This article discusses the differences between the thread-per-connection and thread-per-request models in Java, focusing on managing client connections and processing requests.
A connection is a persistent link between a client and a server, while a request is a communication unit asking the server to perform an action.
In the thread-per-connection model, a new thread is created for each client connection to handle I/O operations, leading to simplicity but inefficiency with many idle connections.
An example of this model is shown with a Java socket-based HTTP server creating a dedicated thread for each client connection.
The thread-per-request model involves creating a new thread for each request, allowing better scalability and concurrency handling.
An example is provided where each client message is processed in its thread using an ExecutorService with a cached thread pool.
The article compares the performance and use cases of both models, highlighting their differences in thread count, overhead, suitability, throughput, and connection lifetime.
Thread-per-request is recommended for high-throughput applications with many requests, while thread-per-connection is suitable for simpler scenarios with low to moderate traffic.
Overall, understanding these models can help developers decide which approach to use based on their application's workload and scalability requirements.
The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of selecting the right model for Java applications and provides the option to download the example source code.