Develop Reference

Using Otto to refresh a listadapter from a GcmListenerService

I'm using Otto to refresh a buddies list when a buddy debuddies me. I'm having issues updating the UI from a non-main thread, so I looked into it and 'solved' the issue using this post. The code they use is this:
public class BusProvider extends Bus{
public static final String LOG_TAG = BusProvider.class.getSimpleName();
private final Handler mainThread = new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper());
private static Bus mInstance;
public static synchronized Bus getInstance() {
if (mInstance == null) {
mInstance = new Bus();
}
return mInstance;
}
#Override
public void post(final Object event) {
if (Looper.myLooper() == Looper.getMainLooper()) {
Log.d(LOG_TAG, "Posting event using super!");
super.post(event);
} else {
mainThread.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
Log.d(LOG_TAG, "Posting event using AndroidBus!");
BusProvider.super.post(event);
}
});
}
}
}
I make the post like this:
final Bus bus = BusProvider.getInstance();
Log.d(LOG_TAG, "Attempting to post from LBGcmListenerService!");
bus.post(new BuddiesEvent());
Essentially making a singleton Bus and posting through that, ensuring that it is on the main thread. However, I cannot get that code to work. I instead instantiated the Handler in the class I post from, as such:
final Bus bus = BusProvider.getInstance();
Handler handler = new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper());
handler.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
bus.post(new BuddiesEvent());
}
);
This works great. But I don't want to have to make a Handler object before every post. I don't know if this is a Java issue or an Android issue, but I would appreciate if somebody could help me figure out how to make the singleton class handle this issue. Thanks!
Fixed: Putting the correct code here:
public class BusProvider extends Bus{
public static final String LOG_TAG = BusProvider.class.getSimpleName();
private final Handler mainThread = new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper());
private static BusProvider mInstance;
public static synchronized BusProvider getInstance() {
if (mInstance == null) {
mInstance = new BusProvider();
}
return mInstance;
}
#Override
public void post(final Object event) {
if (Looper.myLooper() == Looper.getMainLooper()) {
Log.d(LOG_TAG, "Posting event using super!");
super.post(event);
} else {
mainThread.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
Log.d(LOG_TAG, "Posting event using AndroidBus!");
BusProvider.super.post(event);
}
});
}
}
}

Yes, I figured it out. The answer here was nothing mysterious. In my singleton class, I was creating a Bus object and handing that over as the instance. I wasn't making a BusProvider. Therefore, when I called post, it wasn't calling the BusProvider overridden method but the Bus method, which wasn't "thread safe" in my case. After I changed the code to reflect this recognition, it worked great!

Event Bus Fragment Unregister

I've a splashscreen Fragment that is registered to event bus:
#Override
public void onStart() {
super.onStart();
EventBus.getDefault().register(this);
}
#Override
public void onStop() {
EventBus.getDefault().unregister(this);
super.onStop();
}
If the screen goes autolock (or any other event that could call onStop), the container activity goes onStop and the fragment is no more capable to receive the (network) event. I'm thinking about moving "unregister" logic to onDestroy method. Is it a good idea?

You can move the event bus events to onStart() and onStop(), BUT you should know that certain methods cannot be called after onSaveInstanceState() (for example, dismissing a DialogFragment crashes you out).
So while this example was for Otto, I switched it to EventBus, and I personally have a wrapper that stores events while the application is paused.
public enum SingletonBus {
INSTANCE;
private static String TAG = SingletonBus.class.getSimpleName();
private final Vector<Object> eventQueueBuffer = new Vector<>();
private boolean paused;
public <T> void post(final T event) {
if (paused) {
eventQueueBuffer.add(event);
} else {
EventBus.getDefault().post(event);
}
}
public <T> void register(T subscriber) {
EventBus.getDefault().register(subscriber);
}
public <T> void unregister(T subscriber) {
EventBus.getDefault().unregister(subscriber);
}
public boolean isPaused() {
return paused;
}
public void setPaused(boolean paused) {
this.paused = paused;
if (!paused) {
Iterator<Object> eventIterator = eventQueueBuffer.iterator();
while (eventIterator.hasNext()) {
Object event = eventIterator.next();
post(event);
eventIterator.remove();
}
}
}
}
Then in a BaseActivity of sorts,
public class BaseActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
#Override
public void onPostResume() {
super.onPostResume();
SingletonBus.INSTANCE.setPaused(false);
}
#Override
public void onPause() {
SingletonBus.INSTANCE.setPaused(true);
super.onPause();
}
}

I recently had a similar issue.
First I used Otto and then switched to greenrobot's EventBus.
With EventBus you can register your objects sticky. EventBus.getDefault().registerSticky(this)
That is, this object will automatically receive every sticky event it is waiting for after registration. These events then have to be posted sticky. (EventBus.getDefault().postSticky(event))
Consider to remove the sticky events if you don't need them anymore
(EventBus.getDefault().removeSticky(Event.class)).
So if you want to receive this event only once you should remove it.
Maybe this approach might fit your needs.

Service - Fragment communication

An Activity contains a Fragment which in turn contains a child Fragment, which requests a Service. The app tries to implement dobjanschi rest architecture.
When the Service is done working it has to propagate operation result. I tried using a PendingIntent but it seems to only be caught by the activity, while I need the child fragment to get notified. Could you suggest anything? Binder? greenRobot Eventbus? RxJava (which I already have in the project)?
Thanks.

RxJava
A simple way con be to use a Singleton to wrap a synchronized ´PublishSubject´
* Singleton
*
* to send an event use EventBusRx.getInstance().topic1.onNext("completed");
*/
public class EventBusRx {
private static EventBusRx ourInstance = new EventBusRx();
public static EventBusRx getInstance() {
return ourInstance;
}
private EventBusRx() {}
/**
* Use of multiple topics can be usefull
* SerializedSubject avoid concurrency issues
*/
public final Subject<String, String> topic1 = new SerializedSubject<>(PublishSubject.create());
public final Subject<Integer, Integer> topic2 = new SerializedSubject<>(PublishSubject.create());
}
And You can send events from service
EventBusRx.getInstance().topic1.onNext("completed");
and respond to event in fragments or whenever you want
public class MyFragment extends Fragment {
// [...]
Subscription subscription_topic1;
#Override
public void onResume() {
super.onResume();
subscription_topic1 = EventBusRx.getInstance().topic2
.subscribeOn(AndroidSchedulers.mainThread()) // or on other sheduler
.subscribe(new Action1<Integer>() {
#Override
public void call(Integer integer) {
// update ui
}
});
}
#Override
public void onPause() {
// important to avoid memory leaks
subscription_topic1.unsubscribe();
super.onPause();
}
}
do not forget to unsubcribe the Subscription
The idea is similar to Roger'one use a singleton but enforce ThreadSafety wrapping PublishSubject.
there is no need for Observable.switchOnNext(subject)
EventBus Libraries
greenRobot Eventbus and Otto are nice and has the same functionality, but the disadvantage is that they make the connection more smoky (expecialy EventBus) . If you already use rx i think is better to stay with it
Here is an insipring article about the topic
Implementing an Event Bus With RxJava
LocalBroadcast
The classic way to do this is to use LocalBroadcastManager but in my aopinion they are a pain

I would suggest using an Event Bus for this sort of thing. It will allow you to send messages to components within your system, without requiring creating special handlers.
Otto is a popular open source library for this, and there are others. http://square.github.io/otto/

Try this way hope it help you.
For Example:
YourService
public class MyService extends Service{
public static MyServiceListener getMyServiceListener() {
return MyService.myServiceListener;
}
public static void setMyServiceListener(MyServiceListener myServiceListener) {
MyService.myServiceListener = myServiceListener;
}
private static MyServiceListener myServiceListener;
public interface MyServiceListener{
void onResult(String response);
}
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
return null;
}
#Override
public void onCreate() {
super.onCreate();
}
#Override
public void onStart(Intent intent, int startId) {
super.onStart(intent, startId);
executeYourTask();
}
private void executeYourTask(){
String result = "SomeResultMaybeFromServer";
if(getMyServiceListener()!=null){
getMyServiceListener().onResult(result);
}
}
}
YourFragment
public class MyFragment extends Fragment {
#Override
public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container, Bundle savedInstanceState) {
View v = null; // some view
// Start service
MyService.setMyServiceListener(new MyService.MyServiceListener() {
#Override
public void onResult(String response) {
getActivity().runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// To handle memory/window leaks
}
});
}
});
return v;
}
}

I'm currently developing a Bus based solely on RxJava. Since you already have RxJava on your project, you can use it for this. You should use a BehaviorSubject and Observable.switchOnNext().
For example:
private BehaviorSubject<Observable<Whatever>> subject = BehaviorSubject.create();
public void post(){
subject.onNext(...);
}
public Observable<Whatever> subscribe(){
return Observable.switchOnNext(subject);
}
You should have this as part of a Singleton so the same BehaviorSubject is used. All you have to do is post() from one fragment and subscribe() on the other one or in any other interested fragment or activity. You can have as many subscriptions as you want, plus if you implement it correctly then the last emitted Observable will survive orientation changes.
More info on BehaviorSubject can be found here: https://github.com/ReactiveX/RxJava/wiki/Subject

I'm currently using this Pub/Sub pattern with rxjava and enum class.
public enum Events {
public static PublishSubject <Object> myEvent = PublishSubject.create ();
}
//where you want to publish something
Events.myEvent.onNext(myObject);
//where you want to receive an event
Events.myEvent.subscribe (...);

I would use event bus, which is based on rx.
Make this as a sigletone and subscribe on particular class type.
public class RxBus {
private static final RxBus sBus = new RxBus();
private final Subject<Object, Object> mBus = new SerializedSubject<>(PublishSubject.create());
private RxBus() {
}
public static RxBus getInstance() {
return sBus;
}
public void send(Object o) {
mBus.onNext(o);
}
public Observable<Object> observe() {
return mBus;
}
#SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
public <T> Observable<T> observe(Class<T> c) {
return mBus.filter(o -> c.isAssignableFrom(o.getClass())).map(o -> (T) o);
}
}
usage:
class Message { public String result};
send a message:
Message m = new Message();
m.result = "Hello world";
RxBus.getInstance().send(m);
subscribe on a particular class type:
RxBus.getInstance().observe(Message.class).subscribe(msg -> Log.e(TAG, "Message was caught : " + msg));

Thread Synchronization with IntentService

I'm trying to create an app that makes HTTP requests through an intentservice. I need the app to wait for the service to finish its run (aka, have the request be returned with some data) before it continues its operations, as its operations involve manipulation of the data I hope to receive from the HTTP requests. I've tried numerous means of doing so - Semaphore, CountDownLatch, but it seems that for all of them, I need some method of passing in the waiting/counting object into the intentservice so that it can tell the main thread where that object is waiting that it is done processing. How do I go about doing that? Basically, I want a synchronous, blocking call to an http server to work conveniently with an Intent Service, since an intent service makes multi threading easy.
Again to reiterate just to make sure i'm not misusing terminology: What I mean by Synchronous and blocking/what I want: I make a call to the http server by sending an intent to my intentservice that makes the request. My UI thread, or thread from which this intent was sent, now waits until the request has been processed and a result has been returned before continuing to run.
If you think that I am going about this process (making http calls in a blocking, synchronous way) all wrong, what is another way you might choose to go about it? Thanks!

I am sorry, but I think your architecture is not right or I may understand it wrong. IntentService is built to do thing serial way on separate thread. Now you say you want it to be synchronous and blocking. You cannot block UI thread!
In order to create notification system from your IntentService to Activity/Fragment/etc. you have few choices: singleton, broadcast message (receiver, resultReceiver), others?
Based on assumption that service and other parts of the application are working in same process. Best option would be to create manager to do this job. Something like this can be built to start service as well as listen for completion event:
public class MyNetworkManager {
static MyNetworkManager sInstance;
Context mContext;
LinkedList<OnCompletionListener> mListeners;
private MyNetworkManager(Context context) {
mContext = context;
mListeners = new LinkedList<>();
}
public static MyNetworkManager getInstance(Context context) {
if (sInstance == null) {
synchronized (MyNetworkManager.class) {
if (sInstance == null) {
sInstance = new MyNetworkManager(context.getApplicationContext());
}
}
}
return sInstance;
}
// add listener to listen for completion event
public void addListener(OnCompletionListener listener) {
synchronized (mListeners) {
mListeners.add(listener);
}
}
// remove listener to stop listening for completion event
public void removeListener(OnCompletionListener listener) {
synchronized (mListeners) {
mListeners.remove(listener);
}
}
// call from UI to start service operation
public void startNetworkOperation() {
Intent service = new Intent();
mContext.startService(service);
}
// call from service to notify UI (still on different thread, can use Handler to make call on main thread)
public void notifyCompletion() {
synchronized (mListeners) {
for (OnCompletionListener listener : mListeners) {
listener.onCompleted(this);
}
}
}
public static interface OnCompletionListener {
void onCompleted(MyNetworkManager manager);
}
}

Use this pattern
public interface SynchronizationListener {
//void onStart(int id); not requered
//void onProgress(int id, long updateTime); not requered
void onFinish(Object data); // replace Object with your data type
}
In your service add end call this
private void startSynchronization() {
SynchronizationManager.getInstance().startSynchronizing();
}
Your Singleton Manager
public class SynchronizationManager {
private static SynchronizationManager instance;
private Object synRoot = new Object();
private boolean synchronizing = false;
private List<SynchronizationListener> synchronizationListeners;
public SynchronizationManager() {
synchronizationListeners = new ArrayList<SynchronizationListener>();
}
static {
instance = new SynchronizationManager();
}
public static SynchronizationManager getInstance() {
return instance;
}
public boolean isSynchronizing() {
synchronized (synRoot) {
return synchronizing;
}
}
public void startSynchronizing() {
synchronized (synRoot) {
if (synchronizing) {
return;
}
synchronizing = true;
}
Object data; // <-- replace Object with your data type
if (ConnectivityReceiver.hasGoodEnoughNetworkConnection()) { // check connection
data = sync();
}
synchronized (synRoot) {
synchronizing = false;
}
onSynchronizationFinish(data); // use listener for send data tu Observer Activity
}
public void stopSynchronizing() {
synchronized (synRoot) {
synchronizing = false;
}
}
public synchronized void registerSynchronizationListener(
SynchronizationListener listener) {
if (!synchronizationListeners.contains(listener)) {
synchronizationListeners.add(listener);
}
}
public synchronized void unregisterSynchronizationListener(
SynchronizationListener listener) {
if (synchronizationListeners.contains(listener)) {
synchronizationListeners.remove(listener);
}
}
public void onSynchronizationStart(int id) {
for (SynchronizationListener listener : synchronizationListeners) {
listener.onStart(id);
}
}
protected void onSynchronizationProgress(int id, long updateTime) {
for (SynchronizationListener listener : synchronizationListeners) {
listener.onProgress(id, updateTime);
}
}
protected void onSynchronizationFinish(Object data) {
for (SynchronizationListener listener : synchronizationListeners) {
listener.onFinish(data);
}
}
protected int sync) {
// code for load your data your HttpRequest
}
}
In your activity
private SynchronizationListener synchronizationListener = new SynchronizationListener() {
/*public void onStart(int id) {
}
public void onProgress(int id, long updateTime) {
}*/
public void onFinish(Object data) {
//elaborate data
}
};
#Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
SynchronizationManager.getInstance().registerSynchronizationListener(
synchronizationListener);
}
#Override
protected void onPause() {
super.onPause();
SynchronizationManager.getInstance().unregisterSynchronizationListener(
synchronizationListener);
}
See this code for example UnivrApp

A ContentProvider would be a better choice than an IntentService in my thinking. You can trigger each network call with a query and then return a MatrixCursor with details about the results of your background work. Android already has lots of good plumbing around running queries in background tasks and waiting for the results before triggering ui updates.
in ContentProvider query() method :
MatrixCursor cursor = new MatrixCursor(new String[]{"_id","uri", "status", "last_modified", "result"});
String lastModified=null;
int id =1;
// do your work here
// ..
// report your work here
cursor.addRow(new Object[]{id++, uri.toString(), HttpStatus.SC_OK, lastModified, "" });
// set uri for data observers to register
cursor.setNotificationUri(getContext().getContentResolver(), uri);
return cursor;

What you try to do is just communication between IntentService and Activity/Fragment.
You can try send broadcast at the end of onHandleIntent and catch it in registered receiver or use ResultReceiver - read more how to implement here.
Edit:
Try this:
Handle all background operations at once in onHandleIntent
On every step send new data using ResultReceiver
// operation 1
Bundle b1 = new Bundle();
b1.putParcelable("data", data1);
resultReceiver.send(0, b1);
// operation 2
Bundle b2 = new Bundle();
b2.putParcelable("data", data2);
resultReceiver.send(1, b2);
Handle it in ResultReceiver
public void onReceiveResult(int resultCode, Bundle resultData) {
if (resultCode == 0) { // handle step 1 }
else if (resultCode == 1) { // handle step 2 }
}

How to determine if a given request is running?

I'm looking at retrofit for my networking layer. Is there any way to tell if a particular async request is running at any given moment?
For example, I'd like to know if a request is running so that I can update the user interface at various times. I could do this myself by keeping variables around to track state, but wondering if there's something already in the library for this.

Here is what I would normally do when needing a way to keep track of running requests:
First, using retrofit, as soon as you make the request, you can do the following:
Use EventBus library to post an event to your activity or fragment. Now, this can be done inside onSuccess() method of your Callback or onError() method of the same.
In your activity or fragment's onEvent(EventClassName event) method, you can simply check a variable like [isRunning] from your event to make sure that if the event is still running, you update the UI accordingly and if not, do what you need to do respectively.
When the request is completed, obviously isRunning will be false and you can then update the UI as expected by the user.
I am recommending EventBus here simply because it is much easier to decouple your application code with it; you can send different events that notify the activity of the different statuses of your requests and then update your UI that way.
You can find EventBus here
I hope this helps!

What I personally ended up doing in this case was that I was running the example with Retrofit, Android Priority Jobqueue (from yigit's fork) and Otto eventbus.
public enum SingletonBus {
INSTANCE;
private Bus bus;
private Handler handler = new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper());
private SingletonBus() {
this.bus = new Bus(ThreadEnforcer.ANY);
}
public <T> void postToSameThread(final T event) {
bus.post(event);
}
public <T> void postToMainThread(final T event) {
handler.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
bus.post(event);
}
});
}
public <T> void register(T subscriber) {
bus.register(subscriber);
}
public <T> void unregister(T subscriber) {
bus.unregister(subscriber);
}
}
public interface Interactor {
void injectWith(PresenterComponent presenterComponent);
}
public interface SendCertificateRequestInteractor
extends Interactor {
interface Listener {
void onSuccessfulEvent(SuccessfulEvent e);
void onFailureEvent(FailureEvent e);
}
class SuccessfulEvent
extends EventResult<CertificateBO> {
public SuccessfulEvent(CertificateBO certificateBO) {
super(certificateBO);
}
}
class FailureEvent
extends EventResult<Throwable> {
public FailureEvent(Throwable throwable) {
super(throwable);
}
}
void sendCertificateRequest(String username, String password);
}
Pay attention to the Job here:
public class SendCertificateRequestInteractorImpl
implements SendCertificateRequestInteractor {
private Presenter presenter;
private boolean isInjected = false;
#Inject
public JobManager jobManager;
public SendCertificateRequestInteractorImpl(Presenter presenter) {
this.presenter = presenter;
}
#Override
public void sendCertificateRequest(String username, String password) {
if(!isInjected) {
injectWith(presenter.getPresenterComponent());
isInjected = true;
}
InteractorJob interactorJob = new InteractorJob(presenter, username, password);
long jobId = jobManager.addJob(interactorJob); //this is where you can get your jobId for querying the status of the task if you want
}
#Override
public void injectWith(PresenterComponent presenterComponent) {
presenterComponent.inject(this);
}
public static class InteractorJob
extends Job {
private final static int PRIORITY = 1;
private final static String TAG = InteractorJob.class.getSimpleName();
private String username;
private String password;
#Inject
public MyService myService;
public InteractorJob(Presenter presenter, String username, String password) {
super(new Params(PRIORITY).requireNetwork());
presenter.getPresenterComponent().inject(this);
this.username = username;
this.password = password;
}
#Override
public void onAdded() {
// Job has been saved to disk.
// This is a good place to dispatch a UI event to indicate the job will eventually run.
// In this example, it would be good to update the UI with the newly posted tweet.
}
#Override
public void onRun()
throws Throwable {
String certificate = myService.getCertificate(username, password);
SingletonBus.INSTANCE.postToMainThread(new SuccessfulEvent(certificate));
}
#Override
protected void onCancel() {
// Job has exceeded retry attempts or shouldReRunOnThrowable() has returned false.
Log.e(TAG, "Cancelled job.");
}
#Override
protected boolean shouldReRunOnThrowable(Throwable throwable) {
// An error occurred in onRun.
// Return value determines whether this job should retry running (true) or abort (false).
Log.e(TAG, "Failed to execute job.", throwable);
SingletonBus.INSTANCE.postToMainThread(new FailureEvent(throwable));
return false;
}
}
}
And then
#Subscribe
#Override
public void onSuccessfulEvent(SendCertificateRequestInteractor.SuccessfulEvent e) {
String certificate = e.getResult();
//do things
}
#Subscribe
#Override
public void onFailureEvent(SendCertificateRequestInteractor.FailureEvent e) {
Throwable throwable = e.getResult();
//handle error
}
More about android priority jobqueue here.
This way, technically the async handling is referred to the job queue, while Retrofit itself is using the synchronous interface. It works well as long as you don't need to access the headers of the response. Although to be fair, I was also keeping track of whether the job was running with a boolean instead of the job manager and the id as well..
Also, I haven't figured out how to use dependency injection properly with persisted jobs; nor do I really know how they intended to make that work. Of course, it'd work if it was using the application scoped component rather than a supplied presenter scoped one, but that is irrelevant.
You'll probably need to customize this solution to your own scenario, and use only what you actually need.