Handler object
0x01. Use scenarios:
- 0x1.1. Inter-thread communication
The most common function of Handler is to implement the communication between worker thread and UI thread in Activity. For example, if the UI can not be handled directly in the callback of asynchronous thread, the UI must be notified to let the main thread handle the UI-related business logic.
- 0x1.2. Ordered business logic processing of events in worker threads
Handler Thread + Handler implements an orderly multitasking framework in workthreads.
0x02. Examples of usage
The following code examples include Handler's declarations, object creation, event simulation, event handling, handler object destruction, a complete usage process and specification.
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
private static final String TAG = MainActivity.class.getSimpleName();
public HandlerWork handlerWork;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
//1. Create handler objects
handlerWork = new HandlerWork(this);
//2. Simulating asynchronous message events
Message msg = Message.obtain();
msg.obj = "onCreate() >>>>>>";
handlerWork.sendMessage(msg);
}
@Override
protected void onDestroy(){
super.onDestroy();
Message msg = Message.obtain();
msg.obj = "onDestroy() >>>>>>";
handlerWork.sendMessage(msg);
//4. Cleaning up Reference Objects
if (null != handlerWork){
handlerWork.removeCallbacksAndMessages(null);
handlerWork = null;
}
}
//0. Static internal class declaration
public static class HandlerWork extends Handler{
MainActivity activityWR;
HandlerWork(MainActivity activity){
activityWR = new WeakReference<>(activity).get();
}
@Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
Log.i(TAG, "handleMessage: msg:"+msg);
//3. Processing business logic here
}
}
}0x03. Source code analysis
- 0x03.1. Declaration
Declare that classes can be static internal classes or external classes according to the actual situation.
public static class HandlerWork extends Handler{
MainActivity activityWR;
HandlerWork(MainActivity activity){
activityWR = new WeakReference<>(activity).get();
}
//Omission...- 0x03.2. Registration
Register the current object in Handler.
handlerWork = new HandlerWork(this);- 0x03.3. Trigger events
Message msg = Message.obtain();
msg.obj = "onCreate() >>>>>>";
handlerWork.sendMessage(msg);Look at the sendMessage call to the sendMessageDelayed method.
/**
* Pushes a message onto the end of the message queue after all pending messages
* before the current time. It will be received in {@link #handleMessage},
* in the thread attached to this handler.
*
* @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.
*/
public final boolean sendMessage(Message msg)
{
return sendMessageDelayed(msg, 0);
}Continue tracking to the sendMessageAtTime method.
/**
* Enqueue a message into the message queue after all pending messages
* before (current time + delayMillis). You will receive it in
* {@link #handleMessage}, in the thread attached to this handler.
*
* @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 final boolean sendMessageDelayed(Message msg, long delayMillis)
{
if (delayMillis < 0) {
delayMillis = 0;
}
return sendMessageAtTime(msg, SystemClock.uptimeMillis() + delayMillis);
}Add messages to the message queue.
/**
* 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);
}Here you can see that msg is added to the message queue, and the target object of msg is assigned to the current Handler object.
private boolean enqueueMessage(MessageQueue queue, Message msg, long uptimeMillis) {
msg.target = this;
if (mAsynchronous) {
msg.setAsynchronous(true);
}
return queue.enqueueMessage(msg, uptimeMillis);
}Where does mQueue come from? Let's see what happens in Handler's default constructor?
/**
* Default constructor associates this handler with the {@link Looper} for the
* current thread.
*
* If this thread does not have a looper, this handler won't be able to receive messages
* so an exception is thrown.
*/
public Handler() {
this(null, false);
}Next, we see that mLooper is retrieved from Looper.myLooper(), and mQueue is retrieved from the mQueue in the current mLooper.
/**
* Use the {@link Looper} for the current thread with the specified callback interface
* and set whether the handler should be asynchronous.
*
* Handlers are synchronous by default unless this constructor is used to make
* one that is strictly asynchronous.
*
* Asynchronous messages represent interrupts or events that do not require global ordering
* with respect to synchronous messages. Asynchronous messages are not subject to
* the synchronization barriers introduced by {@link MessageQueue#enqueueSyncBarrier(long)}.
*
* @param callback The callback interface in which to handle messages, or null.
* @param async If true, the handler calls {@link Message#setAsynchronous(boolean)} for
* each {@link Message} that is sent to it or {@link Runnable} that is posted to it.
*
* @hide
*/
public Handler(Callback callback, boolean async) {
if (FIND_POTENTIAL_LEAKS) {
final Class<? extends Handler> klass = getClass();
if ((klass.isAnonymousClass() || klass.isMemberClass() || klass.isLocalClass()) &&
(klass.getModifiers() & Modifier.STATIC) == 0) {
Log.w(TAG, "The following Handler class should be static or leaks might occur: " +
klass.getCanonicalName());
}
}
mLooper = Looper.myLooper();
if (mLooper == null) {
throw new RuntimeException(
"Can't create handler inside thread that has not called Looper.prepare()");
}
mQueue = mLooper.mQueue;
mCallback = callback;
mAsynchronous = async;
}So far, we have clearly seen how Message messages are organized and sent to Message queues.
- 0x03.4. Monitoring
Implementation of enqueueMesage in frameworks/base/core/android/os/MessageQueue.java:
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;
}- 0x03.5. Trigger
frameworks/base/core/android/os/Looper.java
/**
* 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.traceBegin(traceTag, msg.target.getTraceName(msg));
}
try {
msg.target.dispatchMessage(msg);//This is the logic of message sending. According to the target object in the current message, call its dispatchMessage method.
} 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();
}
}But I didn't see where Looper was initialized and how the message in the main thread was dispatched.
frameworks/base/core/android/app/ActivityThread.java
final ApplicationThread mAppThread = new ApplicationThread();
final Looper mLooper = Looper.myLooper();
final H mH = new H();
//Omission...
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();//Here the Loper of the main thread is initialized
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(); //Here we enter the Looper message loop
throw new RuntimeException("Main thread loop unexpectedly exited");
}- 0x03.6. Callback
frameworks/base/core/android/os/Handler.java
/**
* Handle system messages here.
*/
public void dispatchMessage(Message msg) {
if (msg.callback != null) {
handleCallback(msg);
} else {
if (mCallback != null) {
if (mCallback.handleMessage(msg)) {
return;
}
}
handleMessage(msg);
}
}Overload the interface implementation of handleMessage to process its own business logic.
@Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
Log.i(TAG, "handleMessage: >>>>>> msg:"+msg);
}0x04. summary
Here we go through the Message processing logic in the main thread according to the code flow, from sending messages, joining queues, dispatching messages, callback processing, etc. Let's use Handler as long as we understand how the Message in handler flows.