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Android: How to get the activity calling the class

I have Activity1 and Activity2. Both can call a class named "fetchData.java". Is there any way inside fetchData.java wherein I can get which activity called it?
Here is my fetchData.java:
public class fetchData extends AsyncTask<String,String,String> {
#Override
protected String doInBackground(String... voids) {
//do something
}
#Override
protected void onPostExecute(String aVoid) {
super.onPostExecute(aVoid);
}
}
Activity1 and Activity2 code:
public class Activity1 extends AppCompatActivity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
//Call fetchData.java
fetchData getValues = new fetchData();
getValues.execute();
}

The only way I can see for you to do this is by passing the Activity in the constructor:
public class FetchData extends AsyncTask<String, String, String> { //rename fetchData to FetchData to follow Java coding practices
private Activity activity;
public FetchData(Activity activity) {
this.activity = activity;
}
#Override
protected String doInBackground(String... strings) { //use the proper variable names
//...
}
#Override
protected void onPostExecute(String string) { //use the proper variable names
//use instanceof to check the identity of the activity instance
if (activity instanceof Activity1) {
//whatever
} else if (activity instanceof Activity2) {
//whatever else
}
//super call isn't needed
}
}
And to instantiate it:
FetchData getValues = new FetchData(this);
getValues.execute();
Take note of my comments. I made a few changes to your code to improve readability and conform better to Java's coding standards.
In other cases, you might be able to read the stacktrace and find the calling class, but since you're using an AsyncTask, which runs on another Thread, the stacktrace only goes back to when the Thread was created, so it wouldn't work here.

AsyncTask: doInBackground is not finishing

I'am trying to implement an AsyncTask in Android that will load all my data from the database. Therefore I used the onPreExecute method to start a ProgressDialog
public class DataLoader extends AsyncTask<Void, Void, Void> {
private LoginActivity activity;
private ProgressDialog nDialog;
public DataLoader (LoginActivity act){
this.activity = act;
nDialog = new ProgressDialog(activity);
}
protected void onPreExecute() {
System.out.print("Start AsyncTask");
nDialog.setMessage("Loading data..");
nDialog.setTitle("Starting the application");
nDialog.setIndeterminate(false);
nDialog.setCancelable(true);
nDialog.show();
}
#Override
protected Void doInBackground(Void ... params) {
System.out.println("Starting doInBackground");
loadDashboardData();
return null;
}
protected void onPostExecute() {
nDialog.dismiss();
Intent i = new Intent();
i.setClass(activity.getApplicationContext(), DashboardActivity.class);
activity.startActivity(i);
}
The I use the doInBackground method to load call a function to load the data. This method is called from an visible activity. The task is called with:
public class LoginActivity extends Activity {
public void onClick(View v) {
DataLoader dl = new DataLoader(this);
dl.execute();
}
}
And the code for the doInBackground is:
protected Void doInBackground(Void ... params) {
System.out.println("Starting doInBackground");
loadDashboardData();
return null;
}
Now the problem is that my doInBackground method will not finish. I tried to implement the loadDashboardData() call in the onPreExecute method. This will not show my dialog box but it will load the data correctly. In this case the UI Thread is not responding and will response after all the data has been loaded.
What can hinder the doInBackground method to execute correctly and load the data properly? The called method works (because I can call it and get the correct data). Also I'am not seeing the println in my run console.
In the frontend I can see the progressbar spinning, but in the backend I can see that no data is loaded.

Your problem is that you are overriding the wrong method name : )
It should be
#Override
protected void onPostExecute(Void result) {
// your code
}
as in your case the variable which doInBackground return is Void.
You can check the documentation about AsyncTask .

Where to put in Android code to communicate with server over http

The question is how to communicate with an Android phone to a server, so that if the Activity is left and the call in the Activity was not successful to repeat the transaction once again automatically. Just now I use the AsyncTask of Android to communicate with the server:
new AsyncTask<String, Void, List<String>>() {
#Override
protected void onPreExecute(
showWaitDialog();
}
#Override
protected void onPostExecute(List<String> msgList) {
//here I put the handling after the POST ie. error and success handling
hideWaitDialog();
if (msgList.isEmpty() {
//success handling --> starting an new Activity
} else {
errorView.setText (...);
errorLayout.setVisibility (View.VISIBLE);
}
}
#Override
protected List<String> doInBackground(String... params) {
List<String> msgs = new ArrayList<String>();
try{
//for example submitting an JSONObject
JSONObject result = HttpUtils.sendHttpPost(
AppConstants.WEB_URL, jsonObject);
//error handling on the result
boolean hasErrors = JsonResult.isOk(result);
if (hasErrors) {
// adding errors to msgs list
String[] errorMessages = JsonResult.getErrorMessages (result,...);
fillList (msgs, errorMessages);
return msgs;
}
} catch (CommunicationError er) {
msgs.add (er...);
}
return msgs;
}
}
The problem with this approach is, that if I don't have a successful transmission of the data I must stay in the same Activity. Until now I show an error message to the user and he is in charge to submit by a button again the results to the server.
What I'm looking for is some Activity that remains persistent in the memory which runs later in the case that the transmission wasn't made.
As an application case I use this to dynamically upload pictures for a Waypoint in a map if I pressed that waypoint. In some case it can happens that the connection to the mobile service provider isn't available (mountains, forest, far apart from antenna). Then I want to leave the map Activity and switch to the detail view of this waypoint. In the success case I put the picture into my model classes and make an serialization. If the user clicks again on the same waypoint the picture is not loaded again. In the non success case I don't want to wait that the user clicks against on the waypoint to retrieve the image. In fact I need a background task, some sort of a queue that pictures of waypoints that are already visited on couldn't be retrieved are loaded until the communication part gives back a positive result and the image can be written into the model. The next time the user is pressing the Waypoint the picture will be then present.
Are there any best practices for making such a code implementation?
Is there any example around?
Is there a better way of doing this?

Yes, you need to Implement Intent Service for this requirement
According to the developers website
The IntentService class provides a straightforward structure for running an operation on a single background thread.
For complete details and working source code, Go through the Android Docs

Thanks to the answer of David.
I just read after the suggestion the tutorial at
[1] http://code.tutsplus.com/tutorials/android-fundamentals-intentservice-basics--mobile-6183
After my tests I prefered a Service (not an IntentService)
and created a service: SubmissionService
public class SubmissionIntentService extends Service {
private List<PendingMessage> pMsgList = new CopyOnWriteArrayList<PendingMessage>();
private Handler handler = new Handler();
private boolean hasAppStopped = false;
private Runnable runner;
public SubmissionIntentService() {
super();
Log.d (TAG, "Service created...");
}
#Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
PendingMessage pMessage = (PendingMessage) intent.getParcelableExtra(AppConstants.MESSAGE_OBJECT);
synchronized (pMsgList) {
pMsgList.add(pMessage);
}
if (runner == null) {
handler.postDelayed(runner = initializeRunnable(), 500);
}
return Service.START_NOT_STICKY;
}
private void runAsLongAppIsActive (Runnable runner) {
if (!hasAppStopped) {
handler.postDelayed (runner, SOME_INTERVAL_CONSTANT);
}
}
private Runnable initializeRunnable() {
Runnable result;
result = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
if (pMsgList.isEmpty()) {
runAsLongAppIsActive (this);
return;
}
PendingMessage[] pMArray = null;
synchronized(pMsgList) {
pMArray = pMsgList.toArray (new PendingMessage[pMsgList.size()]);
}
if (pMArray==null || pMArray.length==0) {
runAsLongAppIsActive (this);
return;
}
Log.d (TAG, "Message List size is actually :"+pMArray.length);
for (PendingMessage pM: pMArray) {
try {
JSONObject jsonMess = JSONSendMessage.buildOutput (pM);
JSONObject result = HttupUtils.sendHttpPost (WEB_URL, jsonMess);
boolean hasErrors = JSONResult.isOk (result);
if (hasErrors) {
//TODO: error handling in case of transmission
//don't remove the message from the queue
runAsLongAppIsActive(this);
return;
}
//remove pending transmission of the queue if success
synchronized (pMsgList) {
pMsgList.remove (pM);
}
//inform over receiver if activity is shown
Intent broadcastIntent = new Intent();
//put data in intent
sendBroadcast (intent);
//more important
WayPointModel model = ModelInstance.getWayPointModel();
model.addToModel (pM, result);
model.store();
} catch (Exception e) {
continue; //try to send other messages
}
}
runAsLongAppIsActive (this);
}
};
return result;
}
}
#Override
public void onDestroy() {
hasAppStopped = true;
handler.removeCallbacks (runner);
super.onDestroy();
}
}
Further I added a ResponseReceiver:
public class ResponseReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
public static final String ACTION_RESP = "MESSAGE_PROCESSED";
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
//work in progress...
}
}
and in the Activity where I want to be informed about events:
public class SomeActivity extends Activity {
private ResponseReceiver receiver;
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter(ResponseReceiver.ACTION_RESP);
filter.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_DEFAULT);
receiver = new ResponseReceiver();
registerReceiver(receiver, filter);
...
}
}
and finally to send messages over Http:
Intent msgIntent = new Intent(this, SubmissionIntentService.class);
msgIntent.putExtra(...);
startService(msgIntent);
don't forget to declare the service in your manifest:
<service android:name="ch.xxx.app.service.SubmissionIntentService" />
Observations:
- I called the method startService(...) from different Activities. The constructor is only called once.
==> I have just on instance of the service for all Activities (exactly what I need).
What I don't get until now:
- Putting back data to the Activity. What is if the Activity is at the moment no shown?

AsyncTask handle message recieved by another class and update progress

My problem is this;
I have a AsyncTask that works fine, and on doInBackground() it calls a new class that sync my data to a web service using REST service, i don't have everything on a unique class because i need the same content sync for different activitys and it's easier this way.
What i need is, on the sync procedure, i can get the number of "contacts" and everytime it downloads a contact, removes 1 from the "contacts" lenght, so, i nedd to show on the progress dialog the length of contact and refresh everytime it downloads a new "contact"
hre's my code for the AsyncTask:
public class syncContentTask extends AsyncTask<String, String, Boolean> {
private ProgressDialog mprogress;
private Context context;
//token for JSON header to authenticate
String authToken;
public syncContentTask(Context cxt, String token) {
this.context = cxt;
mprogress = new ProgressDialog(context);
authToken = token;
}
protected void onPreExecute() {
mprogress = ProgressDialog.show(context, "Sync", "Sync in progress...");
}
#Override
protected Boolean doInBackground(String... params) {
syncData syncData = new syncData();
syncData.syncData(context, authToken);
publishProgress(progress);
return true;
}
protected void onProgressUpdate(String... progress) {
//mprogress.setProgress(Integer.parseInt(progress[0]));
}
protected void onPostExecute(Boolean result) {
if (result) {
mprogress.dismiss();
}
}
}
In the Sync Data class i have functions that handles the HttpRequest and database stuff...
can anyone help??

You need to create a listener for your data progress and have it update the progress bar. Right now it looks like this line:
syncData.syncData(context, authToken);
blocks and no updates are provided to your progress indicator until it is done. So, you need something like:
MyListener listener = new MyListener(context);
SyncData syncData = new syncData(listener);
And in your listener have callback methods like myListener.downloadStarted() , myListener.updateProgressBar(int progress) and myListener.downloadCompleted() that your syncData class calls as the download progresses.
For example:
public abstract class SDScanAdapter implements SDScanListener {
public void startScan() {
}
public void updateScanProgress(int scanItemsTotal, int scanItemsCompleted) {
}
public void scanComplete() {
}
}
Then create a listener class:
public class ScanListener extends SDScanAdapter {
#Override
public void scanComplete(String contactName, String action) {
runOnUiThread(scanComplete);
}
#Override
public void startScan() {
runOnUiThread(startScan);
}
#Override
public void updateScanProgress(int scanItemsTotal,
int scanItemsCompleted) {
if (scanCountTotal != scanItemsTotal) {
scanCountTotal = scanItemsTotal;
progressBar.setMax(scanCountTotal);
}
if (scanCountUpdate != scanItemsCompleted) {
scanCountUpdate = scanItemsCompleted;
runOnUiThread(updateScanProgress);
}
}
}
And then for this example you need Runnables (startScan, scanComplete and updateScanProgress) that perform UI tasks, like updating the progress bar. In your case, you may also want to load some of the results, etc.
Then in your AsyncTask you do:
ScanListener listener = new ScanListener();
SyncData syncData = new syncData(listener);
Assuming the SDScanListener class and AsyncTask are all in your Activity. Also, your SyncData calss will need to have a SDScanListener variable that is set when it instantiates. Then, while it does its job, calls are made to the listener methods like:
scanListener.startScan();
And while it progresses, it calls the other methods (and corresponding parameters are passed in).

Android - How to show Toast on ConnectionTimeout

I have the following problem: My app uses a function which executes all HTTP calls. As a quick fix I'd like to show the user a toast message whenever there is an ConnectionTimeout.
The problem is that this executeHttp() is called from several AsyncTasks and I can't figure out how to get the required context.
I read something about runOnUiThread but this also didn't seem to work for me...
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Update:
I'd like to have a solution which I can use in my executeHttp() function because else I have do add this code in 100 different places... Is this possible?

First, implement a Method to show a Toast to your activity:
class MyActivity extends Activity {
// some stuff
public void showToast(String text, int duration) {
Toast toast = Toast.makeText(this.getBaseContext(), text, duration);
toast.show();
}
}
The let your AsyncTask hold a reference to the activty which can then be called in the onProgressUpdate Method:
class MyAsyncTask extends AsyncTask {
MyActivity activity;
public MyAsyncTask(MyActivity a)
this.activity = a;
}
#Override
protected Object doInBackground(String... params) {
try {
// do your stuff here
} catch (ConnectionTimeoutException e) {
publishProgress("timeout");
}
#Override
protected void onProgressUpdate(String... values) {
if(values[0].equals("timeout")
activity.showToast("Ups, we have a timeout!", Toast.LENGTH_LONG); }
}
}
}
EDIT ------------
If you want it in your executeHttp() method, you have to pass the Context to it in order to show a Toast:
public ReturnValue executeHttp(Context context) {
try {
// ...
} catch(ConnectionTimeoutException e) {
Toast t = Toast.makeToast(context, message, duration);
t.show();
}
}
summary: no available context -> no toast