Java tutorial
/* * Copyright (c) 1994, 2013, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER. * * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as * published by the Free Software Foundation. Oracle designates this * particular file as subject to the "Classpath" exception as provided * by Oracle in the LICENSE file that accompanied this code. * * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that * accompanied this code). * * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA. * * Please contact Oracle, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065 USA * or visit www.oracle.com if you need additional information or have any * questions. */ package java.lang; /** * The <code>Runnable</code> 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 <code>run</code>. * <p> * This interface is designed to provide a common protocol for objects that * wish to execute code while they are active. For example, * <code>Runnable</code> is implemented by class <code>Thread</code>. * Being active simply means that a thread has been started and has not * yet been stopped. * <p> * In addition, <code>Runnable</code> provides the means for a class to be * active while not subclassing <code>Thread</code>. A class that implements * <code>Runnable</code> can run without subclassing <code>Thread</code> * by instantiating a <code>Thread</code> instance and passing itself in * as the target. In most cases, the <code>Runnable</code> interface should * be used if you are only planning to override the <code>run()</code> * method and no other <code>Thread</code> methods. * This is important because classes should not be subclassed * unless the programmer intends on modifying or enhancing the fundamental * behavior of the class. * * @author Arthur van Hoff * @see java.lang.Thread * @see java.util.concurrent.Callable * @since 1.0 */ @FunctionalInterface public interface Runnable { /** * When an object implementing interface <code>Runnable</code> is used * to create a thread, starting the thread causes the object's * <code>run</code> method to be called in that separately executing * thread. * <p> * The general contract of the method <code>run</code> is that it may * take any action whatsoever. * * @see java.lang.Thread#run() */ public abstract void run(); }