Android download queue when offline

Question

In my application I create a download queue via IntentService upon receiving sms, I've got that to work like a charm.

sms received -> Smsreceiver extends BroadcastReceiver -> startService(intent)
-> SimpleIntentService extends IntentService //actual download happens here
-> sendBroadcast(broadcastIntent) -> back to my app //to inform that
                                                   //a download has finished

But a creepy case rises when the device is offline, I really don't know what to do there, shall I hold on the currently being executed thread until the device gets online again (which is high cost process in my opinion), or shall i build my own queue that holds urls and feeds IntentService when back online? or any other suggestion?

Also how to check when device is online again without affecting device performance/battery/etc ?

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 19 '13 at 13:02

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I would tell you ....

1- When you receive an SMS, add something to your queue

2- In your service :

Check your connectivity
- If your online : Get Queue list
For each action, do whatever you want to do and delete it from your queue list
- If you're not : Do nothing

3- Use CONNECTIVITY_CHANGE broadcast to check connectivity change and if you are connected. In this case,reproduces STEP 2. Else do nothing

Check http://developer.android.com/training/monitoring-device-state/connectivity-monitoring.html#MonitorChanges for monitoring change of connectivity (broadcast section)

answered Nov 19 '13 at 13:02

azerto00

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To make it more clear for you IntentService is a queue itself, so are you suggesting me to build my own queue and a manager service which checks connectivity and feed the IntentService queue. and maybe get rid of IntentService, is that what you mean? – Ahmad Dwaik 'Warlock' Nov 19 '13 at 13:08
I'm just telling you what I think... If IntentService is a queue itself, keep your queue here, and do the same scenario as I told you. I think there is a flag to reuse the same service. I think it will hold your queue – azerto00 Nov 19 '13 at 13:39

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:50

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If user is currently offline you will need to store the current state/data. This you can do either using database or SharedPrefernces. It depends on the complexity of your requirement which one to use.

For checking wwhen the network is online/offline you will need to listen to android.net.conn.CONNECTIVITY_CHANGE refer to link - Check INTENT internet connection

edited May 23 '17 at 11:50

Community

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answered Nov 19 '13 at 13:05

Kshitij

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 19 '13 at 13:05

I'm not sure if it's the best practice or not, but I think you can combine your queue idea with Google Cloud Messaging.

Whenever an sms is received, add it to queue and send it to your Application Server. Then application server sends "download this" message to your device. Your device will get gcm push notification iff it is online, hence it can start download. After download finished, perform same steps for next element in queue.

I think this method solves the problem of polling for internet connection

Thats an option for me :) since I have a web service involved already. I'll wait for other options and keep a track on this — Ahmad Dwaik 'Warlock', Nov 19 '13 at 13:12

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 19 '13 at 13:13

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Square wrote the Tape library for this scenario, as a persistent queue that they can start reading from when connectivity returns.

answered Nov 19 '13 at 13:13

CommonsWare

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good god! cool library which is exactly what I need! but is it hard to implement such thing, it's always nice to know such technique and have it written in your own implementation :) – Ahmad Dwaik 'Warlock' Nov 19 '13 at 13:23
I mean I'll go use this lib only if there's no way to get my implementation and work around to work – Ahmad Dwaik 'Warlock' Nov 19 '13 at 13:27

Android download queue when offline

4 Answers4