Locking access to methods...

Question

Hello everyone,
I hope somebody can help me with this tricky question. Basically, I need to lock access to other threads while the invoking method thread is executing.
Given the code below:
public synchronized string doWork() {
   doSomeWork();
   doMoreWork();
}Will the methods doSomeWork() and doMoreWork() also be locked to other threads, and if not how can I lock them until doWork() finishes?
Thank you,
Sergio Bastos

Answer 1

That is, both methods will be locked as long as
doWork is executing.No they won't, will they? Another thread can still
call doMoreWork. It just can't call it via the main
function.You can e.g. read on this link:
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/essential/threads/monitors.html
"A critical section can be a block or a method and is identified with the synchronized keyword. The Java platform associates a lock with every object and the lock is acquired when a critical section is entered."
doWork has the object lock when it is executing, and no one else will be able to acquire that lock as long as the method is executing.
Kaj