关键是它们允许安全的并发访问和修改。它们通常在多线程环境中用作计数器——在引入它们之前，这必须是一个用户编写的类，将各种方法包装在同步块中。

就像gabuzo说的，当我想通过引用传递一个整型时，有时我使用AtomicIntegers。它是一个内置类，具有特定于体系结构的代码，因此它比我可以快速编写的任何MutableInteger更容易，也可能更优化。也就是说，这感觉像是对课程的滥用。

我使用AtomicInteger来解决就餐哲学家的问题。

在我的解决方案中，使用AtomicInteger实例来表示fork，每个哲学家需要两个。每个哲学家都被标识为一个整数，从1到5。当一个哲学家使用一个fork时，AtomicInteger保存哲学家的值，从1到5，否则该fork没有被使用，因此AtomicInteger的值为-1。

AtomicInteger允许在一个原子操作中检查一个fork是否空闲，value==-1，如果空闲则将其设置为fork的所有者。参见下面的代码。

AtomicInteger fork0 = neededForks[0];//neededForks is an array that holds the forks needed per Philosopher
AtomicInteger fork1 = neededForks[1];
while(true){    
    if (Hungry) {
        //if fork is free (==-1) then grab it by denoting who took it
        if (!fork0.compareAndSet(-1, p) || !fork1.compareAndSet(-1, p)) {
          //at least one fork was not succesfully grabbed, release both and try again later
            fork0.compareAndSet(p, -1);
            fork1.compareAndSet(p, -1);
            try {
                synchronized (lock) {//sleep and get notified later when a philosopher puts down one fork                    
                    lock.wait();//try again later, goes back up the loop
                }
            } catch (InterruptedException e) {}

        } else {
            //sucessfully grabbed both forks
            transition(fork_l_free_and_fork_r_free);
        }
    }
}

因为compareAndSet方法不阻塞，它应该增加吞吐量，完成更多的工作。正如你所知道的，Dining Philosophers问题是在需要对资源进行受控访问时使用的，即需要fork，就像一个进程需要资源来继续工作一样。

compareAndSet()函数的简单示例:

import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger; 

public class GFG { 
    public static void main(String args[]) 
    { 

        // Initially value as 0 
        AtomicInteger val = new AtomicInteger(0); 

        // Prints the updated value 
        System.out.println("Previous value: "
                           + val); 

        // Checks if previous value was 0 
        // and then updates it 
        boolean res = val.compareAndSet(0, 6); 

        // Checks if the value was updated. 
        if (res) 
            System.out.println("The value was"
                               + " updated and it is "
                           + val); 
        else
            System.out.println("The value was "
                               + "not updated"); 
      } 
  } 

打印出来的是: 前值:0 该值被更新为6 另一个简单的例子:

    import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger; 

public class GFG { 
    public static void main(String args[]) 
    { 

        // Initially value as 0 
        AtomicInteger val 
            = new AtomicInteger(0); 

        // Prints the updated value 
        System.out.println("Previous value: "
                           + val); 

         // Checks if previous value was 0 
        // and then updates it 
        boolean res = val.compareAndSet(10, 6); 

          // Checks if the value was updated. 
          if (res) 
            System.out.println("The value was"
                               + " updated and it is "
                               + val); 
        else
            System.out.println("The value was "
                               + "not updated"); 
    } 
} 

打印出来的是: 前值:0 没有更新该值

Atomic classes are not general purpose replacements for java.lang.Integer and related classes. They do not define methods such as equals, hashCode and compareTo. (Because atomic variables are expected to be mutated, they are poor choices for hash table keys.) Additionally, classes are provided only for those types that are commonly useful in intended applications. For example, there is no atomic class for representing byte. In those infrequent cases where you would like to do so, you can use an AtomicInteger to hold byte values, and cast appropriately. You can also hold floats using Float.floatToRawIntBits(float) and Float.intBitsToFloat(int) conversions, and doubles using Double.doubleToRawLongBits(double) and Double.longBitsToDouble(long) conversions.

参考:https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/util/concurrent/atomic/package-summary.html

例如，我有一个生成某些类实例的库。每个实例必须有一个唯一的整数ID，因为这些实例表示发送到服务器的命令，并且每个命令必须有一个唯一的ID。由于允许多个线程并发发送命令，所以我使用AtomicInteger来生成这些id。另一种方法是使用某种锁和常规整数，但这既慢又不优雅。