Extending Thread

Extending Thread

The second way to create a thread is to create a new class that extends Thread, and then to create an instance of that class. The extending class must override the run( ) method, which is the entry point for the new thread. It must also call start( ) to begin execution of the new thread.

 

Here is the preceding program rewritten to extend Thread:

LANGUAGE

// Create a second thread by extending Thread

class NewThread extends Thread {

NewThread() {

// Create a new, second thread

super("Demo Thread");

System.out.println("Child thread: " + this);

start(); // Start the thread

}

// This is the entry point for the second thread.

public void run() {

try {

for(int i = 5; i > 0; i--) {

System.out.println("Child Thread: " + i);

Thread.sleep(500);

}

} catch (InterruptedException e) {

System.out.println("Child interrupted.");

}

System.out.println("Exiting child thread.");

}

}

class ExtendThread {

public static void main(String args[]) {

new NewThread(); // create a new thread

try {

for(int i = 5; i > 0; i--) {

System.out.println("Main Thread: " + i);

Thread.sleep(1000);

}

} catch (InterruptedException e) {

System.out.println("Main thread interrupted.");

}

System.out.println("Main thread exiting.");

}

}

 

This program generates the same output as the preceding version. As you can see, the child thread is created by instantiating an object of NewThread, which is derived from Thread. Notice the call to super( ) inside NewThread. This invokes the following form of the Thread constructor:

 

public Thread(String threadName)

 

Here, threadName specifies the name of the thread.

 

Choosing an Approach

At this point, you might be wondering why Java has two ways to create child threads, and which approach is better. The answers to these questions turn on the same point. The Thread class defines several methods that can be overridden by a derived class. Of these methods, the only one that must be overridden is run( ). This is, of course, the same method required when you implement Runnable. Many Java programmers feel that classes should be extended only when they are being enhanced or modified in some way. So, if you will not be overriding any of Thread's other methods, it is probably best simply to implement Runnable. This is up to you, of course. However, throughout the rest of this Post, we will create threads by using classes that implement Runnable.