为什么在创建persistentContainer时使用@synchronized（self）？

Question

- (NSPersistentContainer *)persistentContainer {
    // The persistent container for the application. This implementation creates and returns a container, having loaded the store for the application to it.
    @synchronized (self) {
        if (_persistentContainer == nil) {
            _persistentContainer = [[NSPersistentContainer alloc] initWithName:@"BaseApplication"];
            [_persistentContainer loadPersistentStoresWithCompletionHandler:^(NSPersistentStoreDescription *storeDescription, NSError *error) {
                if (error != nil) {
                    // Replace this implementation with code to handle the error appropriately.
                    // abort() causes the application to generate a crash log and terminate. You should not use this function in a shipping application, although it may be useful during development.

                    /*
                     Typical reasons for an error here include:
                     * The parent directory does not exist, cannot be created, or disallows writing.
                     * The persistent store is not accessible, due to permissions or data protection when the device is locked.
                     * The device is out of space.
                     * The store could not be migrated to the current model version.
                     Check the error message to determine what the actual problem was.
                    */
                    NSLog(@"Unresolved error %@, %@", error, error.userInfo);
                    abort();
                }
            }];
        }
    }

    return _persistentContainer;
}

上面的代码是由Xcode生成的，但我想知道使用@synchronize(self)的目的以及如果我们不使用@synchronize(self)会发生什么？ 我知道@synchronize(self)用于多线程安全。我想知道的是，如果两个线程同时调用loadPersistentStoresWithCompletionHandler方法会发生什么。