QUESTION 13 OF 20

Can you tell me what a Compare and Swap algorithm is and how you use it when coding in Java?

This is a more complex technical question, which asks you to define a term and then discuss how it is used when creating a Java program. Regardless of whether a question is simple or complex, it would be best to keep your answer brief and to the point. The Facebook interviewer will either ask for more information or move on to the next topic.

"Compare and Swap is a type of instruction which helps to synchronize threads in a multi-threading environment. The way it works is to examine the content of a memory location and, if it matches another location, it modifies the value of the content and creates a new value. This prevents the content from being used by another thread and a write operation failing."

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Facebook Java Developer Mock Interview

Can you tell me what a Compare and Swap algorithm is and how you use it when coding in Java?

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