Callable vs Runnable vs Future in Java

Java is a popular programming language that offers a wide range of features and tools to developers. Among these, Callable, Runnable, and Future are three essential components that play a crucial role in multithreaded programming. In this article, we'll take a closer look at these concepts and their implementation in Java.

Image Source : https://javadeveloperzone.com/spring-boot/spring-boot-tutorial/

What is Callable?

Callable is an interface in Java that defines a single method called call(). This method is similar to the run() method of the Runnable interface, but it can return a value. Callable is primarily used to execute a task in a separate thread and retrieve the result of that task once it's completed.

Here's an example of how Callable works in Java:

import java.util.concurrent.Callable;
import java.util.concurrent.FutureTask;

public class MyCallable implements Callable<Integer> {
    public Integer call() throws Exception {
        int sum = 0;
        for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {
            sum += i;
        }
        return sum;
    }
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        Callable<Integer> myCallable = new MyCallable();
        FutureTask<Integer> futureTask = new FutureTask<>(myCallable);
        Thread thread = new Thread(futureTask);
        thread.start()…