Continually Running Background Service

Continually Running Background Service

In oreo release Android defined limits to background services.

To improve the user experience, Android 8.0 (API level 26) imposes
limitations on what apps can do while running in the background.

Still if app need to run its service always, then we can create foreground service.

Background Service Limitations: While an app is idle, there are limits
to its use of background services. This does not apply to foreground
services, which are more noticeable to the user.

So create a foreground service. In which you will put a notification for user while your service is running. See this answer (There are many others)

Now what if you don't want a notification for your service. A solution is for that.

You can create some periodic task that will start your service, service will do its work and stops itself. By this your app will not be considered battery draining.

You can create periodic task with Alarm Manager, Job Scheduler, Evernote-Jobs or Work Manager.

• Instead of telling pros & cons of each one. I just tell you best. Work manager is best solution for periodic tasks. Which was introduced with Android Architecture Component.
• Unlike Job-Scheduler(only >21 API) it will work for all versions.
• Also it starts work after a Doze-Standby mode.
• Make a Android Boot Receiver for scheduling service after device boot.

I created forever running service with Work-Manager, that is working perfectly.

Run a service in background continuously

Below code works for me...

public class AppService extends Service {

@Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
    // TODO Auto-generated method stub
    return null;
}

@Override
public void onCreate() {
    Toast.makeText(this, " MyService Created ", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}

@Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
    Toast.makeText(this, " MyService Started", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
    return START_STICKY;
}
}

Continuously poll as a background service

In the end, I implemented this with quartz. There is a setting allows me to avoid multiple threads from running simultaneously and I've never run into issues where the thread dies unless an exception isn't handled.

def concurrent = false

From the Quartz Plugin Documentation:

"By default Jobs are executed in concurrent fashion, so new Job execution can start even if previous execution of the same Job is still running. If you want to override this behavior you can use 'concurrent' property, in this case Quartz's StatefulJob will be used"

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