How to set a thread's priority

• If two or more runnable threads have different priorities, the thread scheduler executes the threads with the highest priority setting first.
• If two or more runnable threads have the same priority, the thread scheduler determines which thread to execute next. On most platforms, the threads are executed in a round-robin order.
• A thread can't yield to a thread with a lower priority.
• By default, every thread is given the priority of the thread that created it. If a thread is created from the main thread, it's given a priority of 5 by default.
• Since thread scheduling relies on the underlying system, the final result may vary depending on the platform.

The setPriority method of the Thread class

Fields of the Thread class used to set thread priorities

A version of the Count Down application that sets thread priorities

public class CountDownPrioritiesApp
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        Thread count1 = new CountDownEven();      // instantiate the threads
        Thread count2 = new CountDownOdd();
        count1.setPriority(Thread.MIN_PRIORITY);  // set the thread priorities
        count2.setPriority(Thread.MAX_PRIORITY);
        count1.start();                           // start the threads
        count2.start();
    }
}

Console output from the Count Down application that sets thread priorities