Okuzeka
Software Engineering vocabulary · Web, Mobile and Interface Development

Main thread

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

nounCommon term

In software engineering, main thread means: The thread on which an app draws its interface and handles user input; if slow work runs there, the app freezes and stops responding.

In Turkish: ana iş parçacığı, main thread, UI thread

How it is used

On Android also called the UI thread. Developers move network calls, database work and image processing off the main thread, while UI updates must happen on it. Android throws NetworkOnMainThreadException for network calls there, and blocking it too long causes an ANR.

Example sentences

  1. The list freezes because we decode large images on the main thread.

  2. UI updates must run on the main thread, otherwise the app may crash.

Common collocations

  • on the main thread
  • off the main thread
  • block the main thread
  • main thread checker
  • ANRApplication Not Responding: an Android error shown when an app's main thread is blocked for too long, for example about five seconds without responding to a touch.
  • componentA reusable, self-contained piece of a user interface, such as a button, modal or product card, with its own markup, styles and logic.
  • backgroundThe state of an app that is still running or kept in memory but is not visible on the screen, for example after the user switches to another app.
  • app lifecycleThe series of states an app moves through from launch to being closed, such as active, in the background or suspended, and the events the system sends at each change.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Web, Mobile and Interface Development

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: