AnimationDrawable in Android problem - android

I am having a common problem doing animationdrawable in Android. I wanted to start an animation when the Activity starts, in the onCreate() method, but as many people have found, it doesn't work.
I have read lots of advice but nothing seems to work for me. If I start the animation in onClick() it works, it requires user input, not starting immediately.
I tried starting it in a separate thread in onCreate() but that doesn't work either. I read here:
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=1818
but none of the advice worked, or I couldn't understand it.
Can someone help?

I've faced similar problems, and switched to overriding onWindowFocusChanged() instead of onCreate() and onResume():
public void onWindowFocusChanged(boolean hasFocus)
{
if (hasFocus)
{
animation.start();
}
else
{
animation.stop();
}
}

I think you have to start the animation after initialization of the view in question is complete. You should be able to do something like this:
final ImageView tweenImage = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.imageView1);
tweenImage.setBackgroundResource(R.anim.cubicfacetween);
tweenImage.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
AnimationDrawable frameAnimation =
(AnimationDrawable) tweenImage.getBackground();
frameAnimation.start();
}
}
For setting src in imageView
((ImageView)findViewById(R.id.no_network_icon)).post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
AnimationDrawable drawable = (AnimationDrawable) ((ImageView)findViewById(R.id.no_network_icon)).getDrawable();
drawable.start();
}
});

According to the link you provided you have to start the animation in a separate thread. In Java you do that by implementing the Runnable interface and start it with
Thread t = new Thread(new MyRunnable()); // MyRunnable inherits Runnable
t.start();
you can also write the code like this
new Thread(new Runnable() {
public void run(){
// some code that runs outside the ui thread.
}
}).start();
if you don't want to implement a whole new class. The latter is of course not that pretty but if you're making a small project it can be nice to know about.
Have you tried it this way or have you started your thread in another way?
Please also read Painless Threading that goes over what possibilities you have to perform actions outside the ui thread and how to post methods that runs on the ui thread from your own threads.
Edit: After reviewing the link you posted you have to wait a while before starting your thread, probably until onCreate is complete. According to the flowchart on this page you should be able to start your animation later, for instance in the onResume call. Have you tried starting it in a method called after onCreate?
You should only create things in onCreate, and "start" them in onStart or onResume.

Related

Automatically start execution upon activity launch

I'm working on an app that synchronizes some graphic UI events with an audio track. Right now you need to press a button to set everything in motion, after onCreate exits. I'm trying to add functionality to make the audio/graphical interaction start 10 seconds after everything is laid out.
My first thought is, at the end of onCreate, to make the UI thread sleep for 10000 miliseconds using the solution here and then to call button.onClick(). That seems like really bad practice to me, though, and nothing came of trying it anyway. Is there a good way to implement this autostart feature?
Never ever put sleep/delay on UI-thread. Instead, use Handler and its postDelayed method to get it done inside onCreate, onStart or onResume of your Activity. For example:
#Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
new Handler().postDelayed(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
//do whatever you want here
}
}, 10000L); //the runnable is executed on UI-thread after 10 seconds of delay
}
Handler handler=new Handler();
Runnable notification = new Runnable()
{
#Override
public void run()
{
//post your code............
}
};
handler.postDelayed(notification,10000);
Yes, putting the UI thread to sleep isnt a good idea.
Try this
private final ScheduledExecutorService worker = Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
worker.schedule(task, 10, TimeUnit.SECONDS);

What exactly does the post method do?

I've encountered a very weird feature.
When I'm trying to run an animation on the main thread, it does not start.
When I run said animation using
getView().post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
getView().startAnimation(a);
}
});
It does start.
I've printed the CurrentThread before starting the animation and both print main.
Obviously, I am missing something here, as both should start the animation on the main thread...
My guess is that as post adds the task to the queue, it starts at a more "correct time", but I would love to know what happens here at more depth.
EDIT:
Let me clear things up - my question is, why starting the animation on post causes it to start, when starting the animation on the main thread does not.
post :post causes the Runnable to be added to the message queue,
Runnable : Represents a command that can be executed. Often used to run code in a different Thread.
run () : Starts executing the active part of the class' code. This method is called when a thread is started that has been created with a class which implements Runnable.
getView().post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
getView().startAnimation(a);
}
});
code : getView().startAnimation(a);
in your code,
post causes the Runnable (the code will be run a in different thread) to add the message queue.
So startAnimation will be fired in a new thread when it is fetched from the messageQueue
[EDIT 1]
Why do we use a new thread instead of UI thread (main thread)?
UI Thread :
When application is started, Ui Thread is created automatically
it is in charge of dispatching the events to the appropriate widgets
and this includes the drawing events.
It is also the thread you interact with Android widgets with
For instance, if you touch the a button on screen, the UI thread
dispatches the touch event to the widget which in turn sets its
pressed state and posts an invalidate request to the event queue. The
UI thread dequeues the request and notifies the widget to redraw
itself.
What happens if a user press a button which will do longOperation ?
((Button)findViewById(R.id.Button1)).setOnClickListener(
new OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
final Bitmap b = loadImageFromNetwork();
mImageView.setImageBitmap(b);
}
});
The UI freezes. The program may even crash.
public void onClick(View v) {
new Thread(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
final Bitmap b = loadImageFromNetwork();
mImageView.setImageBitmap(b);
}
}).start();
}
It breaks the android rule that never update UI directly from worker thread
Android offers several ways to access the UI thread from other threads.
Activity.runOnUiThread(Runnable)
View.post(Runnable)
View.postDelayed(Runnable, long)
Handler
Like below,
View.post(Runnable)
public void onClick(View v) {
new Thread(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
final Bitmap b = loadImageFromNetwork();
mImageView.post(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
mImageView.setImageBitmap(b);
}
});
}
}).start();
}
Handler
final Handler myHandler = new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper());
(new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
final Bitmap b = loadImageFromNetwork();
myHandler.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
mImageView.setImageBitmap(b);
}
});
}
})).start();
}
For more info
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/05/painless-threading.html
http://www.aviyehuda.com/blog/2010/12/20/android-multithreading-in-a-ui-environment/
Is this being done on onCreate or onCreateView? If so, the app might not be in a state where the View is attached to the window. A lot of algorithms based on View metrics may not work since things like the View's measurements and position may have not been calculated. Android animations typically require them to run through UI math
View.post actually queues the animation on the View's message loop, so once the view gets attached to the window, it executes the animation instead of having it execute manually.
You are actually running things on the UI thread, but at a different time
Have a look here for a good answer. view.post() is the same as handler.post() pretty much. It goes into the main thread queue and gets executed after the other pending tasks are finished. If you call activity.runOnUiThread() it will be called immediately on the UI thread.
The problem I think could be the life-cycle method where you are calling the post() method. Are you doing it in onCreate()? if so look at what I found in the activity's onResume() documentation:
onResume()
Added in API level 1 void onResume () Called after
onRestoreInstanceState(Bundle), onRestart(), or onPause(), for your
activity to start interacting with the user. This is a good place to
begin animations, open exclusive-access devices (such as the
camera), etc.
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity.html#onResume()
So, as Joe Plante said, maybe the view is not ready to start animations at the moment you call post(), so try moving it to onResume().
PD: Actually if you do move the code to onResume() then I think you can remove the post() call since you are already in the ui-thread and the view should be ready to start animations.

Android: Rotating Button on a thread

Could someone provide a sample implementation for rotating a button on a thread ? As of now I am rotating my button on the UI thread using the following code:
Animation ranim = (Animation) AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(getBaseContext(),
R.anim.rotation);
buttonRotate.setAnimation(ranim);
following should work for you.
Thread thread = new Thread()
{
#Override
public void run() {
try {
Animation ranim = (Animation) AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(getBaseContext(),
R.anim.rotation);
buttonRotate.setAnimation(ranim);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
};
thread.start();
you might eventually have to create an AsyncTask which can run independently without disturbing UI Thread.
in your UI thread define
Handler mainHandler = new Handler();
then inside your thread, use this:
mainHandler.post(new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
//your piece of code
}
});
This has served me well so far in several cases, hope it does for you too! :D
EDIT:
mainHandler.post(new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
while(someBoolean==true)
{
//your piece of code
}
}
});
if you'd define 'someBoolean' inside your class, just like you did with the handler, the thread is supposed to get it, I believe.
this way, after processing your data, simply set someBoolean to false, and the rotating stops.
Unfortunately I don't have access to my IDE at the moment, so I am going to list the steps for you rather that put buggy code up here.
1) Implement "AnimationListener" in the same class that extends Activity.
2) Set a click listener on your button.
3) Create an AsyncTask class.
4) Override doInBackground (of AsyncTask) and place your resource intensive logic there.
5) In onAnimationStart (of AnimationListener), implement the logic to call your AsyncTask, i.e. new MyTask().execute();
6) Define the animation and set it to your button.
This is how it should go: You click the button, onAnimationStart is called, your AsyncTask logic and animation both start. This way you can have your button rotate at the same that that your background thread is performing resource intensive operations - i.e. concurrently.
And just for fun, you may want to disable your button from being clicked again before the background task has finished.
Sorry for the lack of code, but this should be pretty straight forward from here.

Android wait() not working

This is my first question here, so please forgive me if I disobeyed any of the forum rules.
I need my program to wait for 3 seconds and then change the Content View
My code is:
setContentView(R.layout.logout);
new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run(){
try {
synchronized(this){
wait(3000);
}
}
catch(InterruptedException ex){
}
}
}).start();
setContentView(R.layout.main);
The program works with no errors, but there is no waiting. When it gets to this part, it just shows the "main" layout without showing the "logout" layout at all.
What is wrong in my approach?
As people noted, don't sleep on or otherwise block the UI thread, but you seem to be aware of this with the new thread you create.
Now for why it doesn't behave as you want:
Right now, you call setContentView(), start a new thread, call setContentView() a second time on the UI thread -- this happens in quick succession with no delay/wait/sleep inbetween. The wait(3000) happens in the new thread you started -- so that new thread starts, waits for 3000ms, then exits. It's an expensive no-op.
You would need to make the second call to setContentView() from inside that new thread's run() method to get the desired effect. Also, you should use sleep() instead of wait() -- wait() is a low-level tool for synchronizing threads while sleep() is the usual "don't continue for X amount of time".
Let me propose a better way:
An arguably nicer and much lighter approch is using Handler.postDelayed() -- this allows you to invoke a Runnable on the UI thread after a delay:
setContentView(R.layout.logout);
new Handler().postDelayed(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
setContentView(R.layout.main);
}
}, 3000);
Edit to reply to your comment:
Define and find the button before the Runnable as a final variable, this way you can access it later from inside the Runnable.
Please note that to reference the this instance of the surrounding class from inside an anonymous inner class (your new Runnable()), you need to prefix it with the class name of the surrounding class (your Activity class):
final View submitButton = findViewById(R.id.submit_button);
setContentView(R.layout.logout);
new Handler().postDelayed(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
setContentView(R.layout.main);
// adapt to your actual Activity class name:
submitButton.setOnClickListener(YourClassName.this);
}
}, 3000);
wait() doesn't wait for a certain amount of time, but rather has the current Thread wait for this to do a notify() for a maximum amount of time. What you are looking for, is Thread.sleep().
And at the moment the only thing that will be waiting, is the additional thread you are spawning, not the activity itself. That's why I'd suggest you look at Handler.postDelayed(), CountDownTimer or AsyncTask. Handling threads is very low-level.
Your code not work to sleep UI thread.To sleep UI thread try this code
new Handler().postDelayed(new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
setContentView(R.layout.main);
}
}, 3000);
Try using Sleep() instead of Wait()
android.os.SystemClock.sleep(3000)
As far as i can understand the wait is happening in the new thread where as you are calling setContentView(R.layout.main) in the current thread.
Try
setContentView(..)
synchronized(this) {
this.wait(1000);
}
setContentView(..)
Please note sleeping or waiting in the UI thread is not a best practice though.

Task not finishing and forbidding TextView to be updated

I am now working on an android app in which I need to display a text after some processing is done.
I'm using a Thread to run a process in the back while my progress dialog is being displayed to the user. The Thread works properly and I've followed it step by step and, apparently, it also ends fine; however, the method in which I call it does not seem to come to an end (at least, during a normal cycle) because the text I am setting afterward does display immediately, I have to wait and do some other action (like in order for it to display
Below is the piece of code I'm having trouble with:
private OnClickListener saldoDisp = new OnClickListener(){
public void onClick(View v){
int x = s2.getSelectedItemPosition();
branchSel = arrSucsId[x];
mainProc();
saldoAdminTex.setText(strSaldo); //The late one
}
};
public void mainProc(){
chekP = new Thread (null,doProc,"Background");
chekP.start();
mProgress =ProgressDialog.show(SivetaAsaldo.this, "","Obteniendo saldo...",true, false);
}
private Runnable doProc = new Runnable(){
public void run(){
if(getSaldoAdmin(levelSel,branchSel))
{
mProgress.dismis();
Log.i(TAG,"Task completed properly");
}else
handler.post(tosti);
}
};
So I do get the "Task completed properly" but seems like it still waits for something else, any clues guys?
Thanks for taking a bit of your time to check it out =).
saldoAdminTex.setText(strSaldo); //The late one
is going to get called immediately. It doesn't wait until after the Thread started in mainProc ends. You also cannot dismiss the Progress Dialog in your runnable. You can only do UI related things on the main UI thread.
It would help you to read the article on Painless Threading on the Android Dev site.
About your ProgressDialog, please see this answer about how to use a AsyncTask with a ProgressDialog.
Looking at your code, this:
saldoAdminTex.setText(strSaldo);
would potentially be executed before your thread finishes as the thread will be running in parallel to that line.
An alternative way would be to do this:
public void mainProc(){
mProgress =ProgressDialog.show(SivetaAsaldo.this, "","Obteniendo saldo...",true,false);
handler.post(new Runable(){
public void run(){
if(getSaldoAdmin(levelSel,branchSel))
{
mProgress.dismis();
saldoAdminTex.setText(strSaldo);
Log.i(TAG,"Task completed properly");
}else
handler.post(tosti);
}
});
}

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