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Threads<br />
Joe<br />
Q: When will a Thread Object be garbage collected?<br />
I would like to ask a question about garbage collection of Thread Object.<br />
When will a Thread Object be garbage collected?<br />
When the reference count to it becomes zero, or when it enters the "Dead" state, i.e.<br />
the run() member function terminates?<br />
Answer: Since Thread is also an Object, it will only garbage collected when the<br />
reference count is zero.<br />
You may think it is quite non-sense. the thread is useless when it enter "dead" state.<br />
why not garbage collect it? That's because the thread object itself may contain some<br />
other useful information even the thread dead , e.g. the result of the execution of the<br />
thread. Thus, it is not sensible to do garbage collect when the reference count is not<br />
zero.<br />
Hope this answer your question.<br />
--<br />
Anthony<br />
Q: I would like to ask a question about garbage collection of Thread Object.<br />
When will a Thread Object be garbaged collected?<br />
When the reference count to it becomes zero, or when it enters the "Dead" state, i.e.<br />
the run() member function terminates?<br />
Answer, part1: Since Thread is also an Object, it will only garbage collected when<br />
the reference count is zero. You may think it is quite non-sense. the thread is<br />
useless when it enter "dead" state. why not garbage collect it?<br />
That's because the thread object itself may contain some other useful information<br />
even the thread dead , e.g. the result of the execution of the thread. Thus, it is not<br />
sensible to do garbage collect when the reference count is not zero.<br />
--<br />
Anthony<br />
P.S. Important ad! Except when object A holds a reference only to object B and<br />
object B holds a reference only to object A. Both reference counts are non-zero, but<br />
both objects are eligible for garbage collection. Which is why few, if any, modern<br />
VMs use reference counting to determine eligibility for garbage collection.<br />
Jim<br />
Answer, Part 2: You can consider a Thread object as a normal Object for garbage<br />
collection purposes if you consider this one rule: A running thread will not be garbage<br />
collected.<br />
That is, a normal running thread is a root object, so the Garbage Collector will not<br />
attempt to mark it for collection. When the thread is not running, though, normal<br />
Garbage Collection rules apply (i.e. total # references == 0 then collect).<br />
To get a thread with different behavior,<br />
see the Thread.setDaemon(boolean bState) method.<br />
--Brian<br />
file:///F|/350_t/350_tips/threads.htm (3 of 4) [2002-02-27 21:19:25]
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