
Android Services
A Service is an application component that can perform long-running operations in the background, and it doesn’t provide a user interface. Another application component can start a service, and it continues to run in the background even if the user switches to another application. Additionally, a component can bind to a service to interact with it and even perform interprocess communication (IPC). For example, a service can handle network transactions, play music, perform file I/O, or interact with a content provider, all from the background.
These are the three different types of services:
- Foreground
- A foreground service performs some operation that is noticeable to the user. For example, an audio app would use a foreground service to play an audio track. Foreground services must display a Notification. Foreground services continue running even when the user isn’t interacting with the app.
- Background
- A background service performs an operation that isn’t directly noticed by the user. For example, if an app used a service to compact its storage, that would usually be a background service.
Note: If your app targets API level 26 or higher, the system imposes restrictions on running background services when the app itself isn’t in the foreground.
- Bound
- A service is bound when an application component binds to it by calling bindService( ). A bound service offers a client-server interface that allows components to interact with the service, send requests, receive results, and even do so across processes with interprocess communication (IPC). A bound service runs only as long as another application component is bound to it. Multiple components can bind to the service at once, but when all of them unbind, the service is destroyed.
more topics covered:
- start/stop service
- notifications
- binder
- serviceConnection
- service api
- run method on service
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