Should I use Thread.Sleep() for my program not to occupy the processor?

Question

I have a small group of classes that implement a game of Snake with two players, the game is working as expected. But I’m using one while infinity that is operating at the maximum speed that the JVM allows, so leaving the application open for 10 seconds already starts to give problem pro processor.

Currently it is like this:

    public void tick() {
        if (p1.snakeBody.size() == 0) {
            p1.criarSnake(new Right(), new Coordenada(10, 10));
            p2.criarSnake(new Left(), new Coordenada(30, 5));
        }
        ticks++;
        if (ticks > 200000) {   //aqui está o problema
            ticks = 0;
            p1.proximaPosicao();
            p2.proximaPosicao();
            if (p1.snakeBody().size() > 15) {
                p1.snakeBody().remove(0);
                p2.snakeBody().remove(0);
            }
        }

    /**
     * Cria a Thread que inicia o jogo
     */
    public void start() {
        Thread t = new Thread(this, "game loop");
        t.start();
    }

    /**
     * O jogo fica rodando enquanto os dois jogadores tiverem mais de zero vidas.
     */
    public void run() {
        while(p1.vidas != 0 && p2.vidas != 0) {
            tick();
            repaint();
        }
        JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "\nThe winner is: " + p1.vitorioso(p2) + "!");
        System.exit(0);
    }

But in this way the computer needs to calculate loops and conditionals 200000 times for just one move! I read the documentation on Threads, but there are some competition things that I didn’t understand very well, I think what I’m looking for is simpler.

You can use the method Thread.sleep() to prevent the processor from working so hard for so little?

Answer 1

This tick count is unnecessary. As Maniero said, the architecture is wrong. Also this thread there is unnecessary. It is only necessary to call (schedule) repaint() in the Event Dispatch Thread (EDT) periodically.

You can use the Thread.sleep() after the repaint(). It’s a way of doing it. That’s right? It’s not. It’s a scam.

I do not know how to answer to you exactly how to do, because I do not know much game programming. hkotsubo well remembered about Timer in the comments, I believe that is a valid solution.

I think you should look for a solution that is more robust and efficient. I suggest searching for games in Java or Java Swing or Javafx or ask https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/ on how to make the canvas drawing loop.

I previously suggested the ExecutorService and schedule (Schedule) the execution of a drawing event on the screen every X milliseconds, but I’m not sure if it would be a good solution. I believe the Timer is a better solution.