStateExceptionif the current thread is not the owner of this object's monitor.
Wakes up all threads that are waiting on this object's monitor. A thread waits on an object's monitor by calling one of the wait methods.

The awakened threads will not be able to proceed until the current thread relinquishes the lock on this object. The awakened threads will compete in the usual manner with any other threads that might be actively competing to synchronize on this object; for example, the awakened threads enjoy no reliable privilege or disadvantage in being the next thread to lock this object.

This method should only be called by a thread that is the owner of this object's monitor. See the notify method for a description of the ways in which a thread can become the owner of a monitor.

Throws
IllegalMonitorStateExceptionif the current thread is not the owner of this object's monitor.
Returns a string representation of the object. In general, the toString method returns a string that "textually represents" this object. The result should be a concise but informative representation that is easy for a person to read. It is recommended that all subclasses override this method.

The toString method for class Object returns a string consisting of the name of the class of which the object is an instance, the at-sign character `@', and the unsigned hexadecimal representation of the hash code of the object. In other words, this method returns a string equal to the value of:

 getClass().getName() + '@' + Integer.toHexString(hashCode())
 
Return
a string representation of the object.
Causes current thread to wait until another thread invokes the method or the method for this object. In other words, this method behaves exactly as if it simply performs the call wait(0).

The current thread must own this object's monitor. The thread releases ownership of this monitor and waits until another thread notifies threads waiting on this object's monitor to wake up either through a call to the notify method or the notifyAll method. The thread then waits until it can re-obtain ownership of the monitor and resumes execution.

As in the one argument version, interrupts and spurious wakeups are possible, and this method should always be used in a loop:

     synchronized (obj) {
         while (<condition does not hold>)
             obj.wait();
         ... // Perform action appropriate to condition
     }
 
This method should only be called by a thread that is the owner of this object's monitor. See the notify method for a description of the ways in which a thread can become the owner of a monitor.
Throws
IllegalMonitorStateExceptionif the current thread is not the owner of the object's monitor.
InterruptedExceptionif another thread interrupted the current thread before or while the current thread was waiting for a notification. The interrupted status of the current thread is cleared when this exception is thrown.
Causes current thread to wait until either another thread invokes the method or the method for this object, or a specified amount of time has elapsed.

The current thread must own this object's monitor.

This method causes the current thread (call it T) to place itself in the wait set for this object and then to relinquish any and all synchronization claims on this object. Thread T becomes disabled for thread scheduling purposes and lies dormant until one of four things happens:

  • Some other thread invokes the notify method for this object and thread T happens to be arbitrarily chosen as the thread to be awakened.
  • Some other thread invokes the notifyAll method for this object.
  • Some other thread interrupts thread T.
  • The specified amount of real time has elapsed, more or less. If timeout is zero, however, then real time is not taken into consideration and the thread simply waits until notified.
The thread T is then removed from the wait set for this object and re-enabled for thread scheduling. It then competes in the usual manner with other threads for the right to synchronize on the object; once it has gained control of the object, all its synchronization claims on the object are restored to the status quo ante - that is, to the situation as of the time that the wait method was invoked. Thread T then returns from the invocation of the wait method. Thus, on return from the wait method, the synchronization state of the object and of thread T is exactly as it was when the wait method was invoked.

A thread can also wake up without being notified, interrupted, or timing out, a so-called spurious wakeup. While this will rarely occur in practice, applications must guard against it by testing for the condition that should have caused the thread to be awakened, and continuing to wait if the condition is not satisfied. In other words, waits should always occur in loops, like this one:

     synchronized (obj) {
         while (<condition does not hold>)
             obj.wait(timeout);
         ... // Perform action appropriate to condition
     }
 
(For more information on this topic, see Section 3.2.3 in Doug Lea's "Concurrent Programming in Java (Second Edition)" (Addison-Wesley, 2000), or Item 50 in Joshua Bloch's "Effective Java Programming Language Guide" (Addison-Wesley, 2001).

If the current thread is interrupted by another thread while it is waiting, then an InterruptedException is thrown. This exception is not thrown until the lock status of this object has been restored as described above.

Note that the wait method, as it places the current thread into the wait set for this object, unlocks only this object; any other objects on which the current thread may be synchronized remain locked while the thread waits.

This method should only be called by a thread that is the owner of this object's monitor. See the notify method for a description of the ways in which a thread can become the owner of a monitor.

Parameters
timeoutthe maximum time to wait in milliseconds.
Throws
IllegalArgumentExceptionif the value of timeout is negative.
IllegalMonitorStateExceptionif the current thread is not the owner of the object's monitor.
InterruptedExceptionif another thread interrupted the current thread before or while the current thread was waiting for a notification. The interrupted status of the current thread is cleared when this exception is thrown.
Causes current thread to wait until another thread invokes the method or the method for this object, or some other thread interrupts the current thread, or a certain amount of real time has elapsed.

This method is similar to the wait method of one argument, but it allows finer control over the amount of time to wait for a notification before giving up. The amount of real time, measured in nanoseconds, is given by:

 1000000*timeout+nanos

In all other respects, this method does the same thing as the method of one argument. In particular, wait(0, 0) means the same thing as wait(0).

The current thread must own this object's monitor. The thread releases ownership of this monitor and waits until either of the following two conditions has occurred:

  • Another thread notifies threads waiting on this object's monitor to wake up either through a call to the notify method or the notifyAll method.
  • The timeout period, specified by timeout milliseconds plus nanos nanoseconds arguments, has elapsed.

The thread then waits until it can re-obtain ownership of the monitor and resumes execution.

As in the one argument version, interrupts and spurious wakeups are possible, and this method should always be used in a loop:

     synchronized (obj) {
         while (<condition does not hold>)
             obj.wait(timeout, nanos);
         ... // Perform action appropriate to condition
     }
 
This method should only be called by a thread that is the owner of this object's monitor. See the notify method for a description of the ways in which a thread can become the owner of a monitor.
Parameters
timeoutthe maximum time to wait in milliseconds.
nanosadditional time, in nanoseconds range 0-999999.
Throws
IllegalArgumentExceptionif the value of timeout is negative or the value of nanos is not in the range 0-999999.
IllegalMonitorStateExceptionif the current thread is not the owner of this object's monitor.
InterruptedExceptionif another thread interrupted the current thread before or while the current thread was waiting for a notification. The interrupted status of the current thread is cleared when this exception is thrown.