Introduction

Before we start with this case study, let me emphasize that I am not advocating the use of the singleton pattern; I only use it here because it is a classic example for a variable that must be initialized in a thread-safe way. For a more elaborate discussion about the pros and cons of the singleton pattern, please refer to the referenced articles in the Wikipedia page for the singleton pattern.

I want to start my discussion of the thread-safe initialization of the singleton pattern with a detour.