Can someone tell me what a daemon thread is? I've got no idea! And what are the differences between user threads and daemon threads? What should I know for the exam about daemon threads? Thanks... My Study Notes
I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow. [Laurence J. Peter]
A daemon Thread is an ordinary Thread that has been marked using the setDaemon( boolean flag) method before it has been started. Daemon Threads are typically used for "housekeeping" chores. The important thing to know is that the JVM will exit an application when only daemon Threads are left running. There is an nice concise explanation in the JavaDocs for java.lang.Thread - you should get used to using the JavaDocs to answer questions like this. Bill
The garbage collection thread is a good example of a daemon thread and how they're used. They're a separate process that performs some task, but a daemon thread is automatically destroyed if all normal threads end. (For example, the garbage collection thread automatically stops if your applications stops.) I hope that helps, Corey
