Setting Priority for Threads in Java

Priority of a Thread in Java

When it comes to multi-threaded programming, the priority of a thread plays an important role in determining which thread should be executed first by the thread scheduler. In Java, the default priority of each thread is set to NORM_PRIORITY, which is 5. The range of priorities in Java is from 1 to 10.

If two threads have the same priority, then the thread scheduler will pick any one of them to execute, based on various factors such as available resources and the scheduling algorithm. The thread scheduler may also choose to preempt one thread in favour of another if it finds that the higher priority thread needs to be executed due to its importance.

By assigning different priorities to threads, programmers can control the order of execution of the threads. A higher priority thread will have more control over other threads with lower priorities. It's important, however, to ensure that the given thread has enough resources and time to finish its job before the lesser priority thread is chosen for execution.

There are several ways to set the priority of a thread in Java. You can use the setPriority() method to set the priority of a thread or use the constructor of the Thread class as an argument. You can also use the ThreadGroup class to set the priority of multiple threads simultaneously. Lastly, the highest priority thread will always be the one that is currently running.

Understanding the priority of a thread and how the thread scheduler works is essential when writing concurrently executing programs in Java. By carefully managing the priority levels of your threads, you can optimize the performance of your program and ensure that the important tasks are executed first.