Question

How can I implement a notification functionality on an android app in which at a set time found on an xml, the app will display a notification?

Say a local xml file has a value which say notifyat=5:00pm, so I want the app to everyday, display a notification based on that value?

I have been reading through this tutorial http://www.vogella.com/articles/AndroidNotifications/article.html

How can I get the app to automatically read the xml file everyday and show me the notification at the specified time?

Answer 1

In order to do something like this you are going to need to use an AlarmManager. Here is an example of running your code at this specific time:

    // create intent
    launchIntent = new Intent(this, MyAlarmReceiver.class);
    pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(this, 0, launchIntent, 0);

    AlarmManager alarmManager = (AlarmManager) getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
    long interval = TimeUnit.DAYS.toMillis(1); // the interval is one day
    long firstTime = 0;

    // create a Calendar object to set the real time at which the alarm
    // should go off
    Calendar alarmTime = Calendar.getInstance();
    alarmTime.set(Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY, 17);
    alarmTime.set(Calendar.MINUTE, 0);
    alarmTime.set(Calendar.SECOND, 0);

    Calendar now = Calendar.getInstance();
    // set the alarm for today at 5pm if it is not yet 5pm
    if (now.before(alarmTime)) {
        firstTime = alarmTime.getTimeInMillis();
    } else {
        // set the alarm for the next day at 5pm if it is past 5pm
        alarmTime.add(Calendar.DATE, 1);
        firstTime = alarmTime.getTimeInMillis();
    }
    // Repeat every day at 5pm
    alarmManager.setRepeating(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, firstTime, interval,
            pendingIntent);

The “MyAlarmReceiver” class is where you will put your code that launches your notification. Make sure to declare your BroadcastReceiver class in the AndroidManifest.