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## java.lang
Class ThreadLocal

    java.lang.Object
      |
      +--java.lang.ThreadLocal

Direct Known Subclasses:
  InheritableThreadLocal

public class ThreadLocal
extends Object

This class provides ThreadLocal variables. These variables differ from their normal counterparts in that each thread that accesses one (via its get or set method) has its own, independently initialized copy of the variable. ThreadLocal objects are typically private static variables in classes that wish to associate state with a thread (e.g., a user ID or Transaction ID).

Each thread holds an implicit reference to its copy of a ThreadLocal as long as the thread is alive and the ThreadLocal object is accessible; after a thread goes away, all of its copies of ThreadLocal variables are subject to garbage collection (unless other references to these copies exist).

Since:
  1.2

Constructor Summary
`ThreadLocal()` Creates a ThreadLocal variable.

Method Summary
`Object` | `get()` Returns the value in the calling thread's copy of this ThreadLocal variable.
`protected Object` | `initialValue()` Returns the calling thread's initial value for this ThreadLocal variable.
`void` | `set(Object value)` Sets the calling thread's instance of this ThreadLocal variable to the given value.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
`clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait`

Constructor Detail

### ThreadLocal

    public ThreadLocal()

  Creates a ThreadLocal variable.

Method Detail

### initialValue

    protected Object initialValue()

  Returns the calling thread's initial value for this ThreadLocal variable. This method will be called once per accessing thread for each ThreadLocal, the first time each thread accesses the variable with get or set. If the programmer desires ThreadLocal variables to be initialized to some value other than null, ThreadLocal must be subclassed, and this method overridden. Typically, an anonymous inner class will be used. Typical implementations of initialValue will call an appropriate constructor and return the newly constructed object.
  Returns:
    the initial value for this ThreadLocal

### get

    public Object get()

  Returns the value in the calling thread's copy of this ThreadLocal variable. Creates and initializes the copy if this is the first time the thread has called this method.
  Returns:
    the value of this ThreadLocal

### set

    public void set(Object value)

  Sets the calling thread's instance of this ThreadLocal variable to the given value. This is only used to change the value from the one assigned by the initialValue method, and many applications will have no need for this functionality.
  Parameters:
    `value` - the value to be stored in the calling threads' copy of this ThreadLocal.

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For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java 2 SDK SE Developer Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.

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