Java Thread.start() vs Thread.run() Method

Java Naming a Thread and Fetching Name of Current Thread

Last Updated : 10 Jan, 2025

A thread can be referred to as a lightweight process. Assigning descriptive names to threads enhances code readability and simplifies debugging. Now let us discuss the different ways to name a thread in Java.

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.

Creating the thread and Passing the thread’s name (Direct method)
Using the setName() method of Thread class (Indirect Method)

1. Using Constructor to Set the Thread Name (Direct Method)

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.

Java

// Java Program Illustrating How to Set the name
// of Thread at time of Creation

// Helper class extending Thread Class
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 (Indirect Method)

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

Example:

Java

// Java Program to Get and Change the
// Name of a Thread

// Helper class extending Thread class
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.

Example:

Java

// Get name of current executing thread
// using getName() Method
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

Java Thread.start() vs Thread.run() Method

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