In Java, a thread is a lightweight process, and assigning meaningful names to threads improves readability and debugging. By default, threads are named as Thread-0, Thread-1, etc., but we can customize these names.
- Thread names help in debugging and tracking execution
- Names can be set during creation or later using methods
- Improves code clarity in multithreaded applications
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.
1. Using Constructor
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.
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();
}
}
Output
Thread 1: geek1 Thread 2: geek2 Thread is running.. Thread is running..
2. Using setName() method of Thread class
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
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());
}
}
Output
Thread 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.
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();
}
}
Output
Fetching current thread name. Thread-0 Fetching current thread name. Thread-1