Pass value through intent or static variable? - android

I am wondering about the best way to design / program this:
If I have a Boolean value (let's say whether the user has extra power or not) and I need to pass it from Activity A to B to C. Should I add it to an intent from each activity to another OR should I just store it in a static variable and access it every time?

Its is safer to pass it in the intent. sometimes android kills apps without warning when it needs memory and your static values will not be retained on the other hand intent extras are kept. if you want to push it a little further, use shared preference. its designed using Map data struct so speed will not be a problem.

Android Intents have a putExtra method that you can use to pass variables from one activity to another.
public class ActivityA extends Activity {
...
private void startActivityB() {
Intent intent = new Intent(this, ActivityB.class);
intent.putExtra("HAS EXTRA POWER", false);
startActivity(intent);
}
}
public class ActivityB exntends Activity {
Bundle bundle;
private void hasExtraPower() {
bundle = getIntent().getExtras();
if(!bundle.getBoolean("HAS EXTRA POWER")
// do something
else
// do something else
}
}

Passing data through Intent
If you use that only in that activity that's fine but
When u need to pass to other layer like viewmodel that will make your operation's speed slower

Related

App crashing on starting another activity with intent and .putExtra

I am trying to open another activity by intent and putExtra.
It used to run fine previously, but now it crashes.
startActivity(new Intent(ForgotPassword.this, OtpVerification.class)
.putExtra("user", user)
.putExtra("otp", verificationId));
finish();
the user here is a class object and am receiving it in another activity
user = getIntent().getParcelableExtra("user");
the app is not even going to another activty and crashes without any error message in logcat.
It only happens if i add .putExtra code
Try adding the putExtra in the following way
Intent intent = new Intent(ForgotPassword.this, OtpVerification.class);
intent.putExtra("user", user);
intent.putExtra("otp", verificationId);
startActivity(intent);
finish();
and then get the intent extras
Intent intent= getIntent();
Bundle extras = intent.getExtras();
if(extras != null)
String data = extras.getString("keyName");
Your user is an Object that you're trying to pass from one activity to another.
So you can create a custom class that implements the Serializable interface.(you must be able to use Parcelable too but i don't have experience with it )
//To pass:
intent.putExtra("User", user);
// To retrieve object in second Activity
getIntent().getSerializableExtra("User");
Point to note: each nested class in your main custom class must have implemented the Serializable interface
eg:
class MainClass implements Serializable {
public MainClass() {}
public static class ChildClass implements Serializable {
public ChildClass() {}
}
}
Ref:How to pass an object from one activity to another on Android
Thank you for your suggestions, the actual problem I found was that my user object had a variable called image (String type) and had a value of length about 1,000,000 (I was storing string encoded image using base64 in it). Once i decreased the size to thousands , it worked. I don't know why the app cannot send such large data across activities.

How to get back to an initial activity after moving through several more?

I have an activity which can be accessed via different activities.
Like you have one activity containing a listview and the second containing a gridview and both shows the same data. When you click on an item a new activity with some details is shown. I need to somehow remember which activity was the initial one (with gridview or listview) so that I can set a button to redirect here. But it's not enough to just return to previous activity (like using finish() to close the current one), because there is a way to navigate among different objects from inside the details activity (I have a gridview on that screen). So I need to remember the initial view during moving through the details activity for various number of times.
Is there a way?
EDIT: omg why so many downvotes? At least tell me why it is so stupid, I'm learning coding for Android for 2 weeks how am I supposed to know everything??
This sounds like it would best be solved by using two Fragments within the same Activity
You can use a bundle object to pass data to the new activity (B) so you could know wich activity (listView or gridView) had started it.
In activity B:
private static final String ACTIVITY_TYPE = "activity_type";
public static Intent createIntent(Context context,String activityType)
{
Intent intent = new Intent(context, ActivityB.class);
Bundle b = new Bundle();
b.putString(ACTIVITY_TYPE,activityType);
intent.putExtras(b);
return intent;
}
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
Bundle b = getIntent().getExtras();
String activityType;
if (b != null)
{
activityType = b.getString(ACTIVITY_TYPE);
}
//the calling activity didn't use the createIntent method and didn't provide the activity type
else
{
activityType = "some_default_type";
}
//save activity type to use later
//rest of your code
}
In the calling activity:
Intent intent = ActivityB.createIntent(ActivityListView.this,"activity_list_view");
startActivity(intent);

What is the right way to hold and restore the data temporarily between activities in android?

I am creating an Android app. One of the functions is to collect some data (item name, item ID and the barcode string) from the user .
Activity1 is a form. User enters the item name and item number manually. For the barcode string, user clicks on the "scan" button then Activity2 (Scanner) is started in order to scan and read the barcode. Once the barcode is read, Activity1 (the form) starts again and all data should appear on the form.
When Activity2 starts by Intent, Activity1 is killed. So, I have to get the item name and item number and store them temporarily before staring the Intent. Then when Activity1 starts again, those data will be rendered on the form again.
Now I am thinking to use Intent Extra to keep the item name and number, and pass them to Activity2 and back to Activity1. Given that Activity2 doesn't need those data, I wonder if that is the right way to do in this scenario. Is there any better way? Should I use Shared Preferences instead?
In Your first activity use put extra argument to intent like this:
// Assuming Activity2.class is second activity
Intent intent = new Intent(this, Activity2.class);
intent.putExtra("variable_name", var); // here you are passing var to second activity
startActivity(intent);
Then in second activity retrieve argument like this:
String var2 = getIntent().getStringExtra(variable_name);
You could create a singleton class and expose setter(for saving) and getter (for retrieving) methods for the model objects (here two private string variables).This class will be alive with your application:
public class MyClass{
private static MyClass instance=null;
public static getInstance(){
if(instance==null){
instance=new MyClass();
}
return instance;
}
private String itemName;
private String itemNumber;
//setter and getter methods here
}
why need to kill the Activity 1, try to call
on Activity 1
declare private int SCAN_BARCODE_REQUEST = 101;
and then
//finish(); dont use this to destroy activity 1
startActivityForResult(new intent(this,Activity2.class), SCAN_BARCODE_REQUEST);
#Override
protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
if (requestCode == SCAN_BARCODE_REQUEST) {
if (resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
String barcode = data.getStringExtra("BARCODE");
//handle your barcode string here
}
}
}
on your Activity 2,
change your start Activity1 with
Intent intent = new Intent();
intent.putExtra("BARCODE", barcodeString);
setResult(RESULT_OK, intent);
finish();
You can use SharedPreferences.
You can learn how to use them here:
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/android/android_shared_preferences.htm
https://developer.android.com/training/basics/data-storage/shared-preferences.html
SharedPreferences is a really good solution for such applications. It is very simple and easy to use and implement.

How to pass value to another tab without starting Activity?

I have 2 Tabs - Tab1 and Tab2, Tab1Activity and Tab2Activity.
I want to pass values from Tab1Actvity to Tab2Activity but dont want to start Tab2Activity.
When i try below code it gives null value:
In Tab1Activity
getParent().getIntent().putExtra("key", "value");
In Tab2Activity
String valueString=getParent().getIntent().getStringExtra("key");
System.out.println("Testing.....: "+valueString);
I really discourage you from using global variables by extending the Application class. If your application goes to the background, (e.g. due a phone call) the android system might decide to kill your application. When the call is finished your application and the activity stack will be restored, but your activity state will be lost.
I'd rather suggest you to use broadcasts to send data to another activity.
In your Tab1Activity:
Intent dataIntent = new Intent();
dataIntent.setAction("com.your.app.DATA_BROADCAST");
dataIntent.putExtra("tag", "your data");
sendBroadcast(dataIntent);
Tab2Activity:
BroadcastReceiver receiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
String yourData = intent.getStringExtra("tag");
}
};
IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter();
filter.addAction("com.your.app.DATA_BROADCAST");
registerReceiver(receiver, filter);
You definitely want to reconsider using Activities as the content of your tabs. The more standard approach is to use one Activity that uses Tabs to only show part of the layout when a particular tab is selected.
The Android documentation has an excellent worked example, check out Hello, TabWidget.
Alternative
If for some reason you do need to use Activities, you can pass information between them by either adding values to the extras bundle within the Intent your using to open each Activity, or by extending the Application class.
By extending the Application class (and implementing it as a Singleton) you get an object that will exist whenever any of your application components exist, providing a centralized place to store and transfer complex object data between application components.
Also you can use static classes or SharedPreferences for data transfer between tabs.
the correct way is setting a static field into the activity that creates the tabs
public class greformanews extends TabActivity {
public static String JorgesysTitle;
...
...
...
so in your Activity defined in tab 1
#Override
protected void onPause() {
greformanews.JorgesysTitle = "JORGESYS =)";
super.onPause();
}
in your Activity defined in tab 2
//get value defined in Activity 1 !:)
String Title = greformanews.JorgesysTitle

Android - How to retrieve data from activity

I am new to android so please excuse the newbie question. I have a game I am trying to port from an old Java applet to android. My goal is to get this functional and then post an article on a site like CodeProject (or a better one if there are ones more appropriate). The idea is to show that a person brand new to android development can create an app in a reasonable amount of time.
I am making some progress but have run into a problem. I have the main activity in which the user interacts with. I then created a menu item that in turn starts a second activity (call it child) with a modest number of checkbox's, seekbar's etc to fill in parameters. I can successfully pass the class containing all the options from main to child. But I cannot get the child to pass this data back to the main.
First here is my main code that starts the child activity:
public void addBalls()
{
Intent myIntent = new Intent(this, GameOptions.class);
Bundle b = new Bundle();
b.putSerializable("options", gameParams);
myIntent.putExtras(b);
startActivityForResult(myIntent,STATIC_OPTIONS_VALUE);
}
The data passed to the child (and hopefully back again) is:
public class GameOptionParams implements Serializable
{
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
public int speedBarPosition;
public int vgravityBarPosition;
public int mgravityBarPosition;
public int viscosityBarPosition;
public int restititionBarPosition;
public boolean trace;
public boolean collide;
public boolean mush;
public boolean wrap;
public boolean flicker;
}
And here is the expected return (again in main)
#Override
public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data)
{
super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
switch(requestCode)
{
case (STATIC_OPTIONS_VALUE) :
{
if (resultCode == Activity.RESULT_OK)
{
//retrieve intended options
Bundle b = data.getExtras();
gameParams = (GameOptionParams) b.getSerializable("options");
}
break;
}
}
}
The child activity successfully receives the gameParams data. It then interacts with the user to update the values and then I attempt to return it but it does not seem to get sent to main. Here is the child code in the onStop() override.
Maybe this code should not be in the onStop() override but I can't determine where else to place it.
#Override
public void onStop()
{
super.onStop();
//read widget values
gameParams.speedBarPosition = speedBar.GetPosition();
gameParams.vgravityBarPosition = vgravityBar.GetPosition();
gameParams.mgravityBarPosition = mgravityBar.GetPosition();
gameParams.viscosityBarPosition = viscosityBar.GetPosition();
gameParams.restititionBarPosition = restititionBar.GetPosition();
//todo save to persistent
Intent resultIntent = new Intent(this, TiltBall2ImpactActivity.class);
Bundle b = new Bundle();
b.putSerializable("options", gameParams);
resultIntent.putExtras(b);
setResult(Activity.RESULT_OK, resultIntent);
}
Back in the main onActivityResult override I always see requestCode=0, resultCode=0, data=null. I assume this is a typical newbie problem, I have been reading the sdk documentation, user forums etc and have come close to a solution but just not quite there yet. Any help would be appreciated.
Since this is sort of a setting menu for the game, I assume you are going to need these values for more than one activity. If so you extend the android.app.Application class.
In that class you can create attributes to hold your values. In any activity you can call
MyApplication myApp = (MyApplication)getApplicationContext();
where myApp is a singleton. So you will get the values you set from another activity.
You will need to add this code to your application tag in the manifest file for it to work
android:name=".MyApplication"
If you need to keep these values for next startup of the application, you need to use SharedPreferences. This is a good tutorial for that
http://saigeethamn.blogspot.com/2009/10/shared-preferences-android-developer.html
Assuming in your 'child' activity, the user has to press an 'OK' or 'Save' button then put the code to set the gameParams parameters in the button's onClick(...) handler.
Use the default constructor for instantiating the Intent, example...
Intent resultIntent = new Intent();
...then after creating the Bundle and adding gameParams to it and calling setResult(...), simply call finish() to terminate the 'child' activity. There aren't many occasions that I can think of to override onStop() and I suspect you don't want to be using it to attempt returning the Intent.

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