Handler,Looper,Message的理解与困惑

0、前言

android handler机制的四个组成部分：Handler、Message、MessageQueue、Looper。
1、四者作用与关系

**Mesage（消息）**是相同或不同的线程相互作用的媒介，对应着一个操作。
Looper（循环者）是创建handler的必备条件，主要用于创建当前线程的MessageQueue（消息队列）实例（一个Looper一一对应一个线程Thread额，二者之间不存在一对多的关系），然后进入一个无限循环体不断从该MessageQueue中读取消息。常用方法就是prepare()和loop()，注意看下方法上面的英文注释额：

/** Initialize the current thread as a looper.
      * This gives you a chance to create handlers that then reference
      * this looper, before actually starting the loop. Be sure to call
      * {@link #loop()} after calling this method, and end it by calling
      * {@link #quit()}.
      */
    public static void prepare() {
        prepare(true);
    }


/**
     * Run the message queue in this thread. Be sure to call
     * {@link #quit()} to end the loop.
     */
    public static void loop() {
        final Looper me = myLooper();
        if (me == null) {
            throw new RuntimeException("No Looper; Looper.prepare() wasn't called on this thread.");
        }
        final MessageQueue queue = me.mQueue;

        // Make sure the identity of this thread is that of the local process,
        // and keep track of what that identity token actually is.
        Binder.clearCallingIdentity();
        final long ident = Binder.clearCallingIdentity();

        for (;;) {
            Message msg = queue.next(); // might block
            if (msg == null) {
                // No message indicates that the message queue is quitting.
                return;
            }

            // This must be in a local variable, in case a UI event sets the logger
            final Printer logging = me.mLogging;
            if (logging != null) {
                logging.println(">>>>> Dispatching to " + msg.target + " " +
                        msg.callback + ": " + msg.what);
            }

            final long traceTag = me.mTraceTag;
            if (traceTag != 0 && Trace.isTagEnabled(traceTag)) {
                Trace.traceBegin(traceTag, msg.target.getTraceName(msg));
            }
            try {
                msg.target.dispatchMessage(msg);
            } finally {
                if (traceTag != 0) {
                    Trace.traceEnd(traceTag);
                }
            }

            if (logging != null) {
                logging.println("<<<<< Finished to " + msg.target + " " + msg.callback);
            }

            // Make sure that during the course of dispatching the
            // identity of the thread wasn't corrupted.
            final long newIdent = Binder.clearCallingIdentity();
            if (ident != newIdent) {
                Log.wtf(TAG, "Thread identity changed from 0x"
                        + Long.toHexString(ident) + " to 0x"
                        + Long.toHexString(newIdent) + " while dispatching to "
                        + msg.target.getClass().getName() + " "
                        + msg.callback + " what=" + msg.what);
            }

            msg.recycleUnchecked();
        }
    }

消息队列MessageQueue主要包含两个操作：插入和读取。读操作伴随着删除操作，插入和删除对应的方法分别为enqueueMessage和next()。
enqueueMessage的作用是插入一条消息，从代码可以看出MessageQueue虽然叫消息队列，实际上内部实现是单链表的数据结构，这是由于单链表在插入和删除方便比较有优势。

boolean enqueueMessage(Message msg, long when) {
    if (msg.target == null) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Message must have a target.");
    }
    if (msg.isInUse()) {
        throw new IllegalStateException(msg + " This message is already in use.");
    }

    synchronized (this) {
        if (mQuitting) {
            IllegalStateException e = new IllegalStateException(
                    msg.target + " sending message to a Handler on a dead thread");
            Log.w(TAG, e.getMessage(), e);
            msg.recycle();
            return false;
        }

        msg.markInUse();
        msg.when = when;
        Message p = mMessages;
        boolean needWake;
        if (p == null || when == 0 || when < p.when) {
            // New head, wake up the event queue if blocked.
            msg.next = p;
            mMessages = msg;
            needWake = mBlocked;
        } else {
            // Inserted within the middle of the queue.  Usually we don't have to wake
            // up the event queue unless there is a barrier at the head of the queue
            // and the message is the earliest asynchronous message in the queue.
            needWake = mBlocked && p.target == null && msg.isAsynchronous();
            Message prev;
            for (;;) {
                prev = p;
                p = p.next;
                if (p == null || when < p.when) {
                    break;
                }
                if (needWake && p.isAsynchronous()) {
                    needWake = false;
                }
            }
            msg.next = p; // invariant: p == prev.next
            prev.next = msg;
        }

        // We can assume mPtr != 0 because mQuitting is false.
        if (needWake) {
            nativeWake(mPtr);
        }
    }
    return true;
}

next的作用是从消息队列中取出消息并将其从消息队列中移除，next方法是一个无限循环的方法，如果消息队列中没有消息，那么next方法将会一直堵塞在这里。当有新消息到来时，next方法就会返回这条消息并将该消息从链表中删除。

Message next() {
    // Return here if the message loop has already quit and been disposed.
    // This can happen if the application tries to restart a looper after quit
    // which is not supported.
    final long ptr = mPtr;
    if (ptr == 0) {
        return null;
    }

    int pendingIdleHandlerCount = -1; // -1 only during first iteration
    int nextPollTimeoutMillis = 0;
    for (;;) {
        if (nextPollTimeoutMillis != 0) {
            Binder.flushPendingCommands();
        }

        nativePollOnce(ptr, nextPollTimeoutMillis);

        synchronized (this) {
            // Try to retrieve the next message.  Return if found.
            final long now = SystemClock.uptimeMillis();
            Message prevMsg = null;
            Message msg = mMessages;
            if (msg != null && msg.target == null) {
                // Stalled by a barrier.  Find the next asynchronous message in the queue.
                do {
                    prevMsg = msg;
                    msg = msg.next;
                } while (msg != null && !msg.isAsynchronous());
            }
            if (msg != null) {
                if (now < msg.when) {
                    // Next message is not ready.  Set a timeout to wake up when it is ready.
                    nextPollTimeoutMillis = (int) Math.min(msg.when - now, Integer.MAX_VALUE);
                } else {
                    // Got a message.
                    mBlocked = false;
                    if (prevMsg != null) {
                        prevMsg.next = msg.next;
                    } else {
                        mMessages = msg.next;
                    }
                    msg.next = null;
                    if (DEBUG) Log.v(TAG, "Returning message: " + msg);
                    msg.markInUse();
                    return msg;
                }
            } else {
                // No more messages.
                nextPollTimeoutMillis = -1;
            }

            // Process the quit message now that all pending messages have been handled.
            if (mQuitting) {
                dispose();
                return null;
            }

            // If first time idle, then get the number of idlers to run.
            // Idle handles only run if the queue is empty or if the first message
            // in the queue (possibly a barrier) is due to be handled in the future.
            if (pendingIdleHandlerCount < 0
                    && (mMessages == null || now < mMessages.when)) {
                pendingIdleHandlerCount = mIdleHandlers.size();
            }
            if (pendingIdleHandlerCount <= 0) {
                // No idle handlers to run.  Loop and wait some more.
                mBlocked = true;
                continue;
            }

            if (mPendingIdleHandlers == null) {
                mPendingIdleHandlers = new IdleHandler[Math.max(pendingIdleHandlerCount, 4)];
            }
            mPendingIdleHandlers = mIdleHandlers.toArray(mPendingIdleHandlers);
        }

        // Run the idle handlers.
        // We only ever reach this code block during the first iteration.
        for (int i = 0; i < pendingIdleHandlerCount; i++) {
            final IdleHandler idler = mPendingIdleHandlers[i];
            mPendingIdleHandlers[i] = null; // release the reference to the handler

            boolean keep = false;
            try {
                keep = idler.queueIdle();
            } catch (Throwable t) {
                Log.wtf(TAG, "IdleHandler threw exception", t);
            }

            if (!keep) {
                synchronized (this) {
                    mIdleHandlers.remove(idler);
                }
            }
        }

        // Reset the idle handler count to 0 so we do not run them again.
        pendingIdleHandlerCount = 0;

        // While calling an idle handler, a new message could have been delivered
        // so go back and look again for a pending message without waiting.
        nextPollTimeoutMillis = 0;
    }
}

Handler是传递和处理消息的工具，Handler可以将Message插入到MessageQueue（消息队列）的队列尾，同时处理MessageQueue队列头的Message。handler可以通过如下7种方式发送消息，这7个方法绕来绕去，其实最终调用的是sendMessageAtTime方法将此Message插入都消息队列尾部。

/**
     * Enqueue a message into the message queue after all pending messages
     * before the absolute time (in milliseconds) <var>uptimeMillis</var>.
     * <b>The time-base is {@link android.os.SystemClock#uptimeMillis}.</b>
     * Time spent in deep sleep will add an additional delay to execution.
     * You will receive it in {@link #handleMessage}, in the thread attached
     * to this handler.
     * 
     * @param uptimeMillis The absolute time at which the message should be
     *         delivered, using the
     *         {@link android.os.SystemClock#uptimeMillis} time-base.
     *         
     * @return Returns true if the message was successfully placed in to the 
     *         message queue.  Returns false on failure, usually because the
     *         looper processing the message queue is exiting.  Note that a
     *         result of true does not mean the message will be processed -- if
     *         the looper is quit before the delivery time of the message
     *         occurs then the message will be dropped.
     */
    public boolean sendMessageAtTime(Message msg, long uptimeMillis) {
        MessageQueue queue = mQueue;
        if (queue == null) {
            RuntimeException e = new RuntimeException(
                    this + " sendMessageAtTime() called with no mQueue");
            Log.w("Looper", e.getMessage(), e);
            return false;
        }
        return enqueueMessage(queue, msg, uptimeMillis);
    }

handler处理消息的方法如下,其实和View事件处理机制有点相似，如果Message本身有callback，则直接交给Message的callback处理，如果本Handler设置了mCallback，则交给mCallback处理，最后没人认领了则去执行handleMessage方法，一般我们都是直接重写handleMessage方法。

/**
     * Handle system messages here.
     */
    public void dispatchMessage(Message msg) {
        if (msg.callback != null) {
            handleCallback(msg);  //如果Message本身有callback，则直接交给Message的callback处理
        } else {
           //如果本Handler设置了mCallback，则交给mCallback处理
            if (mCallback != null) {
                if (mCallback.handleMessage(msg)) {
                    return;
                }
            }
            handleMessage(msg);
        }
    }

2、子线程可以更新UI的疑惑

android规定只有主线程才可以操作UI，而那些耗时的操作交给子线程去处理，处理完了就发个Message给主线程，主线程再更新UI。如上面所提，Looper是Handler创建的必要条件，平时咱们使用的Acticity中之所以没有看到prepare()和loop()两方法，是由于google在ActivityThread中已经帮我们封装好了（如下）。

public static void main(String[] args) {
        Trace.traceBegin(Trace.TRACE_TAG_ACTIVITY_MANAGER, "ActivityThreadMain");
        SamplingProfilerIntegration.start();

        // CloseGuard defaults to true and can be quite spammy.  We
        // disable it here, but selectively enable it later (via
        // StrictMode) on debug builds, but using DropBox, not logs.
        CloseGuard.setEnabled(false);

        Environment.initForCurrentUser();

        // Set the reporter for event logging in libcore
        EventLogger.setReporter(new EventLoggingReporter());

        // Make sure TrustedCertificateStore looks in the right place for CA certificates
        final File configDir = Environment.getUserConfigDirectory(UserHandle.myUserId());
        TrustedCertificateStore.setDefaultUserDirectory(configDir);

        Process.setArgV0("<pre-initialized>");

        Looper.prepareMainLooper();  //注意啦！！看这里

        ActivityThread thread = new ActivityThread();
        thread.attach(false);

        if (sMainThreadHandler == null) {
            sMainThreadHandler = thread.getHandler();
        }

        if (false) {
            Looper.myLooper().setMessageLogging(new
                    LogPrinter(Log.DEBUG, "ActivityThread"));
        }

        // End of event ActivityThreadMain.
        Trace.traceEnd(Trace.TRACE_TAG_ACTIVITY_MANAGER);
        Looper.loop();   //注意啦！！看这里

        throw new RuntimeException("Main thread loop unexpectedly exited");
    }

那我现在在子线程中创建一个SubLooper和SubHandler，那此时这个SubLooper和SubHandler应该属于子线程的吧，然后在通过这个SubHandler在主线程发送Message到子线程，子线程再处理此Message去更新UI，dialog和toast确实弹出来了。这不就推翻了子线程不能更新UI的命题吗？难道说所有的Handler都属于主线程??

new Thread(new Runnable() {
            public void run() {

                Handler handlerMain = new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper()) {  //注意这里使用Looper.getMainLooper()获取的是主线程的Looper
                    @Override
                    public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
                        switch (msg.what) {
                            case 2:
                                Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),"主线程的Handler处理来自主线程的消息"+Process.myTid(),Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                                break;
                            default:
                                break;

                        }
                        Log.d(TAG, "handleMainMessageInner: " + Process.myTid());  //此时打印主线程的id
                    }
                };

                Looper.prepare();
                looperSub = Looper.myLooper();

                handlerSub = new Handler() {
                    @Override
                    public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
                        switch (msg.what) {
                            case 2:
                                Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "子线程处理来自主线程的消息" + Process.myTid(), Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                                AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(MainActivity.this);
                                builder.setTitle("hha")
                                        .setMessage("zzzzzzz")
                                        .show();
                                break;
                            default:
                                break;

                        }
                        Log.d(TAG, "handleMessage: " + Process.myTid());  //此时打印子线程的id
                    }
                };
                handlerSub.sendEmptyMessage(1);
                handlerMain.sendEmptyMessage(1);
                Looper.loop();
            }
        }).start();
    }
    @Override
    public void onClick(View v) {
        switch (v.getId()) {
            case R.id.btn1:
                new Thread(new Runnable() {
                    @Override
                    public void run() {
                        m_handler.sendEmptyMessage(1);
                    }
                }).start();

                break;
            case R.id.btn2:
                handlerSub.sendEmptyMessage(2);
                break;
            default:
                break;
        }
    }

总结：
子线程操作UI报异常是由于下面代码检查线程不一致导致的

void checkThread() {
    if (mThread != Thread.currentThread()) {
        throw new CalledFromWrongThreadException(
                "Only the original thread that created a view hierarchy can touch its views.");
    }
}

那么通过Looper.prepare()和 Looper.loop()就可以来创建和循环处理消息，消息的创建和处理在同一个线程就不怕线程不一致的问题了。
参考源码