Java Thread Class

Thread is a line of execution within a program. Each program can have multiple associated threads. Each thread has a priority which is used by the thread scheduler to determine which thread must run first. Java provides a thread class that has various method calls to manage the behavior of threads by providing constructors and methods to perform operations on threads. 

A Thread is a program that starts with a method() frequently used in this class only known as the start() method. This method looks out for the run() method which is also a method of this class and begins executing the body of the run() method. Here, keep an eye on the sleep() method which will be discussed later below.

Note: Every class that is used as a thread must implement Runnable interface and override its run method.

Syntax

public class Thread extends Object implements Runnable

Constructors of Thread Class

Example: Java program to demonstrate usage of Thread class 

// Java Program to demonstrate
// usage of Thread class

class MyThread extends Thread 
{
  	// Overriding the run method
  	@Override
    public void run() 
    {
        for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) 
        {
            System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getName()
                               + " - Count : " + i);
            
          	try {
              	// Sleep for 500 milliseconds
                Thread.sleep(500); 
            } 
          	catch (InterruptedException e) {
                System.out.println("Thread interrupted");
            }
        }
    }
}

// Main Class
public class Geeks 
{
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    {
        MyThread thread1 = new MyThread();
        MyThread thread2 = new MyThread();

        thread1.setName("Thread 1");
        thread2.setName("Thread 2");

      	// Start thread 1
        thread1.start(); 
      
      	// Start thread 2
        thread2.start(); 
    }
}

Output:

Thread 1 - Count : 0
Thread 2 - Count : 0
Thread 1 - Count : 1
Thread 2 - Count : 1
Thread 1 - Count : 2
Thread 2 - Count : 2
Thread 1 - Count : 3
Thread 2 - Count : 3
Thread 2 - Count : 4
Thread 1 - Count : 4

Note: Execution of the thread is not according to the sequence, it can be executed in any sequence Thread 1 then Thread 2 , or Thread 2 then Thread 1.

Methods of Thread Class

Methods Inherited from java. lang.Object Class 

• equals()
• finalize()
• getClass()
• hashCode()
• notify()
• notifyAll()
• toString()
• wait()

M

Mayank Kumar

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Article Tags :

• Java
• Java-lang package
• Java-Multithreading

Practice Tags :

• Java