ThreadReaper object used with finalizer rather than finalizer on Timer?

Question

Timer class has threadReaper object used with finalizer rather than finalizer on Timer itself, can anyone explain the following snippet. what is the advantage of keeping the finalize in its references rathe rthan in the original object itself.
     * This object causes the timer's task execution thread to exit
     * gracefully when there are no live references to the Timer object and no
     * tasks in the timer queue.  It is used in preference to a finalizer on
     * Timer as such a finalizer would be susceptible to a subclass's
     * finalizer forgetting to call it.
    private Object threadReaper = new Object() {
        protected void finalize() throws Throwable {
            synchronized(queue) {
                thread.newTasksMayBeScheduled = false;
                queue.notify(); // In case queue is empty.
    };

Answer 1

skakita wrote:
Now I am getting something. If some-one subclass the Timer class and they forgot to call the finalize on the Timer... So they have done in this way. Thank u kayaman.Just in case you're interested, that pattern is called a 'finalizer guardian'. You may find it on Google.
Winston