守护线程就像一个普通的线程，除了JVM只会在其他非守护线程不存在时关闭。守护进程线程通常用于为应用程序执行服务。

Daemon threads are those threads which provide general services for user threads (Example : clean up services - garbage collector) Daemon threads are running all the time until kill by the JVM Daemon Threads are treated differently than User Thread when JVM terminates , finally blocks are not called JVM just exits JVM doesn't terminates unless all the user threads terminate. JVM terminates if all user threads are dies JVM doesn't wait for any daemon thread to finish before existing and finally blocks are not called If all user threads dies JVM kills all the daemon threads before stops When all user threads have terminated, daemon threads can also be terminated and the main program terminates setDaemon() method must be called before the thread's start() method is invoked Once a thread has started executing its daemon status cannot be changed To determine if a thread is a daemon thread, use the accessor method isDaemon()

守护线程就像一个服务提供者，为运行在与守护线程相同进程中的其他线程或对象提供服务。守护线程用于后台支持任务，只有在正常线程执行时才需要守护线程。如果正常线程不运行，其余线程是守护线程，则解释器退出。

例如，HotJava浏览器使用最多4个名为“Image Fetcher”的守护线程从文件系统或网络中为任何需要的线程获取图像。

守护线程通常用于为应用程序/applet执行服务(例如加载“fiddley bits”)。用户线程和守护线程之间的核心区别在于，JVM只会在所有用户线程都终止时关闭程序。当不再有任何用户线程在运行(包括执行主线程)时，守护线程将由JVM终止。

setDaemon(真/假)?此方法用于指定一个线程是守护线程。

公共boolean isDaemon() ?此方法用于确定线程是否是守护线程。

Eg:

public class DaemonThread extends Thread {
    public void run() {
        System.out.println("Entering run method");

        try {
            System.out.println("In run Method: currentThread() is" + Thread.currentThread());

            while (true) {
                try {
                    Thread.sleep(500);
                } catch (InterruptedException x) {}

                System.out.println("In run method: woke up again");
            }
        } finally {
            System.out.println("Leaving run Method");
        }
    }
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Entering main Method");

        DaemonThread t = new DaemonThread();
        t.setDaemon(true);
        t.start();

        try {
            Thread.sleep(3000);
        } catch (InterruptedException x) {}

        System.out.println("Leaving main method");
    }

}

输出:

C:\java\thread>javac DaemonThread.java

C:\java\thread>java DaemonThread
Entering main Method
Entering run method
In run Method: currentThread() isThread[Thread-0,5,main]
In run method: woke up again
In run method: woke up again
In run method: woke up again
In run method: woke up again
In run method: woke up again
In run method: woke up again
Leaving main method

C:\j2se6\thread>

以上答案都是好的。下面是一个简单的小代码片段，以说明两者的区别。在setDaemon中分别尝试true和false值。

public class DaemonTest {
    
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        new WorkerThread().start();

        try {
            Thread.sleep(7500);
        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
            // handle here exception
        }

        System.out.println("Main Thread ending") ;
    }

}

class WorkerThread extends Thread {
    
    public WorkerThread() {
        // When false, (i.e. when it's a non daemon thread),
        // the WorkerThread continues to run.
        // When true, (i.e. when it's a daemon thread),
        // the WorkerThread terminates when the main 
        // thread or/and user defined thread(non daemon) terminates.
        setDaemon(true); 
    }
    
    public void run() {
        int count = 0;

        while (true) {
            System.out.println("Hello from Worker "+count++);

            try {
                sleep(5000);
            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
                // handle exception here
            }
        }
    }
}

守护线程类似于助手线程。非daemon线程就像前面的表演者。助手帮助表演者完成一项工作。工作完成后，执行者不再需要帮助来执行。由于不需要帮助，助手们离开了这个地方。因此，当非守护线程的任务结束时，守护线程就会离开。

正如大家所解释的，守护线程不会限制JVM退出，所以基本上从退出的角度来看，它对应用程序来说是一个快乐的线程。

想要添加守护线程，当我提供一个API，比如将数据推送到第三方服务器/或JMS时，我可能需要在客户端JVM级别聚合数据，然后在一个单独的线程中发送到JMS。我可以使这个线程作为守护线程，如果这不是一个强制数据被推送到服务器。 这类数据类似于日志推送/聚合。

问候, Manish