java : execute a method over a maximum period of time

Question

I am using the JavaMail API , and there is a method in the Folder class called "search" that sometimes take too long to execute. What i want is to execute this method over a maximum period of time( say for example 15 seconds in maximum) , that way i am sure that this method will not run up more than 15 seconds.

Pseudo Code

messages = maximumMethod(Folder.search(),15);

Do I have to create a thread just to execute this method and in the main thread use the wait method ?

Answer 1

The best way to do this is create a single threaded executor which you can submit callables with. The return value is a Future<?> which you can get the results from. You can also say wait this long to get the results. Here is sample code:

    ExecutorService service = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor();
    Future<Message[]> future = service.submit(new Callable<Message[]>() {
        @Override
        public Message[] call() throws Exception {
            return Folder.search(/*...*/);
        }
    });

    try {
        Message[] messages = future.get(15, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
    }
    catch(TimeoutException e) {
        // timeout
    }