unless i got you wrong, your code is missing the "keep running" nature, i.e. you need to have a loop somewhere:
public static void main(String[] args){
ExecutorService service = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(4);
// for each of your 4 folders
while (true) {
Future searchResult = service.submit(new SearchTask());
try {
File foundFile = searchResult.get();
// handle found file
} catch (Exception e) {
// handle exception
}
}
}
private static class SearchTask implements Callable {
@Override
public File call() {
return searchFile();
}
public File searchFile() {
// search & return found file
}
}
note that this is just a very simple extension of your example. it is still missing the parametrization of the SearchTask to actually be specific for a folder, handling of files & exceptions, etc. as mentioned in previous answers, your SearchTask should implement Runnable (i prefer Callable...), and IMHO it's always better to use an ExecutorService than to spawn threads manually. hope this helps...
