Develop Reference

Should my broadcast receiver be a static inner class or a separate class?

I am busy working on a daily quote app. I have a ListView inside of my MainActivity class that displays one daily quote from a local SQLite Database. That works. I need it to change the quote that it is displaying each day at 9:00 a.m. plus send a push notification to the user at that time. I need the notification to go if the app is closed for the purpose of bringing the user to the app. The ListView can be updated when the user opens the app, they won't know the difference.
I am having problems with broadcast receiver and alarm manager.
I currently have my BroadcastReceiver as an inner class inside of my MainActivity. I did this in order to run the method that populates the ListView, which is in the MainActivity, from the BroadcastReceiver. However, I have my receiver registered and unregistered in the code, not in the manifest. This causes it to run each time the activity is created causing the ListView to populate each time as well defeating the purpose because I only need it to change and a notification to be sent each morning at 9:00 a.m.
I have tried making the broadcast receiver static and then registering it in the manifest but then I have all sorts of problems referencing non-static stuff from the static class. I have also tried making the receiver a separate class outside of the MainActivity class but then I can't call my method that populates the ListView inside the MainActivity from the receiver class. It seems like a no-win but I know that's not the case. It's currently registered in onCreate. I have tried onStart, onResume, etc... it works the same way. I just don't know what to do.
I don't have the push notification code in there yet I am still working on it.
Here is my code:
MainActivity (relevant portions):
Method to populate the ListView:
public void DailyQuoteDatabaseAccess(){
SQLiteOpenHelper sqLiteOpenHelper = new SQLiteAssetHelper(this,
DATABASE_NAME, null, DATABASE_VERSION);
SQLiteDatabase SqlDb = sqLiteOpenHelper.getReadableDatabase();
String rawQuery = "SELECT * FROM dailyQuoteTable ORDER BY RANDOM() LIMIT
1";
Cursor cursor = SqlDb.rawQuery(rawQuery, null);
DailyQuoteCursorAdapter DQCursorAdapter = new DailyQuoteCursorAdapter(this,
cursor);
this.mDailyQuoteListView.setAdapter(DQCursorAdapter);
}
Here I register the alarm dynamically in the MainActivity's onCreate method:
mTodaysQuoteReceiverStaticInnerClass = new
TodaysQuoteReceiverInnerStaticClass();
IntentFilter filter = new
IntentFilter(ConnectivityManager.CONNECTIVITY_ACTION);
filter.addAction(Intent.ACTION_BOOT_COMPLETED);
this.registerReceiver(mTodaysQuoteReceiverStaticInnerClass, filter);
Here is my receiver class (which I made an inner class in the MainActivity):
public class TodaysQuoteReceiverInnerStaticClass extends BroadcastReceiver{
#Override
public void onReceive(final Context context, final Intent intent){
PopulateTodaysQuote();
}
}
Here is the method that sets my alarm. I call this method from the onCreateMethod in the MainActivity:
public void todaysQuoteAlarm(){
long currentTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();
calendar.set(Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY, 20);
calendar.set(Calendar.MINUTE, 9);
calendar.set(Calendar.SECOND, 0);
if (currentTime <= calendar.getTimeInMillis()) {
Intent myIntent = new Intent(this,
TodaysQuoteReceiverInnerStaticClass.class);
int ALARM1_ID = 10000;
PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(this,
ALARM1_ID, myIntent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
AlarmManager alarmManager = (AlarmManager)
this.getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
alarmManager.setInexactRepeating(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP,
calendar.getTimeInMillis(), AlarmManager.INTERVAL_DAY, pendingIntent);
}
else{

you can use broadcast receiver in the separate class and start a notification from there notification from broadcast receiver. I believe that you want to execute DailyQuoteDatabaseAccess() method when user will opens the application. I suggest you to maintain a separate table for today's quote and in the broadcast receiver update the today's quote table (assuming that you want change a quote once in a day) and fetch the data from Today's Quote Table to show the data in list view.

Android - Trouble with service sending multiple local notifications

I've inherited a code base for an Android app and I'm facing a particularly though problem with local notifications.
The idea is to send a notification for each event which is scheduled in the future, considering also the reminder preference on how many minutes before the event the user wants to be notified.
Everything works just fine, except that after the notification is thrown for the first time, if the user opens the app before the event starts, the notification gets thrown another time. This happens every time the app is opened between (event start date - reminder) and event start date.
I've already gave a look at this and also this with no luck.
I've read that using a service may cause exactly this problem and some suggest to remove it but I think this is needed since the notification must be thrown also when the app is closed.
Currently the structure of the code is the following:
Edit - updated description of TabBarActivity
Inside TabBarActivity I have the method scheduleTravelNotification that schedules the AlarmManager.
This method is executed everytime there is a new event to be added on local database, or if an existing event have been updated.
The TabBarActivity runs this method inside the onCreate and onResume methods.
TabBarActivity is also the target of the notification - onclick event.
private static void scheduleTravelNotification(Context context, RouteItem routeItem) {
long currentTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
int alarmTimeBefore = routeItem.getAlarmTimeBefore();
long alarmTime = routeItem.getStartTime() - (alarmTimeBefore * 1000 * 60);
if(alarmTimeBefore < 0){
return;
}
if(alarmTime < currentTime){
return;
}
Intent actionOnClickIntent = new Intent(context, TravelNotificationReceiver.class);
PendingIntent travelServiceIntent = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(context, System.currentTimeMillis(), actionOnClickIntent, PendingIntent.FLAG_ONE_SHOT);
Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();
calendar.setTimeInMillis(alarmTime);
AlarmManager alarmManager = (AlarmManager) context.getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
alarmManager.set(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, calendar.getTimeInMillis(), travelServiceIntent);
Log.e("NEXT ALARM", "Time: " + String.valueOf(calendar.getTimeInMillis()));
}
This is TravelNotificationReceiver.java (should I use LocalBroadcastReceiver instead of BroadcastReceiver?)
public class TravelNotificationReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
Log.e("RECEIVER", "received TravelNotification request");
Intent notificationIntent = new Intent(context, TravelNotificationService.class);
context.startService(notificationIntent);
}
}
TravelNotificationService.java extends NotificationService.java setting as type = "Travel", flags = 0, title = "something" and text = "something else".
public abstract class NotificationService extends Service {
#Nullable
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
return null;
}
#Override
public void onCreate() {
super.onCreate();
}
#Override
public void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
}
#Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
sendNotification();
return super.onStartCommand(intent, flags, startId);
}
public abstract String setNotificationType();
public abstract int setNotificationFlags();
public abstract String setNotificationTitle();
public abstract String setNotificationText();
/**
* Executes all the logic to init the service, prepare and send the notification
*/
private void sendNotification() {
int flags = setNotificationFlags();
String type = setNotificationType();
NotificationHelper.logger(type, "Received request");
// Setup notification manager, intent and pending intent
NotificationManager manager = (NotificationManager) this.getApplicationContext().getSystemService(this.getApplicationContext().NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);
Intent intentAction = new Intent(this.getApplicationContext(), TabBarActivity.class);
PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(this.getApplicationContext(), 0, intentAction, flags);
// Prepares notification
String title = setNotificationTitle();
String text = setNotificationText();
Notification notification = NotificationHelper.buildNotification(getApplicationContext(), title, text, pendingIntent);
// Effectively send the notification
manager.notify(101, notification);
NotificationHelper.logger(type, "Notified");
}
}
Edit - Here's the code for NotificationHelper.buildNotification
public static Notification buildNotification(Context context, String title, String text, PendingIntent pendingIntent) {
NotificationCompat.Builder builder = new NotificationCompat.Builder(context);
builder.setAutoCancel(true);
builder.setContentText(text);
builder.setContentTitle(title);
builder.setContentIntent(pendingIntent);
builder.setSmallIcon(R.mipmap.launcher);
builder.setCategory(Notification.CATEGORY_MESSAGE);
builder.setVisibility(Notification.VISIBILITY_PUBLIC);
return builder.build();
}
Thank you for the answers!
Edit I've seen also this but has no accepted answers, while this post suggest something that I think it's already managed with if(alarmTime < currentTime){ return; } in scheduleTravelNotification.

This may not be your exact problem, but at a glance, you're sending the notification in onStartCommand() which can itself be run many times during the lifetime of the service -- for example, if you issue the service start command "blindly" in an onCreate of an activity, it will happen every time the activity is (re)created.
You have a few options for handling this.
One is to create a boolean flag as a property of the service, default to false, and check it before sending the notification. If it's false, send the notification and set it to true, and if it's already true you do not send a notification.
Another is to check and see if the service is already running, and if it is, don't send the service start command in the first place. This can be tedious to do everywhere, and violates DRY, so if you take this route you may want to create a static method in your service class which checks to see if the service is running and then starts it if not, and call that instead of explicitly starting the service.

Similar to user3137702 answer you could simple have a static boolean of APPISINFORGROUND which is checked everytime the send notification method is hit, and managed from your application/activities code.
As User said it is likely that your onStartCommand method is being called at odd times due to the app / service lifecycle.
Alternatively check your receiver is not being called somewhere else from your code.

It may be your NotificationHelper class which is causing an issue. Please share the code for this class.
One thought may be that your notification is not set to be auto cancelled, check if you include the setAutoCancel() method in your Notification Builder.
Notification notification = new Notification.Builder(this).setAutoCancel(true).build();

I've found a way to make it work, I'm posting this since it seems to be a problem of many people using the approach suggested in this and this articles. After months of testing I can say I'm pretty satisfied with the solution I've found.
The key is to avoid usage of Services and rely on AlarmScheduler and Receivers.
1) Register the receiver in your manifest by adding this line:
<receiver android:name="<your path to>.AlarmReceiver" />
2) In your activity or logic at some point you want to schedule a notification related to an object
private void scheduleNotification(MyObject myObject) {
// Cal object to fix notification time
Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
cal.setTimeInMillis(myObject.getTime());
// Build intent and extras: pass id in case you need extra details in notification text
// AlarmReceiver.class will receive the pending intent at specified time and handle in proper way
Intent intent = new Intent(this, AlarmReceiver.class);
intent.putExtra("OBJECT_ID", myObject.getId());
// Schedule alarm
// Get alarmManager system service
AlarmManager alarmManager = (AlarmManager) getApplicationContext().getSystemService(getBaseContext().ALARM_SERVICE);
// Build pending intent (will trigger the alarm) passing the object id (must be int), and use PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT to replace existing intents with same id
PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(getApplicationContext(), myObject.getId(), intent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
// Finally schedule the alarm
alarmManager.set(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, cal.getTimeInMillis(), pendingIntent);
}
3) Define AlarmReceiver
public class AlarmReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
// Find object details by using objectId form intent extras (I use Realm but it can be your SQL db)
MyObject myObject = RealmManager.MyObjectDealer.getObjectById(intent.getStringExtra("OBJECT_ID"), context);
// Prepare notification title and text
String title = myObject.getSubject();
String text = myObject.getFullContent();
// Prepare notification intent
// HomeActivity is the class that will be opened when user clicks on notification
Intent intentAction = new Intent(context, HomeActivity.class);
// Same procedure for pendingNotification as in method of step2
PendingIntent pendingNotificationIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(context, myObject.getId(), intentAction, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
// Send notification (I have a static method in NotificationHelper)
NotificationHelper.createAndSendNotification(context, title, text, pendingNotificationIntent);
}
}
4) Define NotificationHelper
public class NotificationHelper {
public static void createAndSendNotification(Context context, String title, String text, PendingIntent pendingNotificationIntent) {
// Get notification system service
NotificationManager notificationManager = (NotificationManager) context.getSystemService(context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);
// Build notification defining each property like sound, icon and so on
NotificationCompat.Builder notificationBuilder = new NotificationCompat.Builder(context);
notificationBuilder.setContentTitle(title);
notificationBuilder.setContentText(text);
notificationBuilder.setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ic_done);
notificationBuilder.setCategory(Notification.CATEGORY_MESSAGE);
notificationBuilder.setVisibility(Notification.VISIBILITY_PUBLIC);
notificationBuilder.setAutoCancel(true);
notificationBuilder.setContentIntent(pendingNotificationIntent);
notificationBuilder.setDefaults(Notification.DEFAULT_SOUND);
notificationManager.notify(1001, notificationBuilder.build());
}
}
At this point it should work and schedule / trigger notification at the right time, and when notification is opened it will appear only once starting the activity declared in notification pending intent.
There is still a problem, AlarmManager have a "volatile" storage on user device, so if user reboots or switch off the phone you will lose all intents that you previously scheduled.
But fortunately there is also a solution for that:
5) Add at top of your manifest this uses permission
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED" />
6) Right below the line added at step 1 register the boot receiver
<receiver android:name="<your path to>.BootReceiver" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED" />
</intent-filter>
</receiver>
7) Define the BootReceiver
public class BootReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
// Do something very similar to AlarmReceiver but this time (at least in my case) since you have no source of intents loop through collection of items to understand if you need to schedule an alarm or not
// The code is pretty similar to step 3 but repeated in a loop
}
}
At this point your app should be able to schedule / trigger notification and restores those reminders even if the phone is switched off or rebooted.
Hope this solution will help someone!

why does get the extra data always return null?

I'm working on alarms for medicines and appointments … when i set an alarm i put extra data to use them later when the alarm go off….
here is some code to set a medicine alarm in my public class AlarmUtil :
private static void setLimitedDurationAlarms(Context ctxt, MedicineClass med)
{
long ONE_DAY = 86400000;
AlarmManager mgr = (AlarmManager) ctxt.getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
// set up the first alarm
Calendar firstDoseTime = med.getFirstDoseTime();
// get firstDoseDate
Calendar firstDoseToday = med.getStartDate();
// set the time for the first dose for today.
firstDoseToday.set(Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY, firstDoseTime.get(Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY));
firstDoseToday.set(Calendar.MINUTE, firstDoseTime.get(Calendar.MINUTE));
Intent i = new Intent(ctxt, OnAlarmReceiver.class);
i.putExtra("MEDICINE", med.getName());
i.putExtra("LAST_ALARM", "FALSE");
PendingIntent pi = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(ctxt, getUniqueID(), i, 0);
mgr.set(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, firstDoseToday.getTimeInMillis(), pi);
……….
……
When receiving the alarm…. i need to get the extra data of the alarm to know if it is for medicine or appointment.. and also to use the specific data of each med or app to get the object and show its info with the notification .. as shown in the next code ..
public class OnAlarmReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver
{
#Override
public void onReceive(Context ctxt, Intent intent)
{
Log.d("Alarm", "Alarm OFF! BEEP BEEP BEEP!");
Bundle data = intent.getExtras();
String medicine = (String) data.getCharSequence("MEDICNIE");
String appointment = (String) data.getCharSequence("APPOINTMENT");
String AppAction = (String) data.getCharSequence("APP_ACTION");
if (medicine == null)
// this alarm is not for medicine = for App
// use "appointment" values to get the appointment object from appointment list
else
// this is medicine alarm..
// use "medicine" value to get the medicine object form medicines list
…….
The problem is that all the data i get from the intent extra data always return null !
Please if any one know about this problem, i hope to answer me by the simplest way because i'm very new to android ..
waiting for a help .

Check your spelling for Medicine
When setting:
i.putExtra("MEDICINE", med.getName());
When reading:
data.getCharSequence("MEDICNIE");
where as "MEDICNIE" is not same as "MEDICINE"

You only set two keys in the intent:
MEDICINE
LAST_ALARM
But you try to get the unset keys:
APPOINTMENT
APP_ACTION

Android AlarmManager execution time problem

I have set a AlarmManager which will give alarm repeatedly after certain time. I used following code for that.
Intent intent = new Intent(ViewDoughnut.this, NotificationMessage.class);
PendingIntent sender = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(ViewDoughnut.this, 0, intent,PendingIntent.FLAG_CANCEL_CURRENT);
AlarmManager am = (AlarmManager) getSystemService(ALARM_SERVICE);
am.setRepeating(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP,nextAlarmTime, alarmInterval, sender);
Now to execute proper work at the alarm time I have created the following class extending BroadcastReceiver. Now I need the time in millisecond when the Alarm work should execute in that class. How to get it?
public class NotificationMessage extends BroadcastReceiver {
// Display an alert that we've received a message.
// #Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
// here I need the time when the alarm should execute.
}
}
Here I like to add, system time is not working for me, because if the device is switch off at the alarm time, it execute that when the device is on after that time. But I need the time when it should execute.

You could create a class that derives from Application which holds all global variables. Then just set a long variable to hold the time before initialising the alarm

Help required in Alarm Application

I am new to Android. I am trying to develop an Alarm Application, which is actually a speaking clock. I just want the clock to use TextToSpeech API and speak out the greeting stuff and the current time as soon as the alarm time is ticked. The speech part is done. And now I want to implement the Alarm functionality. But Initially I am just trying to display a toast after 10 secs in order to check whether my classes are working properly. And I am not getting the desired response and I don't know why ? Following are the classes
Main Class aClockActivity
public class aClockActivity extends Activity {
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
private PendingIntent mAlarmSender;
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
Button button1 = (Button)findViewById(R.id.buttonOn);
button1.setOnClickListener(mStartAlarmListener);
Button button2 = (Button)findViewById(R.id.buttonOff);
button2.setOnClickListener(mStopAlarmListener);
}
private OnClickListener mStartAlarmListener = new OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View v) {
// We want the alarm to go off 30 seconds from now.
//long firstTime = SystemClock.elapsedRealtime();
EditText Ehour = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.hour);
EditText Eminute = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.minute);
CharSequence CharHour = Ehour.getText();
CharSequence CharMinute = Eminute.getText();
int hour = Integer.parseInt(CharHour.toString());
int minute = Integer.parseInt(CharMinute.toString());
Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
cal.setTimeInMillis(System.currentTimeMillis());
// calendar.add(Calendar.MINUTE, 1);
cal.add(Calendar.SECOND, 10);
mAlarmSender = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(aClockActivity.this,
0, new Intent(aClockActivity.this, Alarm_Broadcast.class), 0);
// Schedule the alarm!
AlarmManager am = (AlarmManager)getSystemService(ALARM_SERVICE);
am.set(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP,
cal.getTimeInMillis(), mAlarmSender);
// Tell the user about what we did.
Toast.makeText(aClockActivity.this, "The Alarm is Set",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
};
private OnClickListener mStopAlarmListener = new OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View v) {
// And cancel the alarm.
AlarmManager am = (AlarmManager)getSystemService(ALARM_SERVICE);
am.cancel(mAlarmSender);
// Tell the user about what we did.
Toast.makeText(aClockActivity.this, "Setting off the alarm",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
};
Second Class Alarm_Broadcast
public class Alarm_Broadcast extends BroadcastReceiver{
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
Toast.makeText(context, "Alarm worked", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
}
Note: Just ignore the Edittext part in the OnClick() method, I'd use it later on.
Apart from the above problem there are few questions that I would like to ask.
1) How can I implement this app so that when the alarm is set, it can actually run as a service in the notification bar where the original AlarmClock runs. So that even if the app is closed its still running to invoke the alarm message at the right time.
2) I cannot show any Dialog box or can use TTS if the AlarmManager invokes a Class that extends either Service or BroadcastReciever.
3) I would appreciate if some one give me the idea to implement this app, I am sure there are many experts who would have gone through the same application.
Regards
Omayr

Here is some sample code i used in an alarm clock app hope it helps.
To set the alarm:
private void setAlarm(){
Context context = getApplicationContext();
AlarmManager mgr = (AlarmManager)context.getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
Intent i = new Intent(context, OnAlarmReceiver.class);
PendingIntent pi = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(context, 0, i, 0);
myCal = Calendar.getInstance();
myCal.setTimeInMillis(TIME_THE_ALARM_SHOULD_GO_OFF_AS_A_LONG);
mgr.set(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, myCal.getTimeInMillis(), pi);
Log.i(myTag, "alarm set for " + myCal.getTime().toLocaleString());
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),"Alarm set for " + myCal.getTime().toLocaleString(), Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
This goes in the onAlarmReceiver class:
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
Intent i = new Intent(context, AlarmActivity.class);
i.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
context.startActivity(i);
}
this will start AlarmActivity whenever it needs to go off. In your case you'd put the toast and speech into the AlarmActivity.

How can I implement this app so that when the alarm is set, it can actually run as a service in the notification bar where the original AlarmClock runs. So that even if the app is closed its still running to invoke the alarm message at the right time.
Do not do this. Having a service stick around in memory 24x7 to watch a clock is a waste of RAM and will get you attacked by task killers, reducing your app's effectiveness. Please stick with AlarmManager.
I cannot show any Dialog box or can use TTS if the AlarmManager invokes a Class that extends either Service or BroadcastReciever.
Start an activity, perhaps a dialog-themed activity.

Just got the answer, whatever service, receiver, activity and etc you are using, you need to register it in your AndroidManifest.xml. Or else it wont work