1. Understanding Concurrency

We propose to use the delays τ as absolute units of time which can be relied upon to synchronize the functions of various parts of the device.

John von Neumann

In order to build correct, concurrent Android programs, a developer needs a good model of concurrent processes, how they work, and what they are for. Concurrency actually isn’t a big deal for most normal humans. For any multi-celled animal—arguably even for viruses—it is just normal existence. It is only those of us obsessed with computers that give a second thought to the idea of walking and chewing gum at the same time.

Concurrency Made Hard

Walking and chewing gum isn’t easy in the strange world of Dr. John von Neumann. In his 1945 paper, “The First Draft ...

Get Android™ Concurrency now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.