my app lets user create scheduled task.
Example: Tomorow show this notification => this notification leads to this activity etc.
What is the best practice to do this? Do I need to use some background task manager? How can I do this so it will work even when App is not running?
Facebook is doing something similar, when it is not running it still checks web for useful info for you.
Can somebody point me to some tutorial or get me some example? Thank you
There are several solutions that are recommended by Android framework team
Firebase JobDispatcher
GCM Network Manager, codelab
Job Scheduler api 21+
For showing a notification at a known point in the future (either a specific time or X hours from now) use AlarmManager to set an alarm.
For getting notifications from a server, generally you'd use push messages from the server. Although polling the server on an alarm would also work.
Related
I am new to Android. I want to develop an app that is going to do something every 20 minutes: if the user is in the app, they just get a message, else, the app will set a dialog and if the user accepts that dialog, the app will open and the user will get that message.
I have searched how to do that and ended up using alarm manager and everything went fine. However, the question is that if using alarm manager is good for this situation. If not, why? And what is the solution? I had read somewhere that work manager is also good.
WorkManager will not be useful in a case like this when device enters Doze mode.
WorkManager adheres to power-saving features and best practices like Doze mode
I have seen that even after white listing the app, (removing from battery optimisation), if device is left unused, stationary, unplugged, WorkManager work is delayed until the next maintenance window, sometimes hours of delays.
AlarmManager can be used but documentation recommends
Exact alarms should only be used for user-facing features. Learn more about the acceptable use cases for setting an exact alarm.
FCM is another option that could be considered in doze mode.
Edit: WorkManager is definitely recommended for persistent onetime or periodic works which are not time sensitive, where combination of constraints can be applied.
I am new to Android and working on this chat app where I want to change an Activity element based on a predetermined data on predetermined exact times. It doesn't have to work when app or phone is closed but I want to send notifications as well with the change. There is AlarmManager, JobScheduler, Handler, Timer, WorkManager but I am extremely confused about how they compare to each other. Which is the best option in this case?
In fact, WorkManager under the hood uses all of these scheduling APIs depending on the API level. This means that you won't have to deal with finding the best API for devices, because WorkManager will pick up the appropriate API for you.
You can also read the official documentation for more info and comparison: https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/workmanager
The WorkManager API is a suitable and recommended replacement for all
previous Android background scheduling APIs, including
FirebaseJobDispatcher, GcmNetworkManager, and Job Scheduler.
I know it might seem a repeated question, but I want to call a method to report geolocation position every minute as long as the application is open. Other answers recommended using CountDownTimer class. Is there a better way in Android to repeatedly call a function in background?
No idea who suggested a count down timer, but in Android you can use Services namely the Background Service. See here
You could consider something like an AlarmManager - which will run periodically, i.e. every minute to execute an Intent
The risk you run, if something is continuously running, is it will be shut down by the OS.
Alternatively, if you're checking network connectivity etc then you can look into BroadCast receivers - and there's no need to run continuously in the background.
It depends on how you are getting the location. If you use play services you can take advantage of the LocationRequest class. For more information about how to use play services to get the location, please have a look at this training put together by Google.
Hope this helps.
I am developing an Android app that allows sports team coaches to update the attendance for events like training/matches. A feature I would like to add would be to display a notification on the device to remind them that they need to update the attendance for the event when it has started.
I have been reading online a bit and it seems that push is the preferred method for data that is changing. But because i know the start times of the events, would it be better to create a background service using something like the following?
https://stackoverflow.com/a/9933130/2039505
I basically want the user to receive a vibrate notification which when they click on it, it will open the events attendance screen. Hopefully someone will have some insight into which option is best!
Since all you need is a notification on a timer, the AlarmManager would be the best way to go.
If you used Push Notifications(GCM), that would require server side code and a method to store the device id to send the notification to.
Overkill if you ask me.
Here are links to the official documentation and example code:
Official documentation
Vogella's example on services
i've a question for a feature, i want to implement.
I know some applications, like whatsapp, gmail or others, which run in background and notify the user, if something is received...
i'd like to do the same with my application. i've a http-network-connection and want to notify the user, even if he hasn't the application started. is something like this possible?
Is it possible, that a PopUp-Window, like receiving a sms, appears?
(if not, the notify-way in a titlebar is enough)
i've no idea, what i should google or where i can find help
Thank you a lot!
Edit: I found another very cool framework which deals with notifications. Have a loot at: https://www.parse.com/tutorials/android-push-notifications
You should take a look into Services. You can have the http connection listening in it. For the notification I'd use the NotificationManager class. A notification is much more less intrusive than a pop-up.
Hope that helps
Google Cloud Messaging will definitely help you.
If your server can instantiate this 'action' or 'event', by all means don't try to pull data periodically, coz that brings extra complexity to your app and also battery drain to your users.
But if you really, truly, badly need this behavior, you can instantiate a Service from your app's process. This can be done from many places, like your main activity or some other user action, or even from a broadcast listener. For example, our app has some parallel work to do, so we pass this to a service and that service is initiated by a broadcast listener listening for phone events like a phone call or sms.
On the other hand, just like the main activity of your app, your background service can be killed arbitrarily by the operating system any time. So you shouldn't depend on it running forever. You should have ways to check if that is still working in the background. Check alarm events or any other relevant broadcast listeners.