Difference between wait() and sleep() methods in Java - Multithreading

In Java, the wait() and sleep() methods are commonly used for multithreading purposes, but they serve different purposes:

wait() method:

• The wait() method is used for releasing the lock on the object so that other threads can obtain the lock and perform their tasks.
• It is called on the object itself and must be used within a synchronized block.
• When a thread calls wait(), it enters the waiting state and remains there until another thread invokes notify() or notifyAll() on the same object.

sleep() method:

• The sleep() method is used for pausing the execution of the current thread for a specified amount of time.
• It is a static method in the Thread class and does not require an object lock.
• Threads cannot be awakened by calling the sleep() method; they must wait for the specified time to elapse.

Therefore, the key difference between wait() and sleep() methods in Java with respect to multithreading is that wait() releases the lock and enters a waiting state until notified, while sleep() pauses the execution of the thread for a set amount of time.