ExecutorService slow multi thread performance

Question

I am trying to execute a simple calculation (it calls Math.random() 10000000 times). Surprisingly running it in simple method performs much faster than using Ex

Answer 1

Math.random() is synchronized. Kind of the whole point of synchronized is to slow things down so they don't collide. Use something that isn't synchronized and/or give each thread its own object to work with, like a new Random.

Answer 2

You'd do well to read the contents of the other thread. There's plenty of good tips in there.

Perhaps the most significant issue with your benchmark is that according to the Math.random() contract, "This method is properly synchronized to allow correct use by more than one thread. However, if many threads need to generate pseudorandom numbers at a great rate, it may reduce contention for each thread to have its own pseudorandom-number generator"

Read this as: the method is synchronized, so only one thread is likely to be able to usefully use it at the same time. So you do a bunch of overhead to distribute the tasks, only to force them again to run serially.

Answer 3

When you use multiple threads, you need to be aware of the overhead of using additional threads. You also need to determine if your algorithm has work which can be preformed in parallel or not. So you need to have work which can be run concurrently which is large enough that it will exceed the overhead of using multiple threads.

In this case, the simplest workaround is to use a separate Random in each thread. The problem you have is that as a micro-benchmark, your loop doesn't actually do anything and the JIT is very good at discarding code which doesn't do anything. A workaround for this is to sum the random results and return it from the call() as this is usually enough to prevent the JIT from discarding the code.

Lastly if you want to sum lots of numbers, you don't need to save them and sum them later. You can sum them as you go.