Making Good Apps Great

More advanced techniques for expert Android developers

Reto Meier
Android Developer Relations Tech Lead
Android Protips 2
Electric Boogaloo
Reto Meier
Android Developer Relations Tech Lead
What if you needed your phone to !irt?
3
I dont use the Internet on my phone...

Smart phone user
I dont use the Internet on my phone.
Of course I use Google and Gmail.
Smart phone user
When Does the Internet Stop Being the Internet?
6
Invisibility
E"ciency Reliability
Work o!ine
Be consistent but creative
Know that less is more
Understand not all devices are the same
Apps You Dont Think About
8
MyIntentService.java
9
Queue and Send
if (!isConnected) {
alarms.cancel(retryQueuedCheckinsPendingIntent);
pm.setComponentEnabledSetting(connectivityReceiver,
PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_ENABLED, PackageManager.DONT_KILL_APP);
addToQueue(timeStamp, reference, id);
} else {
if (!checkin(timeStamp, reference, id))
addToQueue(timeStamp, reference, id);
// Retry each of the queued checkins
// Delete the queued checkins that were successful.
// If there are still queued checkins then set a non-waking alarm to retry them.
if (queuedCheckins.getCount() > 0) {
long trigger = SystemClock.elapsedRealtime() + RETRY_INTERVAL;
alarms.set(AlarmManager.ELAPSED_REALTIME, trigger, retryQueuedCheckinsPendingIntent);
}
}
Work o!ine
Be consistent but creative
Know that less is more
Understand not all devices are the same
Apps You Dont Think About
10
http://developer.android.com/design
Work o!ine
Be consistent but creative
Know that less is more
Understand not all devices are the same
Apps You Dont Think About
12
Work o!ine
Be consistent but creative
Know that less is more
Understand not all devices are the same
Apps You Dont Think About
13
Di#erent Devices, Di#erent Hardware
14
MyService.java
15
Detect Your Hardware Platform
PackageManager pm = getPackageManager();

boolean hasBFCamera = pm.hasSystemFeature(PackageManager.FEATURE_CAMERA);
boolean hasWiFiDirect = pm.hasSystemFeature(PackageManager.FEATURE_WIFI_DIRECT);
boolean hasPortScreen = pm.hasSystemFeature(PackageManager.FEATURE_SCREEN_PORTRAIT);
Boost Battery Life by Enabling Airplane Mode
17
Smaller payloads
Transfer less often
Cache your results
Using the mobile radio less
18
The Cookie Monster Dilemma
19
Many small
downloads?
Fewer large
downloads?
20
Transfer less data across the network
Store and process less data on the device
Use less memory / storage / bandwidth
The False Economy of the Little Cookie
21
The Big Cookie Model
22
The Mobile Radio State Machine
23
Radio
Standby
Radio
Low Power
Radio
Full Power
2s latency
Radio idle for
seconds
Radio idle for
seconds
1.5s latency
~5-10
~10-60
AT&T 3G
24
Radio
Standby
Radio
Low Power
Radio
Full Power
2s latency
Radio idle for
seconds
Radio idle for
seconds
1.5s latency
5
12
Vodafone
25
Radio
Standby
Radio
Low Power
Radio
Full Power
2s latency
Radio idle for
seconds
Radio idle for
seconds
1.5s latency
5
30
Normalizing Mean State Transition Times with FFTs
26
Fragmented Network Tra"c
27
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Prefetching
Batching, bundling, and preempting
Reducing your number of connections
Defragmenting Your Network Tra"c
28
Defragmented Network Tra"c
29
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Same Data. Di#erent Power Pro$le.
30
21%
37%
42%
0%
Active
High Power
Low Power
Idle
12%
8%
17%
63%
Logcat logging
ARO tool from AT&T
Network Statistics in DDMS
Analyzing Network Usage
31
MyActivity.java
32
Tag your Data Transfers
TrafficStats.setThreadStatsTag(0xF00D);
TrafficStats.tagSocket(outputSocket);

// TODO Transfer data using socket

TrafficStats.untagSocket(outputSocket);
MyActivity.java
33
Tag your Data Transfers
TrafficStats.setThreadStatsTag(0xF00D);
try {
// Make network request using HttpClient.execute()
} finally {
TrafficStats.clearThreadStatsTag();
}
Short Spikes
34
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Regular / Periodic Transfers
35
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
Batches of Activity in Close Proximity
36
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
Latency
B
a
t
t
e
r
y

L
i
f
e

Battery Life versus Latency
37
A good app is like a good butler.
It has what you want, before
you have to ask for it.
Try to download only what youll need
2 to 5 minutes of app usage
1 to 5mb of data (on a 3G network)
Prefetching
39
MyService.java
40
Not All Networks Transfer Data Equally
int prefetchCacheSize = DEFAULT_PREFETCH_CACHE;
switch (activeNetwork.getType()) {
case ConnectivityManager.TYPE_WIFI:
prefetchCacheSize = MAX_PREFETCH_CACHE; break;
case ConnectivityManager.TYPE_MOBILE): {
switch (telephonyManager.getNetworkType()) {
case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_LTE:
case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSPAP:
prefetchCacheSize *= 4; break;
case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EDGE:
case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_GPRS:
prefetchCacheSize /= 2; break;
default: break;
} break;
}
default: break;
}
Transfer as much as possible during each session
Minimize the number of sessions
Delay time-insensitive transfers
Preempt scheduled transfers
Batching and Preempting
41
TransferQueueSingleton.java
42
Create a Batch Queue for Periodic Transfers
private Queue<MyPeriodicTransfer> updateQueue;

public synchronized void enqueuePeriodicTransfer(MyPeriodicTransfer periodicTransfer) {
updateQueue.add(periodicTransfer);
}

public void executeBatchedPeriodicTransfers() {
// Execute the batched periodic update queue.
executeBatchedPeriodicTransfersOnly();
// Preempt scheduled update
executeNextPrefetch();
}

private synchronized void executeBatchedPeriodicTransfersOnly() {
// TODO Bundle the received updates / requests into a single transfer.
updateQueue.clear();
// TODO Upload / download the periodic transfer
}
TransferQueueSingleton.java
43
Trigger Pending Transfers During On Demand Updates
public void executeOnDemandDownload(DownloadDetails details) {
// TODO Execute an on demand download.
executeNextPrefetch();
}

public void executeNextPrefetch() {
// TODO Execute the next planned prefetch.

// Execute the batched periodic update queue
executeBatchedPeriodicTransfersOnly();
}
Minimize the Impact of Regular
Transfers
MyService.java
45
Inexact Repeating Alarms
int alarmType = AlarmManager.ELAPSED_REALTIME;
long interval = AlarmManager.INTERVAL_HOUR;
long start = SystemClock.elapsedRealtime() + interval;

alarmManager.setInexactRepeating(alarmType, start, interval, pi);
executePeriodicUpdate()
46
Inactivity Back-o#
boolean appUsed = prefs.getBoolean(PREF_APPUSED, false);
long updateInterval = prefs.getLong(PREF_INTERVAL, DEFAULT_REFRESH_INTERVAL);

if (!appUsed)
if ((updateInterval *= 2) > MAX_REFRESH_INTERVAL)
updateInterval = MAX_REFRESH_INTERVAL;

reschedulePeriodicUpdates(updateInterval); // Save interval & reschedule alarm.
executeUpdate(); // Execute data transfer.
404 = 131kb
*60
*24
*7
= 1320480kb
= 1.26 GIGABYTES
47
Failure Back-o#
404 = 4kb
*60
*24
*7
= 40320kb
= 39mb
48
Failure Back-o#
MyService.java
49
Failure Back-o#
private void retryIn(long interval) {
Thread.sleep(interval);
boolean success = attemptTransfer();

if (!success) {
retryIn(interval*2 < MAX_RETRY_INTERVAL ?
interval*2 : MAX_RETRY_INTERVAL);
}
}
Google Cloud Messaging
50
Google Cloud Messaging
51
Available back to Android 2.2 (~94% of devices)
Can transmit to multiple recipients
No quota limits
Tickle not transmit
Next session in Room 9: Google Cloud Messaging
Google Cloud Messaging
52
Redundant Downloads are
Redundant
MyService.java
54
Reduce Your Payloads
// Non-sensitive data
Context.getExternalCacheDir();

// Sandboxed application data
Context.getCacheDir();

Filter on the server
Rescale your images on the server
Cache ALL the things!
MyService.java
55
Dont Download Again Until Necessary
long expires = httpURLConnection.getHeaderFieldDate("Expires", currentTime);
long lastModified = httpURLConnection.getHeaderFieldDate("Last-Modified", currentTime);

// Dont refresh until at least the expiry time
setDataExpirationDate(expires);

if (lastModified > lastUpdateTime) {
// Parse update
}
MyService.java
56
Use the HttpResponseCache
private void enableHttpResponseCache() {
try {
long httpCacheSize = 10 * 1024 * 1024; // 10 MiB
File httpCacheDir = new File(getCacheDir(), "http");
Class.forName(android.net.http.HttpResponseCache")
.getMethod(install", File.class, long.class)
.invoke(null, httpCacheDir, httpCacheSize);
} catch (Exception httpResponseCacheNotAvailable) {
Log.d(TAG, "HTTP response cache is unavailable.");
}
}
http://developer.android.com/training/e!cient-downloads
Transferring Data Without Draining the Battery
57
Lint
Strict Mode
Test. Test. Test.
Reliability
59
Bucket Testing
60
Small Normal Large Xlarge
LDPI 2.3% 0.7% 0.3%
MDPI 26.2% 2% 7.4%
HDPI 2.4% 57.8%
XHDPI
0.9%
Bucket Testing
61
Small Normal Large Xlarge
LDPI 2.3% 0.7% 0.3%
MDPI 26.2% 2% 7.4%
HDPI 2.4% 57.8%
XHDPI
0.9%
Bucket Testing
62
Small Normal Large Xlarge
LDPI 2.3% 0.7% 0.3%
MDPI 26.2% 2% 7.4%
HDPI 2.4% 57.8% Nexus 7
XHDPI Galaxy Nexus
HTC One X
Samsung S III
http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_support.html
Supporting Multiple Screens
63
Monkey Runner
Alpha testers
Emulator
Stability
64
Android: Smartphones++
66
67
68
I dont use the Internet on my phone...

I dont use the Internet on my phone.
Of course I use <insert your app here>.
Your users
Thank You!
Questions? Join the Android Developer Relations team every Wednesday,
2pm Paci"c (UTC-7) for our live O#ce Hours Q&A sessions at
developers.google.com/live
Graphics & animations by Pandamusk (@pandamusk)
+Reto Meier | @retomeier

http://developer.android.com/+
#IO12