c = make(chan bool)
go doSomeWork(c)
select {
case b := <- c:
# do something here if something happened on the channel
case <- time.After(5 * time.Second):
# timed out :-(
} Result result = future.get(5, TimeUnit.Second);
if (result == null)
// do something if timed out
else
// do something with result
EDIT: I see what newobj is talking about now:
With the Java method, the 'task queue' in this case is very rigid and would be hard to add futures from multiple locations, while the goroutine method allows easy access to add new messages to the channel from anywhere.
You could probably emulate the goroutine method using a synchronized queue or similar, but the goroutine version handles it automatically.