Android: Best way to automatic connect to a webservice, without user interaction - android

I am new in android development and I am doing an application that needs to auto-connect to a webservice every X amount of time. For example connect to retrieve data every 30 seconds, without the user's interaction.
I tried with android.os.Handler but the problem with this Object is that it is running in the ui thread, so when the connection takes to much time the UI freeze...
The only way that I found to do this is to use asynctast and in onPostexecute() call again to the same Asynctask Object, something like that:
public class ScheduledAsyncTask extends AsyncTasc {
doInBackground() {
Thread.sleep(30000); //30 seconds...
// connect to the server and retrieve data...
}
onPostExecute() {
// show new data to the user
ScheduledAsyncTask task = new ScheduledAsyncTask();
task.execute();
}
}
This works great but I assume is not the best way to do it. All suggestions are welcome.
Thanks in advance,
New Example from my side:
I think this is the best way to do what I want to do, check it please:
My Code:
public class MainScheduledTime extends Activity implements OnClickListener{
private int counter = 0;
private int counterTemp = 0;
private TextView label;
private Button button;
private Timer timer = new Timer();
private Handler counterHandler = new Handler();
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
label = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.label);
button = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button1);
button.setOnClickListener(this);
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
Thread.sleep(5000); // This emulates an expensive task. For Example: call a webservice and parse the data.
counterTemp++;
setCounter(counterTemp); // This methods needs to be synchronized
counterHandler.post(counterTask);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}, 0, 10000);
}
private Runnable counterTask = new Runnable() {
public void run() {
label.setText(getCounter() + "");
}
};
public synchronized int getCounter() {
return this.counter;
}
public synchronized void setCounter(int count) {
this.counter = count;
}
#Override
public void onClick(View arg0) {
}
}

you should do your webservice calls in a Service. then you can schedule the service for execution with the AlarmManager

You can simply use a regular Thread.
AsyncTask is not made for infinite loops.

Related

UI Hangs When While Loop is Placed Inside Runnable

I'm writing an app that will display the current download speed which will be updated every second. My Runnable class is able to update the UI with the value, but when I try to place it inside a loop so that it will continuously run and update the UI TextView every second, the app now hangs.
This is my MainActivity.java:
public class MainActivity extends Activity implements SpeedMeter.TaskRunnableSpeedMeterMethods{
private Thread mSpeedMeterThread;
private Handler mHandler;
private TextView downloadSpeedOutput;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
downloadSpeedOutput = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.speed);
mHandler = new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper()) {
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message inputMessage) {
SpeedMeter speedMeter = (SpeedMeter) inputMessage.obj;
downloadSpeedOutput.setText(Long.toString(speedMeter.getmDownloadSpeedKB()));
}
};
SpeedMeter speedMeter = new SpeedMeter(this);
speedMeter.run();
// Creates an explicit intent for an Activity in your app
Intent resultIntent = new Intent(this, MainActivity.class);
}
#Override
public void setSpeedMeterThread(Thread currentThread) {
mSpeedMeterThread = currentThread;
}
#Override
public void setInternetSpeed(SpeedMeter speedMeter) {
Message completeMessage = mHandler.obtainMessage(1, speedMeter);
completeMessage.sendToTarget();
}
}
And here's the other SpeedMeter.java:
public class SpeedMeter implements Runnable {
final TaskRunnableSpeedMeterMethods mMainActivity;
private long mDownloadSpeedKB;
public SpeedMeter(TaskRunnableSpeedMeterMethods mainActivity) {
mMainActivity = mainActivity;
}
#Override
public void run() {
mMainActivity.setSpeedMeterThread(Thread.currentThread());
android.os.Process.setThreadPriority(android.os.Process.THREAD_PRIORITY_BACKGROUND);
// while(true) {
long rxBytesPrevious = TrafficStats.getTotalRxBytes();
try {
Thread.sleep(1000);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
long rxBytesCurrent = TrafficStats.getTotalRxBytes();
long downloadSpeed = rxBytesCurrent - rxBytesPrevious;
setmDownloadSpeedKB(downloadSpeed/1000);
mMainActivity.setInternetSpeed(this);
// }
}
public long getmDownloadSpeedKB() {
return mDownloadSpeedKB;
}
public void setmDownloadSpeedKB(long mDownloadSpeedKB) {
this.mDownloadSpeedKB = mDownloadSpeedKB;
}
interface TaskRunnableSpeedMeterMethods {
void setSpeedMeterThread(Thread currentThread);
void setInternetSpeed(SpeedMeter speedMeter);
}
}
Any help will be appreciated!
You didnt start your runnable as a new thread instead you called the run function like a normal function (so u do the while loop on ur UI thread which blocks it)
replace
speedMeter.run();<br />
SpeedMeter speedMeter = new SpeedMeter(this);
with
new Thread(new SpeedMeter(this)).start();
see https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/essential/concurrency/runthread.html for more infos on how to start a Runnable :)
The ideal way to do this would be to create an AsyncTask that would post a message to your UI thread, after it complete the task in the doInBackground() call.
Standards
also the interface structure you are following does not make sense and does not follow good standards. Usually an interface is used as a callback, which is basically what you are doing. But the standard is to say onSomethingChangedA() or onSomethingChangedB() from OnSomethingChangedListener interface.
I think your loop is always true so app hangs its better to create a boolean and use while(mboolean) and put this in your loop
if(something){
mboolean=false;
}
you can also use CountDownTimer.
for example:
new CountDownTimer(miliseconds,1000)
//if you have download speed and download size you can find miliseconds
#Override
public void onTick(long l) {
//something you want to do every seconds
}
#Override
public void onFinish() {
//something you want to do on finish
}

Android: TimerTask scheduled for repetition getting fired only once

Ok this is a very weird problem I am having, and I'm pretty sure that I am messing up somewhere, but I can't quite figure out where.
What I am trying is -
Schedule a Timer to execute a TimerTask every five seconds
The TimerTask in turn executes an AsyncTask (which in this case simple sleeps for a second before returning the static count of the number of AsyncTasks).
Finally, the aforementioned count is updated in the UI.
And of course, the appropriate Handlers and Runnables have been used to post asynchronous messages from other threads to the UI.
This code executes only once. I expect it to fire every 5 seconds. Here's the code.
Note: I had no idea what to do with the Looper. I put it there after trial and error!
public class TimerAsyncMixActivity extends Activity {
public static final String TAG = "TimerAsyncMix";
static int executionCount = 0;
Handler mHandler = new Handler();
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
new Timer().schedule(new MyTimerTask(this), 0, 5000);
}
class MyAsyncTask extends AsyncTask<String, Void, Integer>{
#Override
protected Integer doInBackground(String... params) {
try {
Thread.sleep(1000);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
return ++executionCount;
}
#Override
protected void onPostExecute(Integer result) {
mHandler.post(new UpdateUiThread(TimerAsyncMixActivity.this, result));
super.onPostExecute(result);
}
}
}
class MyTimerTask extends TimerTask{
private TimerAsyncMixActivity tma;
public MyTimerTask(TimerAsyncMixActivity tma) {
this.tma = tma;
}
#Override
public void run() {
Looper.prepare();
Log.d(TimerAsyncMixActivity.TAG, "Timer task fired");
tma.new MyAsyncTask().execute();
Looper.loop();
Looper.myLooper().quit();
}
}
class UpdateUiThread implements Runnable{
int displayCount;
TimerAsyncMixActivity tma;
public UpdateUiThread(TimerAsyncMixActivity tma, int i) {
this.displayCount = i;
this.tma = tma;
}
#Override
public void run() {
TextView tv = (TextView) tma.findViewById(R.id.tvDisplay);
tv.setText("Execution count is : "+displayCount);
}
Can anyone point me to what I'm doing wrong?
techie, this is how I implemented similar things. I'm won't claim that this is the best way, but it has worked for me and doesn't look too bad.
I have the following code in my activity. I create an async task when the activity starts and I stop it onPause. The AsyncTask does whatever it needs to do, and updates the UI on onProgressUpdate() (which is run on the UI thread, so there's no need to use a Handler).
private Task task;
#Override
protected void onPause() {
task.stop();
task = null;
}
#Override
protected void onResume() {
task = new Task();
task.execute();
}
private class Task extends AsyncTask<Void, String, Void> {
private boolean running = true;
#Override
protected Void doInBackground(Void... params) {
while( running ) {
//fetch data from server;
this.publishProgress("updated json");
Thread.sleep(5000); // removed try/catch for readability
}
return null;
}
#Override
protected void onProgressUpdate(String... values) {
if( ! running ) {
return;
}
String json = values[0];
//update views directly, as this is run on the UI thread.
//textView.setText(json);
}
public void stop() {
running = false;
}
}
Do not use a timer. If your phone goes to sleep, the timer is suspended too. Use AlarmManager.

stop watch problem in android

i creating for stopwatch with start,stop i use following code it started but not stop. please help me.
my code:
public class StopWatch2 extends Activity implements Runnable{
// text view influenced by the Thread
private TextView threadModifiedText;
int time=0;
Button b1,b2,b3;
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
Thread currentThread = new Thread(this);
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.stopwatch);
b1=(Button)findViewById(R.id.button1);
b2=(Button)findViewById(R.id.button2);
b3=(Button)findViewById(R.id.button3);
threadModifiedText = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.textView1);
b1.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener()
{
public void onClick(View view)
{
currentThread.start();
}
});
b2.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener()
{
public void onClick(View view)
{
currentThread.stop();
}
});
}
//Method you must override to control what the Thread is doing
#Override
public void run(){
try {
while(true){
currentThread.sleep(1000, 0);
threadHandler.sendEmptyMessage(0);
}
// signaling things to the outside world goes like this
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
}
}
private Handler threadHandler = new Handler() {
public void handleMessage(android.os.Message msg) {
time++;
threadModifiedText.setText(""+time);
}
};
}
I think You should use a class level variable boolean shouldRun = true ;
in your run() method while should be used like this way
while(shouldRun)
{
//implementation
}
and in your b2.onClickListener() change shouldRun = false;
Edit:
For suspend and resume you can change the value of shouldRun to shouldRun = true; in the listener for resume button. Remember that when you stop the updates you should reset the time also. and in suspend the time should be remain same.
I implemented stopwatch for rotational puzzles solving time measurements and I have approached it somewhat differently.
For time measurements I use Handler object that triggers after DISPLAY_UPDATE_TIMEOUT. It is time after which you update display about time elapsed.
To start counting I use:
mLastStartTimestamp = System.currentTimeMillis();
mRepetitiveTimeoutHandler.postDelayed(processWatchTimer, DISPLAY_UPDATE_TIMEOUT);
and to stop it
mRepetitiveTimeoutHandler.removeCallbacks(processWatchTimer);
mStartStopElapsed = System.currentTimeMillis() - mLastStartTimestamp ;
updateTimeDisplay();
On each trigger of the handler I do the following:
private Runnable processWatchTimer = new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
mRepetitiveTimeoutHandler.postDelayed(processWatchTimer, DISPLAY_UPDATE_TIMEOUT);
updateTimeDisplay();
}
};

Looping AsyncTask

I have custom AsyncTask (ListDownloadTask) that download data and updates UI. I want to make it forever while activity opened. So after AsyncTask did the work it must be scheduled. There are delays between attempts.
I tried to use timer but the problem is new ListDownloadTask().execute(); must be invoked from UI thread.
Now i have timer that generates message for Handler. That seems ugly to me. What is best practice?
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
// ...
new ListDownloadTask().execute();
}
private static final long DOWNLOAD_UPDATES_DELAY = 5 * 1000;
private final Timer mUpdatesDownloaderTimer = new Timer(true);
Handler mDownloadTrigger = new Handler(new Handler.Callback() {
public boolean handleMessage(Message message) {
new ListDownloadTask().execute();
return true;
}
});
private void scheduleUpdatesDownload() {
mUpdatesDownloaderTimer.schedule(new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
mDownloadTrigger.sendEmptyMessage(0);
}
}, DOWNLOAD_UPDATES_DELAY);
}
private class ListDownloadTask extends AsyncTask<Long, String, Integer> {
#Override
protected void onPostExecute(Integer result) {
//...
scheduleUpdatesDownload();
}
Check out this example that is kinda similar to what you want to do. It might be better to use a Local Service also though.
Try Handler.sendEmptyMessageDelayed or Handler.sendEmptyMessageAtTime.
Create a service and bind to it in your activity.

How to set a timer in android

What is the proper way to set a timer in android in order to kick off a task (a function that I create which does not change the UI)?
Use this the Java way:
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/api/java/util/Timer.html
Or there is a better way in android (android's handler)?
yes java's timer can be used, but as the question asks for better way (for mobile). Which is explained Here.
For the sake of StackOverflow:
Since Timer creates a new thread it may be considered heavy,
if all you need is to get is a call back while the activity is running a Handler can be used in conjunction with a
Runnable:
private final int interval = 1000; // 1 Second
private Handler handler = new Handler();
private Runnable runnable = new Runnable(){
public void run() {
Toast.makeText(MyActivity.this, "C'Mom no hands!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
};
...
handler.postAtTime(runnable, System.currentTimeMillis()+interval);
handler.postDelayed(runnable, interval);
or a Message
private final int EVENT1 = 1;
private Handler handler = new Handler() {
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
switch (msg.what) {
case Event1:
Toast.makeText(MyActivity.this, "Event 1", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
break;
default:
Toast.makeText(MyActivity.this, "Unhandled", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
break;
}
}
};
...
Message msg = handler.obtainMessage(EVENT1);
handler.sendMessageAtTime(msg, System.currentTimeMillis()+interval);
handler.sendMessageDelayed(msg, interval);
on a side note this approach can be used, if you want to run a piece of code in the UI thread from an another thread.
WARNING: Handler's timer (or whatever controls delays) gets paused whenever the CPU goes to deep-sleep, but will continue once CPU wakes up (from where it was paused).
if you need to get a call back even if your activity is not running then, you can use an AlarmManager.
Standard Java way to use timers via java.util.Timer and java.util.TimerTask works fine in Android, but you should be aware that this method creates a new thread.
You may consider using the very convenient Handler class (android.os.Handler) and send messages to the handler via sendMessageAtTime(android.os.Message, long) or sendMessageDelayed(android.os.Message, long). Once you receive a message, you can run desired tasks. Second option would be to create a Runnable object and schedule it via Handler's functions postAtTime(java.lang.Runnable, long) or postDelayed(java.lang.Runnable, long).
As I have seen it, java.util.Timer is the most used for implementing a timer.
For a repeating task:
new Timer().scheduleAtFixedRate(task, after, interval);
For a single run of a task:
new Timer().schedule(task, after);
task being the method to be executed
after the time to initial execution
(interval the time for repeating the execution)
I hope this one is helpful and may take less efforts to implement,
Android CountDownTimer class
e.g.
new CountDownTimer(30000, 1000) {
public void onTick(long millisUntilFinished) {
mTextField.setText("seconds remaining: " + millisUntilFinished / 1000);
}
public void onFinish() {
mTextField.setText("done!");
}
}.start();
Probably Timerconcept
new CountDownTimer(40000, 1000) { //40000 milli seconds is total time, 1000 milli seconds is time interval
public void onTick(long millisUntilFinished) {
}
public void onFinish() {
}
}.start();
or
Method 2 ::
Program the timer
Add a new variable of int named time. Set it to 0.
Add the following code to onCreate function in MainActivity.java.
//Declare the timer
Timer t = new Timer();
//Set the schedule function and rate
t.scheduleAtFixedRate(new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
//Called each time when 1000 milliseconds (1 second) (the period parameter)
}
},
//Set how long before to start calling the TimerTask (in milliseconds)
0,
//Set the amount of time between each execution (in milliseconds)
1000);
Go into the run method and add the following code.
//We must use this function in order to change the text view text
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
TextView tv = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.main_timer_text);
tv.setText(String.valueOf(time));
time += 1;
}
});
It is situational.
The Android documentation suggests that you should use AlarmManager to register an Intent that will fire at the specified time if your application may not be running.
Otherwise, you should use Handler.
Note: The Alarm Manager is intended
for cases where you want to have your
application code run at a specific
time, even if your application is not
currently running. For normal timing
operations (ticks, timeouts, etc) it
is easier and much more efficient to
use Handler.
Here we go.. We will need two classes. I am posting a code which changes mobile audio profile after each 5 seconds (5000 mili seconds) ...
Our 1st Class
public class ChangeProfileActivityMain extends Activity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
Timer timer = new Timer();
TimerTask updateProfile = new CustomTimerTask(ChangeProfileActivityMain.this);
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(updateProfile, 0, 5000);
}
}
Our 2nd Class
public class CustomTimerTask extends TimerTask {
private AudioManager audioManager;
private Context context;
private Handler mHandler = new Handler();
// Write Custom Constructor to pass Context
public CustomTimerTask(Context con) {
this.context = con;
}
#Override
public void run() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
// your code starts here.
// I have used Thread and Handler as we can not show Toast without starting new thread when we are inside a thread.
// As TimePicker has run() thread running., So We must show Toast through Handler.post in a new Thread. Thats how it works in Android..
new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
audioManager = (AudioManager) context.getApplicationContext().getSystemService(Context.AUDIO_SERVICE);
mHandler.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
if(audioManager.getRingerMode() == AudioManager.RINGER_MODE_SILENT) {
audioManager.setRingerMode(AudioManager.RINGER_MODE_NORMAL);
Toast.makeText(context, "Ringer Mode set to Normal", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
} else {
audioManager.setRingerMode(AudioManager.RINGER_MODE_SILENT);
Toast.makeText(context, "Ringer Mode set to Silent", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
});
}
}).start();
}
}
I'm an Android newbie but here is the timer class I created based on the answers above. It works for my app but I welcome any suggestions.
Usage example:
...{
public Handler uiHandler = new Handler();
private Runnable runMethod = new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
// do something
}
};
timer = new UITimer(handler, runMethod, timeoutSeconds*1000);
timer.start();
}...
public class UITimer
{
private Handler handler;
private Runnable runMethod;
private int intervalMs;
private boolean enabled = false;
private boolean oneTime = false;
public UITimer(Handler handler, Runnable runMethod, int intervalMs)
{
this.handler = handler;
this.runMethod = runMethod;
this.intervalMs = intervalMs;
}
public UITimer(Handler handler, Runnable runMethod, int intervalMs, boolean oneTime)
{
this(handler, runMethod, intervalMs);
this.oneTime = oneTime;
}
public void start()
{
if (enabled)
return;
if (intervalMs < 1)
{
Log.e("timer start", "Invalid interval:" + intervalMs);
return;
}
enabled = true;
handler.postDelayed(timer_tick, intervalMs);
}
public void stop()
{
if (!enabled)
return;
enabled = false;
handler.removeCallbacks(runMethod);
handler.removeCallbacks(timer_tick);
}
public boolean isEnabled()
{
return enabled;
}
private Runnable timer_tick = new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
if (!enabled)
return;
handler.post(runMethod);
if (oneTime)
{
enabled = false;
return;
}
handler.postDelayed(timer_tick, intervalMs);
}
};
}
I am using a handler and runnable to create a timer. I wrapper this in an abstract class. Just derive/implement it and you are good to go:
public static abstract class SimpleTimer {
abstract void onTimer();
private Runnable runnableCode = null;
private Handler handler = new Handler();
void startDelayed(final int intervalMS, int delayMS) {
runnableCode = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
handler.postDelayed(runnableCode, intervalMS);
onTimer();
}
};
handler.postDelayed(runnableCode, delayMS);
}
void start(final int intervalMS) {
startDelayed(intervalMS, 0);
}
void stop() {
handler.removeCallbacks(runnableCode);
}
}
Note that the handler.postDelayed is called before the code to be executed - this will make the timer more closed timed as "expected". However in cases were the timer runs to frequently and the task (onTimer()) is long - there might be overlaps. If you want to start counting intervalMS after the task is done, move the onTimer() call a line above.
I believe the way to do this on the android is that you need a background service to be running. In that background application, create the timer. When the timer "ticks" (set the interval for how long you want to wait), launch your activity which you want to start.
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals.html (<-- this article explains the relationship between activities, services, intents and other core fundamentals of Android development)
I used to use (Timer, TimerTask) as well as Handler to kick off (time-consuming) tasks periodically. Now I've switched the whole to RxJava. RxJava provides Observable.timer which is simpler, less error-prone, hassle-free to use.
public class BetterTimerFragment extends Fragment {
public static final String TAG = "BetterTimer";
private TextView timeView;
private Subscription timerSubscription;
#Override
public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater,
#Nullable ViewGroup container,
#Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
return inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_timer, container, false);
}
#Override
public void onViewCreated(View view, #Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onViewCreated(view, savedInstanceState);
timeView = (TextView) view.findViewById(R.id.timeView);
}
#Override
public void onResume() {
super.onResume();
// Right after the app is visible to users, delay 2 seconds
// then kick off a (heavy) task every 10 seconds.
timerSubscription = Observable.timer(2, 10, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
.map(new Func1<Long, String>() {
#Override
public String call(Long unused) {
// TODO: Probably do time-consuming work here.
// This runs on a different thread than the main thread.
return "Time: " + System.currentTimeMillis();
}
})
.observeOn(AndroidSchedulers.mainThread())
.subscribe(new Action1<String>() {
#Override
public void call(String timeText) {
// The result will then be propagated back to the main thread.
timeView.setText(timeText);
}
}, new Action1<Throwable>() {
#Override
public void call(Throwable throwable) {
Log.e(TAG, throwable.getMessage(), throwable);
}
});
}
#Override
public void onPause() {
super.onPause();
// Don't kick off tasks when the app gets invisible.
timerSubscription.unsubscribe();
}
}
For timing operation you should use Handler.
If you need to run a background service the AlarmManager is the way to go.
this example start the timer unitl destroyed in Kotlin
private lateinit var timerTask: TimerTask
timerTask = object : TimerTask() {
override fun run() {
Log.d("KTZ", "$minutes:$seconds");
timeRecordingLiveData.postValue("$minutes:$seconds")
seconds += 1;
if (seconds == 60) {
Log.d("KTZ", "$minutes:$seconds");
timeRecordingLiveData.postValue("$minutes:$seconds")
seconds = 0;
minutes += 1;
}
}
}
Cancel the timertask in onDestroy()
timerTask.cancel()

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