/*
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.
AsyncTask is designed to be a helper class around
and java.lang.Thread
and does not constitute a generic threading framework. AsyncTasks should ideally be used for short operations (a few seconds at the most.) If you need to keep threads running for long periods of time, it is highly recommended you use the various APIs provided by the Handler
java.util.concurrent
package such as
,java.util.concurrent.Executor
and java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor
.java.util.concurrent.FutureTask
An asynchronous task is defined by a computation that runs on a background thread and whose result is published on the UI thread. An asynchronous task is defined by 3 generic types, called Params
, Progress
andResult
, and 4 steps, called onPreExecute
, doInBackground
, onProgressUpdate
and onPostExecute
.
Developer Guides
For more information about using tasks and threads, read the Processes and Threads developer guide.
Usage
AsyncTask must be subclassed to be used. The subclass will override at least one method (
), and most often will override a second one (doInBackground(java.lang.Object[])
.)onPostExecute(java.lang.Object)
Here is an example of subclassing:
private class DownloadFilesTask extends AsyncTask<URL, Integer, Long> { protected Long doInBackground(URL... urls) { int count = urls.length; long totalSize = 0; for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) { totalSize += Downloader.downloadFile(urls[i]); publishProgress((int) ((i / (float) count) * 100)); // Escape early if cancel() is called if (isCancelled()) break; } return totalSize; } protected void onProgressUpdate(Integer... progress) { setProgressPercent(progress[0]); } protected void onPostExecute(Long result) { showDialog("Downloaded " + result + " bytes"); } }
Once created, a task is executed very simply:
new DownloadFilesTask().execute(url1, url2, url3);
AsyncTask's generic types
The three types used by an asynchronous task are the following:
Params
, the type of the parameters sent to the task upon execution.Progress
, the type of the progress units published during the background computation.Result
, the type of the result of the background computation.
Not all types are always used by an asynchronous task. To mark a type as unused, simply use the type
:java.lang.Void
private class MyTask extends AsyncTask<Void, Void, Void> { ... }
The 4 steps
When an asynchronous task is executed, the task goes through 4 steps:
, invoked on the UI thread before the task is executed. This step is normally used to setup the task, for instance by showing a progress bar in the user interface.onPreExecute()
, invoked on the background thread immediately afterdoInBackground(java.lang.Object[])
finishes executing. This step is used to perform background computation that can take a long time. The parameters of the asynchronous task are passed to this step. The result of the computation must be returned by this step and will be passed back to the last step. This step can also useonPreExecute()
to publish one or more units of progress. These values are published on the UI thread, in thepublishProgress(java.lang.Object[])
step.onProgressUpdate(java.lang.Object[])
, invoked on the UI thread after a call toonProgressUpdate(java.lang.Object[])
. The timing of the execution is undefined. This method is used to display any form of progress in the user interface while the background computation is still executing. For instance, it can be used to animate a progress bar or show logs in a text field.publishProgress(java.lang.Object[])
, invoked on the UI thread after the background computation finishes. The result of the background computation is passed to this step as a parameter.onPostExecute(java.lang.Object)
Cancelling a task
A task can be cancelled at any time by invoking
. Invoking this method will cause subsequent calls to cancel(boolean)
to return true. After invoking this method, isCancelled()
, instead of onCancelled(java.lang.Object)
will be invoked after onPostExecute(java.lang.Object)
returns. To ensure that a task is cancelled as quickly as possible, you should always check the return value ofdoInBackground(java.lang.Object[])
periodically from isCancelled()
, if possible (inside a loop for instance.)doInBackground(java.lang.Object[])
Threading rules
There are a few threading rules that must be followed for this class to work properly:
- The AsyncTask class must be loaded on the UI thread. This is done automatically as of
.Build.VERSION_CODES.JELLY_BEAN
- The task instance must be created on the UI thread.
must be invoked on the UI thread.execute(java.lang.Object[])
- Do not call
,onPreExecute()
,onPostExecute(java.lang.Object)
,doInBackground(java.lang.Object[])
manually.onProgressUpdate(java.lang.Object[])
- The task can be executed only once (an exception will be thrown if a second execution is attempted.)
Memory observability
AsyncTask guarantees that all callback calls are synchronized in such a way that the following operations are safe without explicit synchronizations.
- Set member fields in the constructor or
, and refer to them inonPreExecute()
.doInBackground(java.lang.Object[])
- Set member fields in
, and refer to them indoInBackground(java.lang.Object[])
andonProgressUpdate(java.lang.Object[])
.onPostExecute(java.lang.Object)
Order of execution
When first introduced, AsyncTasks were executed serially on a single background thread. Starting with
, this was changed to a pool of threads allowing multiple tasks to operate in parallel. Starting with Build.VERSION_CODES.DONUT
, tasks are executed on a single thread to avoid common application errors caused by parallel execution.Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB
If you truly want parallel execution, you can invoke
with executeOnExecutor(java.util.concurrent.Executor,java.lang.Object[])
.THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR
java.util.concurrent.Executor
that executes tasks one at a time in serial order. This serialization is global to a particular process.
-
Hide:
execute(java.lang.Object[])
by the caller of this task. This method can call
publishProgress(java.lang.Object[])
to publish updates on the UI thread.
-
Parameters:
-
params
The parameters of the task.
Returns:
- A result, defined by the subclass of this task. See also:
-
onPreExecute()
-
onPostExecute(java.lang.Object)
-
publishProgress(java.lang.Object[])
Runs on the UI thread after cancel(boolean)
is invoked and doInBackground(Object[])
has finished.
The default implementation simply invokes onCancelled()
and ignores the result. If you write your own implementation, do not call super.onCancelled(result)
.
-
Parameters:
-
result
The result, if any, computed indoInBackground(Object[])
, can be null
See also:
- cancel(boolean)
- isCancelled()
Applications should preferably override
. This method is invoked by the default implementation of onCancelled(java.lang.Object)
.onCancelled(java.lang.Object)
Runs on the UI thread after
is invoked and cancel(boolean)
has finished.doInBackground(java.lang.Object[])
cancel(boolean)
on the task, the value returned by this method should be checked periodically from
doInBackground(java.lang.Object[])
to end the task as soon as possible.
-
Returns:
- true if task was cancelled before it completed See also:
-
cancel(boolean)
Attempts to cancel execution of this task. This attempt will fail if the task has already completed, already been cancelled, or could not be cancelled for some other reason. If successful, and this task has not started whencancel is called, this task should never run. If the task has already started, then the mayInterruptIfRunningparameter determines whether the thread executing this task should be interrupted in an attempt to stop the task.
Calling this method will result in
being invoked on the UI thread afteronCancelled(java.lang.Object)
returns. Calling this method guarantees thatdoInBackground(java.lang.Object[])
is never invoked. After invoking this method, you should check the value returned by onPostExecute(java.lang.Object)
periodically from isCancelled()
to finish the task as early as possible.doInBackground(java.lang.Object[])
-
Parameters:
-
mayInterruptIfRunning
true if the thread executing this task should be interrupted; otherwise, in-progress tasks are allowed to complete.
Returns:
- false if the task could not be cancelled, typically because it has already completed normally; trueotherwise See also:
-
isCancelled()
-
onCancelled(java.lang.Object)
-
Returns:
- The computed result. Throws:
-
java.util.concurrent.CancellationException
If the computation was cancelled. -
java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException
If the computation threw an exception. -
java.lang.InterruptedException
If the current thread was interrupted while waiting.
-
Parameters:
-
timeout
Time to wait before cancelling the operation. -
unit
The time unit for the timeout.
Returns:
- The computed result. Throws:
-
java.util.concurrent.CancellationException
If the computation was cancelled. -
java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException
If the computation threw an exception. -
java.lang.InterruptedException
If the current thread was interrupted while waiting. -
java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException
If the wait timed out.
Note: this function schedules the task on a queue for a single background thread or pool of threads depending on the platform version. When first introduced, AsyncTasks were executed serially on a single background thread. Starting with
, this was changed to a pool of threads allowing multiple tasks to operate in parallel. Starting Build.VERSION_CODES.DONUT
, tasks are back to being executed on a single thread to avoid common application errors caused by parallel execution. If you truly want parallel execution, you can use the Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB
version of this method with executeOnExecutor(java.util.concurrent.Executor,java.lang.Object[])
; however, see commentary there for warnings on its use.THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR
This method must be invoked on the UI thread.
-
Parameters:
-
params
The parameters of the task.
Returns:
- This instance of AsyncTask. Throws:
-
java.lang.IllegalStateException
If
returns eithergetStatus()
orAsyncTask.Status.RUNNING
.AsyncTask.Status.FINISHED
See also:
-
executeOnExecutor(java.util.concurrent.Executor,java.lang.Object[])
-
execute(java.lang.Runnable)
This method is typically used with
to allow multiple tasks to run in parallel on a pool of threads managed by AsyncTask, however you can also use your own THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR
for custom behavior.java.util.concurrent.Executor
Warning: Allowing multiple tasks to run in parallel from a thread pool is generally not what one wants, because the order of their operation is not defined. For example, if these tasks are used to modify any state in common (such as writing a file due to a button click), there are no guarantees on the order of the modifications. Without careful work it is possible in rare cases for the newer version of the data to be over-written by an older one, leading to obscure data loss and stability issues. Such changes are best executed in serial; to guarantee such work is serialized regardless of platform version you can use this function with
.SERIAL_EXECUTOR
This method must be invoked on the UI thread.
-
Parameters:
-
exec
The executor to use.
is available as a convenient process-wide thread pool for tasks that are loosely coupled.THREAD_POOL_EXECUTOR
-
params
The parameters of the task.
Returns:
- This instance of AsyncTask. Throws:
-
java.lang.IllegalStateException
If
returns eithergetStatus()
orAsyncTask.Status.RUNNING
.AsyncTask.Status.FINISHED
See also:
-
execute(java.lang.Object[])
execute(java.lang.Object[])
for use with a simple Runnable object. See
execute(java.lang.Object[])
for more information on the order of execution.
doInBackground(java.lang.Object[])
to publish updates on the UI thread while the background computation is still running. Each call to this method will trigger the execution of
onProgressUpdate(java.lang.Object[])
on the UI thread.
onProgressUpdate(java.lang.Object[])
will not be called if the task has been canceled.
-
Parameters:
-
values
The progress values to update the UI with.
See also:
-
onProgressUpdate(java.lang.Object[])
-
doInBackground(java.lang.Object[])