Why Use SwingUtilities#invokeLater from the main thread when Creating the UI in Swing Applications?

Main Thread vs. UI Thread in Java

When developing Swing applications, you may encounter code snippets utilizing SwingUtilities#invokeLater from the main method to create the UI. However, the official Swing documentation suggests that creating the UI from the main thread is safe.

This discrepancy raises the question: Is there a genuine reason to construct the UI in the main thread through SwingUtilities#invokeLater, or is it merely a good habit to keep it consistent with its usage in other cases?

The answer lies in the "Swing single-thread rule," as stated in Java Concurrency in Practice and corroborated by other sources. This rule mandates that Swing components and models must only be created, modified, or queried from the event-dispatching thread. Deviating from this rule can lead to unreliable behavior when constructing, modifying, or querying components or models because they often assume adherence to this rule.

Code that appears to function correctly may exhibit mysterious failures in different environments if the Swing single-thread rule is violated. To ensure proper usage, verify your code against the guidelines provided in the reference sources.

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