CODEWITHSUNDEEP
android
Jesse
Jesse

Reputation: 562

Periodic background check for a very simple task (Android)

I'm currently making an app in Android that is checking an API which returns two things. Some text and a colour.

However I want this to be checked for updates every 15 minutes in the background and check every 5 seconds when the app is open. When running in the background it should give a notification if the status is changed.

Now I have checked numerous stackoverflow q&a's and forums, docs etc.. But I can't seem to find a good baseline for what I need. So many documentation that contradicts eachother.. I think that I need an Alarm Manager or a Service... but what do you guys suggest for my problem? The app may not harm the battery too much.

What I really would like to have is that the application doesn't have to "poll" the server every 15 minutes but that the application gets interrupted like.. "hey, there is a new status update". I can't imagine that messaging apps are constantly polling a server for updates? I haven't found much information about that topic... Any help is appreciated. Not asking for code but directions to get where I want to go.

Many thanks

Upvotes: 0

Views: 634

Answers (2)

diyoda_
diyoda_

Reputation: 5420

If you are doing both the server side project and the mobile application, You can use Any messaging service rather than polling for the server, Because there has to be a pusher implementation from the server side to push the status to the MS.

For now GMS is free, I hope it will remain the same :). Otherwise, You can use AlarmManager and IntentService to achieve your goal.

Upvotes: 0

chandsie
chandsie

Reputation: 2895

If you're looking to poll the server every X seconds/minutes, AlarmManager(android guide, tutorial) is exactly what you need. However, as you point out this is probably not the best way to go about things. While the app is open you may want to look in to passing messages between the device and server via an open Web Socket. Once your app is closed you could, instead of the app polling the server, have the server push a notification, via GCM or some such, to the app when an update is available.

Upvotes: 1

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