What are common mistakes developers make with ConcurrentLinkedQueue?

When using ConcurrentLinkedQueue in Java, developers often make several common mistakes. Understanding these pitfalls can help avoid concurrency issues and improve code quality. Below are some typical mistakes:

• Assuming order guarantees: Developers often think that the order of elements will be preserved. Although ConcurrentLinkedQueue is non-blocking, it doesn't guarantee that elements are processed in the order they were added.
• Not handling null values: Storing null is not allowed in a ConcurrentLinkedQueue. Developers may mistakenly attempt to add null values, which will result in a NullPointerException.
• Ignoring the potential for high contention: In scenarios with heavy contention, performance can degrade. Developers may fail to consider other concurrent collections that may be more suitable for certain use cases.
• Overusing Polling: Constantly polling the queue for elements can lead to performance overhead. Instead, developers should devise a more efficient way of processing items from the queue.
• Improperly mixing with other collections: Using the queue interchangeably with other non-thread-safe collections without proper synchronization can lead to unpredictable behavior.

// Example usage of ConcurrentLinkedQueue in Java
ConcurrentLinkedQueue queue = new ConcurrentLinkedQueue<>();

// Adding items
queue.add("Item 1");
queue.add("Item 2");

// Polling items from the queue
String item = queue.poll(); // Retrieves and removes the head of the queue