https://openjdk.java.net/ 
/*
 * 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.
 */

/*
 * This file is available under and governed by the GNU General Public
 * License version 2 only, as published by the Free Software Foundation.
 * However, the following notice accompanied the original version of this
 * file:
 *
 * Written by Doug Lea with assistance from members of JCP JSR-166
 * Expert Group and released to the public domain, as explained at
 * http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
 */

package java.util.concurrent;


An object that executes submitted Runnable tasks. This interface provides a way of decoupling task submission from the mechanics of how each task will be run, including details of thread use, scheduling, etc. An Executor is normally used instead of explicitly creating threads. For example, rather than invoking new Thread(new RunnableTask()).start() for each of a set of tasks, you might use: 
 
Executor executor = anExecutor();
executor.execute(new RunnableTask1());
executor.execute(new RunnableTask2());
...
 However, the Executor interface does not strictly require that execution be asynchronous. In the simplest case, an executor can run the submitted task immediately in the caller's thread: 
 
class DirectExecutor implements Executor {
  public void execute(Runnable r) {
    r.run();
  }
 }

More typically, tasks are executed in some thread other than the
caller's thread.  The executor below spawns a new thread for each
task.

 
class ThreadPerTaskExecutor implements Executor {
  public void execute(Runnable r) {
    new Thread(r).start();
  }
 }
 Many Executor implementations impose some sort of limitation on how and when tasks are scheduled. The executor below serializes the submission of tasks to a second executor, illustrating a composite executor. 
 
class SerialExecutor implements Executor {
  final Queue<Runnable> tasks = new ArrayDeque<>();
  final Executor executor;
  Runnable active;
  SerialExecutor(Executor executor) {
    this.executor = executor;
  }
  public synchronized void execute(Runnable r) {
    tasks.add(() -> {
      try {
        r.run();
      } finally {
        scheduleNext();
      }
    });
    if (active == null) {
      scheduleNext();
    }
  }
  protected synchronized void scheduleNext() {
    if ((active = tasks.poll()) != null) {
      executor.execute(active);
    }
  }
 }
 The Executor implementations provided in this package implement ExecutorService, which is a more extensive interface. The ThreadPoolExecutor class provides an extensible thread pool implementation. The Executors class provides convenient factory methods for these Executors. 
Memory consistency effects: Actions in a thread prior to submitting a Runnable object to an Executor happen-before
its execution begins, perhaps in another thread.

Author:Doug Lea
Since:1.5
/**
 * An object that executes submitted {@link Runnable} tasks. This
 * interface provides a way of decoupling task submission from the
 * mechanics of how each task will be run, including details of thread
 * use, scheduling, etc.  An {@code Executor} is normally used
 * instead of explicitly creating threads. For example, rather than
 * invoking {@code new Thread(new RunnableTask()).start()} for each
 * of a set of tasks, you might use:
 *
 * <pre> {@code
 * Executor executor = anExecutor();
 * executor.execute(new RunnableTask1());
 * executor.execute(new RunnableTask2());
 * ...}</pre>
 *
 * However, the {@code Executor} interface does not strictly require
 * that execution be asynchronous. In the simplest case, an executor
 * can run the submitted task immediately in the caller's thread:
 *
 * <pre> {@code
 * class DirectExecutor implements Executor {
 *   public void execute(Runnable r) {
 *     r.run();
 *   }
 * }}</pre>
 *
 * More typically, tasks are executed in some thread other than the
 * caller's thread.  The executor below spawns a new thread for each
 * task.
 *
 * <pre> {@code
 * class ThreadPerTaskExecutor implements Executor {
 *   public void execute(Runnable r) {
 *     new Thread(r).start();
 *   }
 * }}</pre>
 *
 * Many {@code Executor} implementations impose some sort of
 * limitation on how and when tasks are scheduled.  The executor below
 * serializes the submission of tasks to a second executor,
 * illustrating a composite executor.
 *
 * <pre> {@code
 * class SerialExecutor implements Executor {
 *   final Queue<Runnable> tasks = new ArrayDeque<>();
 *   final Executor executor;
 *   Runnable active;
 *
 *   SerialExecutor(Executor executor) {
 *     this.executor = executor;
 *   }
 *
 *   public synchronized void execute(Runnable r) {
 *     tasks.add(() -> {
 *       try {
 *         r.run();
 *       } finally {
 *         scheduleNext();
 *       }
 *     });
 *     if (active == null) {
 *       scheduleNext();
 *     }
 *   }
 *
 *   protected synchronized void scheduleNext() {
 *     if ((active = tasks.poll()) != null) {
 *       executor.execute(active);
 *     }
 *   }
 * }}</pre>
 *
 * The {@code Executor} implementations provided in this package
 * implement {@link ExecutorService}, which is a more extensive
 * interface.  The {@link ThreadPoolExecutor} class provides an
 * extensible thread pool implementation. The {@link Executors} class
 * provides convenient factory methods for these Executors.
 *
 * <p>Memory consistency effects: Actions in a thread prior to
 * submitting a {@code Runnable} object to an {@code Executor}
 * <a href="package-summary.html#MemoryVisibility"><i>happen-before</i></a>
 * its execution begins, perhaps in another thread.
 *
 * @since 1.5
 * @author Doug Lea
 */
public interface Executor {

    
Executes the given command at some time in the future. The command may execute in a new thread, in a pooled thread, or in the calling thread, at the discretion of the Executor implementation. 
Params:
  • command – the runnable task
Throws:
/**
     * Executes the given command at some time in the future.  The command
     * may execute in a new thread, in a pooled thread, or in the calling
     * thread, at the discretion of the {@code Executor} implementation.
     *
     * @param command the runnable task
     * @throws RejectedExecutionException if this task cannot be
     * accepted for execution
     * @throws NullPointerException if command is null
     */
    void execute(Runnable command);
}