14.3. The Thread Class

14.3.1. java.lang.Thread

In Java, a thread is represented using an object of the Thread class, which encapsulates:

• the method that the thread’s instructions come from (i.e., its run() method);

• the name of thread (see getName());

• its high-level state of execution (see getState());

• whether or not the program must wait for the thread to terminate in order for the program itself to terminate (see isDaemon());

• and other pieces of high-level and low-level information, some of which may not be publicly available (e.g., the next instruction the thread will emit).

A Thread object typically gets its own area in memory for the work performed by its run() method; however, the details of how that memory is managed is outside the scope of this chapter.