Android sending messages between fragment and service - android

I have a fragment with a button. When clicked it tells a service to start polling sensors and then insert the sensor data into a database on a background thread. When the button is pushed again, the service will stop. When the Stop button is pushed, there may still be tasks in the executor queue that is inserting into the DB, so during this time I want to display a progress dialog, and dismiss it once the entire queue is clear. The fragment with the button looks like this:
public class StartFragment extends Fragment implements View.OnClickListener {
Button startButton;
#Override
public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container,
Bundle savedInstanceState) {
View view = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_start, container, false);
startButton = (Button) view.findViewById(R.id.startButton);
startButton.setOnClickListener(this);
return view;
}
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
if (recording has not yet started){
mainActivity.startService(new Intent(mainActivity, SensorService.class));
} else {
//I want to display a progress dialog here when the service is told to stop
//Once all executor task queue is clear, I want to dismiss this dialog
mainActivity.stopService(new Intent(mainActivity, SensorService.class));
}
}
}
When the button is clicked the first time, the following service will start:
public class SensorService extends Service implements SensorEventListener {
public static final int SCREEN_OFF_RECEIVER_DELAY = 100;
private SensorManager sensorManager = null;
private WakeLock wakeLock = null;
ExecutorService executor;
Runnable insertHandler;
private void registerListener() {
//register 4 sensor listeners (acceleration, gyro, magnetic, gravity)
}
private void unregisterListener() {
sensorManager.unregisterListener(this);
}
public BroadcastReceiver receiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
Log.i(TAG, "onReceive("+intent+")");
if (!intent.getAction().equals(Intent.ACTION_SCREEN_OFF)) {
return;
}
Runnable runnable = new Runnable() {
public void run() {
Log.i(TAG, "Runnable executing...");
unregisterListener();
registerListener();
}
};
new Handler().postDelayed(runnable, SCREEN_OFF_RECEIVER_DELAY);
}
};
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
//get sensor values and store into 4 different arrays here
//insert into database in background thread
executor.execute(insertHandler);
}
#Override
public void onCreate() {
super.onCreate();
//get sensor manager and sensors here
PowerManager manager = (PowerManager) getSystemService(Context.POWER_SERVICE);
wakeLock = manager.newWakeLock(PowerManager.PARTIAL_WAKE_LOCK, TAG);
registerReceiver(receiver, new IntentFilter(Intent.ACTION_SCREEN_OFF));
//Executor service and runnable for DB inserts
executor = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor();
insertHandler = new InsertHandler();
}
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
return null;
}
#Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
super.onStartCommand(intent, flags, startId);
startForeground(Process.myPid(), new Notification());
registerListener();
wakeLock.acquire();
return START_STICKY;
}
#Override
public void onDestroy() {
//Prevent new tasks from being added to thread
executor.shutdown();
try {
//Wait for all tasks to finish before we proceed
while (!executor.awaitTermination(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS)) {
Log.i(TAG, "Waiting for current tasks to finish");
}
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
executor.shutdownNow();
Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
}
if (executor.isTerminated()){
//Stop everything else once the task queue is clear
unregisterReceiver(receiver);
unregisterListener();
wakeLock.release();
dbHelper.close();
stopForeground(true);
//Once the queue is clear, I want to send a message back to the fragment to dismiss the progress dialog here
}
}
class InsertHandler implements Runnable {
public void run() {
//get sensor values from 4 arrays, and insert into db here
}
}
So I want to display the dialog on the 2nd button press. Then once it is pressed again, service will stop, and I want to wait until the queue is clear and then send a dismiss event back to the fragment to dismiss the progress dialog.
Showing the dialog is easy. I can just add progress dialog code in the onClick method of the fragment, before stopService is called
I'm having difficulty with figuring out how to send a message back in onDestroy of the SensorService to dismiss that dialog
Whats the best way of doing this without resorting to external libraries?
Is there some way that the BroadcastReceiver I'm using in SensorService can be used? Or maybe it's better to create a new Handler in the fragment and somehow pass it through to the service so it can send a message back to the fragment?
EDIT:
I have tried the following based on one of the answers below:
Added a MessageHandler class to my fragment class:
public static class MessageHandler extends Handler {
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message message) {
int state = message.arg1;
switch (state) {
case 0:
stopDialog.dismiss();
break;
case 1:
stopDialog = new ProgressDialog(mainActivity);
stopDialog.setMessage("Stopping...");
stopDialog.setTitle("Saving data");
stopDialog.setProgressNumberFormat(null);
stopDialog.setCancelable(false);
stopDialog.setMax(100);
stopDialog.show();
break;
}
}
}
Created a new instance of MessageHandler in my fragment (tried placing this in a variety of places...same results):
public static Handler messageHandler = new MessageHandler();
The service is then started from my fragment using:
Intent startService = new Intent(mainActivity, SensorService.class);
startService.putExtra("MESSENGER", new Messenger(messageHandler));
getContext().startService(startService);
In my SensorService BroadcastReceiver I create the messageHandler:
Bundle extras = intent.getExtras();
messageHandler = (Messenger) extras.get("MESSENGER");
Then I show the dialog at the very beginning of SensorService onDestroy:
sendMessage("SHOW");
and dismiss it at the very end of that same method:
sendMessage("HIDE");
My sendMessage method looks like this:
public void sendMessage(String state) {
Message message = Message.obtain();
switch (state) {
case "SHOW":
message.arg1 = 1;
break;
case "HIDE" :
message.arg1 = 0;
break;
}
try {
messageHandler.send(message);
} catch (RemoteException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
So I can start the Service OK, but when I press it again to stop, I get this:
java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to stop service com.example.app.SensorService#21124f0: java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'void android.os.Messenger.send(android.os.Message)' on a null object reference
and its referring to Line 105 of SensorService where I have messageHandler.send(message)
Thoughts on what might be wrong?

In activity:
protected BroadcastReceiver mMessageReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, final Intent intent) {
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
if(intent.hasExtra("someExtraMessage")){
doSomething(intent.getStringExtra("someExtraMessage"));
}
}
});
}
};
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState, PersistableBundle persistentState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState, persistentState);
LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this).registerReceiver(mMessageReceiver,
new IntentFilter("message-id"));
}
protected void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this).unregisterReceiver(mMessageReceiver);
}
public void doSomething(){
//...
}
Then somewhere from service:
Context context = BamBamApplication.getApplicationContext(); // Can be application or activity context.
// BamBamApplicaiton extends Application ;)
Intent intent = new Intent("message-id");
intent.putExtra("someExtraMessage", "Some Message :)");
LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(context).sendBroadcast(intent);
Actually you are doing wrong from the very beginning :) all the services are running on main thread, so here you must better start all hard processing to async task to move this in background otherwise you will stuck your app, or you will get sudden unexpected crashes.
Here are you sample of async task that parses json api response in background with Typed result by parameter.
class ParseJsonInBackground<T> extends AsyncTask<String, Void, ApiResponseModel<T>> {
private ProcessResponse<T> func;
private Type inClass;
public ParseJsonInBackground(ProcessResponse<T> f, Type inClass){
this.func = f;
this.inClass = inClass;
}
#Override
protected void onPreExecute() {
super.onPreExecute();
}
#Override
protected ApiResponseModel<T> doInBackground(String... json) {
Gson gson = new Gson();
try {
ApiResponseModel<T> result = (ApiResponseModel<T>) gson.fromJson(json[0], inClass);
return result;
}catch(Exception e){
ApiResponseModel<T> result = new ApiResponseModel<T>();
result.data = null;
result.success = false;
result.error = new ArrayList<>();
result.error.add(new ErrorModel(0, "Parsing error", "Parsing error"));
return result;
}
}
#Override
protected void onPostExecute(ApiResponseModel<T> result) {
Utils.hideLoadingProgress(mContext);
if(result != null && func != null){
if(result.success){
func.onSuccess(result);
}else{
func.onError(result);
}
}
}
}
and sample how to call:
new ParseJsonInBackground<T>(responseFunc, inClass).execute(json.toString());
make attention! - don't use any views in processing coz this will stuck main thread, make database processing in similar async task, don't write to often to database make recording with transactions.

I would propose doing this via Handler messages: you send a message from the Service to your Activity which has to register as a callback handler (implement http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/Handler.Callback.html). Use a custom message code (message.what) and listen for it. Keep in mind to send this to the main looper of your application (from the service).
You may also check this comment which illustrates this kind of interaction with some more code: https://stackoverflow.com/a/20595215/4310905

It turns out that the code in the Edit of my original question works, but I have to shuffle around some of my code:
Bundle extras = intent.getExtras();
messageHandler = (Messenger) extras.get("MESSENGER");
The above needs to be moved to onStartCommand of SensorService instead of being in the BroadcastReceiver

Related

Infinite loop or idle code in IntentService class of Android

I'm asking this question because my Java knowledge is really low... I need
need to use this new API 27 USSD feature... Below if What I'm trying to do :
public class MyService extends IntentService {
// BEGIN of MyService Class properties ****
public static boolean jobInProgress = true;
private Handler myHandler = new Handler() {
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
super.handleMessage(msg); // I guess this will be on some message queue somewhere
}
};
TelephonyManager tm;
// END of properties *************************************
// BEGIN of MyService class abstract class methods implementation
class MyCallback extends TelephonyManager.UssdResponseCallback{
Context serviceContext;
MyCallback (Context serviceContext){
this.serviceContext = serviceContext;
}
public void onReceiveUssdResponse (TelephonyManager telephonyManager,
String request,
CharSequence response){
//Here since it's a System callback I guess my this.tm == telephonyManager parameter right ?
Toast.makeText(serviceContext, "Response from network is : " + response, Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
MyService.jobInProgress = false;
}
public void onReceiveUssdResponseFailed (TelephonyManager telephonyManager,
String request,
int failureCode){
Toast.makeText(serviceContext, "USSD request failed with code " + failureCode, Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
MyService.jobInProgress = false;
}
}
// END of abstract methods implementation******************
//BEGIN of MyService Class methods
#Override
public void onCreate() {
super.onCreate();
Toast.makeText(this, "Service is created.", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
#Override
public void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
Toast.makeText(this, "Service is destroyed", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
#Override
protected void onHandleIntent(#Nullable Intent intent) {
doJob();
while(jobInProgress){
//I hang here to not call onDestroy to quickly...
}
}
private void doJob(){
//Get the instance of TelephonyManager
this.tm =(TelephonyManager)getSystemService(this.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);
if (ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.CALL_PHONE) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
return;
}
//Don't know How to use sendUssdRequest second and thrid arguments. Below is what I have tried with no success
this.tm.sendUssdRequest("#105*2#",new MyCallback(this),myHandler);
}
//END of class methods*****************************
}
The golad I'm trying to achieve is to runn the USSD request and print the result in a Toast. When I launch the service, it says service created as expected, it goes into the doJob() method as expected, but after that, nothing else happens... The app does not even crash... Just as if after enterring doJob() no instructions was written...
Can you help me make this code work ?
The reason its not working is beacuse you are using Handler and infinite loop together.
When you create a new Handler, it is bound to the thread / message queue of the thread that is creating it. So when you do following:
while(jobInProgress){
//I hang here to not call onDestroy to quickly...
}
It will block the worker Thread and also the Handler. As a result nothing happens.
The solution would be to use normal Service and avoid any looping.
Remember from Android O you cannot endlessly run your service in background. This approach will work if your app is in Foreground. Use foreground Service if you want to make it work reliably.
Here is how I solved it following Sagar's answer :
Instead of :
#Override
protected void onHandleIntent(#Nullable Intent intent) {
doJob();
while(jobInProgress){
//I hang here to not call onDestroy to quickly...
}
}
I did this :
#Override
protected void onHandleIntent(#Nullable Intent intent) {
Thread t = new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
doJob();
}
});
t.start();
while(jobInProgress){
//I hang here to not call onDestroy to quickly...
}
}
and my Handler changed to this :
private Handler myHandler = new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper())
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
super.handleMessage(msg); // I guess this will be on some message queue somewhere
}
};

Android asynchronous UI Updating from service fails

I have a very strange problem for updating UI. I have a foreground started bounded service which my main process in background. When I start app, I like to check if service is already running and change state of a toggle button. For this problem, I bind to my started service when starting app in OnResume() and service sends a value back to my app which shows running status of service and I update UI based on this value. But the problem is that UI is not updated in this situation.
Because this bug is shown in a very complex situation, I have written a sample code that reproduce this problem. Here are these codes (sorry for bad names and missing a lot of error checks, I have quickly written this code just to reproduce problem). I have discussed each code a little as an overview.
activity_main layout:
<ToggleButton
android:id="#+id/ui_btn"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textOff="Off State"
android:textOn="On State"
android:checked="false" />
<Button
android:id="#+id/start_btn"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Start"/>
MyTestService.java
At first, this is my sample foreground started bounded service. As you see, when we start service, we create a foreground service which just runs a small thread that toggles a mStatus variable every 10 seconds for 10 times and then stops. Whenever we bind to this service, we use ResultReceiver which is sent through binding intent in order to send mStatus to app. We also allow rebinding, because app may be closed several times and reopened again.
public class MyTestService extends Service {
private volatile boolean mStatus = false;
private MyThread mTh = new MyThread();
#Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
mTh.start();
Intent notintent = new Intent(this, MainActivity.class);
PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0, notintent, 0);
NotificationCompat.Builder builder = new NotificationCompat.Builder(this);
builder.setContentText("Test").setContentIntent(pendingIntent).setContentTitle("title").setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ic_launcher);
Notification notification = builder.build();
startForeground(100, notification);
return START_STICKY;
}
#Nullable
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
if (intent != null && intent.getAction().equals("checkstatus")) {
ResultReceiver recv = (ResultReceiver)intent.getParcelableExtra("myrecvextra");
Bundle data = new Bundle();
data.putBoolean("status", mStatus);
recv.send(0, data);
}
return null;
}
#Override
public boolean onUnbind(Intent intent) {
return true;
}
#Override
public void onRebind(Intent intent) {
if (intent != null && intent.getAction().equals("checkstatus")) {
ResultReceiver recv = (ResultReceiver)intent.getParcelableExtra("myrecvextra");
Bundle data = new Bundle();
data.putBoolean("status", mStatus);
recv.send(0, data);
}
}
public class MyThread extends Thread {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++ ) {
Thread.sleep(10000);
mStatus = !mStatus;
Log.i("ASD", String.format("%d", mStatus? 1 : 0));
}
}catch (Exception e) {
}
stopSelf();
}
}
}
MyServiceAccessClass.java
This class is used for accessing service. start() starts service, bind() and unbind() are using for binding and unbinding service. mRecv is the ResultReceiver which send to service while binding and is used for getting status. When status is received after binding, ResultReceiver updates UI via a callback.
public class MyServiceAccessClass {
private MyResultRecv mRecv = new MyResultRecv(new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper()));
private OnUpdateRequest mCallback = null;
private Context mCtx = null;
private ServiceConnection mCon = new ServiceConnection() {
#Override
public void onServiceConnected(ComponentName name, IBinder service) {}
#Override
public void onServiceDisconnected(ComponentName name) {}
};
public MyServiceAccessClass(Context ctx) {
mCtx = ctx;
mCallback = (OnUpdateRequest)ctx;
}
public void bind() {
Intent intent = new Intent(mCtx, MyTestService.class);
intent.setAction("checkstatus");
intent.putExtra("myrecvextra", mRecv);
mCtx.bindService(intent, mCon, Context.BIND_AUTO_CREATE);
}
public void unbind() {
mCtx.unbindService(mCon);
}
public void start() {
Intent intent = new Intent(mCtx, MyTestService.class);
mCtx.startService(intent);
}
private class MyResultRecv extends ResultReceiver {
public MyResultRecv(Handler handler) {
super(handler);
}
#Override
protected void onReceiveResult(int resultCode, Bundle resultData) {
if (resultCode == 0) {
mCallback.updateUi(resultData.getBoolean("status"));
}
}
}
}
MainActivity.java
This is main class of test app. Start button starts service. and this class binds in OnResume() and unbinds in OnPause(). If app is run when service is already running and its mStatus is true, then updateUi will be called with true value and sets status of toggle button.
interface OnUpdateRequest {
public void updateUi(boolean state);
}
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity implements OnUpdateRequest{
private MyServiceAccessClass mTest = new MyServiceAccessClass (this);
private ToggleButton mBtn = null;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
mBtn = (ToggleButton)findViewById(R.id.ui_btn);
((Button)findViewById(R.id.start_btn)).setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
mTest.start();
}
});
}
#Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
mTest.bind();
}
#Override
protected void onPause() {
super.onPause();
mTest.unbind();
}
#Override
public void updateUi(boolean state) {
mBtn.setChecked(state);
}
}
Ok, now in theory everything is all right. But if you try to use this code, when service is started and mStatus is true, toggle button's setChecked() will be called with true (which is correct till now) but UI will not be updated to show correct text and status. Funny part is that if you run isChecked for this toggle button, it will return true, but UI shows something else.
Any idea why this happens? Sorry for a lot of codes, this problem occured is this complex situation.
Update
I noticed something that I should mention. if I use isChecked right after setCheck, I get true which is correct. But if I use isChecked again some time later (for example in another button event handler), it returns false while I have not called setChecked anymore. I think this situation is related to my problem but I don't know how this is happened.
In addition, I think this problem is related to updating UI when you are in binding process to a service. because if I try to update app main UI with same ResultReceiver when I'm not in binding process, everything works correctly.
Possibly need to call View.requestLayout() or View.forceLayout() on the buttons View to refresh the buttons state.
I finally found the problem with my code. It took me a lot of time to solve this problem, so I post it here for other android developers.
Sending result back from a service is somehow obvious via ResultReceiver. But most of examples in internet does not show service rebinding, and I never found sending result back after rebinding service.
OK, now what is the problem? look at the following part of code from my service:
#Nullable
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
if (intent != null && intent.getAction().equals("checkstatus")) {
ResultReceiver recv = (ResultReceiver)intent.getParcelableExtra("myrecvextra");
Bundle data = new Bundle();
data.putBoolean("status", mStatus);
recv.send(0, data);
}
return null;
}
#Override
public boolean onUnbind(Intent intent) {
return true;
}
#Override
public void onRebind(Intent intent) {
if (intent != null && intent.getAction().equals("checkstatus")) {
ResultReceiver recv = (ResultReceiver)intent.getParcelableExtra("myrecvextra");
Bundle data = new Bundle();
data.putBoolean("status", mStatus);
recv.send(0, data);
}
}
This is a common approach for making a rebinding service, based on simple binding to service that you find in internet. This has been done with returning true in onUnbind() and using onRebind(). But this approach is completely wrong.
Why? Because of a strange design in android. In Service OnRebind(), there is a small 18 word comment:
Note that any extras that were included with the Intent at that point
will not be seen here.
Now What this means? It means that extra which carries ResultReceiver will not be available on rebinding which in turn means that results will not be sent back after rebinding. But for unknown reason, this code does not make any exception and you even see result back in app while debugging, so it is super ambiguous why this code does not work.
Now what is the solution? Never send ResultReceiver when you bind to a service with bindService() intent. Even though this is correct for a non-rebinding service, but I highly suggest to avoid it. Send ResultReceiver via a separate message to service when onServiceConnected is called and then everything works like a piece of cake. Here are my modifications for code:
MyTestService.java
public static int SERVICE_SET_RECV = 1;
public static String SERVICE_RECV = "SERVICE_RECV";
private Messenger mMessenger = new Messenger(new MyHandler(this));
private ResultReceiver mRecv = null;
#Nullable
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
if (intent != null && intent.getAction().equals("checkstatus")) {
return mMessenger.getBinder();
}
return null;
}
#Override
public boolean onUnbind(Intent intent) {
mRecv = null;
return true;
}
#Override
public void onRebind(Intent intent) {}
public void setRecv(ResultReceiver recv) {
mRecv = recv;
// Example to send some result back to app
Bundle data = new Bundle();
data.putBoolean("status", mStatus);
mRecv.send(0, data);
}
private static class MyHandler extends Handler {
private final WeakReference<MyTestService> mService;
public MyHandler(MyTestService service) {
mService = new WeakReference<>(service);
}
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
MyTestService service = mService.get();
Bundle data = msg.getData();
switch (msg.what) {
case SERVICE_SET_RECV: {
ResultReceiver recv = data.getParcelable(SERVICE_RECV);
service.setRecv(recv);
break;
}
default:
super.handleMessage(msg);
}
}
}
MyServiceAccessClass.java
private ServiceConnection mCon = new ServiceConnection() {
#Override
public void onServiceConnected(ComponentName name, IBinder service) {
Messenger messenger = new Messenger(service);
Bundle data = new Bundle();
data.putParcelable(MyTestService.SERVICE_RECV, mRecv);
Message msg = Message.obtain(null, MyTestService.SERVICE_SET_RECV, 0, 0);
msg.setData(data);
messenger.send(msg);
}
#Override
public void onServiceDisconnected(ComponentName name) {}
};
public void bind() {
Intent intent = new Intent(mCtx, MyTestService.class);
mCtx.bindService(intent, mCon, Context.BIND_AUTO_CREATE);
}
Finding this ridiculous problem took me a lot of time. I wish everyone likes this solution and solves a lot of problems for rebinding a service.

Why the body of onStartCommand() is getting executed only once?

To know the difference between IntentService and Service in Android, I created the below posted small test of a Service class. The MainActivity has a Button, when pressed, the
service will be started using startService() as shown below in the code, which will result in a call to onStartCommand(). In onStartCommand(), i run a loop for 10 seconds, and I
expected that, that loop will block the UI "the butoon". Actually that what happened exactly when I first time start the Service, but when I press the button after the 10 seconds
elapsed, it will result in a call to onStartCommand() but the log message inside the onStartCommand() never get displayed plus the UI is never blocked.
can anyone please explain what the body of the onStartCommand() is executed and blocks the UI only when the Service first started and never afterwards?
MainActivity
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
private Button mbtnSend = null;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
this.mbtnSend = (Button) findViewById(R.id.btn_send);
this.mbtnSend.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
Intent intent = new Intent(getApplicationContext(), MyService.class);
startService(intent);
}
});
}
}
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
registerReceiver(this.mBCR_VALUE_SENT, new IntentFilter(MyIntentService.INTENT_ACTION));
this.mbtnSend = (Button) findViewById(R.id.btn_send);
this.mbtnSend.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
Intent intent = new Intent(getApplicationContext(), MyIntentService.class);
intent.putExtra("intent_key", ++i);
startService(intent);
}
});
}
}
MyIntentService:
public class MyService extends Service{
private final String TAG = this.getClass().getSimpleName();
private long mStartTime;
#Override
public void onCreate() {
super.onCreate();
Log.w(TAG, SubTag.msg("onCreate"));
this.mStartTime = TimeUtils.getTSSec();
}
#Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
Log.w(TAG, SubTag.msg("onStartCommand"));
while ( (TimeUtils.getTSSec() - this.mStartTime) <=10) {
Log.w(TAG, SubTag.msg("time: " + (TimeUtils.getTSSec() - this.mStartTime)));
SystemClock.sleep(1000);
}
return Service.START_STICKY;
}
#Nullable
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
Log.w(TAG, SubTag.msg("onBind"));
return null;
}
#Override
public void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
Log.w(TAG, SubTag.msg("onDestroy"));
}
}
You are setting mStartTime to TimeUtils.getTSSec() in onCreate(), which means that it will get intialized only once.
Afterwards, onStartCommand() is called, but the mStartTime timestamp is not being updated, so the while loop never runs.
I believe that moving the line where you initialize mStartTime to onStartCommand() before the while loop will make your thread hang again.

Launching a new Activity from a Handler

I have a client/server application that needs to be able to launch different Activities. I have a working TCP thread that runs continuously in the background and a working handler in my MainAcitivty which the TCP thread uses to send messages. The problem is getting that handler to launch anything other than strings. My TCP thread creates an object of the MainActivity on start up so it can access my handler which it must do since my handler is not static. Everything works fine if I run it from a button on my MainActivity but I get nullpointexceptions on everything when launched from my handler. I believe it dislikes my Context but I can’t find a work around. Thanks
Handler TCP_handler = new Handler()
{
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
Message.obtain();
Bundle bundle = msg.getData();
switch( msg.what ){
case 1:
// this stuff works
String aResponse1 = bundle.getString("messageStringL1");
String aResponse2 = bundle.getString("messageStringL2");
if(aResponse1 != null)
textViewLineOne.setText(aResponse1);
if(aResponse2 != null)
textViewLineTwo.setText(aResponse2);
break;
case 2:
// Method 1
// nullpointer exception error
Intent i = new Intent(MainActivity.this, IdleScreen.class);
startActivity(i);
// Method 2
// nullpointer exception error
Toast.makeText(MainContextSaved, "This is Toast!!!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
// Method 3
// this launches but can only write to the MainActivty textview
runOnUiThread(IdleScreenUI);
break;
}
}
};
private Runnable IdleScreenUI = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// this is the new screen I want to display
setContentView(R.layout.idlescreen ); // nullpointer exception error
// this is a textview in the MainActivity and it works
// textViewLineOne.setText("hello");
// null pointer exception error
Toast.makeText(MainContextSaved, "This is Toast!!!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
};
My TCP thread creates an object of the MainActivity on start up.
Even if you create the object of the activity , that is not a real activity context. thats why your unable to start the other activity.
If I understood your problem correctly, when you try to start the other activity from handler, the MainActivity is in foreground(in stack).
Assuming that you have launched the MainActivity and your TCP operations are done in background.
If your background TCP operations are done from a service,then when the MainActivity is started you can bind to the service and share the activity context to the service.
So now with the MainActivity context you can send Message to the handler.
Here is a sample I created..
CustomService.java
public class CustomService extends Service {
private final IBinder mIBinder = new LocalBinder();
// temporary handler
private Handler mHandler = new Handler();
// context to hold MainActivity handler
private Context mActivityContext = null;
#Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flag, int startId) {
// for testing Iam sending an empty message to the handler after 10 seconds
mHandler.postDelayed(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
if (mActivityContext != null) {
((MainActivity) mActivityContext).TCP_handler.sendEmptyMessage(2);
}
}
}, 10000);
return START_STICKY;
}
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
return mIBinder;
}
public void setActivityContext(Activity activityContext) {
mActivityContext = activityContext;
}
public class LocalBinder extends Binder {
public CustomService getInstance() {
return CustomService.this;
}
}
}
Now , you can start the service from activity and bind a service connection.
MainActivity.java
public class MainActivity extends ActionBarActivity {
CustomService customService = null;
TextView textViewLineOne;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// start the service, even if already running no problem.
startService(new Intent(this, CustomService.class));
// bind to the service.
bindService(new Intent(this,
CustomService.class), mConnection, Context.BIND_AUTO_CREATE);
}
private ServiceConnection mConnection = new ServiceConnection() {
#Override
public void onServiceConnected(ComponentName componentName, IBinder iBinder) {
customService = ((CustomService.LocalBinder) iBinder).getInstance();
// pass the activity context to the service
customService.setActivityContext(MainActivity.this);
}
#Override
public void onServiceDisconnected(ComponentName componentName) {
customService = null;
}
};
#Override
protected void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
if (customService != null) {
// Detach the service connection.
unbindService(mConnection);
}
}
// Add your handler code stuff here..
}
Handler class doesn't have a startActivity() method, does it!
You can use a static context and store the value of the activity in it in onCreate() then call context.startActivity()
Intent mIntent = new Intent(context,YourActivity.class);
mIntent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
context.startActivity(mIntent);

Communication between Activity and Service

I am trying to make my own MusicPlayer for android. Where i came to a problem is running some things in background. Main activity manages GUI and up to now all the songs are playing. I wanted to separate GUI and music playing classes. I want to put music managing part in Service and leave other things as they are now.
My problem is that i can't organize communication between Activity and Service as lot of communication is happening between them including moving objects in both directions. I tried many techniques that I searched here on Stack Overflow but every time I had problems. I need Service to be able to send objects to Activity and vice versa. When I add widget i also want it to be able to communicate with Service.
Any tips are appreciated, if you need source code place comment bellow but now in this transition it became chaotic.
Is there any more advanced tutorial on this than calling one method that returns random number from service? :P
EDIT: Possible solution is to use RoboGuice library and move objects with injection
I have implemented communication between Activity and Service using Bind and Callbacks interface.
For sending data to the service I used Binder which retruns the Service instace to the Activity, and then the Activity can access public methods in the Service.
To send data back to the Activity from the Service, I used Callbacks interface like you are using when you want to communicate between Fragment and Activity.
Here is some code samples for each:
The following example shows Activity and Service bidirectional relationship:
The Activity has 2 buttons:
The first button will start and stop the service.
The second button will start a timer which runs in the service.
The service will update the Activity through callback with the timer progress.
My Activity:
//Activity implements the Callbacks interface which defined in the Service
public class MainActivity extends ActionBarActivity implements MyService.Callbacks{
ToggleButton toggleButton;
ToggleButton tbStartTask;
TextView tvServiceState;
TextView tvServiceOutput;
Intent serviceIntent;
MyService myService;
int seconds;
int minutes;
int hours;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
serviceIntent = new Intent(MainActivity.this, MyService.class);
setViewsWidgets();
}
private void setViewsWidgets() {
toggleButton = (ToggleButton)findViewById(R.id.toggleButton);
toggleButton.setOnClickListener(btListener);
tbStartTask = (ToggleButton)findViewById(R.id.tbStartServiceTask);
tbStartTask.setOnClickListener(btListener);
tvServiceState = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.tvServiceState);
tvServiceOutput = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.tvServiceOutput);
}
private ServiceConnection mConnection = new ServiceConnection() {
#Override
public void onServiceConnected(ComponentName className,
IBinder service) {
Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "onServiceConnected called", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
// We've binded to LocalService, cast the IBinder and get LocalService instance
MyService.LocalBinder binder = (MyService.LocalBinder) service;
myService = binder.getServiceInstance(); //Get instance of your service!
myService.registerClient(MainActivity.this); //Activity register in the service as client for callabcks!
tvServiceState.setText("Connected to service...");
tbStartTask.setEnabled(true);
}
#Override
public void onServiceDisconnected(ComponentName arg0) {
Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "onServiceDisconnected called", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
tvServiceState.setText("Service disconnected");
tbStartTask.setEnabled(false);
}
};
View.OnClickListener btListener = new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
if(v == toggleButton){
if(toggleButton.isChecked()){
startService(serviceIntent); //Starting the service
bindService(serviceIntent, mConnection, Context.BIND_AUTO_CREATE); //Binding to the service!
Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Button checked", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}else{
unbindService(mConnection);
stopService(serviceIntent);
Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Button unchecked", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
tvServiceState.setText("Service disconnected");
tbStartTask.setEnabled(false);
}
}
if(v == tbStartTask){
if(tbStartTask.isChecked()){
myService.startCounter();
}else{
myService.stopCounter();
}
}
}
};
#Override
public void updateClient(long millis) {
seconds = (int) (millis / 1000) % 60 ;
minutes = (int) ((millis / (1000*60)) % 60);
hours = (int) ((millis / (1000*60*60)) % 24);
tvServiceOutput.setText((hours>0 ? String.format("%d:", hours) : "") + ((this.minutes<10 && this.hours > 0)? "0" + String.format("%d:", minutes) : String.format("%d:", minutes)) + (this.seconds<10 ? "0" + this.seconds: this.seconds));
}
}
And here is the service:
public class MyService extends Service {
NotificationManager notificationManager;
NotificationCompat.Builder mBuilder;
Callbacks activity;
private long startTime = 0;
private long millis = 0;
private final IBinder mBinder = new LocalBinder();
Handler handler = new Handler();
Runnable serviceRunnable = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
millis = System.currentTimeMillis() - startTime;
activity.updateClient(millis); //Update Activity (client) by the implementd callback
handler.postDelayed(this, 1000);
}
};
#Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
//Do what you need in onStartCommand when service has been started
return START_NOT_STICKY;
}
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
return mBinder;
}
//returns the instance of the service
public class LocalBinder extends Binder{
public MyService getServiceInstance(){
return MyService.this;
}
}
//Here Activity register to the service as Callbacks client
public void registerClient(Activity activity){
this.activity = (Callbacks)activity;
}
public void startCounter(){
startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
handler.postDelayed(serviceRunnable, 0);
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Counter started", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
public void stopCounter(){
handler.removeCallbacks(serviceRunnable);
}
//callbacks interface for communication with service clients!
public interface Callbacks{
public void updateClient(long data);
}
}
Update: July 10 2016
IMO I think using BroadcastReceiver for custom events is better way
as the Messengers mentioned don't handle activity recreation on device
rotation as well as possible memory leaks.
You may create custom BroadCast Receiver for events in the activity, Then you may also use Messengers.
In your Activity
create a MessageHandler class as
public static class MessageHandler extends Handler {
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message message) {
int state = message.arg1;
switch (state) {
case HIDE:
progressBar.setVisibility(View.GONE);
break;
case SHOW:
progressBar.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
break;
}
}
}
Now you can have it's instance as
public static Handler messageHandler = new MessageHandler();
Start your Service with this Handler object as an extra data as
Intent startService = new Intent(context, SERVICE.class)
startService.putExtra("MESSENGER", new Messenger(messageHandler));
context.startService(startService);
In your Service you receive this object from the intent and initialize the Messenger variable in Service as
private Messenger messageHandler;
Bundle extras = intent.getExtras();
messageHandler = (Messenger) extras.get("MESSENGER");
sendMessage(ProgressBarState.SHOW);
And then write a method sendMessage to send messages to activity.
public void sendMessage(ProgressBarState state) {
Message message = Message.obtain();
switch (state) {
case SHOW :
message.arg1 = Home.SHOW;
break;
case HIDE :
message.arg1 = Home.HIDE;
break;
}
try {
messageHandler.send(message);
} catch (RemoteException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
The sample code above shows and hides a ProgressBar in Activity as messages are received from Service.
Intents are good solution for communication between Activitiy and Service.
A fast solution for receive intents in your service is subclassing IntentService class. It handles asynchronous requests expressed as Intents using a queue and worker thread.
For communication from service to Activity you can broadcast the intent but instead of using normal sendBroadcast() from Context, a more efficent way is to use LocalBroadcastManager from support library.
Example service.
public class MyIntentService extends IntentService {
private static final String ACTION_FOO = "com.myapp.action.FOO";
private static final String EXTRA_PARAM_A = "com.myapp.extra.PARAM_A";
public static final String BROADCAST_ACTION_BAZ = "com.myapp.broadcast_action.FOO";
public static final String EXTRA_PARAM_B = "com.myapp.extra.PARAM_B";
// called by activity to communicate to service
public static void startActionFoo(Context context, String param1) {
Intent intent = new Intent(context, MyIntentService.class);
intent.setAction(ACTION_FOO);
intent.putExtra(EXTRA_PARAM1, param1);
context.startService(intent);
}
public MyIntentService() {
super("MyIntentService");
}
#Override
protected void onHandleIntent(Intent intent) {
if (intent != null) {
final String action = intent.getAction();
if (ACTION_FOO.equals(action)) {
final String param1 = intent.getStringExtra(EXTRA_PARAM_A);
// do something
}
}
}
// called to send data to Activity
public static void broadcastActionBaz(String param) {
Intent intent = new Intent(BROADCAST_ACTION_BAZ);
intent.putExtra(EXTRA_PARAM_B, param);
LocalBroadcastManager bm = LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this);
bm.sendBroadcast(intent);
}
}
Example Activity
public class MainActivity extends ActionBarActivity {
// handler for received data from service
private final BroadcastReceiver mBroadcastReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
if (intent.getAction().equals(MyIntentService.BROADCAST_ACTION_BAZ)) {
final String param = intent.getStringExtra(EXTRA_PARAM_B);
// do something
}
}
};
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter();
filter.addAction(MyIntentService.BROADCAST_ACTION_BAZ);
LocalBroadcastManager bm = LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this);
bm.registerReceiver(mBroadcastReceiver, filter);
}
#Override
protected void onDestroy() {
LocalBroadcastManager bm = LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this);
bm.unregisterReceiver(mBroadcastReceiver);
super.onDestroy();
}
// send data to MyService
protected void communicateToService(String parameter) {
MyIntentService.startActionFoo(this, parameter);
}
}
I think there is a problem with the correct answer. I have not enough reputation to comment on it.
Right in the answer:
Activity call bindService() to get pointer to Service is ok. Because service context is maintained when connection is maintained.
wrong in the answer:
service pointer to Activity class to call back is bad way. Activity instance maybe not null during Activity context is being Release => exception here.
solution for the wrong in the answer:
service send intent to Activity. and Activity receiver intent via BroadcastReceiver.
Note:
in this case, Service and Activity in the same Process, you should use LocalBroadcastManager to send intent. It make performance and security better
This is a simple example of communication between activity and service
Activity
MyReceiver myReceiver; //my global var receiver
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.layourAwesomexD);
registerReceiver();
}
//When the activity resume, the receiver is going to register...
#Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
checkStatusService(); // verficarStatusServicio(); <- name change
registerReceiver();
}
//when the activity stop, the receiver is going to unregister...
#Override
protected void onStop() {
unregisterReceiver(myReceiver); //unregister my receiver...
super.onStop();
}
//function to register receiver :3
private void registerReceiver(){
//Register BroadcastReceiver
//to receive event from our service
myReceiver = new MyReceiver();
IntentFilter intentFilter = new IntentFilter();
intentFilter.addAction(MyService.SENDMESAGGE);
registerReceiver(myReceiver, intentFilter);
}
// class of receiver, the magic is here...
private class MyReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context arg0, Intent arg1) {
//verify if the extra var exist
System.out.println(arg1.hasExtra("message")); // true or false
//another example...
System.out.println(arg1.getExtras().containsKey("message")); // true or false
//if var exist only print or do some stuff
if (arg1.hasExtra("message")) {
//do what you want to
System.out.println(arg1.getStringExtra("message"));
}
}
}
public void checkStatusService(){
if(MyService.serviceStatus!=null){
if(MyService.serviceStatus == true){
//do something
//textview.text("Service is running");
}else{
//do something
//textview.text("Service is not running");
}
}
}
Service
public class MyService extends Service {
final static String SENDMESAGGE = "passMessage";
public static Boolean serviceStatus = false;
#Override
public void onCreate() {
super.onCreate();
serviceStatus=true;
}
#Nullable
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {return null;}
#Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
//you service etc...
passMessageToActivity("hello my friend this an example of send a string...");
return START_STICKY;
}
#Override
public void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
passMessageToActivity("The service is finished, This is going to be more cooler than the heart of your ex...");
System.out.println("onDestroy");
serviceStatus=false;
}
private void passMessageToActivity(String message){
Intent intent = new Intent();
intent.setAction(SENDMESAGGE);
intent.putExtra("message",message);
sendBroadcast(intent);
}
}
if we don't unregister BroadcastReceiver we will have an error, you need to unregister when the activity go onPause, onStop, onDestroy...
if you don't register BroadcastReceiver when you back to activity, it will not listen anything from the service... the service will send information to BroadcastReceiver but it will not receive anything because it isn't registered.
When you create more than one service, the following services are going to begin in onStartCommand.
You can pass information to service with intent and you get it in onStartCommand
Difference about return in onStartCommand: Difference between START_STICKY and START_REDELIVER_INTENT? and check the official website of google: Services
The best way in this case is to communicate by doing broadcasting from your service for different actions and receiving it in your activity. You can create a custom broadcast and send some codes defining specific events like complete, change, prepare etc...
Most easy and efficient way will be using EventBus from GreenRobot.
Use simple 3 steps:
1 Define events
public static class MessageEvent { /* Additional fields if needed */ }
2 Prepare subscribers: Declare and annotate your subscribing method, optionally specify a thread mode:
#Subscribe(threadMode = ThreadMode.MAIN)
public void onMessageEvent(MessageEvent event) {/* Do something */};
Register and unregister your subscriber. For example on Android, activities and fragments should usually register according to their life cycle:
#Override
public void onStart() {
super.onStart();
EventBus.getDefault().register(this);
}
#Override
public void onStop() {
super.onStop();
EventBus.getDefault().unregister(this);
}
3 Post events:
EventBus.getDefault().post(new MessageEvent());
Very easy yet powerful way is to use EventBus you can add it to your gradle build and enjoy the easy publisher/subscriber pattern .

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