volatile is used in Java to ensure the visibility of variables between multiple threads. Its core role is to prohibit the JVM from local cache of variables and force read and write to directly interact with the main memory. Specifically: 1. volatile prevents CPU cache optimization to ensure that every read is retrieved from the main memory and refreshes to the main memory immediately after each write; 2. It is suitable for state flags, simple state switching, and shared variable scenarios with more reads and fewer reads; 3. However, it cannot guarantee atomicity, such as compound operations (count) still require other synchronization mechanisms; 4. Its internal implementation prevents instructions from reordering and establishes memory barriers through happens-before rules; 5. It does not provide mutex lock functions, and needs to be used with synchronized or ReentrantLock. Therefore, volatile only solves the visibility problem and does not replace the complete synchronization tool.
The volatile
keyword in Java is used to indicate that a variable's value may be modified by different threads. When a variable is declared as volatile
, it tells the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) not to cache the variable locally and instead always read it from or write it directly to main memory, ensuring visibility across threads.

Visibility Issues Without volatile
In a multi-threaded environment, each thread can have its own copy of variables in CPU caches for performance reasons. This means if one thread updates a variable, another thread might not immediately see that change — or might not see it at all — unless some synchronization mechanism is in place.
Without volatile
, there's no guarantee about when threads will refresh their local copies from main memory. As a result:

- One thread could be working with outdated data.
- Changes made by one thread might not be visible to others.
Declaring a variable as volatile
solves this by forcing reads and writes to go directly to main memory, making sure every thread sees the most up-to-date value.
When to Use volatile
You should use volatile
in specific situations where you need visibility but don't require atomicity. For example:

- Status flags : Like a
shutdownRequested
flag that one thread sets and another checks periodically. - Simple state changes : Such as switching between modes in an application.
- Read-heavy shared variables : Where many threads are reading a value and only one updates it.
But keep in mind:
-
volatile
doesn't make compound operations atomic. For example, increasing a counter (count
) involves reading, modifying, and writing — which isn't thread-safe even withvolatile
. - It's often used alongside other concurrency tools like
synchronized
blocks or classes fromjava.util.concurrent
.
How volatile Works Internationally
When you declare a variable as volatile
, the JVM applies special rules:
- On write: The value is immediately flushed back to main memory.
- On read: The value is always fetched from main memory, not from local thread cache.
- It also enforces a happens-before relationship, meaning reads and writes around the
volatile
access are not reordered by the compiler or processor in a way that breaks visibility guarantees.
This internal enforcement ensures that any thread reading a volatile
variable will see the latest change made by any other thread.
Limitations of volatile
Although its usefulness, volatile
has clear limits:
- It doesn't help with atomicity. If two threads try to update a
volatile int counter
at the same time, you can still get race conditions. - It doesn't provide mutual exclusivity. So if you need exclusive access to a resource, you'll need something else like
synchronized
orReentrantLock
.
So while volatile
is useful for simple cases, it's not a replacement for full synchronization mechanisms.
That's basically what volatile
does in Java — it helps with visibility across threads but leaves atomicity and locking to other tools.
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