What is the preferred method of loading dependant queries with the LoaderManager API in Android? As of now the best I could come up with is something along the lines of:
#Override
public void onCreate( Bundle savedInstanceState ) {
getLoaderManager().initLoader( FIRST, null, this );
}
#Override
public void onLoadFinished( Loader<Cursor> loader, Cursor data ) {
switch ( loader.getId() ) {
case FIRST:
Bundle args = new Bundle();
args.putInt( ID, somethingFromData( data ) );
getLoaderManager().restartLoader( SECOND, args, this );
break;
case SECOND:
somethingElseFromData( data );
break;
}
}
This works fine most of the time, but it crashes horribly under one special case. Say I launch a second activity or push a fragment on top of this that modifies the data of FIRST. Now when I navigate back to the activity/fragment with the code above it first refreshes me with the old data of FIRST and SECOND, and since FIRST initiates SECOND, SECOND is reloaded with the new data. Now since FIRST is changed it is loaded again, which causes yet another load of SECOND to initiate.
First of all if you count that that sums up to two loads of FIRST (one old and one new) and three loads of SECOND (two old and one new), which seams at least a bit wasteful. I don't really mind that, except it is a hassle to debug, but it also seems to me to behave non-deterministically, because you don't know which loads will finish first. Will I end up with the new data for SECOND if the relation between FIRST and SECOND changed, or will I end up with the cached values?
I know that I can mitigate this by keeping score of when to restart the second loader, but there has to be a better way of doing this.
To clarify a bit: The problem is most prominent if rows in FIRST contains a reference to rows in SECOND and after the back navigation the row(s) in FIRST loaded does not point to the same row(s) in SECOND as before.
Given that the only thing your first loader does is effectively prepare arguments for your second loader, you should subclass your own AsyncTaskLoader and do the whole operation within one loader.
This article contains a very in-depth example of a custom AsyncTaskLoader, which I'm sure you could adapt to your own needs. You also should look at the CursorLoader source code for a better grasp of how to write your own.
Related
I have an enhanced loop, which will dynamically inflate however many layouts relevant to the number of values held in my array.
This works perfectly however, there is a method being called on each iteration, which also works but there is a big bug that I need help resolving.
Imagine there are 5 items in my array, therefore 5 layouts are inflated, in these layouts there is a little scratchcard type section on the layout.
Now if the user is on page 1, uses the scratchcard, then moves on to page 2, uses the scratchcard etc etc, it works fine.
But if the user is on page 1 and then goes to say, page 5 and then back to page 1 (basically in a random order), the scratchcard doesn't work.
From my understanding, the reason for this is that the method is being called an implemented on each iteration and the view is losing its state if the user scrolls back or scrolls in random orders.
Therefore I need a way to save the created view state in my viewpager.
Is this possible for my scenario? I have tried my best to find a solution, but cannot find something that feels relevant to my question.
Here is a snippet of the code in question. Thanks for any guidance or suggestions!
for (String x : array1) {
//loop out the number of layouts relative to the number of questions held in x
View current_layout = LayoutInflater.from(getActivity()).inflate(R.layout.question_fragment, null);
//use the pageAdapter to add the layout to the users view
pagerAdapter.addView(current_layout);
//call method to add functionality to the scratchcard
isCorrect(current_layout);
}
public void isCorrect(View current_layout) {
ScratchoffController controller1 = new ScratchoffController(getActivity())
.setThresholdPercent(0.40d)
.setTouchRadiusDip(getActivity(), 30)
.setFadeOnClear(true)
.setClearOnThresholdReached(true)
.setCompletionCallback(() -> {
})
.attach(current_layout.findViewById(R.id.scratch_view1), current_layout.findViewById(R.id.scratch_view_behind1));
ScratchoffController controller2 = new ScratchoffController(getActivity())
.setThresholdPercent(0.40d)
.setTouchRadiusDip(getActivity(), 30)
.setFadeOnClear(true)
.setClearOnThresholdReached(true)
.setCompletionCallback(() -> {
})
.attach(current_layout.findViewById(R.id.scratch_view2), current_layout.findViewById(R.id.scratch_view_behind2));
ScratchoffController controller3 = new ScratchoffController(getActivity())
.setThresholdPercent(0.40d)
.setTouchRadiusDip(getActivity(), 30)
.setFadeOnClear(true)
.setClearOnThresholdReached(true)
.setCompletionCallback(() -> {
})
.attach(current_layout.findViewById(R.id.scratch_view3), current_layout.findViewById(R.id.scratch_view_behind3));
ScratchoffController controller4 = new ScratchoffController(getActivity())
.setThresholdPercent(0.40d)
.setTouchRadiusDip(getActivity(), 30)
.setFadeOnClear(true)
.setClearOnThresholdReached(true)
.setCompletionCallback(() -> {
})
.attach(current_layout.findViewById(R.id.scratch_view4), current_layout.findViewById(R.id.scratch_view_behind4));
}
I ussually use ViewPager with Fragments and what you mention has happend to me when I try to keep references to the Fragment instances (in my case) outside of the viewpager.
This happens because the viewpager may create new instances of the Fragment it contains when you re-vist the tab in the way you mention. When this happens, the instance reference you hold outside of the viewpager is not anymore what the viewpager is showing.
In your case , according to this question, you have to oveeride instatiateItem and destroyItem. I think you can use these methods to save state restore state, and also you could update any external reference when instantiateItem is called.
I'm using greenDAO in my android app to display a list of objects in a RecyclerView. I have a subclass of RecyclerView.Adapter that takes a list of objects which are greenDAO entities.
What I do in onCreate is:
Create an instance of my adapater passing null for my list. This is just to make the adapter known to the RecyclerView below.
Initialize the RecyclerView with layout and adapter.
Call a method that asynchronously queries the data using greenDAO and upon success updates the adapter with the actual list of objects so they are displayed.
This is the relevant code:
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
...
mLayoutManager = new LinearLayoutManager(this, LinearLayoutManager.VERTICAL, false);
mListAdapter = new MyRecyclerAdapter(null);
mList.setHasFixedSize(true);
mList.setLayoutManager(mLayoutManager);
mList.setAdapter(mListAdapter);
refreshItems();
}
public void refreshItems()
{
AsyncSession asyncSession = ((App)getApplication()).getDaoSession().startAsyncSession();
asyncSession.setListenerMainThread(new AsyncOperationListener()
{
#Override
public void onAsyncOperationCompleted(final AsyncOperation operation)
{
if (operation.isCompletedSucessfully())
mListAdapter.setItems((List<Item>) operation.getResult());
}
});
asyncSession.loadAll(Item.class);
}
This works pretty well. Now I noticed, that of course the method that queries the database via greenDAO is invoked every time I rotate the activity or come back to it from another activity. That's pretty clear, since I'm calling that method from onCreate.
My question is: is it best practice to do this like I'm doing it (requery DAO every time) or should I make my objects parcelable and save the list I have in onSaveInstanceState and restore it in onRestore instead of requerying DAO?
What you're doing is completely valid and you don't need to save the queried data in onSaveInstanceState(), use in-memory cache, or any other optimization (even if GreenDAO wouldn't have internal cache).
In fact, you're more than all-right because you perform the query asynchronously - GreenDAO's creators kind of claim that the queries can be executed on UI thread in most cases (which I find hard to agree with).
I would also suggest that you perform data query in onStart() instead of onCreate(). I personally think that onCreate() should be used only for operations you would otherwise perform in the constructor (e.g. fields initializations). Another reason to perform this query in onStart() is that if the user leaves your application for a long time and then gets back to it, the data might get outdated (e.g. due to background syncs by SyncAdapter) and you'll want to refresh it.
The last piece that you might want to add is "data change notifications". You will want this mechanism to be in place if the data that you query and display to the user can change without user's interaction (e.g. due to background syncs by SyncAdapter). The concept is simple - Activity registers for notifications about data change in onCreate(), and if notification received you perform re-query in order to make sure that the user sees an up-to-date data.
I can't claim that the above are "best practices", but they are good practices that work well.
Lazy list:
As #pskink suggested in his comment, you could also employ LazyList. Be aware, though, that it doesn't obviate a need for async query of data. Usage of LazyList allows you to perform the query as usual, but load the results into memory in on-demand way. This might be useful if you expect the query to produce lots of data.
In my opinion, however, one should optimize the code only if actual performance problem is being observed. So, unless you know ahead of time that a particular query produces thousands of results, I say you don't need LazyList.
I have an activity that extends ListActivity, a list of "concepts" (let's call this list "C") and an onItemClickListener defined for this list. Whenever I click a "concept", no matter which one, the app must display another list. I have the following code to change the displayed list:
if(position == 0) change_list("adapter1");
else if (position == 1) change_list("adapter2");
else if (position == 2) change_list("adapter3");
else if (position == 3) change_list("adapter4");
else if (position == 4) change_list("adapter5");
Where position is the position of the clicked element in C
The function change_list performs setListAdapter(parameter) depending on the parameter I pass.
If I click the first element of C (the first concept), a list related to the first concept must appear. However, after calling setListAdapter(adapter), the data related to this concept is displayed, and also part of the C's list data.
For example: let's suppose C has these concepts:
A B C D E
and I click "A", which would lead to display a list with the following data: {a1,a2}
That's the final result:
a1 a2 C D E
And then, when I interact with another element on screen or I scroll down the list, the "ghost" data disappears and only the correct data remains on screen, just like this:
a1 a2
To make things worse, when I want to display list C again, nothing strange happens. Everything is displayed correctly.
At any time incorrect data is stored where it doesn't have to. One function my app must allow is to generate a txt file , and the generated txt file contains exactly the data I introduced. No data is corrupted or duplicated. I also tried using notifyDataSetChanged() and other functions, but I didn't solve the problem.
EDIT :
Here goes the xml code used for the main list of the activity:
<ListView
android:id="#android:id/list"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:background="#FF0000"
android:layout_below="#+id/afegir"/>
And an example of code in which I determine which contents must be displayed on screen:
else if(comprovar_concepte_actiu() == 1){
pnt = mydbhandler.getStoredValues("despeses1");
pnt.moveToFirst();
if(pnt.moveToFirst()){
do{
adapter_mostrar.add(pnt.getString(pnt.getColumnIndex("nom")));
}while(pnt.moveToNext());
}
adapter_mostrar.notifyDataSetChanged();
}
Where comprovar_concepte_actiu() returns and integer that tells which concept has been clicked in the main list C and adapter_mostrar is the single adapter I'm using now, instead of using multiple adapters (which made me use setListAdapter)
At the beginning of the activity, I call this.setListAdapter(adapter_mostrar). That's all I have.
EDIT 2 :
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7twgy043lkxb2x5/conceptes.java?dl=0
Here is a link to my conceptes.java activity. Press CTRL+F once opened and search "this is where I call.. " and you will directly get to the function where the change of list displayed on screen starts
I haven't found a solution yet. Any idea will be totally appreciated
The problem here is that - when you set a new adapter - the old data is still drawn. In other words, there has been no command to "refresh" the listView. However, the new adapter will be commanded to draw its own views. What ultimately occurs is that the old items are still there, the new items are redrawn, but when scrolled away the new adapter won't redraw/recreate the old items.
The solution is to simply refresh the adapter. However, there are two ways to go about this:
Add a new adapter every time and use myListView.invalidateViews(); or something similar [This is probably the easiest solution to implement, although probably not the best in the long run]
Change the dataset of the adapter and use notifyDataSetChanged() [on the adapter]
The latter option is a far better idea. You should use a single adapter and simply change its data over time. Once its dataset is changed, then tell the adapter that such a thing happened so it refreshes. However, you should read more here on all the different thoughts and processes about it, rather than take my opinion on it.
Edit:
There's apparently some very nicely, thought out answers around. Here's another one, that tells you more specifically about the differences between these two:
Is there any difference between ListView.invalidateViews() and Adapter.notifyDataSetChanged()?
Edit2:
With the onClickListener in mind, invalidateViews() will most likely not work, as it'll probably still draw the old views to "finish" the click (ie, draw the highlighting).
Changing the data directly inside a single adapter and using Adapter.notifyDataSetChanged() is your best bet, as it'll know to redraw everything from a single adapter and use only the current data defined by this single adapter.
Best to leave the data specifics (and defining what to draw based off of that data) up to what actually knows the data, rather than a higher up container that knows nothing specific about the actual data.
I have an image gallery. I have to show images with uploaded or not uploaded icon. A service is running in the background to upload the images and update the database.Suppose i am in gallery screen and some not uploaded images has been uploaded and update database. So i want to update my view without press any button.
whenever database is getting updated, is there any way i can get callback ??
what is the best approach to update my view without reload all??
You will need to use CursorLoaders/CursorAdapters. You can find an example here
https://github.com/ksarmalkar/ContentProviderJoin
Two possible ways to update the UI would be:
NotifyDatasetChanged() method which can be used if you are using an adapter to display the images (I would assume you are using an adapter for your gallery). You can call this method each time an upload completes which would then tell the view to update itself.
Otherwise maybe run an AsyncTask which checks the status of the upload every so often and in the onProgressUpdate() method have a callback to your UI thread to update that the image has been uploaded.
I hope this helps.
You can use loader for this.
Loaders have these characteristics:
They are available to every Activity and Fragment.
They provide asynchronous loading of data.
They monitor the source of their data and deliver new results when the content changes.
They automatically reconnect to the last loader's cursor when being recreated after a configuration change. Thus, they don't need to re-query their data.
Find here a get started help.
So :
First you should init you loader like this:
getLoaderManager().initLoader([YOUR_LOADER_ID], null, this);
Define loading instruction in onCreateLoader() :
public Loader<Cursor> onCreateLoader(int id, Bundle args) {
// You can return other type than cursor or create your own custom cursorloader but I guess that cursor is right fro you since you want load database content.
Uri baseUri = [you media uri , suppose that you sue content provider];
return new CursorLoader(getActivity(), baseUri,
[projection], [select], [arg],
[orderby]);
}
You get onLoadFinished() callback when data finishes to be loaded :
public void onLoadFinished(Loader loader, Cursor data) {
// Swap the new cursor in. (The framework will take care of closing the
// old cursor once we return.)
mAdapter.swapCursor(data);
}
In your case, loader monitors every change in gallery database. So everytime there is a change, swap cursor is called automatically, then your view is updated according what you defined in your adapter.
I'm writing an AsyncTaskLoader for Android, and I'm wondering - should the caller (who presumably set everything up using a LoaderManager) expect me to call onLoadFinished with a full set of results each time, or can I simply return new results on every subsequent change?
Thanks!
EDIT
Put another way:
Let's say that I'm monitoring some data source, and during the first load, it returns A B C. Then, later, D and E become available. Do I return D E, or do I return A B C D E
usually i use a loader to load a cursor => cursorloader, the cursor will always contain all data that fits its conditions. It doesnt distinguish between first and second time running, as it will everytime return anything there is.
in your case a b c d e
update
as i said im using this with a cursorloader to pull data from a db and pass it to a listview, you will have to implement a cursoradapter to display the Data from the DB.
There wont be any jitter, but you might want to think of some sort of animation while binding the data to the view, since it will pop up once its fully loaded(i dont know if you meant that by jitter).