Process is a program in execution whereas thread is a separate path of execution in a program.
In Java, a process and a thread are both concepts related to concurrent programming, but they have distinct differences.
- Process:
- A process is an independent program that runs in its own memory space.
- Processes are isolated from each other and have their own resources, such as memory, file handles, and system resources.
- Communication between processes is typically more complex and involves inter-process communication (IPC) mechanisms.
- Thread:
- A thread is a lightweight, smaller unit of a process.
- Threads within the same process share the same resources, including memory space and file handles.
- Threads within the same process can communicate more easily, as they can directly access shared data.
- Threads are scheduled by the operating system’s thread scheduler, and they run concurrently.
In summary, the main difference is that a process is an independent program with its own resources, while a thread is a smaller unit of a process that shares resources with other threads in the same process. Java, being a multi-threaded programming language, allows developers to create and manage threads easily using the java.lang.Thread class or the java.util.concurrent package.