title: Java while loop and Threads!
body: <p>I have a program that continually polls the database for change in value of some field. It runs in the background and currently uses a while(true) and a sleep() method to set the interval. I am wondering if this is a good practice? And, what could be a more efficient way to implement this? The program is meant to run at all times.</p>
  
  <p>Consequently, the only way to stop the program is by issuing a kill on the process ID. The program could be in the middle of a JDBC call. How could I go about terminating it more gracefully? I understand that the best option would be to devise some kind of exit strategy by using a flag that will be periodically checked by the thread. But, I am unable to think of a way/condition of changing the value of this flag. Any ideas?</p>