What is a thread pool?

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What is a thread pool?

A thread pool is a collection of pre-initialized threads that are ready to perform tasks. It is a software design pattern used in concurrent programming, where a group of threads is created and managed to efficiently execute multiple tasks concurrently.

In a thread pool, a fixed number of threads are created and maintained by a thread pool manager. These threads are kept alive and can be reused to execute multiple tasks, rather than creating and destroying threads for each individual task.

When a task needs to be executed, it is submitted to the thread pool. The thread pool manager assigns the task to an available thread from the pool, which then executes the task. Once the task is completed, the thread becomes available again for executing other tasks. This reuse of threads reduces the overhead of creating and destroying threads, resulting in improved performance and resource utilization.

Thread pools provide several benefits, including better control over the number of concurrent threads, efficient resource management, and improved scalability. They are commonly used in applications that require handling multiple concurrent tasks, such as web servers, database systems, and parallel processing applications.