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Why should we use aysntask or service instead of a new thread

In android why should we use a asyntask and service, instead of using a new thread() and write the necessary background functionality?
I know that we should not run long running operations like downloading a file from server on the mainthread aka UI thread. And should use a asynctask or service.
But why cant we create a new thread() {which is eventually a new thread other than the main thread} and write necessarily long running operation in that thread.
why did google create the AsyncTask and Service without suggesting to use the regular New Thread()???
thanks in advance
edit1:
may be i wasn't clear in my question or not sure, if i am, even now. help me out.
i get it, the whole point starts from
Do not block the UI thread
Do not access the Android UI toolkit from outside the UI thread
why ?
1.how much can the UI thread handle ? how can we determine a breakpoint? how is a ANR point determined? can we track?
2. when a service component handles long running operations why can't a activity component handle?
Remember that if you do use a service, it still runs in your application's main thread by default, so you should still create a new thread within the service if it performs intensive or blocking operations
http://developer.android.com/guide/components/services.html
the above statement is from android documentation.
3.why cant a service start in a new thread straight away, if we are so concerned about main thread? don't get me wrong in question 3, i am trying to understand the advantage of starting the service in main thread. by default.
in the above statement , does it suggest the main thread's ability to start and handle a service's long running operation load? if so does it contradict with question 1.

Well let's look how you'd perform a simple task using a Thread.
The first step is to create a Thread using a Runnable. Something like this:
private void fetchResultsAsync() {
Runnable runner = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
List<String> results = fetchResultsFromWebServer();
}
};
new Thread(runner).run();
}
The thing is, we need to show the results so it would actually be more like this:
private void fetchResultsAsync() {
Runnable runner = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
List<String> results = fetchResultsFromWebServer();
workFinished(results);
}
};
new Thread(runner).run();
}
private void workFinished(List<String> results) {
// show the results on the UI
}
It looks good, but there's a problem; the callback method (workFinished) has to update the UI. If we do this from any non-main thread, there will be big problems. We need a thread-safe way to call that method, which is what Handlers are for. Let's also throw in a method for updating our progress, which is very common. The code would now look like this:
private final Handler myHandler = new Handler();
private void fetchResultsAsync() {
Runnable runner = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
List<String> results = fetchResultsFromWebServer();
workFinished(results);
}
};
new Thread(runner).run();
}
private void showProgress(int result) {
myHandler.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// update a progress bar here
}
});
}
private void workFinished(final List<String> results) {
myHandler.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// show the results on the UI
}
});
}
Compare this to the implementation using an AsyncTask:
private void fetchWithTask() {
new AsyncTask<Void, Integer, List<String>>() {
#Override
protected List<String> doInBackground(Void... params) {
return fetchResultsFromWebServer();
}
#Override
protected void onPostExecute(List<String> strings) {
// show the results on the UI
}
#Override
protected void onProgressUpdate(Integer... values) {
// update a progress bar here
}
}.execute();
}
It doesn't differ much by lines of code, but it's much more obvious what needs to happen and where. It protects you from nasty mistakes like forgetting to wrap UI-touching code in a Runnable that has to be posted to a UI-Thread-owned Handler.
Now imagine that you have several different types of small background tasks that need to be performed. It would be very easy to call the wrong showProgress or workFinished method from the wrong background Thread because you have to plug all those pieces together yourself.
There's also a very nasty bug lurking in the use of Handler's default constructor. If the containing class is first referenced by a non-UI thread during runtime, the Handler would belong to that Thread. AsyncTask hides always does things on the correct Thread. This is hard to catch!
At first blush AsyncTasks don't seem all that useful, but the callback plumbing is where they really pay off in spades.

"instead of using a new thread() and write the necessary background functionality?"
Why rewrite the background functionality? AsyncTask does it for you. As njk2 mentioned a Service is not really a fair comparison, though IntentService automatically creates a new thread for you in onHandleIntent().
edit: To answer your other questions, blocking the UI thread, will block all user interaction and the app will appear to "freeze". Definitely not something we want to do at all.

How to check Thread has Completed and show a Toast

I'm developing an android app, i have a separate class that extends Thread class, here i call a service and fetch data, now i need to know when this thread is completed and on completion its shows me a Toast.
Like
"Successful"
Is there any method like onPostExecute() in AsyncTask Thread?
Thanks

Display a toast is different that modify Views component because toast can be displayed from every thread while views need to be accessed only from the main thread.
So, if you need just to display a Thread just call Toast.makeToast(...).show() wherever you are.
Anyway, you can send messages from a backgrund thread to the main thread using the Handler class:
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/Handler.html
http://developer.android.com/guide/faq/commontasks.html#threading

i hope you are using thread like this..
.....
new Thread(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
YourMetod(); //you want to execute first
finishedHandler.sendEmptyMessage(0);//when first method is executed completly you need to call this
}
}).start();
....
create a handler in your class
like this
private Handler finishedHandler = new Handler() {
#Override public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
//create your toast here
}
};
try this hope help

Show progress Dialog while the UI gets customized

I already have idea on how to use a Progress Dialog when background action is being performed. But my question is how do I show a progress Dialog when I am dynamically inflating a huge layout.
Since I can't inflate a view in another Thread, I am using the main UI thread. Due to this my progress dialog is not getting priority and it doesn't show up. My UI hangs for several seconds until it gets loaded fully. I tried several approcahes but none seems to work.
progress.show(context,"","inflating UI...");
setNewContent(R.layout.my_profile,R.id.my_profile_menu_button,R.id.my_profile_all_elements_layout);
populateProfileList(); //Dynamic nested layouts being inflated.
I am basically looking for dynamic layout changes based on user actions. So I dont have any other way other than creating dynamic views. Can anyone suggest me a helpful idea.

I had an similar problem with ui-thread. I wanted to add much views to my layout at runtime, I wanted to show a ProgressDialog to inform the user, that it could take a while. I had tried it with AsyncTask, but the only chance to do this, was to implement my ui-methods into the onPostExecute-Method of AsyncTask. But this just freezes the ProgressDialog, because ProgressDialog even works on ui-thread. I found a solution, maybe not the best, but it works. Before starting ui-action, I show a Toast. Then, I created a Thread with a handler and delayed the execution. After ui-action was done, I showed a new Toast. Delay the thread, gives the Toast enough time to get showed:
Toast.makeText(ActivityContext.this,
R.string.start_message,
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
final Handler uiHandler = new Handler();
final Thread uiThread = new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
uiHandler.postDelayed(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
yourUIAction();
Toast.makeText(
ActivityContext.this,
R.string.finish_message,
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}, 100);
}
});
uiThread.start();

You need to use a handler to be able to talk to the UI thread
//in some thread
uiHandler.sendEmptyMessage(1);
...
Handler uiHandler = new Handler() {
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
if(msg.what == 1) {
//do somestuff
}
}
};

Using Async Task is much better idea to me, when you have to do something in background, while progress dialog shows up on screen and then when background task completes, update UI... for reference please follow the link...
http://labs.makemachine.net/2010/05/android-asynctask-example/
hope this helps...:-)

Using progressDialog in android?

I am using this code to display a Progress Dialog which is working fine:
dialog = ProgressDialog.show(this, "Please wait",
"Gathering Information...", true);
Thread thread = new Thread()
{
#Override
public void run() {
if(Chapter_sync.size()>0){
storemodule();
c.open();
for(int i=0;i<Chapter_sync.size();i++)
{
downloadPDF(Chapter_sync.get(i));
System.out.println("SYNCED"+i);
c.update(Chapter_sync.get(i));
}
}dialog.dismiss();
}
};thread.start();
LinearLayout parentlayout=(LinearLayout)findViewById(R.id.chapterholder);
parentlayout.removeAllViews();
setUpViews();
}
}
Here what I am trying to do is display a Progress dialog till all computation is done.
As it completes i wanted to setup all views again. But the setUpViews() is called before the thread starts. I am not so good at thread basics .Could any one help me understand why is this happening and how can I get my own results?

The problem is you are not using handlers. Simply do this,
dialog = ProgressDialog.show(this, "Please wait",
"Gathering Information...", true);
Thread thread = new Thread()
{
#Override
public void run() {
if(Chapter_sync.size()>0){
storemodule();
c.open();
for(int i=0;i<Chapter_sync.size();i++)
{
downloadPDF(Chapter_sync.get(i));
System.out.println("SYNCED"+i);
c.update(Chapter_sync.get(i));
}
}dialog.dismiss();
}
handler.sendemptyMessage(0);
};thread.start();
And in your onCreate() create Handlers,
Handler handler=null;
handler=new Handler()
{
public void handleMessage(Message msg)
{
progressDialog.cancel();
if(msg.what==0)
{
LinearLayout parentlayout=(LinearLayout)findViewById(R.id.chapterholder);
parentlayout.removeAllViews();
setUpViews();
};
You can't update your UI from background thread. Either you have to use AsyncTask or to use handlers from your background thread to inform your main thread that the background action has been completed.

Thread scheduling is dependent on the operating system. So instantiating your thread does not ensure that your thread will run whenever you want.
The problem you are facing can be best handled using async task. Or if you have a callback that lets you know when your download is completed then you can dismiss the dialog on the callback. Make sure you dismiss it inside a UI thread by doing.
mActivity.runOnUiThread() or any other such methods.

In your code if u see
After Starting the Thread you have call your method setUpViews(), which does not wait for your thread to complete and setups your views.
Use Handler.post after the dialog is dismissed in your thread which gather your information.
handler.post(new Runnable()
{
setUpViews();
});
So after the your operations completed your setupViews will be called by your Handler.

Specifics on using Looper.prepare() in Android

I'm having a bit of trouble understanding how to use the Looper prepare()/loop()/quit() logic.
I have three threads: one is the UI thread, one is a game logic thread and the last is a network communication thread (a background thread, lives only while being used).
The game thread has many dependencies on the results of the network calls, so I wanted to spin the network thread off of the game thread and have a Handler post the result back.
Of course, since the UI thread is not involved I need to call Looper.prepare()... somewhere. I thought it should be called in the game thread, but I can't do that because loop() takes it over.
How do I go about posting back to the game thread from network thread with my handler?

What's going on is that once you call Looper.prepare() followed by Looper.loop() on a Thread, all that Thread will ever do is service its MessageQueue until someone calls quit() on its Looper.
The other thing to realize is that, by default, when a Handler is instantiated, it's code will always execute on the Thread it was created on
What you should do is create a new Thread and in run() call Looper.prepare(), setup any Handlers, and then call Looper.loop().
Bearing these things in mind here is the basic pattern I use a lot of places. Also, there's a good chance you should just be using AsyncTask instead.
public class NetworkThread extends Thread {
private Handler mHandler;
private Handler mCallback;
private int QUIT = 0;
private int DOWNLOAD_FILE = 1;
public NetworkThread(Handler onDownloaded) {
mCallback = onDownloaded;
}
public void run() {
Looper.prepare();
mHandler = new Handler() {
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
switch (msg.what) {
// things that this thread should do
case QUIT:
Looper.myLooper().quit();
break;
case DOWNLOAD_FILE:
// download the file
mCallback.sendMessage(/*result is ready*/);
}
}
}
Looper.loop();
}
public void stopWorking() {
// construct message to send to mHandler that causes it to call
// Looper.myLooper().quit
}
public void downloadFile(String url) {
// construct a message to send to mHandler that will cause it to
// download the file
}
}

Could you tell some examples for what you are using your network thread? I think you can solve your problems without using Looper.
You can use ASyncTask to perform background task that may update some values in your UI thread. If user has to wait until background operation will be finished, you can show ProgressDialog and block application in OnPreExecute method, and then hide it in onPostExecute.
As I said, please describe more your needs and target which you want to achieve.