Develop Reference

Service not working properly

I'm supposed to add a timer to my service class that prints a message to LogCat every 10 seconds. Nothing in the service class is printing once I call the startService method and I have no idea why.. Any ideas?
package com.murach.reminder;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.Toast;
public class ReminderActivity extends Activity implements OnClickListener {
private Button startServiceButton;
private Button stopServiceButton;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_reminder);
startServiceButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.startServiceButton);
stopServiceButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.stopServiceButton);
startServiceButton.setOnClickListener(this);
stopServiceButton.setOnClickListener(this);
}
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
Intent serviceIntent = new Intent(this, ReminderService.class);
switch (v.getId()) {
case R.id.startServiceButton:
// put code to start service and display toast here
startService(serviceIntent);
Toast.makeText(this, "Service started", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
break;
case R.id.stopServiceButton:
// put code to stop service and display toast here
stopService(serviceIntent);
Toast.makeText(this, "Service stopped", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
break;
}
}
}
package com.murach.reminder;
import android.app.Service;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.IBinder;
import android.util.Log;
import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
public class ReminderService extends Service
{
private Timer timer;
public void onCreate()
{
Log.d("Reminder", "Service created");
startTimer();
}
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent)
{
Log.d("Reminder", "No binding for this activity");
return null;
}
public void onDestroy()
{
Log.d("Reminder", "Service destroyed");
stopTimer();
}
private void startTimer() {
TimerTask task = new TimerTask() {
public void run() {
Log.d("Reminder", "Timer task executed");
}
};
timer = new Timer(true);
int delay = 1000 * 10;
int interval = 1000 * 10;
timer.schedule(task, delay, interval);
}
private void stopTimer()
{
if (timer != null)
{
timer.cancel();
}
}
}
And here is how I register the service in the Manifest (in a service element, it wouldn't let me type it out completely)
android:name="com.murach.reminder.ReminderService"

The package names do not match. There is a spelling mistake in the word murach in your Manifest declaration.

how can show toast from service every 10 seconds

I have an android application and I want to show a notification or toast every 10 seconds for example from Service when application is closed or finished

I have provided below a sample activity, a service class and a Timer class. use similar implementation in your application.
Activity Class
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
public class Sample extends Activity {
Button button1,button2;
private Handler mHandler = new Handler();
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
// Call the start and stop method when needed.
}
public void Start(View v)
{
startService(new Intent(MainActivity.this , Sample_service.class));
}
public void Stop(View v)
{
stopService(new Intent(MainActivity.this , Sample_service.class));
}
}
Service Class
package com.example.connect;
import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
import android.app.Service;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.IBinder;
import android.widget.Toast;
public class Sample_service extends Service{
Timer timer = new Timer();
TimerTask updateProfile = new CustomTimerTask(Sample_service.this);
public void onCreate() {
super.onCreate();
Toast.makeText(this, "Service Started", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(updateProfile, 0, 10000);
}
#Override
public void onDestroy() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
super.onDestroy();
Toast.makeText(this, "Service Stopped", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
timer.cancel();
}
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
return null;
}
}
Timer class
package com.example.connect;
import java.util.TimerTask;
import android.content.Context;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.widget.Toast;
public class CustomTimerTask extends TimerTask {
private Context context;
private Handler mHandler = new Handler();
public CustomTimerTask(Context con) {
this.context = con;
}
#Override
public void run() {
new Thread(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
mHandler.post(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
Toast.makeText(context, "DISPLAY YOUR MESSAGE", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
});
}
}).start();
}
}

I have given here three files,MainActivity,Manifest and MyService file implement it in your application and it will display toast service at every 10 seconds.
MainActivity.java
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);//load the layout file
startService(new Intent(this,MyService.class));//use to start the services
}
}
MyService.java
public class MyService extends Service {
public static final long INTERVAL=10000;//variable to execute services every 10 second
private Handler mHandler=new Handler(); // run on another Thread to avoid crash
private Timer mTimer=null; // timer handling
#Nullable
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
throw new UnsupportedOperationException("unsupported Operation");
}
#Override
public void onCreate() {
// cancel if service is already existed
if(mTimer!=null)
mTimer.cancel();
else
mTimer=new Timer(); // recreate new timer
mTimer.scheduleAtFixedRate(new TimeDisplayTimerTask(),0,INTERVAL);// schedule task
}
#Override
public void onDestroy() {
Toast.makeText(this, "In Destroy", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();//display toast when method called
mTimer.cancel();//cancel the timer
}
//inner class of TimeDisplayTimerTask
private class TimeDisplayTimerTask extends TimerTask {
#Override
public void run() {
// run on another thread
mHandler.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// display toast at every 10 second
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Notify", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
});
}
}
}
AndroidManifest.xml
<service android:name=".MyService"
android:enabled="true"/>

Technically, When task is executed which you wrote in onCreate() method, It automatically close. For this you can use timer/scheduler.
Example :
Timer timer;
TimerTask timerTask;
timer.schedule(timerTask, 5000, 10000);
timerTask = new TimerTask() {
public void run() {
//use a handler to run a toast that shows the current timestamp
handler.post(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
Toast toast = Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), strDate, duration);
toast.show();
}
});
}
};

Don't forget to add your service in the manifest file inside the application Tag :
<service android:name=".ServiceGPS"
android:permission="[Add permission here if exists]"
android:label="[service name]" android:exported="true"
android:enabled="true">
</service>

Android Messenger Application using services

I want to implement a simple messenger application for Android devices,I'm working with a web service which contains all the required methods for sending and receiving(by pressing the send button a record will be inserted in the DB and by calling the receive method all the rows related to this receiver(user) are retrieved).
I've written a service in a separate class and in onStart() I check the receive method of my .Net web service,I start the service in onCreate() of my activity ,so the service is in the background and receives the incoming messages perfectly,I can show the new message by using a toast directly in my service code,but I know that for accessing the views which are in my activity I should use pendingintent and maybe a BroadcastReceiver,so I can add the new messages to the main screen of my activity(for example a textview).
Now I want to find a way to access the textview of my activity and set the text of it through my service or anything else...
please help me on this issue,
Here is my activity:
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.TextView;
public class MyOwnActivity extends Activity
{
Button btnSend;
Button btnExtra;
EditText txtMessageBody;
TextView lblMessages;
BerryService BS = new BerryService();
public void SetMessageHistory(String value)
{
txtMessageBody.setText(value);
}
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
btnSend = (Button) findViewById(R.id.btnSend);
btnExtra = (Button) findViewById(R.id.btnExtraIntent);
txtMessageBody = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.txtMessageBody);
lblMessages = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.lblMessages);
/////////
//////////
startService(new Intent(this, IncomingMessageService.class));
btnSend.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
// call webservice method to send
BS.SetSoapAction("http://tempuri.org/Send");
BS.SetMethodName("Send");
String a = BS.SendMessage(txtMessageBody.getText().toString());
lblMessages.setText(lblMessages.getText().toString() + "\n"
+ txtMessageBody.getText().toString());
txtMessageBody.setText("");
}
});
}
}
Here is my service:
import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
import android.app.ActivityManager;
import android.app.Notification;
import android.app.NotificationManager;
import android.app.PendingIntent;
import android.app.Service;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.os.IBinder;
import android.os.SystemClock;
import android.widget.Toast;
public class IncomingMessageService extends Service
{
private static final int NOTIFY_ME_ID = 12;
BerryService BS = new BerryService();
String text = "";
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Bind Failed");
}
#Override
public void onCreate() {
Toast.makeText(this, "onCreate", 5000).show();
}
#Override
public void onStart(Intent intent, int startId) {
// ////////////////////////
Toast.makeText(this, "onStart ", 1000).show();
// Timer Tick
final Handler handler = new Handler();
Timer _t = new Timer();
TimerTask tt = new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
handler.post(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "tick ", 1000)
.show();
// here the receive method should be called
BS.SetSoapAction("http://tempuri.org/RecieveMessage");
BS.SetMethodName("RecieveMessage");
String receivedMsg = BS.ReceiveMessage("sh");
//Instead of toast I want to access the textview in my activity!!!!!
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), receivedMsg, 5000).show();
}
});
}
};
_t.scheduleAtFixedRate(tt, 0, 1000);
}
// /
#Override
public void onDestroy() {
Toast.makeText(this, "onDestroy", 5000).show();
}
}

You need to understand the concept of Broadcast, in your case it is the correct solution.
Start Broadcast in its activity
public static final String ACTION = "com.yourapp.ACTION.TEXT_RECEIVED";
private BroadcastReceiver mReceiver;
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
////////
mReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
String msg = intent.getStringExtra("msg");
yourTextView.setText(msg);
}
};
IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter(ACTION);
filter.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_DEFAULT);
registerReceiver(mReceiver, filter);
////////
}
protected void onDestroy() {
// remember to unregister the receiver
super.onDestroy();
if (mReceiver != null) {
unregisterReceiver(mReceiver);
}
}
When you need to send the message of service you should use:
Intent i = new Intent();
i.setAction(MyOwnActivity.ACTION);
i.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_DEFAULT);
i.putExtra("msg", "the message received by webservice");
i.putExtras(b);
sendBroadcast(i);
Have a look here: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/BroadcastReceiver.html

Using a broadcast manager is great but I personally prefer to use square's Otto because it is just so easy to perform communication between components in an android application.
http://square.github.io/otto/
If you do choose to use otto, you are going to have to override the Bus's post method to be able to talk post messages to a bus on the foreground. Here is the code for that:
public class MainThreadBus extends Bus {
private final Handler handler = new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper());
#Override public void post(final Object event) {
if (Looper.myLooper() == Looper.getMainLooper()) {
super.post(event);
} else {
handler.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
post(event);
}
});
}
}
}

android threads unclear

I have this code:
package org.example.Threading;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.os.Message;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.Button;
public class ThreadingActivity extends Activity implements OnClickListener {
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
private doinback background = new doinback();
Handler handle= new Handler(){
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
Log.e("INSIDE HANDLER", "About to stop the thread.");
background.stopThread();
}};
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
Log.e("ONCREATE", "BEFORE Thread");
background.start();
Log.e("ONCREATE", "AFTER Thread started");
View button = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button1);
button.setOnClickListener(this);
}
class doinback extends Thread{
private volatile boolean isRunning = false;
public void run() {
while(isRunning){
Log.e("INSIDE THREAD", "about to sleep");
handle.sendMessage(handle.obtainMessage());
}
}
public void stopThread()
{
isRunning = false;
}
public void startThread(){
Log.e("INSIDE StartThread","MAKING isRunning True");
isRunning = true;
}
}
public void onClick(View v) {
background.startThread();
Log.e("INSIDE ONCLICK", "made isRunning true, about to leave");
}
}
I am trying to understand why it does not go back to the thread and if there is something I am doing wrong and if so what is the best way to go back and forth from a thread, for instance with the stopThread() function I change the value of the while variable to stop the thread from running. When I run the code and press the button it does not start the thread. Any ideas why?

When background.start() is called, isRunning is still false, so the thread is started(but didn't enter the while loop) and stopped immediately.
To ensure the thread to enter the while loop when startThread is called, you can put the following code in the startThread() method:
public void startThread(){
isRunning = true;
start();
}
And you don't call background.start() in onCreate(), just remove that line.
EDIT
If you want to keep a single thread alive, so you can "start" it and "stop" it as many times as you like, you can use the following code:
public void run () {
while (isRunning) {
if(!isWorking) {
try { Thread.sleep(10); } catch (InterruptedException ex) { }
continue;
}
//.. do your work here.
}
}
You control the running state of the thread with isRunning, and the working state with isWorking.

How to display toast inside timer?

I want to display toast message inside timer and I used the following code :
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate( new TimerTask()
{
public void run()
{
try {
fun1();
} catch (Exception e) {e.printStackTrace(); }
}
}, 0,60000);
public void fun1()
{
//want to display toast
}
And I am getting following error:
WARN/System.err(593): java.lang.RuntimeException: Can't create handler inside thread that has not called Looper.prepare()
WARN/System.err(593): at android.os.Handler.(Handler.java:121)
WARN/System.err(593): at android.widget.Toast.(Toast.java:68)
WARN/System.err(593): at android.widget.Toast.makeText(Toast.java:231)
Thanks.

You can't make UI updates inside separate Thread, like Timer. You should use Handler object for UI update:
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate( new TimerTask() {
private Handler updateUI = new Handler(){
#Override
public void dispatchMessage(Message msg) {
super.dispatchMessage(msg);
fun1();
}
};
public void run() {
try {
updateUI.sendEmptyMessage(0);
} catch (Exception e) {e.printStackTrace(); }
}
}, 0,60000);

The easiest way (IMO) is:
new Timer().scheduleAtFixedRate(new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
final String message = "Hi";
MyActivity.this.runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
Toast.makeText(MyActivity.this, message, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
});
}
});
The key being MyActivity.this.runOnUiThread(Runnable).

create a Handler and display toast in this
private Handler handler = new Handler() {
public void handleMessage(android.os.Message msg) {
// Toast here
}
};

You need access to the Context of the application to be able to do this. Try creating your own class which takes the context as input parameter:
private class MyTimerTask extends TimerTask {
private Context context;
public MyTimerTask(Context context) {
this.context = context;
}
#Override
public void run() {
Toast.makeText(context, "Toast text", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
Then in your timer:
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate( new MyTimerTask(this), 0,60000);

I wanted to make a simple project that could display a Toast in a Timer.
The Timer would be started using a service. Then, the Timer starts when the service is started and stops when service is stopped.
Class 1
package com.example.connect;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
public class MainActivity extends Activity {
Button button1,button2;
private Handler mHandler = new Handler();
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
button1=(Button)findViewById(R.id.button1);
button2=(Button)findViewById(R.id.button2);
}
public void Start(View v)
{
startService(new Intent(MainActivity.this , Connect_service.class));
}
public void Stop(View v)
{
stopService(new Intent(MainActivity.this , Connect_service.class));
}
}
Class 2
package com.example.connect;
import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
import android.app.Service;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.IBinder;
import android.widget.Toast;
public class Connect_service extends Service{
Timer timer = new Timer();
TimerTask updateProfile = new CustomTimerTask(Connect_service.this);
public void onCreate() {
super.onCreate();
Toast.makeText(this, "Service Started", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(updateProfile, 0, 5000);
}
#Override
public void onDestroy() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
super.onDestroy();
Toast.makeText(this, "Service Stopped", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
timer.cancel();
}
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
return null;
}
}
Class 3
package com.example.connect;
import java.util.TimerTask;
import android.content.Context;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.widget.Toast;
public class CustomTimerTask extends TimerTask {
private Context context;
private Handler mHandler = new Handler();
public CustomTimerTask(Context con) {
this.context = con;
}
#Override
public void run() {
new Thread(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
mHandler.post(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
Toast.makeText(context, "In Timer", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
});
}
}).start();
}
}

I'm trying to make my own toast with my own views.
I've successfully combined your approaches. The following code allows me to show toasts and change/remove views without crashing, just change the parameters of the MyTimerTask constructor to whatever you need to work on.
public void yourFunction(){
Timer timer = new Timer();
MyTimerTask mtc = new MyTimerTask(this.getContext(), tvNotice);
timer.schedule(mtc, 1000);
}
private class MyTimerTask extends TimerTask {
private TextView tv;
private Context context;
public MyTimerTask(Context pContext, TextView pTv) {
this.tv = pTv;
this.context = pContext;
}
#Override
public void run() {
updateUI.sendEmptyMessage(0);
}
private Handler updateUI = new Handler(){
#Override
public void dispatchMessage(Message msg) {
super.dispatchMessage(msg);
tv.setText("TextView Message");
Toast.makeText(context, "Toast Message", 0).show();
}
};
}

You have to call UIThread for showing Toast, not from timer thread.
Else call UI thread from that timer thread.
This link will help you,
http://developer.android.com/resources/articles/timed-ui-updates.html
and this
http://developer.android.com/guide/appendix/faq/commontasks.html#threading