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25 
26 package java.awt;
27 
28 /**
29  * A helper interface to run the nested event loop.
30  * <p>
31  * Objects that implement this interface are created with the
32  * {@link EventQueue#createSecondaryLoop} method. The interface
33  * provides two methods, {@link #enter} and {@link #exit},
34  * which can be used to start and stop the event loop.
35  * <p>
36  * When the {@link #enter} method is called, the current
37  * thread is blocked until the loop is terminated by the
38  * {@link #exit} method. Also, a new event loop is started
39  * on the event dispatch thread, which may or may not be
40  * the current thread. The loop can be terminated on any
41  * thread by calling its {@link #exit} method. After the
42  * loop is terminated, the {@code SecondaryLoop} object can
43  * be reused to run a new nested event loop.
44  * <p>
45  * A typical use case of applying this interface is AWT
46  * and Swing modal dialogs. When a modal dialog is shown on
47  * the event dispatch thread, it enters a new secondary loop.
48  * Later, when the dialog is hidden or disposed, it exits
49  * the loop, and the thread continues its execution.
50  * <p>
51  * The following example illustrates a simple use case of
52  * secondary loops:
53  *
54  * <pre>
55  *   SecondaryLoop loop;
56  *
57  *   JButton jButton = new JButton("Button");
58  *   jButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
59  *       {@code @Override}
60  *       public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
61  *           Toolkit tk = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit();
62  *           EventQueue eq = tk.getSystemEventQueue();
63  *           loop = eq.createSecondaryLoop();
64  *
65  *           // Spawn a new thread to do the work
66  *           Thread worker = new WorkerThread();
67  *           worker.start();
68  *
69  *           // Enter the loop to block the current event
70  *           // handler, but leave UI responsive
71  *           if (!loop.enter()) {
72  *               // Report an error
73  *           }
74  *       }
75  *   });
76  *
77  *   class WorkerThread extends Thread {
78  *       {@code @Override}
79  *       public void run() {
80  *           // Perform calculations
81  *           doSomethingUseful();
82  *
83  *           // Exit the loop
84  *           loop.exit();
85  *       }
86  *   }
87  * </pre>
88  *
89  * @see Dialog#show
90  * @see EventQueue#createSecondaryLoop
91  * @see Toolkit#getSystemEventQueue
92  *
93  * @author Anton Tarasov, Artem Ananiev
94  *
95  * @since 1.7
96  */
97 public interface SecondaryLoop {
98 
99     /**
100      * Blocks the execution of the current thread and enters a new
101      * secondary event loop on the event dispatch thread.
102      * <p>
103      * This method can be called by any thread including the event
104      * dispatch thread. This thread will be blocked until the {@link
105      * #exit} method is called or the loop is terminated. A new
106      * secondary loop will be created on the event dispatch thread
107      * for dispatching events in either case.
108      * <p>
109      * This method can only start one new event loop at a time per
110      * object. If a secondary event loop has already been started
111      * by this object and is currently still running, this method
112      * returns {@code false} to indicate that it was not successful
113      * in starting a new event loop. Otherwise, this method blocks
114      * the calling thread and later returns {@code true} when the
115      * new event loop is terminated. At such time, this object can
116      * again be used to start another new event loop.
117      *
118      * @return {@code true} after termination of the secondary loop,
119      *         if the secondary loop was started by this call,
120      *         {@code false} otherwise
121      */
enter()122     public boolean enter();
123 
124     /**
125      * Unblocks the execution of the thread blocked by the {@link
126      * #enter} method and exits the secondary loop.
127      * <p>
128      * This method resumes the thread that called the {@link #enter}
129      * method and exits the secondary loop that was created when
130      * the {@link #enter} method was invoked.
131      * <p>
132      * Note that if any other secondary loop is started while this
133      * loop is running, the blocked thread will not resume execution
134      * until the nested loop is terminated.
135      * <p>
136      * If this secondary loop has not been started with the {@link
137      * #enter} method, or this secondary loop has already finished
138      * with the {@link #exit} method, this method returns {@code
139      * false}, otherwise {@code true} is returned.
140      *
141      * @return {@code true} if this loop was previously started and
142      *         has not yet been finished with the {@link #exit} method,
143      *         {@code false} otherwise
144      */
exit()145     public boolean exit();
146 
147 }
148