Java Naming a Thread and Fetching Name of Current Thread
Last Updated : 10 Jan, 2025
A thread can be referred to as a lightweight process. Assigning descriptive names to threads enhances code readability and simplifies debugging. Now let us discuss the different ways to name a thread in Java.
Methods to Set the Thread Name
There are two ways by which we can set the name either be it directly or indirectly which we will be peeking through.
- Creating the thread and Passing the thread's name (Direct method)
- Using the setName() method of Thread class (Indirect Method)
1. Using Constructor to Set the Thread Name (Direct Method)
It is a direct method of naming threads in Java, each thread has a name that is: Thread-0, Thread-1, Thread-2,....so on. So, let us check the direct method to set the name of the Thread.
Example: Setting the thread name at the time of creation and also bypassing the thread's name as an argument.
Java // Java Program Illustrating How to Set the name // of Thread at time of Creation // Helper class extending Thread Class class MyThread extends Thread { // Parameterized constructor MyThread(String name){ // Call to constructor of the Thread class // as super keyword refers to parent class super(name); } // run() method for thread @Override public void run(){ System.out.println("Thread is running.."); } } // Driver Class class Geeks { public static void main(String[] args) { // Creating two threads MyThread t1 = new MyThread("geek1"); MyThread t2 = new MyThread("geek2"); // Getting the names of Threads System.out.println("Thread 1: " + t1.getName()); System.out.println("Thread 2: " + t2.getName()); // Starting threads using start() method t1.start(); t2.start(); } } OutputThread 1: geek1 Thread 2: geek2 Thread is running.. Thread is running..
2. Using setName() method of Thread class (Indirect Method)
We can set(change) the thread's name by calling the setName method on that thread object. It will change the name of a thread.
Syntax:
public final void setName(String name)
Parameter: A string that specifies the thread name
Example:
Java // Java Program to Get and Change the // Name of a Thread // Helper class extending Thread class class ThreadNaming extends Thread { // override the run method @Override public void run() { System.out.println("Thread is running.."); } } // Main class class Geeks { public static void main(String[] args) { // Creating Threads ThreadNaming t1 = new ThreadNaming(); ThreadNaming t2 = new ThreadNaming(); // Fetching the above created threads names // using getName() method System.out.println("Thread 1: " + t1.getName()); System.out.println("Thread 2: " + t2.getName()); // Starting threads using start() method t1.start(); t2.start(); // Now changing the name of threads t1.setName("geeksforgeeks"); t2.setName("geeksquiz"); // Again getting the new names of threads System.out.println("Thread names after changing" + " the thread names"); // Printing the above names System.out.println("New Thread 1 name: " + t1.getName()); System.out.println("New Thread 2 name: " + t2.getName()); } } OutputThread 1: Thread-0 Thread 2: Thread-1 Thread is running.. Thread names after changing the thread names New Thread 1 name: geeksforgeeks New Thread 2 name: geeksquiz Thread is running..
How to Fetch the Name of the Current Thread?
Now let us dwell on fetching the name of the current thread. We can fetch the current thread name at the time of creating the thread and bypassing the thread’s name as an argument.
Syntax:
public static Thread currentThread()
- Package: java.lang.Thread
- Return Type: It returns a reference to the currently executing thread.
Example:
Java // Get name of current executing thread // using getName() Method import java.io.*; // Helper class extending to Thread class class ThreadNaming extends Thread { // override run method for the thread @Override public void run() { System.out.println("Fetching current thread name."); // Getting the current thread name // using getname() method System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getName()); } } // Driver Class class Geeks { public static void main(String[] args) { // Creating two threads inside main() method ThreadNaming t1 = new ThreadNaming(); ThreadNaming t2 = new ThreadNaming(); // Starting threads using start() method which // automatically calls run() method t1.start(); t2.start(); } } OutputFetching current thread name. Thread-0 Fetching current thread name. Thread-1
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