Develop Reference

Real time data update

My app uses google map to show user's location in real time. Therefore I would like it to be updated with every data change on my Parse server.
I've looked all over the net and as I see it I have 3 options:
using syncAdapter - the problem is that everywhere it is written that it does not meant for real time data transfer (I don't really understand why), on other hand it must be more efficient than updating every 5 sec.
using asyncTask - the problem is that it probably consumes a lot of battery and data usage to run it every 5 sec.
using service - same problem as asyncTask.
As i'm very confused, please help me understand what is the appropriate way to implement my real time map.
Thank's all

The best way i know is to use LocationListener to update the location only if it has been changed. You can use the onLocationChanged() method to update the location.
public class LocationHelper {
private LocationManager locationManager;
private Location currentLocation;
public LocationHelper(Context context) {
locationManager = (LocationManager) context.getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
locationManager.removeUpdates(locationListener);
locationManager.requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER, 0, 0, locationListener);
}
public void setLocation(Location location) {
currentLocation = location;
}
private final LocationListener locationListener = new LocationListener() {
#Override
public void onLocationChanged(Location location) {
setLocation(location);//Only update location if it has changed.
}
#Override
public void onStatusChanged(String provider, int status, Bundle extras) {}
#Override
public void onProviderEnabled(String provider) {}
#Override
public void onProviderDisabled(String provider) {}
};
}
If the location hasn't been changed, you can just remember the last known location.

Android Application not working when notification from gps is received frequently

*Please have a look at the below written source code lines and suggest:-*
In the below mentioned code lines I am trying to request for GPS and Network location in every 60 seconds.
if (gps_enabled)
{
mLocationManager.requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER, 60000, 0, locationListenerGps);
}
if (network_enabled)
{
mLocationManager.requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER, 60000, 0,
locationListenerNetwork);
}
Below mentioned is the code for location change listeners:-
LocationListener locationListenerGps = new LocationListener()
{
public void onLocationChanged(Location location)
{
mCurrentGpsLocation = location;
String userCurrentGpsLocation = findUserAddress(mCurrentGpsLocation, mPreviousGpsLocation);
mPreviousGpsLocation = location;
for(int i = 0, size = mLocationUpdateListeners.size(); i<size; i++)
{
LocationUpdateListener listener = mLocationUpdateListeners.get(i);
listener.recieveGpsNotification(userCurrentGpsLocation);
}
}
public void onProviderDisabled(String provider) {
}
public void onProviderEnabled(String provider) {
}
public void onStatusChanged(String provider, int status, Bundle extras) {
}
};
LocationListener locationListenerNetwork = new LocationListener()
{
public void onLocationChanged(Location location)
{
mCurrentNetworkLocation = location;
String userCurrentNetworkLocation =findUserAddress(mCurrentNetworkLocation, mPreviousNetworkLocation);
mPreviousNetworkLocation = location;
for(int i = 0, size = mLocationUpdateListeners.size(); i<size; i++)
{
LocationUpdateListener listener = mLocationUpdateListeners.get(i);
listener.recieveNetworkNotification(userCurrentNetworkLocation);
}
}
public void onProviderDisabled(String provider) {
}
public void onProviderEnabled(String provider) {
}
public void onStatusChanged(String provider, int status, Bundle extras) {
}
};
And on receiving location change event for GPS and Network, I simply call my listeners recieveGpsNotification() and recieveNetworkNotification() methods respectively.
Logic of recieveGpsNotification() are as follows :-
public void recieveGpsNotification(String gpsLocation)
{
sendEmail();
}
**Problems :-
1) I expect call to sendMail() should come after every 60 sec but I am receiving notifications very frequently and after 4-5 notifications my application crashes. Please help if you see any error in implementation logic.
2) Will i also receive notifications for GPS even when my activity is in pause state or in stopped state, because i want to receive notification even when my activity is in background or it is stopped?
Additional Query :-
Whenever android framework provides us with GPS location updates, every time notification come through a different thread or is it the thread that request for notifications?
Thanks in Advance.
**

Try adding a min distance to each update. Also consider grouping the updates together for your sendEmail() method
Move your Location Listener logic into a Service that runs in the background. This will keep the updates coming. However, be aware that GPS updates are awful for battery life and users will not be happy to see GPS trying to get a lock all the time.
I believe those updates happen on the thread in which they are declared. So you should move your findUserAddress() method and other complex operations to a different thread.
Also, You should only use one method to get GPS updates. The normal use case is to try GPS Adapter, if not enabled or preset, fall through to use the Network listener. Since you have both you will be getting both updates on different intervals.

How to determine GPS getting unlocked while running the application in android?

I need to check whether GPS is locked in my application. I am able to check whether GPs is enabled in the phone. But once the GPS is locked, while running the application, it gets unlocked and I noticed that the GPS icon of the phone is blinking. I need to show an animation similar to that of phone in my application to acknowledge the user the GPS is unlocked. Anybody who knows the solution please post it.
Thanks in advance....

This is what I use. Start your animation when you requestLocationUpdates and end it when you get the onLocationChanged call. See my code below, it should solve your issue.
public class YourLocationClass implements LocationListener {
private LocationManager lm;
public void getLocation(Context ctx) {
lm = (LocationManager) ctx.getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
lm.requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER, 15000, 25, this);
//START YOUR ANIMATION
}
public void onLocationChanged(Location location) {
//HERE YOU STOP YOUR ANIMATION AND GET NEW LOCATION
}
public void onProviderDisabled(String provider) {
// DO SOME STUFF
}
public void onProviderEnabled(String provider) {
// DO SOME STUFF
}
public void onStatusChanged(String provider, int status, Bundle extras) {
// DO SOME STUFF
}
}

Android Location Listener (or Android Events in general)

I have a general question about LocationListener in Android. Perhaps this is about Android or Java events in general, but not sure.
There seems to be a million ways to set up a LocationListener, and they all seem pretty ugly (mainly because of lack of reusability). Here is an example from android found here:
// Acquire a reference to the system Location Manager
LocationManager locationManager = (LocationManager) this.getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
// Define a listener that responds to location updates
LocationListener locationListener = new LocationListener() {
public void onLocationChanged(Location location) {
// Called when a new location is found by the network location provider.
makeUseOfNewLocation(location);
}
public void onStatusChanged(String provider, int status, Bundle extras) {}
public void onProviderEnabled(String provider) {}
public void onProviderDisabled(String provider) {}
};
// Register the listener with the Location Manager to receive location updates
locationManager.requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER, 0, 0, locationListener);
This works, but, I'm really surprised that this is a standard way of writing OOP code...
What I would really like to see is a simple a reusable way to implement LocationListener. Anybody know of a simple tutorial on how this could be done? My goal would be to be able to implement this easily any Activities that need to be updated with gps information... perhaps a Service? Thanks!

Android - Reliably getting the current location

My app checks at a specific time whether a user is at a given location. I use the alarm manager to start a service that makes this call:
locationManager.requestLocationUpdates(bestProvider, 0, 0, listener);
And also checks:
locationManager.getLastKnownLocation(bestProvider);
But I'm having problems when running on a real device. For one thing, getLastKnownLocation is most likely the last place the GPS was on, which could be anywhere (i.e., it could be miles from the user's current location). So I'll just wait for requestLocationUpdates callbacks, and if they aren't there within two minutes, remove the listener and give up, right?
Wrong, because if the user's location is already stable (i.e., they've used GPS recently and haven't moved) then my listener will never be called because the location doesn't change. But the GPS will run until my listener is removed, draining the battery...
What is the right way to get the current location without mistaking an old location for the current location? I don't mind waiting a few minutes.
EDIT: It's possible that I'm wrong about the listener not being called, it may just take a little longer than I thought... Hard to say. I'd appreciate a definitive answer still.

The code may be something like that:
public class MyLocation {
Timer timer1;
LocationManager lm;
public boolean getLocation(Context context)
{
lm = (LocationManager) context.getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
lm.requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER, 0, 0, locationListenerGps);
timer1=new Timer();
timer1.schedule(new GetLastLocation(), 20000);
return true;
}
LocationListener locationListenerGps = new LocationListener() {
public void onLocationChanged(Location location) {
timer1.cancel();
lm.removeUpdates(this);
//use location as it is the latest value
}
public void onProviderDisabled(String provider) {}
public void onProviderEnabled(String provider) {}
public void onStatusChanged(String provider, int status, Bundle extras) {}
};
class GetLastLocation extends TimerTask {
#Override
public void run() {
lm.removeUpdates(locationListenerGps);
Location location=lm.getLastKnownLocation(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER);
//use location as we have not received the new value from listener
}
}
}
We start the listener and wait for update for some time (20 seconds in my example). If we receive update during this time we use it. If we don't receive an update during this time we use getLastKnownLocation value and stop the listener.
You can see my complete code here What is the simplest and most robust way to get the user's current location on Android?
EDIT (by asker): This is most of the answer, but my final solution uses a Handler instead of a Timer.

If the user's location is already stable, then getLastKnownLocation will return the current location. I'd call getLastKnownLocation first, look at the timestamp (compare Location.getElapsedRealTimeNanos() with SystemClock.elapsedRealTimeNanos()) then register a listener if the fix is too old.