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What Are Threads in Android With Example

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Abdullah Munir
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34 views

What Are Threads in Android With Example

Uploaded by

Abdullah Munir
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What are Threads in Android with Example?

In Android, a thread is a background process that can run


independently of the main UI thread. In Java and Kotlin, the
Thread class and coroutines can be used to create and manage
threads.
Kotlin

GlobalScope.launch {

// code to run in background thread

Java

Thread thread = new Thread(new Runnable() {

@Override public void run() {

// code to run in background thread

});

thread.start();

Note: It’s recommended to use coroutines in Kotlin instead of


Thread, as they are more lightweight and easier to manage.
Code Snippet of a function that uses coroutines to perform a
network request in the background, and updates the UI with the
result:
fun doNetworkRequest() =
GlobalScope.launch(Dispatchers.Main) {
val result = withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
// perform network request
}
// update UI with the result
}
There are different types of threads in Android, each with its
own use cases:
 The main thread, also known as the UI thread, is responsible
for handling all UI updates and user interactions. Any code that
updates the UI or interacts with the user should be run on the
main thread.
 Worker threads are used for background tasks that should not
block the main thread, such as network requests, database
operations, and image processing.
 AsyncTask is a helper class that allows you to perform
background tasks and update the UI from the same thread.
However, it has some limitations and it’s recommended to use
coroutines or other libraries for more complex tasks.
 Services are used for tasks that should continue running even
when the app is not visible, such as playing music or
downloading files.
 In addition to the above, there are other types of threading
mechanisms available in android such as IntentService,
JobIntentService, Service, JobScheduler, and AlarmManager.
It’s important to choose the right threading mechanism for your
task to ensure optimal performance and avoid threading issues.
It’s also important to test your app thoroughly on different
devices and configurations to ensure that it behaves correctly and
does not crash due to threading issues.
Step-by-Step Implementation

Step 1: Create a New Project in Android Studio


To create a new project in Android Studio please refer to How to
Create/Start a New Project in Android Studio. The code for
that has been given in both Java and Kotlin Programming
Language for Android.
Step 2: Working with the XML Files
Next, go to the activity_main.xml file, which represents the UI of
the project. Below is the code for the activity_main.xml file.
Comments are added inside the code to understand the code in
more detail.
XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<LinearLayout

xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/ap
k/res/android"

android:layout_width="match_parent"

android:layout_height="match_parent"

android:gravity="center"

android:orientation="vertical">

<!-- Display the result text -->

<TextView
android:id="@+id/result_text_view"

android:layout_width="wrap_content"

android:layout_height="wrap_content"

android:text="Result will appear here"

android:textSize="25sp" />

<!-- Start button -->

<Button

android:id="@+id/start_button"

android:layout_width="wrap_content"

android:layout_height="wrap_content"

android:text="Start" />

</LinearLayout>

Step 3: Working with the MainActivity & ExampleIntentService


File
Go to the MainActivity File and refer to the following code. Below
is the code for the MainActivity File. Comments are added inside
the code to understand the code in more detail.
Java
import android.os.AsyncTask;

import android.os.Bundle;

import android.widget.Button;

import android.widget.TextView;

import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;

public class MainActivity extends


AppCompatActivity {

private TextView resultTextView;

@Override

protected void onCreate(Bundle


savedInstanceState) {

super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

// Get reference to start button and


result text view
Button startButton =
findViewById(R.id.start_button);

resultTextView =
findViewById(R.id.result_text_view);

// Set an OnClickListener for the start button

startButton.setOnClickListener(view ->
new BackgroundTask().execute());

// BackgroundTask inner class to perform the


background task

private class BackgroundTask extends


AsyncTask<Void, Void, String> {

@Override

protected String doInBackground(Void...


voids) {

// Perform background task

try {

Thread.sleep(5000);

} catch (InterruptedException e) {

e.printStackTrace();

}
return "Task Completed";

@Override

protected void onPostExecute(String


result) {

// Update UI with the results

resultTextView.setText(result);

Output:

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