Question

Alright so I’m working on a project where I want the app to check the internet for updates. I also want the user to be able to customize how often it makes these checks.

I’m kinda struggling with how I go about doing this.
I’m thinking I have a BroadcastReceiver check for the Intent.ACTION_BOOT_COMPLETED, and then start the AlarmService based upon a variable already set somewhere.

But what happens if the user wants to update the interval? How do I stop the old AlarmService and replace it with the new one?

Also how do I have my AlarmService run a “background update” portion in my app without actually running any of the activities?

EDIT: Also can someone advise if I’m using the AlarmService correctly? I’d want to check for updates fairly frequently, should I be using some other method? I’d check between 1-5 minutes.

Answer 1

I do a similar thing in my app. I basically have two services: one that sets the alarm and the other that does the actual donwloading.
When your BroadcastReceiver get’s the intent ACTION_BOOT_COMPLETED you start your alarmService which sends an broadcast to start the downloadService.
So your BroadcastReceiver does both things: starts the alarmServcie if intent == BOOT_COMPLETED else it starts the downloadservice.
Also if the user changes the periods in which he wants those updates to be done you store the chosen value in the preferences, start the alarmservice and retrieve the values to set up a new period, e. g. 1 hour, 2 hours

Edit: Here is the info some info from the docs about pending Intents and how to cancel them. http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/PendingIntent.html

When the user changes the interval you should first cancel your old alarmservice and then set it again.