Develop Reference

AsyncTask: Should I check for isCanceled() in onPostExecute()?

I am dealing with quite a bit of legacy AsyncTask code and have to write some myself too in our codebase. But, the careful reading of the cancel() method from the docs has confused me quite a bit. The docs say:
Attempts to cancel execution of this task. This attempt will fail if
the task has already completed, already been cancelled, or could not
be cancelled for some other reason. If successful, and this task has
not started when cancel is called, this task should never run. If the
task has already started, then the mayInterruptIfRunning parameter
determines whether the thread executing this task should be
interrupted in an attempt to stop the task.
Calling this method will result in onCancelled(Object) being invoked
on the UI thread after doInBackground(Object[]) returns. Calling this
method guarantees that onPostExecute(Object) is never invoked. After
invoking this method, you should check the value returned by
isCancelled() periodically from doInBackground(Object[]) to finish the
task as early as possible.
So, there might be a scenario where the AsyncTask has finished and returned from doInBackground() but before calling onPostExecute(), the task was canceled through cancel() which resulted in a call to onPostExecute() anyway. This might be dangerous if the cancellation was initiated from onPause() of Activity.
Also, this question on SO supports the documented behavior of cancellation: onPostExecute on cancelled AsyncTask
So, should I start checking for if(isCanceled()) at the start of onPostExecute() from now on?

So, should I start checking for if(isCanceled()) at the start of
onPostExecute() from now on?
Definetly not, it is already checked.
private void finish(Result result) {
if (isCancelled()) {
onCancelled(result);
} else {
onPostExecute(result);
}
mStatus = Status.FINISHED;
}
ref:AsyncTask.java

android: cancel(true) does not kill the AsyncTask

I am using an Android AsyncTask in order to download files from a server. when files are downloaded, I am trying to kill the AsyncTask.
protected void onPostExecute(Void result) {
MyTask.cancel(true);
}
But it stills running (I can see it from the Debug window in eclipse).
How to kill the AsyncTask?

When the AsyncTask is finished running, onPostExecute() will be called. The thread will die. The garbage collector will clean it up. You don't have to do anything. What you're doing is redundant.
Other than that, calling "Cancel" sends and interrupt signal to the thread. If your process can be interrupted, it will stop blocking and continue to execute. You then have to call isCancelled() in doInBackground() and return from the method if isCancelled() is true. After which, onCanceled() and onPostExecute() will be called and the thread will die on it's own like normal.

There is some documentation from here about canceling an AsyncTask, which may be relevant:
A task can be cancelled at any time by invoking cancel(boolean).
Invoking this method will cause subsequent calls to isCancelled() to return true.
After invoking this method, onCancelled(Object), instead of onPostExecute(Object) will be invoked after doInBackground(Object[]) returns.
To ensure that a task is cancelled as quickly as possible, you should always check the return value of isCancelled() periodically from doInBackground(Object[]), if possible (inside a loop for instance.)"

how to stop asnchrounous task when click cancel button

i am importing contacts in to a file using asynchronous task it is going well but after starting asynchronous task if i want to cancel it on middle then how to stop it means which have been done before stooping async task should be null and stop the asynch task..my code is below pls help me..

A task can be cancelled at any time by invoking cancel(boolean). Invoking this method will cause subsequent calls to isCancelled() to return true. After invoking this method, onCancelled(Object), instead of onPostExecute(Object) will be invoked after doInBackground(Object[]) returns. To ensure that a task is cancelled as quickly as possible, you should always check the return value of isCancelled() periodically from doInBackground(Object[]), if possible (inside a loop for instance.)

I would have
while(!iscancelled())
as the while condition. So when your cancel button is pressed, call cancel(true) on your AsyncTask. This will cause the while condition to be false. doInBackground will then exit.
If you implementation onCancel this will be called after doInBackground and you can set the contacts to null.
Hope that helps.

Override the method onCancelled() and in that set flag canceled = true;
and pass this canceled variable to condition in doInBackground.

How to end AsyncTask onBackPress() and also does it still run if it isnt finished?

I use AsyncTask in several activities.
i know how to Override onBackPress().
But when an AsyncTask is running i want to give the user the ability to go back even though the asynctask is still running.
How can I do this?
Also does an asynctask still run when activity that initiated it is closed before it finishes?

AsyncTasks run on until they complete or are cancelled. So in your case (the user presses Back and you end the main activity), the AsyncTask will carry on.
If you did want to end the AsyncTask from onBackPressed, the best you can do is to call
myAsyncTask.cancel(true);
but all that does is call the task's onCancelled() which can set a cancel flag that can be checked (usually) in doInBackground() - and if it is set the task can return.
Note that using cancel(true) does not stop the task. The docs talk about "interrupting" the task for the true case, but all they mean is that onCancelled will be called while doInBackground is running - at which point the task has an opportunity to set a flag that doInBackground can inspect.
For the true case, if the task does not implement onCancelled, and/or it does not set/inspect a flag, the task will complete doInBackground, but onPostExecute(Object) is never invoked - which is equivalent to the false case.

The async task will continue to run even if your application was closed. You have to be careful with that since your task will leak your context (keep it in memory) if it has a reference to it (so the activity) as long as your task is still running. You can avoid that by referencing your activity by a WeakReference.
You can stop a running task with cancel(true). A cancel will let the task finish its doInBackground but will never call onPostExecute. You could interrupt your background routine by checking isCanceled() and so return earlier since the task was killed.
I deleted one half of my post!
I did so confuse interrupt with a thread stop! Using true will of course NOT stop the actual thread. Thanks a lot to Torid and his answer which proved me wrong! Big lesson lernt, thanks for that!

Android AsyncTask blocks back key dispatch Event

The Problem is:
My Activity starts an AsyncTask in onStart().
In the doInBackground Method I make a short webrequest, and depending on your network connetion, this may take a little, so I want this task cancelable...
BUT..
After hours of searching, testing and debugging I noticed now, when the user presses the back button during the doInBackground Method, the Keyevent ist always dispatched AFTER my doInBackground method is finished.
So I dont have to wonder why the asynctask never is cancelled when the users presses the backbutton,
the AsyncTask.cancel(true) is invoked too late..... (even if I am not sure if cancel(true) will help)
So is this normal behavoiur with asynctask and backbutton?
This cant be normal, because how should the user ever get back from the activity on slow connection?
wait for timeout?
I am Begging for Help, cancel an async webrequest SHOULD be possible :)

when the user presses the back button during the doInBackground Method, the Keyevent is always dispatched AFTER my doInBackground method is finished.
No, this isn't true.
If I hit the BACK button on my device when an AsyncTask is running in my main Activity (downloading files from my server), the Activity is immediately closed.
What IS true, however, is the AsyncTask will continue to run whatever code is in its doInBackground() method UNLESS I explicitly cancel it (but you kind of know that already).
As far as I can tell, your 'webrequest' (whatever that may be) is blocking your doInBackground() method and because of that, any attempt to cancel it in onPause(), onStop, onDestroy() etc will never work.
As advantej points out, the way the AsyncTask.cancel(...) method works is that it causes isCancelled to be set to 'true'. In order to successfully cancel the AsyncTask's doInBackground() method you need to periodically check isCancelled. Example...
#Override
protected Void doInBackground(String... params) {
while (!isCancelled) {
DoSomething();
}
}
The problem is if DoSomething() (for example your 'webrequest') is blocking the while loop then isCancelled won't be checked until it completes.

This is the expected behavior. The documentation says :
Cancelling a task
A task can be cancelled at any time by
invoking cancel(boolean). Invoking
this method will cause subsequent
calls to isCancelled() to return true.
After invoking this method,
onCancelled(Object), instead of
onPostExecute(Object) will be invoked
after doInBackground(Object[])
returns. To ensure that a task is
cancelled as quickly as possible, you
should always check the return value
of isCancelled() periodically from
doInBackground(Object[]), if possible
(inside a loop for instance.)