CompletableFuture in Java simplifies asynchronous programming by enabling non-blocking code with greater flexibility than the traditional Future interface. 1. It allows manual completion of tasks using complete(), 2. supports async execution via runAsync() or supplyAsync(), 3. enables chaining operations with thenApply (transforms result), thenAccept (consumes result), and thenRun (runs after completion), 4. combines futures using thenCompose (chaining futures) and thenCombine (merging results), 5. handles errors via exceptionally (fallback values) and handle (custom error/result handling), and 6. offers async versions of methods for thread control, enhancing parallelism and readability in asynchronous workflows.
CompletableFuture
is a class in Java introduced in Java 8 as part of the java.util.concurrent
package. It's designed to make asynchronous programming easier by allowing you to write non-blocking code that handles futures (results of asynchronous computations) more cleanly and flexibly than the older Future
interface.
The main idea behind CompletableFuture
is that it gives you more control over how tasks are chained and combined, including handling exceptions, combining multiple futures, and specifying which thread should run the next step.
Basic Use: Creating and Completing Futures
You can create a CompletableFuture
in several ways:
-
Manually complete it using
complete()
-
Run an async task using methods like
runAsync()
orsupplyAsync()
For example:
CompletableFuture<String> future = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> { // Simulate a long-running task try { Thread.sleep(1000); } catch (InterruptedException e) { } return "Hello"; }); future.thenAccept(result -> System.out.println("Result: " result));
This sets up a background task that returns "Hello" after one second and then prints it when done.
If you want to manually complete a future (say, for testing or custom logic), you can do:
CompletableFuture<Integer> manualFuture = new CompletableFuture<>(); manualFuture.complete(42); manualFuture.thenAccept(System.out::println); // prints 42
Chaining Operations with thenApply
, thenAccept
, and thenRun
One of the big advantages of CompletableFuture
is the ability to chain operations without blocking threads.
Here’s how each method works:
thenApply
transforms the resultthenAccept
consumes the result but doesn’t return anythingthenRun
runs some code after completion, ignoring the result
Example:
CompletableFuture<Integer> future = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> "Apple") .thenApply(s -> s.length()) // turns "Apple" into 5 .thenApply(len -> len * 2); // 5 becomes 10 future.thenAccept(System.out::println); // prints 10
These operations are typically run on the same thread that completed the previous future, unless you specify a different executor.
Combining Futures with thenCompose
and thenCombine
When working with multiple asynchronous steps, two key methods are:
thenCompose
— use this when you have a future that returns another futurethenCombine
— use this when you want to combine results from two independent futures
For example:
CompletableFuture<Integer> future1 = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> 10); CompletableFuture<Integer> future2 = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> 20); // Combine both results future1.thenCombine(future2, (a, b) -> a b) .thenAccept(System.out::println); // prints 30
And if you're returning a future inside a future:
CompletableFuture<Integer> composed = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> 5) .thenCompose(val -> CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> val * 2)); composed.thenAccept(System.out::println); // prints 10
Handling Errors with exceptionally
and handle
Things don’t always go smoothly. You can handle exceptions using:
exceptionally
— provides a fallback value if an error occurshandle
— lets you inspect both result and exception and choose what to return
Example:
CompletableFuture<Integer> faultyFuture = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> { if (true) throw new RuntimeException("Oops!"); return 100; }); faultyFuture .exceptionally(ex -> { System.out.println("Error occurred: " ex.getMessage()); return 0; // fallback value }) .thenAccept(System.out::println); // prints 0
Using handle
gives you more flexibility:
CompletableFuture<Integer> handled = faultyFuture.handle((result, ex) -> { if (ex != null) { System.out.println("Handling error: " ex.getMessage()); return 1; // default } return result; });
Async Versions for Better Control Over Threads
Most methods come with an async version (e.g., thenApplyAsync
, thenAcceptAsync
) that allow you to specify which thread pool to use for the next operation.
This is useful when you want to avoid blocking the original thread or want to parallelize work.
Example:
CompletableFuture<Integer> future = CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(() -> 10) .thenApplyAsync(val -> val * 2, Executors.newFixedThreadPool(2));
This ensures the multiplication happens in a separate thread pool.
So, basically, CompletableFuture
helps you write clean, readable, and efficient asynchronous code in Java. It builds on top of the old Future
interface by giving you tools to chain, combine, and manage asynchronous tasks easily — without getting stuck in callback hell.
That's the core of it. Not too complicated once you get used to the patterns.
The above is the detailed content of What is `CompletableFuture`?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

Hot AI Tools

Undress AI Tool
Undress images for free

Undresser.AI Undress
AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover
Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Clothoff.io
AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap
Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Article

Hot Tools

Notepad++7.3.1
Easy-to-use and free code editor

SublimeText3 Chinese version
Chinese version, very easy to use

Zend Studio 13.0.1
Powerful PHP integrated development environment

Dreamweaver CS6
Visual web development tools

SublimeText3 Mac version
God-level code editing software (SublimeText3)

Java supports asynchronous programming including the use of CompletableFuture, responsive streams (such as ProjectReactor), and virtual threads in Java19. 1.CompletableFuture improves code readability and maintenance through chain calls, and supports task orchestration and exception handling; 2. ProjectReactor provides Mono and Flux types to implement responsive programming, with backpressure mechanism and rich operators; 3. Virtual threads reduce concurrency costs, are suitable for I/O-intensive tasks, and are lighter and easier to expand than traditional platform threads. Each method has applicable scenarios, and appropriate tools should be selected according to your needs and mixed models should be avoided to maintain simplicity

In Java, enums are suitable for representing fixed constant sets. Best practices include: 1. Use enum to represent fixed state or options to improve type safety and readability; 2. Add properties and methods to enums to enhance flexibility, such as defining fields, constructors, helper methods, etc.; 3. Use EnumMap and EnumSet to improve performance and type safety because they are more efficient based on arrays; 4. Avoid abuse of enums, such as dynamic values, frequent changes or complex logic scenarios, which should be replaced by other methods. Correct use of enum can improve code quality and reduce errors, but you need to pay attention to its applicable boundaries.

JavaNIO is a new IOAPI introduced by Java 1.4. 1) is aimed at buffers and channels, 2) contains Buffer, Channel and Selector core components, 3) supports non-blocking mode, and 4) handles concurrent connections more efficiently than traditional IO. Its advantages are reflected in: 1) Non-blocking IO reduces thread overhead, 2) Buffer improves data transmission efficiency, 3) Selector realizes multiplexing, and 4) Memory mapping speeds up file reading and writing. Note when using: 1) The flip/clear operation of the Buffer is easy to be confused, 2) Incomplete data needs to be processed manually without blocking, 3) Selector registration must be canceled in time, 4) NIO is not suitable for all scenarios.

Java's class loading mechanism is implemented through ClassLoader, and its core workflow is divided into three stages: loading, linking and initialization. During the loading phase, ClassLoader dynamically reads the bytecode of the class and creates Class objects; links include verifying the correctness of the class, allocating memory to static variables, and parsing symbol references; initialization performs static code blocks and static variable assignments. Class loading adopts the parent delegation model, and prioritizes the parent class loader to find classes, and try Bootstrap, Extension, and ApplicationClassLoader in turn to ensure that the core class library is safe and avoids duplicate loading. Developers can customize ClassLoader, such as URLClassL

The key to Java exception handling is to distinguish between checked and unchecked exceptions and use try-catch, finally and logging reasonably. 1. Checked exceptions such as IOException need to be forced to handle, which is suitable for expected external problems; 2. Unchecked exceptions such as NullPointerException are usually caused by program logic errors and are runtime errors; 3. When catching exceptions, they should be specific and clear to avoid general capture of Exception; 4. It is recommended to use try-with-resources to automatically close resources to reduce manual cleaning of code; 5. In exception handling, detailed information should be recorded in combination with log frameworks to facilitate later

HashMap implements key-value pair storage through hash tables in Java, and its core lies in quickly positioning data locations. 1. First use the hashCode() method of the key to generate a hash value and convert it into an array index through bit operations; 2. Different objects may generate the same hash value, resulting in conflicts. At this time, the node is mounted in the form of a linked list. After JDK8, the linked list is too long (default length 8) and it will be converted to a red and black tree to improve efficiency; 3. When using a custom class as a key, the equals() and hashCode() methods must be rewritten; 4. HashMap dynamically expands capacity. When the number of elements exceeds the capacity and multiplies by the load factor (default 0.75), expand and rehash; 5. HashMap is not thread-safe, and Concu should be used in multithreaded

Polymorphism is one of the core features of Java object-oriented programming. Its core lies in "one interface, multiple implementations". It implements a unified interface to handle the behavior of different objects through inheritance, method rewriting and upward transformation. 1. Polymorphism allows the parent class to refer to subclass objects, and the corresponding methods are called according to the actual object during runtime; 2. The implementation needs to meet the three conditions of inheritance relationship, method rewriting and upward transformation; 3. It is often used to uniformly handle different subclass objects, collection storage and framework design; 4. When used, only the methods defined by the parent class can be called. New methods added to subclasses need to be transformed downward and accessed, and pay attention to type safety.

Java enumerations not only represent constants, but can also encapsulate behavior, carry data, and implement interfaces. 1. Enumeration is a class used to define fixed instances, such as week and state, which is safer than strings or integers; 2. It can carry data and methods, such as passing values ??through constructors and providing access methods; 3. It can use switch to handle different logics, with clear structure; 4. It can implement interfaces or abstract methods to make differentiated behaviors of different enumeration values; 5. Pay attention to avoid abuse, hard-code comparison, dependence on ordinal values, and reasonably naming and serialization.
