android activity lifecycle callbacks and states - android

Please, help me understand activity lyfecycle more deeply. http://developer.android.com/guide/components/activities.html#ImplementingLifecycleCallbacks
They say:
The foreground lifetime of an activity happens between the call to
onResume() and the call to onPause().
Does this mean, that activity becomes resumed in some moment after onResume() is called, or after onResume() completely finished it's work?
Similar question about visible state and onStart.
And if the second is right (method completely finished it's work), then super.method() or overriden by me in activity class?
#Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
// is it now "resumed" after super.onResume()?
}

"The foreground lifetime of an activity" referes to the time it is directly being shown to the user. It also implies at the moment its process has maximun priority on the Android process priority ladder. You should read this http://developer.android.com/guide/components/processes-and-threads.html
Furthermore, onResume(), onPause()... are just hooks where you should insert code that needs to be executed on that specific moment of the activity lifcycle.

The foreground lifetime of an activity happens between the call to onResume() and the call to onPause().
Does this mean, that activity becomes resumed in some moment after onResume() is called, or after onResume() completely finished it's work?
Technically speaking, the Activity is in a state of being resumed before onResume() is called but the option for you to override the onResume() method allows you to fine-tune what needs to be done before the Activity enters the 'running' state. In other words, from the point of view of the OS, the Activity is resumed, then onResume() is called and, finally, from the point of view of your own individual app, resuming the Activity is complete when onResume() is complete and the Activity is running.
Similar question about visible state and onStart. And if the second is right (method completely finished it's work), then super.method() or overriden by me in activity class?
Again, the same logic applies - the OS goes through what it needs to do to start the Activity then calls onStart() for you to customise the starting stage of your Activity. The OS considers the Activity to have started before it calls onStart() but from your app's perspective, it hasn't completely become started until any code you have in your overridden onStart() method.

Related

activity finishes itself but onDestroy() call for this activity happen so late

I found a bug in our code that we are launching the activity(let's call this as SCREEN_ACTIVITY) by
Intent intent = new Intent(SharedIntents.INTENT_SCREEN);
intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
context.startActivity(intent);
Android documentation : When using FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK, if a task is already running for the activity you are now starting, then a new activity will not be started; instead, the current task will simply be brought to the front of the screen with the state it was last in.
So everything works fine in most of the case.
That screen activity will call finish() when user click something. Also this screen activity will get launch or create by incoming event from the service.
6053 I/ScreenActivity(15395): onCreate
6682 E/ScreenActivity(15395): finish() Activity
6832 I/ScreenActivity(15395): onDestroy
7284 I/ScreenActivity(15395): onCreate
7911 E/ScreenActivity(15395): finish() Activity
8063 I/ScreenActivity(15395): onDestroy
10555 I/ScreenActivity(15395): onCreate
13413 E/ScreenActivity(15395): finish() Activity
13701 I/ScreenActivity(15395): onCreate
13799 I/ScreenActivity(15395): onDestroy
The last one is the issue. ScreenActivity is created and then call finish() itself. But the problem is that onDestroy is being called very late. Before that there is incoming event from the server and calling startActivity() trigger a new ScreenAcitivty onCreate(). The problem is that ScreenManager class keeps flags for that activity created and destroyed.
The flag is set when onCreate() callback and onDestroy() callback.
So for line 10555 and 13701 the ScreenManager set createFlag = true. for line 13799 set createFlag = false.
The event comes after line 13799 will assume that the activity is not created and events are not notified to the activity.
Hope my description for the issue is clear to you.
Is this kind of scenario onStop() and onDestroy() call so late after calling finish() is expected to happen? If yes, i have to think about the solution.
If not, then is there any places to modify?
Thanks a lot.
onDestroy() may or may not be called. You cannot rely on it being called all the time. From the docs:
Note: do not count on this method being called as a place for saving
data! For example, if an activity is editing data in a content
provider, those edits should be committed in either onPause() or
onSaveInstanceState(Bundle), not here. This method is usually
implemented to free resources like threads that are associated with an
activity, so that a destroyed activity does not leave such things
around while the rest of its application is still running. There are
situations where the system will simply kill the activity's hosting
process without calling this method (or any others) in it, so it
should not be used to do things that are intended to remain around
after the process goes away.
If you need to know that your Activity is finishing, a reliable way to know if it is finishing is the isFinishing() method. You can call it in onPause() to find out if this pause will eventually lead to this Activity being destroyed:
#Override
protected void onPause() {
super.onPause();
if (isFinishing()) {
// Here you can be sure the Activity will be destroyed eventually
}
}
use Handler,
new Handler().postDelayed(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run()
//enter code here for open an Activity
}
},300);
after that, we are getting log should be:
onCreate
onStop
onDestroy
onCreate

onStop vs onDestroy

I have tried to research exactly when the onDestroy method is called for an activity, but I've read some confusing and conflicting information. In general, my question is: under what circumstances is the onDestroy method actually called on an activity? More specifically, if I have two activities, activity A and activity B, if activity A is running and I create an intent and switch to activity B, is activity A only stopped, or is it destroyed?
Like stated in the official documentation:
onDestroy()
The final call you receive before your activity is destroyed. This can happen either because the activity is finishing (someone called finish() on it, or because the system is temporarily destroying this instance of the activity to save space. You can distinguish between these two scenarios with the isFinishing() method.
In your example the Activity A is stopped and could be destroyed by the System
Note per documentation link above:
…do not count on [onDestroy()] being called as a place for saving data … [see] either onPause() or onSaveInstanceState(Bundle).
onDestroy() is called whenever:
The user takes out the activity from the "recent apps" screen.
The user takes out the activity from the "recent apps" screen.
onStop() is called whenever:
The user leaves the current activity.
So in your example, when the user launches Activity B, Activity A called onStop().
EDIT:
The onDestroy() method is not always being called, according to the documentation. onStop() is always called beginning with Honeycomb, so move code you explicitly need to do before the activity stops to there.
Starting with Honeycomb, an application is not in the killable state until its onStop() has returned.
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity#ActivityLifecycle
Hope this helped :D

Is onStart called when the screen is already visible or becoming visible?

I looked on another thread on stack overflow (src: Difference between onCreate() and onStart()?)
That thread described the onStart() method as "Called when the activity is becoming visible to the user". However in that same answer and in many overrides of the oncreate method, i see setContentView called in onCreate. Wont that make the screen visible then? Therefore in that situation(where setContentView is called in onCreate), is onStart() called after the screen becomes visible to the user but before the user can interact with it?
The chances of onStart() can be called multiple times.
onCreate() : Called when the activity is first created.
onStart() : Called when the activity is becoming visible to the user.
Now look into the graph given to Difference between onCreate() and onStart()? post. onStart() can be called multiple times, in case if process is not killed (if activity has been called again.)
So if you set view at onStart(), you will need to initialize view into onStart() or later (i.e. onResume() ). This will be a repetitive process. Is not it a bad practice to initialize view again and again?
Hope I am clear here.
onCreate called when activity is first created.
onStart called when activity is becoming visible to the user.
and also
onResume called when activity will start interacting with the user.
onPause called when activity is not visible to the user.
onStop called when activity is no longer visible to the user.
onRestart called after your activity is stopped, prior to start.
onDestroy called before the activity is destroyed.
For difference between onCreate and onStart see this link

How to use onResume()?

Can anyone give me an example that uses onResume() in Android?
Also, if I want to restart the activity at the end of the execution of another, which method is executed—onCreate() or onResume()?
And if I want to update data, how do I put it in onResume()?
Any Activity that restarts has its onResume() method executed first.
To use this method, do this:
#Override
public void onResume(){
super.onResume();
// put your code here...
}
Restarting the app will call OnCreate().
Continuing the app when it is paused will call OnResume(). From the official docs at https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity.html#ActivityLifecycle here's a diagram of the activity lifecycle.
The best way to understand would be to have all the LifeCycle methods overridden in your activity and placing a breakpoint(if checking in emulator) or a Log in each one of them. You'll get to know which one gets called when.
Just as an spoiler, onCreate() gets called first, then if you paused the activity by either going to home screen or by launching another activity, onPause() gets called. If the OS destroys the activity in the meantime, onDestroy() gets called. If you resume the app and the app already got destroyed, onCreate() will get called, or else onResume() will get called.
Edit: I forgot about onStop(), it gets called before onDestroy().
Do the exercise I mentioned and you'll be having a better understanding.
When you open the app it will go through below states:
onCreate() –> onStart() –> onResume()
When you press the back button and exit the app
onPaused() — > onStop() –> onDestory()
When you press the home button
onPaused() –> onStop()
After pressing the home button, again when you open the app from a recent task list
onRestart() –> onStart() –> onResume()
After dismissing the dialog or back button from the dialog
onResume()
If a phone is ringing and user is using the app
onPause() –> onResume()
After the call ends
onResume()
When your phone screen is off
onPaused() –> onStop()
When your phone screen is turned back on
onRestart() –> onStart() –> onResume()
Happy Coding...#Ambilpura
Most of the previous answers do a good job explaining how, why, and when to use onResume() but I would like to add something about re-creating your Activity.
I want to know if I want to restart the activity at the end of exectuion of an other what method is executed onCreate() or onResume()
The answer is onCreate() However, when deciding to actually re-create it, you should ask yourself how much of the Activity needs to be re-created. If it is data in an adapter, say for a list, then you can call notifyDataChanged() on the adapter to repopulate the adapter and not have to redraw everything.
Also, if you just need to update certain views but not all then it may be more efficient to call invalidate() on the view(s) that need updated. This will only redraw those views and possibly allow your application to run more smoothly. I hope this can help you.
onResume() is one of the methods called throughout the activity lifecycle. onResume() is the counterpart to onPause() which is called anytime an activity is hidden from view, e.g. if you start a new activity that hides it. onResume() is called when the activity that was hidden comes back to view on the screen.
You're question asks abou what method is used to restart an activity. onCreate() is called when the activity is first created. In practice, most activities persist in the background through a series of onPause() and onResume() calls. An activity is only really "restarted" by onRestart() if it is first fully stopped by calling onStop() and then brought back to life. Thus if you are not actually stopping activities with onStop() it is most likley you will be using onResume().
Read the android doc in the above link to get a better understanding of the relationship between the different lifestyle methods. Regardless of which lifecycle method you end up using the general format is the same. You must override the standard method and include your code, i.e. what you want the activity to do at that point, in the commented section.
#Override
public void onResume(){
//will be executed onResume
}
KOTLIN
Any Activity that restarts has its onResume() method executed first.
To use this method, do this:
override fun onResume() {
super.onResume()
// your code here
}
Re-review the Android Activity Lifecycle reference. There is a nice picture, and the table showing what methods get called. reference Link google
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity.html
After an activity started, restarted (onRestart() happens before onStart()), or paused (onPause()), onResume() called. When the activity is in the state of onResume(), the activity is ready to be used by the app user.
I have studied the activity lifecycle a little bit, and here's my understanding of this topic:
If you want to restart the activity (A) at the end of the execution of another, there could be a few different cases.
The other activity (B) has been paused and/or stopped or destroyed, and the activity A possibly had been paused (onPause()), in this case, activity A will call onResume()
The activity B has been paused and/or stopped or destroyed, the activity A possibly had been stopped (onStop()) due to memory thing, in this case, activity A will call onRestart() first, onStart() second, then onResume()
The activity B has been paused and/or stopped or destroyed, the activity A has been destroyed, the programmer can call onStart() manually to start the activity first, then onResume() because when an activity is in the destroyed status the activity has not started, and this happens before the activity being completely removed. If the activity is removed, the activity needs to be created again.
Manually calling onStart() I think it's because if the activity not started and it is created, onStart() will be called after onCreate().
If you want to update data, make a data update function and put the function inside the onResume(). Or put a loadData function inside onResume()
It's better to understand the lifecycle with the help of the Activity lifecycle diagram.

Android, what happens to the previous activity on the back-stack on activity finish()?

I have an activity that starts another then if the user cancels from the second I call finish() and return to the first.
Question: Is there a method that gets called when I get returned to the first activity?
Thanks for any help
Yes, onResume() is called.
Check the :Activity Lifecycle
See the lifecycle:
Yes there is onStop() and onStart(), for more details see:
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity.html
The original application will receive whatever callbacks are on the activity life cycle flowchart that are between the application's current state and "Activity Shut Down" state. onDestroy() is the only one guaranteed to happen.
If the finished application was on the top of the stack then the Activity that replaces it on the top of the stack will receive at least onResume(). If it was completely invisible (i.e. it had received onStop(), then it will also receive onRestart() and onStart() before onResume().
If the finished Application was not on top of the stack then no other Application is notified.

Categories

Resources