Runnable (Java 2 Platform SE 5.0) (original) (raw)

java.lang

Interface Runnable

All Known Implementing Classes:

AsyncBoxView.ChildState, FutureTask, RenderableImageProducer, Thread, TimerTask

public interface Runnable

The Runnable interface should be implemented by any class whose instances are intended to be executed by a thread. The class must define a method of no arguments called run.

This interface is designed to provide a common protocol for objects that wish to execute code while they are active. For example,Runnable is implemented by class Thread. Being active simply means that a thread has been started and has not yet been stopped.

In addition, Runnable provides the means for a class to be active while not subclassing Thread. A class that implementsRunnable can run without subclassing Thread by instantiating a Thread instance and passing itself in as the target. In most cases, the Runnable interface should be used if you are only planning to override the run() method and no other Thread methods. This is important because classes should not be subclassed unless the programmer intends on modifying or enhancing the fundamental behavior of the class.

Since:

JDK1.0

See Also:

Thread

Method Summary
void	run() When an object implementing interface Runnable is used to create a thread, starting the thread causes the object's run method to be called in that separately executing thread.

Method Detail

run

void run()

When an object implementing interface Runnable is used to create a thread, starting the thread causes the object's run method to be called in that separately executing thread.

The general contract of the method run is that it may take any action whatsoever.

See Also:

Thread.run()

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For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java 2 SDK SE Developer Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.