How to define and call threads in Python through the threading module

Define thread

The simplest method: use target to specify the target function to be executed by the thread, and then use start() to start it.

Grammar:

class threading.Thread(group=None, target=None, name=None, args=(), kwargs={})

group is always None and is reserved for future use. target is the name of the function to be executed. name is the thread name, the default is Thread-N, usually the default can be used. However, when the server-side program thread functions are different, it is recommended to name them.

#!/usr/bin/env python3
# coding=utf-8
import threading

def function(i):
  print ("function called by thread {0}".format(i))
threads = []

for i in range(5):
  t = threading.Thread(target=function , args=(i,))
  threads.append(t)
  t.start()
  t.join()

Execution result:

$ ./threading_define.py 

function called by thread 0
function called by thread 1
function called by thread 2
function called by thread 3
function called by thread 4

Determine the current thread

#!/usr/bin/env python3
# coding=utf-8

import threading
import time

def first_function():
  print (threading.currentThread().getName()+ str(' is Starting \n'))
  time.sleep(3)
  print (threading.currentThread().getName()+ str( ' is Exiting \n'))
  
def second_function():
  print (threading.currentThread().getName()+ str(' is Starting \n'))
  time.sleep(2)
  print (threading.currentThread().getName()+ str( ' is Exiting \n'))
  
def third_function():
  print (threading.currentThread().getName()+\
  str(' is Starting \n'))
  time.sleep(1)
  print (threading.currentThread().getName()+ str( ' is Exiting \n'))
  
if __name__ == "__main__":
  t1 = threading.Thread(name='first_function', target=first_function)
  t2 = threading.Thread(name='second_function', target=second_function)
  t3 = threading.Thread(name='third_function',target=third_function)
  t1.start()
  t2.start()
  t3.start()

Execution result:

$ ./threading_name.py 

first_function is Starting 
second_function is Starting 
third_function is Starting 
third_function is Exiting 
second_function is Exiting 
first_function is Exiting

Use with logging module:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
# coding=utf-8

import logging
import threading
import time

logging.basicConfig(
  level=logging.DEBUG,
  format='[%(levelname)s] (%(threadName)-10s) %(message)s',
  )
  
def worker():
  logging.debug('Starting')
  time.sleep(2)
  logging.debug('Exiting')
  
def my_service():
  logging.debug('Starting')
  time.sleep(3)
  logging.debug('Exiting')
  
t = threading.Thread(name='my_service', target=my_service)
w = threading.Thread(name='worker', target=worker)
w2 = threading.Thread(target=worker) # use default name
w.start()
w2.start()
t.start()

Execution result:

$ ./threading_names_log.py[DEBUG] (worker  ) Starting

[DEBUG] (Thread-1 ) Starting
[DEBUG] (my_service) Starting
[DEBUG] (worker  ) Exiting
[DEBUG] (Thread-1 ) Exiting
[DEBUG] (my_service) Exiting

Use threads in subclasses

Our previous threads were all created in the form of structured programming. Threads can also be created by integrating the threading.Thread class. The Thread class first completes some basic initialization and then calls its run(). The run() method will call the target function passed to the constructor.

#!/usr/bin/env python3
# coding=utf-8

import logging
import threading
import time

exitFlag = 0

class myThread (threading.Thread):
  def __init__(self, threadID, name, counter):
    threading.Thread.__init__(self)
    self.threadID = threadID
    self.name = name
    self.counter = counter
    
  def run(self):
    print ("Starting " + self.name)
    print_time(self.name, self.counter, 5)
    print ("Exiting " + self.name)
    
def print_time(threadName, delay, counter):
  while counter:
    if exitFlag:
      thread.exit()
    time.sleep(delay)
    print ("%s: %s" %(threadName, time.ctime(time.time())))
    counter -= 1
    
# Create new threads
thread1 = myThread(1, "Thread-1", 1)
thread2 = myThread(2, "Thread-2", 2)
# Start new Threads
thread1.start()
thread2.start()
print ("Exiting Main Thread")

Execution result:

$ ./threading_subclass.py 

Starting Thread-1
Starting Thread-2
Exiting Main Thread
Thread-1: Tue Sep 15 11:03:21 2015
Thread-2: Tue Sep 15 11:03:22 2015
Thread-1: Tue Sep 15 11:03:22 2015
Thread-1: Tue Sep 15 11:03:23 2015
Thread-2: Tue Sep 15 11:03:24 2015
Thread-1: Tue Sep 15 11:03:24 2015
Thread-1: Tue Sep 15 11:03:25 2015
Exiting Thread-1
Thread-2: Tue Sep 15 11:03:26 2015
Thread-2: Tue Sep 15 11:03:28 2015
Thread-2: Tue Sep 15 11:03:30 2015
Exiting Thread-2