Why is my countdown timer in Android so slow? - java

I'm trying to make a countdown timer in android for use in a small android app. The app will countdown from some number of seconds to 0, upon which it will do some action. I'm using the coundowntimer supplied by android.os.countdowntimer. Here is my code:
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.quizlayout);
new CountDownTimer(30000, 1000) {
TextView tx = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.textView2);
public void onTick(long millisUntilFinished) {
tx.setText("seconds remaining: " + millisUntilFinished / 1000);
}
public void onFinish() {
tx.setText("done!");
}
}.start();
}
However, this countdown timer is really slow. It takes like 3 real-time seconds for the timer to countdown by one second. I wonder what's going on? The code I have above is more or less copied straight from google (CountDownTimer)
Can anyone help me as per why my timer is so slow, and offer a way to speed it up a bit?
(EDIT): I am running this on an emulator, the intel atom x86. I am emulating an android 2.3.3 environment.

According to Android documentation for countdown timer
The calls to onTick(long) are synchronized to this object so that one call to onTick(long) won't ever occur before the previous callback is complete. This is only relevant when the implementation of onTick(long) takes an amount of time to execute that is significant compared to the countdown interval.
Take a look at this example for countdown timer
Countdown timer example
Alternately you can spawn a new thread and just get that thread to sleep for the interval you want and take actions when it wakes or vice versa.
You can also timertask

use a handler that will post the same runnable . this will remove the need for extra threads :
Handler handler=new Handler();
handler.postRunnable(... , 1000) ;
in the runnable , call the postRunnable again for the same handler (and add a condition for when to stop) .

CountDownTimer is not efficient regardless to ui updating performances. For a flawless ui update, it is better to create a custom countdown. I did my own so here it is. It is flawless on my app.
public abstract class CountDown {
int totalTime = 0;
int tickTime = 0;
Thread thread;
boolean canceled = false;
public CountDown(int totalTime,int tickTime){
this.totalTime = totalTime;
this.tickTime = tickTime;
}
public abstract void onTick();
public abstract void onFinish();
public void start(){
thread = new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// Do in thread
canceled = false;
for (int elapsedTime = 0; elapsedTime < totalTime; elapsedTime += tickTime) {
if(!canceled){
onTick();
try {
thread.sleep(tickTime);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}else{
break;
}
}
if(!canceled){
onFinish();
}
}
});
thread.start();
}
public void cancel(){
canceled = true;
}
}
Remember that every time you have to update your ui, call a runOnUiThread, or else you will have an exception, you are not in a handler and not on ui thread.
Here is how to use it in your code, it is identical to CountDownTimer, so you could just rename lines in your code :
CountDown cDown = new CountDown(10000, 20) {
public void onTick() {
// Do something
}
public void onFinish() {
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
myButton.setImageDrawable(drawable);
}
});
}
};

Related

Thread issues with handler in android

One part of my activity needs two timers running at once, one of them using Handler and the other using CountDownTimer. The handler portion updates the display every second, while the CountDownTimer counts down to when this part of the code ends. For some reason, I cannot run these both at the same time, and even when I commented out the CountDownTimer portion, the handler portion only ran once, instead of repeating every second. I am at a loss for what to do here. Any ideas? The relevant part of the code is below. For some clarification, the first handler seen here is supposed to run on its own, until a condition is met, at which point it reruns the function and goes to the second if statement. Seen within the second if statement are the details I mentioned at the beginning.
private void statusCheck() {
if (possible = true) {
final Random random = new Random();
final Handler handler1 = new Handler();
final int delay1 = 1000; //milliseconds
handler1.postDelayed(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
runChance = random.nextInt(1000);
if (runChance < 100) {
possible = false;
statusCheck();
}
}
}, delay1);
}
if (possible = false) {
final Handler Handler = new Handler();
final int Delay = 1000; //milliseconds
Handler.postDelayed(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
// code to update every second
}
}, Delay);
new CountDownTimer(ghostDuration, 1000) {
public void onTick(long millisUntilFinished) {
}
public void onFinish() {
//code to run when finished
}
}.start();
}
}
First of all it's not a good idea to to run timer and tasks under Android that way.
Android will block these timer and tasks because they work against the framework.
If you want to implement it correctly with a WorkManager watch out this video from Google which gives you some fundamentals: Android Jetpack WorkManager

Java Android, Countdown Timer and ProgressBar (read first)

I have count down timer which is display by ProgressBar and successfully. But unfortunately there is problems.
The progressBar Start in 1/5 instead 0/5. and Stuck 2 seconds in 4/5 progress
If I recall the Function of Count down Timer before
public void onFinish() {
progresBar.setProgress(100);
}
display will be mess up for a while.
I really miss Unity Engine with Time.deltaTime;
Here is my code:
countDownTimer2 = new CountDownTimer(5000,1000) {
int i = 0;
#Override
public void onTick(long milliSecondUntilFinished) {
i++;
progresBar.setProgress((int) i * 100 / (5000/1000));
}
#Override
public void onFinish() {
progresBar.setProgress(100);
}
}.start();
You are incrementing your i variable before setting your progress. When onTick() is called for the first time, the value of i is 1. Thus progress you are setting is 20 which is equivalent to 1/5. Use this -
#Override
public void onTick(long milliSecondUntilFinished) {
progresBar.setProgress((int) i * 100 / (5000/1000));
i++;
}
Also, you should better use milliSecondUntilFinished to find progress instead of unneccesarily introducing i variable.
For the problem with the display, I highly doubt that you have not canceled the timer already running before calling a new one. If yes, then both timer would be running until older one finishes (till this point, the progress bar will be behaving weirdly).
You can cancel the previous timer as -
countDownTimer2.cancel();
Do this before starting a new one.
Using:
countDownTimer2 = new CountDownTimer(1000,5000) {
int i = 0;
#Override
public void onTick(long milliSecondUntilFinished) {
i++;
progresBar.setProgress((int) i * 100 / (5000/1000));
}
#Override
public void onFinish() {
progresBar.setProgress(100);
}
}.start();

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.

Run loop every second java

int delay = 1000; // delay for 1 sec.
int period = 10000; // repeat every 10 sec.
Timer timer = new Timer();
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(new TimerTask()
{
public void run()
{
displayData(); // display the data
}
}, delay, period);
And other:
while(needToDisplayData)
{
displayData(); // display the data
Thread.sleep(10000); // sleep for 10 seconds
}
Both of them doesn't work (application is force closed). What other options I can try?
You code is failed because you perform sleep in background thread but display data must be performed in UI thread.
You have to run displayData from runOnUiThread(Runnable) or define handler and send message to it.
for example:
(new Thread(new Runnable()
{
#Override
public void run()
{
while (!Thread.interrupted())
try
{
Thread.sleep(1000);
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() // start actions in UI thread
{
#Override
public void run()
{
displayData(); // this action have to be in UI thread
}
});
}
catch (InterruptedException e)
{
// ooops
}
}
})).start(); // the while thread will start in BG thread
Use onPostDelayed() accessed from any of your View or a Handler. You save memory by not creating a Timer or new Thread.
private final Handler mHandler = new Handler();
private final Runnable mUpdateUI = new Runnable() {
public void run() {
displayData();
mHandler.postDelayed(mUpdateUI, 1000); // 1 second
}
}
};
mHandler.post(mUpdateUI);
Try this :
#Override
public void run() {
TextView tv1 = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.tv);
while(true){
showTime(tv1);
try {
Thread.sleep(1000);
}catch (Exception e) {
tv1.setText(e.toString());
}
}
}
U can also try this
There is an another way also that you can use to update the UI on specific time interval. Above two options are correct but depends on the situation you can use alternate ways to update the UI on specific time interval.
First declare one global varialbe for Handler to update the UI control from Thread, like below
Handler mHandler = new Handler();
Now create one Thread and use while loop to periodically perform the task using the sleep method of the thread.
new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
while (true) {
try {
Thread.sleep(10000);
mHandler.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
// Write your code here to update the UI.
}
});
} catch (Exception e) {
// TODO: handle exception
}
}
}
}).start();
There several mistakes you have done:
You should never invoke Thread.sleep() on the main thread (and you should never block it for a long time as well). Once main thread is blocked for more then 5 seconds, an ANR (application not responding) happens and it is force closed.
You should avoid using Timer in android. Try Handler instead. Good thing about handler is that it is created on the main thread -> can access Views (unlike Timer, which is executed on its own thread, which cannot access Views).
class MyActivity extends Activity {
private static final int DISPLAY_DATA = 1;
// this handler will receive a delayed message
private Handler mHandler = new Handler() {
#Override
void handleMessage(Message msg) {
if (msg.what == DISPLAY_DATA) displayData();
}
};
#Override
void onCreate(Bundle b) {
//this will post a message to the mHandler, which mHandler will get
//after 5 seconds
mHandler.postEmptyMessageDelayed(DISPLAY_DATA, 5000);
}
}
I came across this thread when i tried to get around the problem that you can't hide seconds in DigitalClock widget for Android. DigitalClock is deprecated now and the recommended widget to use now is TextClock. That don't work on old APIs tho... Therefore i had to write my own 24 hour clock. I don't know if this is a good implementation but it seems to work (and it is updated every second):
import java.util.Calendar;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.TextView;
/**
* A 24 hour digital clock represented by a TextView
* that can be updated each second. Reads the current
* wall clock time.
*/
public class DigitalClock24h {
private TextView mClockTextView; // The textview representing the 24h clock
private boolean mShouldRun = false; // If the Runnable should keep on running
private final Handler mHandler = new Handler();
// This runnable will schedule itself to run at 1 second intervals
// if mShouldRun is set true.
private final Runnable mUpdateClock = new Runnable() {
public void run() {
if(mShouldRun) {
updateClockDisplay(); // Call the method to actually update the clock
mHandler.postDelayed(mUpdateClock, 1000); // 1 second
}
}
};
/**
* Creates a 24h Digital Clock given a TextView.
* #param clockTextView
*/
public DigitalClock24h(View clockTextView) {
mClockTextView = (TextView) clockTextView;
}
/**
* Start updating the clock every second.
* Don't forget to call stopUpdater() when you
* don't need to update the clock anymore.
*/
public void startUpdater() {
mShouldRun = true;
mHandler.post(mUpdateClock);
}
/**
* Stop updating the clock.
*/
public void stopUpdater() {
mShouldRun = false;
}
/**
* Update the textview associated with this
* digital clock.
*/
private void updateClockDisplay() {
Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
int hour = c.get(Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY); // 24 hour
int min = c.get(Calendar.MINUTE);
String sHour;
String sMin;
if(hour < 10) {
sHour = "0" + hour;
} else sHour = "" + hour;
if(min < 10) {
sMin = "0" + min;
} else sMin = "" + min;
mClockTextView.setText(sHour + ":" + sMin);
}
}
Thankyou biegleux for pointing me in the, i suppose, correct direction!

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...
}

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