How can I run android background service "forever"? - android

I looked through all the posts about it in here and in android documentation about service.
I still can't understand how to do it.
I want to write application that collects battery data all the time event when the UI is closed. I found that I need to use a service for this with BindService & StrartService so the UI Activity could communicate with the service and the service could also run by it self in case the UI activity closes.
The thing that I can't understand is how do I make the service run "forerver" even when I close it with android app manager. For example: Whatsapp application even if I close it with the app manager in the moment that someone sends me a message I still get it and whatsapp turns on.
Do I need to use thread (runnable interface with run function) or what?

You may try to override onStartCommand() in your service and return START_STICKY; to let the system know your service should run until it terminates itself.

Related

Android Services with Intent Services real time examples

I am getting confused between service and Intend service,what is the difference between service and Intend service,then on which kinds of situations we have to use service,Intend service any can explain with some real time example?
Thanks in Advance
A Service is a piece of code that will run on your main UI thread and will remain running until stopped, even if you aren't in the foreground.
An IntentService is a special kind of Service that starts its own Thread and queues incoming start calls to run on that thread one at a time, in the order they came in.
Use Service if you need a place for long running actions to occur that need to continue even if the Activity is killed. For example, tracking location via GPS for a maps app. Use IntentService for repetative pieces of work. For example, downloading files. Or syncing a database. You can think of IntentService as kind of like an AsyncTask that runs in a Service.

Create a Long Running service

I need to create a service that runs alongside the android app,irrespective of which screen of the app the user is on.
The app is a chat application so when the device is offline the service should queue up all the messages that are being sent offline and when the device is connected it should sync all messages.
I have written code for the job scheduler to sync data automatically when the device is online but while the app is active i would like to handle this manually.
Creating a Long Running service.
Operating system still can terminate the service in low memory and possibly other situations. There are 2 ways to overcome this:
If you are implementing the service, override onStartCommand() and return START_STICKY as the result. It will tell the system that even if it will want to kill your service due to low memory, it should re-create it as soon as memory will be back to normal.
AlarmManager .A system service, which will execute actions periodically. That will ensure that if your service will be terminated, or even the whole process will die(for example with force close) - it will be 100% restarted by AlarmManager.
Thank you.
You can do this by simple following steps:
Create Simple Service and after first launch of app just start at splash screen.
In Service after getting one data you can call another request.
After that you can create one broadcast action globally which will always call every network changed.
At background you can sync again data and saved it to shared preferences or as per your your requirement.
For interval you can also using AlarManager.
A part from this you can simply create Service using JobSheduler in this you can assign job and time as well.
Refer link :
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/job/JobScheduler.html
Hopefully this logic will helps you.
You have to use a intent service with sticky instead of service for this which will be executed in a queue and do your work. And since it is a intent service it will be started automatically after sometime, when system kills the service process.

do I have to use a service for a socket in a thread going in background mode

I have an app that is doing many things and also is running a thread to listen to a port using a socket. I want to be able to switch for another app (for ex email) but still my app would continue to listen to the port.
I suppose that I have to use a service?
Also I want to listen to the next incoming request. So I believe that I have to use the bind mechanism to re-run through the socket.accept() code?
A service will continue to run even if your app is closed. So yes, a service would be the way to go. You can also bind to the service when your app opens so that you can communicate between your service and your app.
Also I want to listen to the next incoming request. So I believe that
I have to use the bind mechanism to re-run through the socket.accept()
code?
You dont necesarily need bind for this. Your service can listen for incoming requests by itself.
Do note however that a service does not run on a seperate thread so if you want to do intensive work, consider spawning a different thread inside the service. You can also use an IntentService which will handle the threading. But you can only run one IntentService so if you need multiple services, a normal Service would be a better choice.
also read:
https://developer.android.com/guide/components/services.html
and: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Service.html
EDIT:
The service can stop itself when the app is closed. If you simply press the home button to switch to another app, the app will only be paused and the service will continue to run. You can however influence the life of the service.
Check: Android Service Stops When App Is Closed

Android service that doesn't close with application

I have been searching the net for hours. I am trying to make an application that has a UI interface and a service running in the background for SIP phone communication, kind of like Skype.
The UI starts and stops the service based on UI events, and the service stays logged in with a internet server in the background. I have found many articles talking about running the service on a separate thread(done), using startService as opposed to binding the service(done) but whenever I use the task manager to kill the application as a user might, I get an error popup saying my application has crashed and the service no longer runs.
How do programs like Skype, Facebook, or email clients do this?
Do I have to run these as separate applications using implicit intents?
Is there some settings I have to set in the manifest file other than declaring the service and it's name?
Better yet, is there a link to some page or source example using this kind of service?
EDIT: Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. The service is stopping, and I don't want it to. I am trying to keep the service running in the background even after a user kills the application with the application manager.
One of the more confusing things with Service is that it is not run in a separate thread by default. Calling startService() as opposed to bindService() makes no difference in this regard. However, the binder mechanism will cause the Service exposed methods to be called in arbitrary thread context. In both cases, your Service is part of your application's process. If you kill it via the task manager or it crashes then the Service dies as well.
When you kill the app via the task manager and it pops up the message about the app dying, you have something misbehaving. Check logcat and it will point you at exactly where the crash happened.
If you need to have your Service running regardless of the UI, then don't stop the Service when your UI exits. You will still call startService() when your UI starts to re-connect (and possibly re-start it), but don't stop it unless you really want it stopped. Starts do not "stack". If something calls start 5x it doesn't take 5 stops to terminate the Service, only 1.

How to self stop a service started with BIND_AUTO_CREATE?

There is some long processing that need to be completed, so I put it in a service. The activity must be able to connect to the service, show the user current results from the service. So I start the service with start Service and later call bind Service (with BIND_AUTO_CREATE) as in LocalService from http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Service.html#ServiceLifecycle. I want it to run until its job is done, and then self stop, even if client is still connected to it. (or determine the client to unbind) Is any way to do it with the sample LocalService?
I was considering passing a handler to the service so that it can send messages back to the activity, but I don't want the activity to get leaked. I am just getting used with services, so maybe I am misusing something.
EDIT: The workload consists of several threads, synchronized and run in parallel, so I guess is not a good candidate for intent service. Some data analysis is done in background service, and when the user restarts the activity that started the service, it should display some graphics according to current values computed by background service. All background processing is triggered at the beginning, and need only inspection later on, when activity connects to it. Android should not be able to stop the service. When the job is finished, the service should be able to terminate even if the activity is connected to it.
I just recorded a callback with the service. If the activity is not connected to service, it sets the callback to null. In this callback I call stopService() and then finish() on the activity. I am not sure that it is the best method, but it works fine for me.
If you want a service to be stopped when it is finished, I think what you are looking for is IntentService, they work as services, but run in another thread and when they are completed they dissappear.
Check this out
EDIT: NickT link is better, check that out! :)

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