Explain AtomicInteger and ABA problem
Overview
This question evaluates understanding of lock-free concurrency primitives and atomic operations, specifically how AtomicInteger implements atomic updates and the correctness issue known as the ABA problem.
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Aug 7, 2025, 12:00 AM
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How does AtomicInteger implement atomic updates (e.g., via CAS using Unsafe or VarHandles)? What is the ABA problem in lock-free algorithms, how can it affect CAS-based structures, and what are common mitigations (such as version tagging, AtomicStampedReference, or hazard pointers)?