Executor is a fancy name for a thread pool in Java that manages the execution of tasks you submit to it. It's like having an army of interns to do your bidding, except they're not as cheap and you can't make them fetch your coffee.

How to use it in a sentence

• "I'm so slammed with work, I think I'll just create an Executor and let it handle all these tedious tasks while I focus on more important things, like browsing Hacker News."

• "Yeah, we used to create threads manually like cavemen, but now we just toss everything into an Executor and let it deal with the concurrency headaches. It's like having a personal assistant for your code, minus the small talk."

If you actually want to learn more...

• Resource Pool: Programs frequently need to manage expensive resources like database connections and threads. A resource pool is an effective way to handle these resources, improving performance and efficiency. Link

• The LMAX Architecture: The LMAX team found that optimal caching behavior requires a design where only one core writes to any memory location, while multiple readers are acceptable. This led to the development of the disruptor and a focus on single-threaded business logic to enhance performance by minimizing concurrency issues. Link

• A Recipe: Paul Graham criticizes the "industry best practice" approach often adopted by risk-averse managers, arguing that it leads to mediocrity rather than excellence. He suggests that leveraging powerful programming languages and tackling the hardest problems can lead to significant competitive advantages. Link

Note: the Developer Dictionary is in Beta. Please direct feedback to skye@statsig.com.