Parallel Programming with Threads in Java: A Case Study

Abstract

Nowadays, programming using explicit threading is one of the methods more common of parallel programming in architectures with shared memory. Threading is a mechanism that allows the coexistence of multiple activities inside of an only process. This paper compares the performance of a parallel program, when implemented with threading, with its sequential variant. This comparison is carried out in a parallel version of the Reversi game. This version uses the Minimax algorithm (a technique of competitive search used in classic games in Artificial Intelligence). Java Thread API was used for paralleling the game in this work. The results show better performance (smaller execution time) with the program implemented with threads.