Can't create handler inside threads that has not called looper? - java

I want to send a notification after 5 seconds.
I found this code example to do something after 5 seconds, but I just can set a Log.e().
The Notification method is also working. But if I want to call the method setNotification(), I get a RuntimeError after 5 seconds:
Can't create Handler inside Thread that has not called looper.prepare().
I found very much help, but nothing works. So I hope you can help me.
public class Reminder {
Timer timer;
public Reminder(int seconds) {
timer = new Timer();
timer.schedule(new RemindTask(), seconds * 1000);
}
}
class RemindTask extends TimerTask {
public void run() {
todo_list rem = new todo_list();
rem.setNotification("Todo!", false, 1);
}
}
public class todo_list extends ListActivity {
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
new Reminder(5);
}
public void setNotification(String text, boolean ongoing, int id) {}
}

You need to call rem.setNotification from a thread which will keep running always. One way is to use runonuithread
runonUithread(new Runnable(){
run(){
rem.setNotification("Todo!",false,1);
}
});

You'll get this error when you execute some code that shouldn't be done in another thread than the UI thread. So simple get an activity object and call runOnUiThread(Runnable action) {} on it. Place that code that generates the error in the Runnable.
I hope this helps.

Related

Android thread error - Can't create handler inside thread that has not called Looper.prepare()

I am trying to get a timer to run in a separate thread.
I have the following declaration before my onCreate function:
TimerTask scanTask;
Timer t = new Timer();
Then the following code within onCreate:
Runnable runnable = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
scanTask = new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
System.out.println("timer test");
}
};
t.schedule(scanTask, 0, 5000);
CountDownTimer waitTimer;
waitTimer = new CountDownTimer(20000,300) {
#Override
public void onTick(long l) {
}
#Override
public void onFinish() {
t.cancel();
System.out.println("Timer stopped");
}
}.start();
}
};
Thread periodic_scan = new Thread(runnable);
periodic_scan.start();
However, when I run the app, it crashes and gives me the error:
java.lang.RuntimeException: Can't create handler inside thread that has not called Looper.prepare()
I'm not sure I completely understand why this error is occurring. Is it something to do with the UI thread? Also, I'm not sure whether the way I've tried to implement this is correct. This is my first time trying to deal with threads in Android.
you can use HandlerThread like
HandlerThread handlerThread = new HandlerThread("name");
handlerThread.start();
Handler threadHandler = new Handler(handlerThread.getLooper(),new Callback() {
public boolean handleMessage(Message msg) {
return true;
}
});
I ended up changing the code a bit and decided to use a Thread class:
class TimerThread extends Thread {
TimerTask scanTask;
Timer t = new Timer();
#Override
public void run() {
Looper.prepare();
scanTask = new TimerTask() {
public void run() {
System.out.println("timer test");
}
};
t.schedule(scanTask, 0, 5000);
CountDownTimer waitTimer;
waitTimer = new CountDownTimer(20000,300) {
#Override
public void onTick(long l) {
}
#Override
public void onFinish() {
t.cancel();
System.out.println("Timer stopped");
}
}.start();
Looper.loop();
}
}
In onCreate I used the following:
new TimerThread().start();
The program now works without any errors, however the only problem now is that there is a noticeable 2-3 second lag when the program loads up before the UI renders to the screen.
I'm not sure why this is happening if the timer function I am using is running on a separate thread, unless I've missed something here...
If you create a handler (or any class you call creates a handler) it needs to be in a Thread that has a Looper on it, and has called Looper.prepare(). Either TimerTask or CountDownTimer is doing that. How to fix it depends on where you want the events to be posted to. If you want them on the UI thread, you'll have to create the handler on the UI thread. If you want them on this thread, then you need to call Looper.prepare and Looper.loop at some point.
The UI thread already has a looper (the framework starts it for you) so its always ok to make handlers there.

Error in derived TimerTask class: `Can't create handler inside thread that has not called Looper.prepare()`

I want to cyclically update an Android Layout. For this purpose I wrote a short class derived from TimerTask.
Unfortunately my code causes an exception and I do not really know, what the problem might be. :(
So maybe anybody could help.
Thanks
Chris
Here's my code:
In the main activity I've got:
private MyLayoutClass m_MyLayout;
...
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
...
m_MyLayout = new AdLayout(this);
Timer caretaker = new Timer();
caretaker.schedule(new MyReloadTimerTask(m_MyLayout), 1000, 5000);
...
}
This is my derived TimerTask class:
public class MyReloadTimerTask extends TimerTask
{
private MyLayoutClass m_MyLayout;
public MyReloadTimerTask(MyLayoutClass aLayout)
{
m_MyLayout = aLayout;
}
#Override
public void run()
{
m_MyLayout.doReload();
}
}
The doReload() cannot be executed, I get an exception with this message: Can't create handler inside thread that has not called Looper.prepare()
Timertask runs on a different thread. So you cannot not update/access ui from a background thread.
Probably m_MyLayout.doReload() is updating ui. Use a Handler or runOnUiThread
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
m_MyLayout.doReload()
}
});
Using Handler
Handler m_handler;
Runnable m_handlerTask ;
m_handler = new Handler();
m_handlerTask = new Runnable()
{
#Override
public void run() {
// do something
m_handler.postDelayed(m_handlerTask, 1000);
// repeat some task every 1 second
}
};
m_handlerTask.run();
To cancel the run
m_handler.removeCallbacks(m_handlerTask);

Java Timer equivalent in Android

I recently began working with Java and am exploring Android development. I was trying to port over one of the Java programs I made, but I am having some difficulty with getting the java Timer to function the same way in Android. I read through a number of posts and they, for the most part, indicated that it would be better to use the Handler class in android as opposed to Timer.
This was my timer in Java:
playTimer = new Timer(1000/model.getFPS(), new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt) {
// do something
...
if( finished everything ) playTimer.stop();
}
});
And once a certain button was clicked, I would simply run "playTimer.start()" to start it.
As you can see, I had it set up so that the user could set the FPS they wanted (by simply setting the first parameter of the Timer class to 1000/model.getFPS()).
Now I've tried to do something similar in Android using handlers, but I am having some difficulty. It appears that the Handler ticks are not firing at the proper intervals. It seems that they are quite slow compared to what I need it to be. This is what I did in android so far:
public void startTimer() {
playHandler = new Handler();
startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
playHandler.removeCallbacks(updateTimeTask);
playHandler.postDelayed(updateTimeTask, 0);
}
private Runnable updateTimeTask = new Runnable() {
public void run() {
// do something
...
if( finished everything ) playHander.cancel();
else {
playHandler.postDelayed(updateTimeTask, 1000/model.getFPS());
}
}
};
Excuse the semi-pseudocode. Can anyone shed any light? Thanks guys.
You can use a timer as below. The timer runs every second incrementing the counter. Displs the counter value in textview.
Timer runs on a different thread. SO you should set the text on the UI Thread.
The counter runs from 0 to 99. After 99 the timer is cancelled. Also cancel the timer when not required like in onPause().
public class MainActivity extends Activity {
TextView _tv,tv2;
Timer _t;
int _count=0;
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
_tv = (TextView) findViewById( R.id.textView1 );
_t = new Timer();
_tv.setText(R.string.app_name);
_t.scheduleAtFixedRate( new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
_count++;
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() //run on ui thread
{
public void run()
{
_tv.setText(""+_count);
if(_count==99)
{
_t.cancel();
}
}
});
}
}, 1000, 1000 ); //change this value of 1000 to whatever you need.
}
#Override
protected void onPause() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
super.onPause();
_t.cancel();
}
}
If you decide not to use Timer (for whatever reason) you can just write a separate Thread that sleeps for x milliseconds and then wakes up and calls whatever Runnable you want it to call. That's going to be pretty precise. I have it working at the 10 millisecond level and it works quite nicely.
Just remember that it HAS to call a Runnable because a separate Thread can't have direct effect on anything on the main display thread.
public boolean keepPlayingAnimation = true
Handler h = new Handler()
Runnable updateDisplay = new Runnable(){
public void run(){
//do something in my display;
}
}
new Thread(){
public void run(){
while(keepPlayingAnimation){
try{
sleep(10);
}catch(Exception e){
}
h.post(updateDisplay);
}
}
}.start();
Just don't forget to set keepPlayingAnimation to false when you're done with this cause otherwise it will sit there running in the background for ever (or just about).
Take a look at Android Timer
It already has everything you need i guess. From ticking every 1 second to finish handly and so on.
Here is an example how to setup an TimerTask: setup
Not sure if you need such but i just remembered that i made this.

Android: runOnUiThread does not always choose the right thread?

I've got an activity that keeps reading words to the user, and using onUtteranceCompleted with textTospeech to display something when the code is completed.
Inside onUtteranceCompleted I have this code to delay a function with a second:
Runnable task = new Runnable() {
public void run() {
//runs on ui
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
readWord();
}
});
}
};
worker.schedule(task, 1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
This seems like it works well, but I think it is causing a problem.
When I rotate the screen of my phone (I guess this starts a new activity).
I hear some words being read in the background. I guess this is because of runOnUiThread() which makes the activity continue in the background.
How could I avoid 2 activities running ? I would prefer if I don't have to stop the screen from rotating on doing some weird patch!
Thank you
EDIT:
public void readWord() {
if (this.readingOnPause) {
return;
}
txtCurrentWord.setText(currentItem[1]);
this.hashAudio.put(TextToSpeech.Engine.KEY_PARAM_UTTERANCE_ID,"word");
this.tts.setLanguage(Locale.US);
this.tts.speak(this.currentItem[1], TextToSpeech.QUEUE_FLUSH,this.hashAudio);
}
EDIT2:
instantiation of worker:
private static final ScheduledExecutorService worker = Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
I would use a Handler instead of runOnUiThread().
For one thing, you're using a Thread that starts another Thread - why?
Secondly, if you create a simple Handler, it should kill itself on the rotate config change. IE:
private Handler handler = new Handler() {
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
// do your background or UI stuff
}
};
Then later use a Thread to call the handler, which will kick off whatever process you want to run on the UI thread:
new Thread() {
#Override
public void run() {
long timestamp = System.currentTimeMillis();
// thread blocks for your 1 second delay
while (System.currentTimeMillis() - timestamp <= 1000) {
// loop
}
handler.sendEmptyMessage(0);
}
}.start();
Ok so this is a fix I've come up with, if someone has a better solution, I'm listening.
I've added android:configChanges="keyboardHidden|orientation" inside the activity in the androidmanifest
2.
and then a function that is called when the screen is rotate:
#Override
public void onConfigurationChanged(Configuration newConfig)
{
super.onConfigurationChanged(newConfig);
setContentView(R.layout.streaming);
initializeUI(); //contains all the findViewByID etc...
}

How to make a simple timer without new class in Android?

I'm developing a Service for Android, that must run in background, executing a function each 100 seconds. That's the source code (example)
package com.example
import ....
public class Servizio extends Service {
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
}
public void onCreate() {
}
public void onDestroy() {
//here put the code that stop the timer cycle
}
public void onStart(Intent intent, int startid) {
//i want to begin here the timercycle that each 100 s call myCycle()
}
public void myCycle() {
//code that i can't move on other class!!!
}
}
How I can do that? Now the service execute myCycle() just one time, beacause I put a calling in onStart().
Use a Timer with a TimerTask. To execute your method every 100 seconds, you can use the following in your onStart method. Be aware that this method creates a new thread.
new Timer().schedule(new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
myCycle();
}
}, 0, 100000);
Alternatively, use an android.os.Handler as described in this article: Updating the UI from a Timer. It is better than a Timer because it runs in the main thread, avoiding the overhead of a second thread.
private Handler handler = new Handler();
Runnable task = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
myCycle();
handler.postDelayed(this, 100000);
}
};
handler.removeCallbacks(task);
handler.post(task);
I usually do this, if I understood correctly you wanted the myCycle to execute every 100 secs.
Timer myTimer = new Timer();
myTimer.schedule(new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
myCycle();
}
}, 0,100000);
When I had this issue, where I call out to a webservice on a periodic basis this was my solution:
public class MyService extends Service {
private Handler mHandler = new Handler();
public static final int ONE_MINUTE = 60000;
private Runnable periodicTask = new Runnable() {
public void run() {
mHandler.postDelayed(periodicTask, 100 * ONE_MINUTE);
token = retrieveToken();
callWebService(token);
}
};
I call the postDelayed early so that the delay from the webservice call doesn't cause the timing to shift.
The two functions are actually in the MyService class.
UPDATE:
You can pass a Runnable to postDelayed as shown here:
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/Handler.html#postDelayed(java.lang.Runnable, long)
public final boolean postDelayed (Runnable r, long delayMillis)
Since: API Level 1 Causes the Runnable r to be added to the message
queue, to be run after the specified amount of time elapses. The
runnable will be run on the thread to which this handler is attached.
Also, my code won't compile due to missing functions, this is shown as an example of what the OP can do.

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