Android: Executing method from specific thread - java

I'm developing an application in Android. The application can post a HTTP request to specific web server. That post request must run asyncronously, so I create a thread to do the job. But I need a callback that will be called at thread end and it must be called from thread that call the `post` method.
My post method looks like this:
interface EndCallback
{
public void Success(String response);
public void Fail(Exception e);
}
public void post(final String url, final List<NameValuePair> data, EndCallback callback)
{
Thread t = Thread.currentThread();
(new Thread()
{
public void run()
{
HttpClient httpclient = new DefaultHttpClient();
HttpPost httppost = new HttpPost(url);
try
{
httppost.setEntity(new UrlEncodedFormEntity(data));
HttpResponse r = httpclient.execute(httppost);
HttpEntity en = r.getEntity();
String response = EntityUtils.toString(en);
//I want to call callback.Success(response)
//here from thread t
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
//And I want to call callback.Fail(ex)
//here from thread t
}
}
}).start();
}

You may want to use a Handler. Handler is used to post requests to GUI thread.
For success handling, use following code:
final Handler successHandler = new Handler()
{
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message message)
{
callback.Success(response);
}
};
successHandler.sendEmptyMessage(0);

Creating new threads an Android is highly discouraged for most applications. This seems like the perfect place for an AsyncTask. It has built-in methods that switch between threads, without needing to manually manage thread creation.
One approach I've used in a similar situation is to combine the task with an enum of possible success states:
class HttpPostTask extends AsyncTask<Void, Void, ResponseStatus> {
#Override
protected ResponseStatus doInBackground( Void... params ){
try {
// do your HTTP stuff
return ResponseStatus.SUCCESS;
} catch( Exception e ){
return ResponseStatus.FAILURE;
}
}
#Override
protected void onPostExecute( ResponseStatus status ){
switch( status ){
case SUCCESS:
// run your success callback
break;
case FAILURE:
// run the failure callback
break;
}
}
}
enum ResponseStatus {
SUCCESS,
FAILURE
}
The doInBackground method will be run in a separate thread, managed by the OS. When that thread finishes, onPostExecute will be run on the thread that started the task, which is typically the UI thread.
If you need to set up callback objects, just add a constructor to the HttpPostTask and do any initialization you need. Your client code will then just need to create and execute the task:
new HttpPostTask().execute();
You can also pass parameters into execute() as well, which accepts a variable number of arguments of the first generic type in the class signature. The params variable in the doInBackground is an array of things that were passed into execute, all of the same type.
Passing params into execute is useful if, for example, you wanted to post to multiple URLs. For most dependencies, setting them in the constructor is simplest approach.

Related

Creating a callback on a class method

I'm struggling with a network connection class I've created. The result of the Runnable I create returns a JSON object that contains all the information needed from the server. The thread runs, and receives the data perfectly, but of course, the program keeps running in the meantime, which results in a JSONException as being NULL.
I created a class called NetworkManager, which has the following method (jsonResponse is initialized at the beginning of the class)
JSONObject jsonResponse;
public void createNetworkThread(Context context, final String requestURI, final RequestBody formParameters) {
Runnable runnable = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
Request request = new Request.Builder().url(requestURI).post(formParameters).build();
Response response = null;
try {
response = client.newCall(request).execute();
String stringResponse = response.body().string();
NetworkManager.this.jsonResponse = new JSONObject(stringResponse);
// This works perfectly, "message" is received and printed to the log //
Log.d("Net", NetworkManager.this.jsonResponse.getString("message"));
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.d("Net", "Failed");
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (JSONException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
};
Thread thread = new Thread(runnable);
thread.start();
}
The above is called from the Activity, as:
Net.createNetworkThread(SignupActivity.this, requestURI, formVars);
JSONObject jsonResponse = Net.jsonResponse;
The JSON object jsonResponse is returning as NULL because the Thread is still accessing the server for the response.
I need to figure out how to stop the jsonResponse Object from being populated by Net.jsonResponse until the thread completes in order to stop it from returning NULL.
Any help?
I would only agree to the comments on your question and let you know, what you can do here.
If you are creating a thread just to get of the main UI thread to do the Network call you probably want to use OkHttp feature which allows you to get the Network call off the thread and provides you with callbacks to get the result something like this. you can check some example here
Request request = new Request.Builder()
.url(url)
.build();
client.newCall(request).enqueue(new Callback() {
#Override
public void onFailure(Request request, IOException e) {
}
#Override
public void onResponse(Response response) throws IOException {
// this is the callback which tells you the network call was successful, If like to make some changes to UI, you should call `runOnUiThread`.
"YourClassName".this.runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
}
});
}
});
or you can use AsyncTask which also gets your job done off the main UI thread and gives you the result in the callbacks.
private class MyTask extends AsyncTask<Void, Void, Void> {
//you can change the Type Void, Void, Void here to something which you want
//First Void belongs to doInBackground(Void... avoid)
//Second Void belongs to onProgressUpdate(Void... progress)
//Third Void belongs to onPostExecute(Void result)
// you may change these as you fit,
//when you want to start this class with your argument you can do something like this.
//new MyTask().execute("your argument to doInBackground");
#Override
protected void onPreExecute() {
super.onPreExecute();
}
#Override
protected Void doInBackground(Void... params) {
// this is the method where you provide your implementation for doing a task off the main UI thread.
return null;
}
#Override
protected void onPostExecute(Void aVoid) {
super.onPostExecute(aVoid);
// in this callback you are back in the main UI thread to make changes to UI depending on your response
}
}
here is an example of AsyncTask
If you want to offload the main thread, you should consider that the parallel task could finish it's execution after, generally speaking, any amount of time. Sure, you can wait in the main thread for the child thread to finish (using 'join()'), though this is kind of questionable in terms of speed gain.
Anyway, answering your question:
I need to figure out how to stop the jsonResponse Object from being
populated by Net.jsonResponse until the thread completes in order to
stop it from returning NULL.
I suggest you change
public void createNetworkThread(...
to
public Thread createNetworkThread(...
{
...
Thread thread = new Thread(runnable);
thread.start();
return thread;
}
And consequently
Thread t = Net.createNetworkThread(SignupActivity.this, requestURI, formVars);
t.join(); // Wait until 't' finishes -- try-catch is omitted for the sake of demo.
JSONObject jsonResponse = Net.jsonResponse;
This, apparently, opens question of performance, since main thread will be effectively completely blocked by 't.join()' until the child thread will finish.
Answering the question in the topic: in Java 8 you can use lambda functional interface like this:
package multithreaded;
import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
public class Multithreaded {
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger("Main");
Worker<String, String> worker = new Worker<String, String>(
(String s) ->
{ // This is actual call-back code.
// It will be called by method 'apply' of interface 'Function' in the 'Worker'.
// It will accept String parameter and pass it in this block as variable 's'
logger.info("Embrace the beauty and power of Java 8! "+s); // yes, we can use local variables of the parent thread.
return "Call-Back "+s;
}
);
logger.info("Application starts new Worker.");
worker.start();
logger.info("Worker is running in background.");
Thread.currentThread().sleep(500); // Simulate some activity here...
logger.info("Result is unpredictable (could be null): "+worker.getResult());
// Wait here until worker is fully finished
worker.join();
logger.info("Result is predictable: "+worker.getResult());
}
}
Worker.java:
package multithreaded;
import java.util.function.Function;
public class Worker<T extends String, R extends String> extends Thread {
private final Function<T, R> callBack;
private volatile R result;
public Worker(Function<T, R> callBack)
{ this.callBack = callBack; }
#Override
public void run()
{
try{
int i = (int)(Math.random()*1000);
// simulate some activity unpredictable in terms of duration
Thread.currentThread().sleep(i);
// After "activity" is finished -- call the call-back function and get result in local variable.
// (Synchronization ommited for the sake of simplicity)
result = this.callBack.apply((T)("Result "+i)); // now let's call the call-back function and save the result in local variable.
}
catch(InterruptedException e)
{e.printStackTrace();}
}
// Getter for the local variable, populated by call-back function.
// (Synchronization ommited for the sake of simplicity)
public R getResult()
{ return this.result; }
}
Running above code multiple times, you will notice that from the parent thread's perspective the result is still unpredictable until the child thread is completely finished.
P.s. I suggest you re-think entire logic of data processing in your app and consider re-factoring towards entirely independent multi-threaded processing (perhaps using producer-consumer logic).

Applying a Asynctask on a HttpClient

I haven't used an AsyncTask before neither do I understand some tutorials regarding it so I really don't know how to apply it on a HttpClient execution. Please kindly help me on this kind of implementation here's the initial code made:
public void commandModule(String url) {
try {
HttpClient httpClient = new DefaultHttpClient();
httpClient.execute(new HttpGet(url));
} catch (Exception e) {
}
}
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
if (checkBox1.isChecked()) {
commandModule("http://192.168.1.102/?command1");
} else {
commandModule("http://192.168.1.102/?command2");
}
if (checkBox2.isChecked()) {
commandModule("http://192.168.1.102/?command3");
} else {
commandModule("http://192.168.1.102/?command4");
}
}
If you know about Thread in java, it will be easy for you to understand the working of Async Task in android. Basically, you can not perform any long running task on the main thread in android. It will block the main main thread and you will get ANR (Applicaton not responding) error. To avoid this you can either use thread or Async task.
Thread has one limitation, you can not update UI thread form any other thread. So, to update the UI you need to send message to main/UI thread using handler. You will have to do this every time you are implementing something using thread.
To simplify, android framework provide Async Task.
So, what ever you should put in the run() method of Thread, should go in doInBackground() method.
public void commandModule(String url) {
new RequestTask().executeOnExecutor(AsyncTask.THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR,url);
}
private class RequestTask extends AsyncTask<String,Void,Void>{
protected void doInBackground(String... args){
String url=args[0];
try {
HttpClient httpClient = new DefaultHttpClient();
httpClient.execute(new HttpGet(url));
} catch (Exception e) {
}
}
}
AsyncTask enables proper and easy use of the UI thread. This class allows to perform background operations and publish results on the UI thread without having to manipulate threads and/or handlers.
check this tutorial it will give ideas about your queries http://programmerguru.com/android-tutorial/android-asynctask-example/
AsyncTask enables proper and easy use of the UI thread. This class allows to perform background operations and publish results on the UI thread without having to manipulate threads and/or handlers.
public void commandModule(String url) {
try {
new RequestTask().execute(url);
} catch (Exception e) {
}
}
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
if (checkBox1.isChecked()) {
commandModule("http://192.168.1.102/?command1");
} else {
commandModule("http://192.168.1.102/?command2");
}
if (checkBox2.isChecked()) {
commandModule("http://192.168.1.102/?command3");
} else {
commandModule("http://192.168.1.102/?command4");
}
}
private class RequestTask extends AsyncTask<String,Void,Void>{
#Override
protected void onPreExecute() {
super.onPreExecute();
}
protected void doInBackground(String... args){
String url=args[0];
try {
HttpClient httpClient = new DefaultHttpClient();
httpClient.execute(new HttpGet(url));
} catch (Exception e) {
}
}
#Override
protected void onPostExecute() {
}
}
onPreExecute() – Executed when execute() method is called inside commandModule() (In short When AsyncTask is triggered).
doInBackground() – Executed when onPreExecute() completed executing. Al the long task are handled here
onPostExecute() – Background job is finished

Can I do a synchronous request with volley?

Imagine I'm in a Service that already has a background thread. Can I do a request using volley in that same thread, so that callbacks happen synchronously?
There are 2 reasons for this:
First, I do not need another thread and it would be a waste to create it.
Second, if I'm in a ServiceIntent, the execution of the thread will finish before the callback, and therefor I will have no response from Volley. I know I can create my own Service that has some thread with a runloop I can control, but it would be desirable having this functionality in volley.
It looks like it is possible with Volley's RequestFuture class. For example, to create a synchronous JSON HTTP GET request, you can do the following:
RequestFuture<JSONObject> future = RequestFuture.newFuture();
JsonObjectRequest request = new JsonObjectRequest(URL, new JSONObject(), future, future);
requestQueue.add(request);
try {
JSONObject response = future.get(); // this will block
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// exception handling
} catch (ExecutionException e) {
// exception handling
}
Note #Matthews answer is correct BUT if you are on another thread and you do a volley call when you have no internet, your error callback will be called on the main thread, but the thread you are on will be blocked FOREVER. (Therefore if that thread is an IntentService, you will never be able to send another message to it and your service will be basically dead).
Use the version of get() that has a timeout future.get(30, TimeUnit.SECONDS) and catch the error to exit your thread.
To match #Mathews answer:
try {
return future.get(30, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// exception handling
} catch (ExecutionException e) {
// exception handling
} catch (TimeoutException e) {
// exception handling
}
Below I wrapped it in a method & use a different request:
/**
* Runs a blocking Volley request
*
* #param method get/put/post etc
* #param url endpoint
* #param errorListener handles errors
* #return the input stream result or exception: NOTE returns null once the onErrorResponse listener has been called
*/
public InputStream runInputStreamRequest(int method, String url, Response.ErrorListener errorListener) {
RequestFuture<InputStream> future = RequestFuture.newFuture();
InputStreamRequest request = new InputStreamRequest(method, url, future, errorListener);
getQueue().add(request);
try {
return future.get(REQUEST_TIMEOUT, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
Log.e("Retrieve cards api call interrupted.", e);
errorListener.onErrorResponse(new VolleyError(e));
} catch (ExecutionException e) {
Log.e("Retrieve cards api call failed.", e);
errorListener.onErrorResponse(new VolleyError(e));
} catch (TimeoutException e) {
Log.e("Retrieve cards api call timed out.", e);
errorListener.onErrorResponse(new VolleyError(e));
}
return null;
}
It is probably recommended to use the Futures, but if for whatever reason you don't want to, instead of cooking your own synchronized blocking thing you should use a java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch. So that would work like this..
//I'm running this in an instrumentation test, in real life you'd ofc obtain the context differently...
final Context context = InstrumentationRegistry.getTargetContext();
final RequestQueue queue = Volley.newRequestQueue(context);
final CountDownLatch countDownLatch = new CountDownLatch(1);
final Object[] responseHolder = new Object[1];
final StringRequest stringRequest = new StringRequest(Request.Method.GET, "http://google.com", new Response.Listener<String>() {
#Override
public void onResponse(String response) {
responseHolder[0] = response;
countDownLatch.countDown();
}
}, new Response.ErrorListener() {
#Override
public void onErrorResponse(VolleyError error) {
responseHolder[0] = error;
countDownLatch.countDown();
}
});
queue.add(stringRequest);
try {
countDownLatch.await();
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
throw new RuntimeException(e);
}
if (responseHolder[0] instanceof VolleyError) {
final VolleyError volleyError = (VolleyError) responseHolder[0];
//TODO: Handle error...
} else {
final String response = (String) responseHolder[0];
//TODO: Handle response...
}
Since people seemed to actually try to do this and ran into some trouble I decided I'd actually provide a "real life" working sample of this in use. Here it is https://github.com/timolehto/SynchronousVolleySample
Now even though the solution works, it has some limitations. Most importantly, you can't call it on the main UI thread. Volley does execute the requests on the background, but by default Volley uses the main Looper of the application to dispatch the responses. This causes a deadlock as the main UI thread is waiting for the response, but the Looper is waiting for onCreate to finish before processing the delivery. If you really really want to do this you could, instead of the static helper methods, instantiate your own RequestQueue passing it your own ExecutorDelivery tied to a Handler using a Looper which is tied to different thread from the main UI thread.
You achieve this with kotlin Coroutines
implementation "org.jetbrains.kotlinx:kotlinx-coroutines-core:1.3.7"
implementation "org.jetbrains.kotlinx:kotlinx-coroutines-android:1.3.7"
private suspend fun request(context: Context, link : String) : String{
return suspendCancellableCoroutine { continuation ->
val queue = Volley.newRequestQueue(context)
val stringRequest = StringRequest(Request.Method.GET, link,
{ response ->
continuation.resumeWith(Result.success(response))
},
{
continuation.cancel(Exception("Volley Error"))
})
queue.add(stringRequest)
}
}
And call with
CoroutineScope(Dispatchers.IO).launch {
val response = request(CONTEXT, "https://www.google.com")
withContext(Dispatchers.Main) {
Toast.makeText(CONTEXT, response,Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
}
}
As a complementary observation to both #Blundells and #Mathews answers, I'm not sure any call is delivered to anything but the main thread by Volley.
The Source
Having a look at the RequestQueue implementation it seems the RequestQueue is using a NetworkDispatcher to execute the request and a ResponseDelivery to deliver the result (the ResponseDelivery is injected into the NetworkDispatcher). The ResponseDelivery is in turn created with a Handler spawn from the main thread (somewhere around line 112 in the RequestQueue implementation).
Somewhere about line 135 in the NetworkDispatcher implementation it seems like also successful results are delivered through the same ResponseDelivery as any errors. Again; a ResponseDelivery based on a Handler spawn from the main thread.
Rationale
For the use-case where a request is to be made from an IntentService it's fair to assume that the thread of the service should block until we have a response from Volley (to guarantee a living runtime scope to handle the result in).
Suggested solutions
One approach would be to override the default way a RequestQueue is created, where an alternative constructor is used instead, injecting a ResponseDelivery which spawns from the current thread rather than the main thread. I haven't investigated the implications of this, however.
I want to add something to Matthew's accepted answer. While RequestFuture might seem to make a synchronous call from the thread you created it, it does not. Instead, the call is executed on a background thread.
From what I understand after going through the library, requests in the RequestQueue are dispatched in its start() method:
public void start() {
....
mCacheDispatcher = new CacheDispatcher(...);
mCacheDispatcher.start();
....
NetworkDispatcher networkDispatcher = new NetworkDispatcher(...);
networkDispatcher.start();
....
}
Now both CacheDispatcher and NetworkDispatcher classes extend thread. So effectively a new worker thread is spawned for dequeuing the request queue and the response is returned to the success and error listeners implemented internally by RequestFuture.
Although your second purpose is attained but you first purpose is not since a new thread is always spawned, no matter from which thread you execute RequestFuture.
In short, true synchronous request is not possible with default Volley library. Correct me if I am wrong.
I use a lock to achieve that effect now im wondering if its correct my way
anyone want to comment ?
// as a field of the class where i wan't to do the synchronous `volley` call
Object mLock = new Object();
// need to have the error and success listeners notifyin
final boolean[] finished = {false};
Response.Listener<ArrayList<Integer>> responseListener = new Response.Listener<ArrayList<Integer>>() {
#Override
public void onResponse(ArrayList<Integer> response) {
synchronized (mLock) {
System.out.println();
finished[0] = true;
mLock.notify();
}
}
};
Response.ErrorListener errorListener = new Response.ErrorListener() {
#Override
public void onErrorResponse(VolleyError error) {
synchronized (mLock) {
System.out.println();
finished[0] = true;
System.out.println();
mLock.notify();
}
}
};
// after adding the Request to the volley queue
synchronized (mLock) {
try {
while(!finished[0]) {
mLock.wait();
}
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
You can do sync request with volley but you must call the method in different thread otherwise your running app will block, it should be like this :
public String syncCall(){
String URL = "http://192.168.1.35:8092/rest";
String response = new String();
RequestQueue requestQueue = Volley.newRequestQueue(this.getContext());
RequestFuture<JSONObject> future = RequestFuture.newFuture();
JsonObjectRequest request = new JsonObjectRequest(Request.Method.GET, URL, new JSONObject(), future, future);
requestQueue.add(request);
try {
response = future.get().toString();
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (ExecutionException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (JSONException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
return response;
}
after that you can call the method in thread :
Thread thread = new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
String response = syncCall();
}
});
thread.start();

AsyncTasks do not get collected causing other AsyncTasks to not run

My app uses a lot of AsyncTasks. It is a web app after all. And when I keep track of the Debug tab, I notice every AsyncTask says running behind it and after 5 AsyncTasks, I can't start any AsyncTasks. I fixed it by changing the executor to THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR which allows 15 threads to be pooled. But the AsyncTasks still show as running.
The AsyncTasks all have InputStreams in them and BufferedReaders in them to read the JSON, but I never call the close() method on the Streamers and Readers. Could this be it, or will the AsyncTask be collected after it's finished no matter what?
If that's the deal, then why can't I run more than 5 AsyncTasks in my app?
Seeing as I put a bounty on it, I will explain this more explicitly
The AsyncTasks all go through their methods. All of them are built the same exact way, except with different BasicNameValuePairs. I am 100% sure there is no easy mistake made in the code.
Here is an example of one of the AsyncTasks:
private class RunningEvent extends AsyncTask<Void, Void, Response> {
#Override
protected void onPreExecute() {
if (Constants.isOnline(getApplicationContext())) {
super.onPreExecute();
} else {
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
"No internet connection", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
return;
}
}
#Override
protected Response doInBackground(Void... empty) {
HttpClient client = new DefaultHttpClient();
HttpPost post = new HttpPost(URL);
try {
List<NameValuePair> values = new ArrayList<NameValuePair>(5);
values.add(new BasicNameValuePair("tag", "eventRunning"));
values.add(new BasicNameValuePair("userid", String
.valueOf(response.user.userid)));
post.setEntity(new UrlEncodedFormEntity(values));
HttpResponse httpresponse = client.execute(post);
HttpEntity entity = httpresponse.getEntity();
InputStream stream = entity.getContent();
Log.i("MenuActivity",
"Input streamed, parsing Gson for existing events");
Gson gson = new Gson();
Reader reader = new InputStreamReader(stream);
eventresponse = gson.fromJson(reader, Response.class);
return eventresponse;
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
Log.e("RunningEvent", "Error sending data to Server");
}
return null;
}
#Override
protected void onPostExecute(Response result) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
super.onPostExecute(result);
Log.i("MenuActivity", "Binding button");
if (eventresponse != null) {
if (eventresponse.success == 1) {
eventresponse.user = response.user;
bActivity.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View arg0) {
Intent i = new Intent("com.xxx.xxx.EVENT");
i.putExtra("response", eventresponse);
running = false;
switcher.cancel(true);
MenuActivity.this.finish();
startActivity(i);
}
});
} else {
bActivity.setText("Nieuw activity");
bActivity.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View arg0) {
Intent i = new Intent("com.xxx.xxx.NEWEVENT");
i.putExtra("response", response);
running = false;
switcher.cancel(true);
MenuActivity.this.finish();
startActivity(i);
}
});
}
} else {
Log.i("RunningEvent", "Response is null");
}
}
}
The example above is the sometimes gets runned as the 6th AsyncTask and it will never enter the doInBackground() method. I believe this is the 5 Thread limit of the SERIAL_EXECUTOR. I "fixed" the problem by putting most AsyncTasks in THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR, but this is just avoiding it.
What could be the reason that these AsyncTasks never stop running and clogging up the Executor?
android.os.AsyncTask come with two built-in executor. if using SERIAL_EXECUTOR, there is no threadpool and all AsyncTask get execute one at a time in serial order. if using THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR (I suppose this is what you refer in the question), this allows up to maximum 128 AsyncTask get execute in parallel.
The number 5 you refer and see from debugging is the corePoolSize of underlying threadpool (AKA. THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR), which is different from maximumPoolSize. check out AsyncTask source code and see how threadpool is implemented:
private static final int CORE_POOL_SIZE = 5;
private static final int MAXIMUM_POOL_SIZE = 128;
private static final int KEEP_ALIVE = 1;
... ...
/**
* An {#link Executor} that can be used to execute tasks in parallel.
*/
public static final Executor THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR
= new ThreadPoolExecutor(CORE_POOL_SIZE, MAXIMUM_POOL_SIZE, KEEP_ALIVE,
TimeUnit.SECONDS, sPoolWorkQueue, sThreadFactory);
Check out ThreadPoolExecutor API to see what is the default threadpool behavior created by calling this constructor. Generally speaking, corePoolSize is the number of threads to keep in the pool, even if they are idle, unless allowCoreThreadTimeOut is set.
Those 5 AsyncTask you see in debug are actually on core threads which are finished and become idle but never terminated, you can alter this behavior by calling ThreadPoolExecutor.allowCoreThreadTimeOut(boolean).
More story on SERIAL_EXECUTOR
I said SERIAL_EXECUTOR does not use threadpool, this is not true. SERIAL_EXECUTOR is indeed delegate the real work to THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR, but using ArrayDeque to control the submission of next tasks (next task is submitted iff the previous task is finished), check out the source:
private static class SerialExecutor implements Executor {
final ArrayDeque<Runnable> mTasks = new ArrayDeque<Runnable>();
Runnable mActive;
public synchronized void execute(final Runnable r) {
mTasks.offer(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
try {
r.run();
} finally {
scheduleNext();
}
}
});
if (mActive == null) {
scheduleNext();
}
}
protected synchronized void scheduleNext() {
if ((mActive = mTasks.poll()) != null) {
THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR.execute(mActive);
}
}
}
So whatever you use SERIAL_EXECUTOR or THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR, there are always 5 core threads shown in threadpool even they are finished and become idle. However, number of core thread (configured by corePoolSize) is not the number of threads (configured by maximumPoolSize) currently running in threadpool.

General purpose network manager in Android

I'm working on an Android project (API level 10) which needs to send and receive http messages to/from a server.
I implemented a class named NetworkManager which provides different methods, one for each http request (e.g.: loginRequest(user pass), RegistrationRequest(user.....) ).
All these methods generates a JSON object that is passed to the method called sendMessage, which is the method that actually establish the connection, sends and receives the response (also a json object).
Of course network calls are time consuming, so i first decided to use an AsyncTask to display a progressDialog while the network operation is being performed.
The problem is that i need to get the response value retrived from the background thread before executing any other operation which involves the result itself done by the Main thread.
At the same time i would like to make a common and reusable implementation of the AsyncTask.
E.g.: I have a login activity which shows 2 EditText (username, password) and a button called Login. When I press the login button, a progressDialog must appear, and must be disposed once the doInBackground task is accomplished. Of course i could do this way:
onClick(View v) //called when the login button is pressed
{
onPreExecute()
{
//Show the progress dialog
}
doInBackground()
{
//Retreive the login response (an integer containing a message code) using sendLoginRequest(username, password);
//return the response
}
onPostExecute(int response)
{
//Dispose the progress dialog, then loginSucessfull ? start new activity : show error toast
}
}
But, doing this way i should implement an async task for every request i need to send which is what i would like to avoid because if i have N requests i should create N classes that extend AsyncTask.
Thank you!
What i would suggest you is to use INTERFACES for handling response of http request.
The background thread either it be a AysncTask or it be Thread needs to handle both
response
exception
Think it like this way
MainThread - Hey Background Thread do this operation and let me know when you are done.
MainThread - Ok till Background Thread executes its operation let me show progress dialog.
BackGroundThread - I am done with my work. hey MainThread here catch you response or exception
MainThread - Let me stop showing progress bar.
So we need to simulate this callback mechanism via code and also needs to take care that we implement a reusable architecture.
Something like this
Define a Interface
public interface HttpRequestResponse {
public void onSuccess(HttpResponse response);
public void onException(Exception exception);
}
class HttpRequestResponseHandler {
private ActionItem action;
private HttpRequestResponse hrr;
private Executor executor;
public enum ActionItem {
LOGIN_REQUEST ,
REGISTRATION_REQUEST
}
public HttpRequestResponseHandler(ActionItem action, HttpRequestResponse hrr) {
this.action = action;
this.hrr = hrr;
}
public void execute(){
executor = new Executor();
executor.execute();
}
private class Executor extends AsyncTask<Void,Void,Void> {
#Override
public Void doInBackground() {
switch(action) {
case LOGIN_REQUEST : doLogin();
break;
case REGISTRATION_REQUEST : doRegistration();
break;
}
}
}
private void doLogin() {
HttpResponse response = null;
Exception exception = null;
try {
response = makeHttpRequestHere();
} catch (Exception e) {
exception = e;
}
if(exception != null) {
hrr.onException(exception);
} else {
hrr.onSuccess(response);
}
}
}
Now in somewhere in your activity code file do like this.
HttpRequestResponse hrr = new HttpRequestResponse(){
#Override
public void onSuccess(HttpResponse response) {
hideProgressDialog();
handleResponse(response);
}
#Override
public void onException(Exception exception) {
hideProgressDialog();
showErrorDialog(exception.getMessage());
}
}
HttpRequestResponseHandler hrrh = new HttpRequestResponseHandler(ActionItem.LOGIN_REQUEST,hrr);
hrrh.execute();
showProgressDialog();
Hope all this lead to what you want.
Its been a long answer and took quite a effort of mine to figure. :)
why not just using AsyncTask.THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR(Runnable run);
It wraps a thread pool based executor of #cores + 1 parallelity level.
Then you can simply invoke:
AsyncTask.THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR(new Runnable(){
public void run(){
doLogin();
});

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