Started Services | Services | Android Development Tutorial

Introduction

Started Services are one of the fundamental building blocks for Android applications. They allow you to perform long-running operations in the background without affecting the user interface. This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating and using Started Services in Android development.

What is a Started Service?

A Started Service is a component that performs operations that need to keep running even if the user is not interacting with the application. For example, you might use a Started Service to download a file or play music in the background. Once started, a service can run indefinitely, and it is stopped explicitly using the stopSelf() or stopService() methods.

Creating a Started Service

To create a Started Service, you need to extend the Service class and override its methods. Below is a basic example:


public class MyStartedService extends Service {
    @Override
    public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
        // Your code to perform a task
        return START_STICKY;
    }

    @Override
    public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
        return null;
    }
}

The onStartCommand() method is called every time the service is started using startService(). The START_STICKY return value indicates that the service should be restarted if it gets terminated by the system.

Registering the Service in AndroidManifest.xml

After creating the service, you need to register it in the AndroidManifest.xml file:


<service android:name=".MyStartedService" />

Starting the Service

You can start the service from an activity or another component using the startService() method:


Intent serviceIntent = new Intent(this, MyStartedService.class);
startService(serviceIntent);

Stopping the Service

To stop the service, you can use the stopService() method or call stopSelf() from within the service itself:


stopService(new Intent(this, MyStartedService.class));

Or, within the service:


stopSelf();

Example: Downloading a File

Let's create a more detailed example where the service downloads a file in the background:


public class FileDownloadService extends Service {
    @Override
    public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
        new Thread(new Runnable() {
            @Override
            public void run() {
                // Code to download the file
                stopSelf();
            }
        }).start();
        return START_STICKY;
    }

    @Override
    public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
        return null;
    }
}

Conclusion

Started Services are essential for performing background operations in Android applications. They provide a way to run tasks independently of the user interface, ensuring a smooth user experience. By following this tutorial, you should now have a basic understanding of how to create, start, and stop Started Services in Android.

Started Services in Android Development