Question

I am trying to develop a simple chat application, only for study purpose.
My problem is that when the screen orientation is changing the TCP/IP connection is closed and recreated after orientation changes.

I know that Android destroys the activity and recreates it when changing orientation.

So my question: It is posible to change only view but everything else to remain intact?

Thanks

Answer 1

Well, the real issue here is that you are performing the TCP/IP connection on the main UI thread, which is a terrible idea because you risk blocking touch events and the layouts from being generated. A NetworkOnMainThreadException is thrown on most new devices these days to prevent this behavior too.

What I would do is wrap the TCP/IP connection in a Thread, and then have the Thread execute in a worker (non-UI, invisible) Fragment with setRetainInstance(true). This protect your Thread on configuration changes, as the Fragment will remain in memory even when the Activity is destroyed. You can read more about this approach here.

If the TCP/IP connection needs to exist across multiple Activity instances, you should use a Service instead.