Threading and SimpleDateFormat

Answer:
SimpleDateFormat is not threadsafe. The general rule to follow is that if the API documentation does not state that a class or method is threadsafe, then you must assume it isn't. Whenever you share resources between threads, you should protect those resources with synchronized blocks if you are unsure as to whether or not they already protect themselves. When it comes to the core APIs, you can always look at the Java source code that comes with the JDK to verify. However, just because the source is thread safe does not mean that the class is required to be thread safe. Unfortunately, the Java Platform specification process is not so rigorous as to tell you how each and every standard class is supposed to behave, forcing you to rely on the javadocs as an ill-substitute for a more formal specification.