Threads, clean up after closing application

Question

Thanks in advance
OS: SUSE 8.2
IDE: netBeans 3.5
Beginner in Java
Hi I am creating Java Swing application and using threads to control certain areas of the program i.e. heartbeat thread being sent from a client to server . The problems is that when I close the client, I find that the heartbeat thread is still alive and clogging up my PC. I thought when you closed the application that the jvm would clean up and remove all associated threads of that particular client application. If any one could shed some light on this subject it would be appreciated.
gjfrasers.

Answer 1

When a Java Virtual Machine starts up, there is usually a single non-daemon thread (which typically calls the method named main of some designated class). The Java Virtual Machine continues to execute threads until either of the following occurs:
-The exit method of class Runtime has been called and the security manager has permitted the exit operation to take place.
- All threads that are not daemon threads have died, either by returning from the call to the run method or by throwing an exception that propagates beyond the run method.
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/api/java/lang/Thread.html
good luck!