Background service with location listener in android

Question

I am creating a background service that will run in its own process. It should allow me to listen if the device location has changed. I should be able to change criteria like the distance moved before notifying the UI.

How can I do the same? I have a little knowledge of service and LocationListener implementations. Any tutorials around the net would be appreciated.

I got one back-link from stack overflow, but I didn't understand much of it.

Answer 1

First you need to create a Service. In that Service, create a class extending LocationListener. For this, use the following code snippet of Service:

public class LocationService extends Service {
public static final String BROADCAST_ACTION = "Hello World";
private static final int TWO_MINUTES = 1000 * 60 * 2;
public LocationManager locationManager;
public MyLocationListener listener;
public Location previousBestLocation = null;

Intent intent;
int counter = 0;

@Override
public void onCreate() {
    super.onCreate();
    intent = new Intent(BROADCAST_ACTION);
}

@Override
public void onStart(Intent intent, int startId) {
    locationManager = (LocationManager) getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
    listener = new MyLocationListener();
    if (ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED && ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
        return;
    }
    locationManager.requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER, 4000, 0, (LocationListener) listener);
    locationManager.requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER, 4000, 0, listener);
}

@Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent)
{
    return null;
}

protected boolean isBetterLocation(Location location, Location currentBestLocation) {
    if (currentBestLocation == null) {
        // A new location is always better than no location
        return true;
    }

    // Check whether the new location fix is newer or older
    long timeDelta = location.getTime() - currentBestLocation.getTime();
    boolean isSignificantlyNewer = timeDelta > TWO_MINUTES;
    boolean isSignificantlyOlder = timeDelta < -TWO_MINUTES;
    boolean isNewer = timeDelta > 0;

    // If it's been more than two minutes since the current location, use the new location
    // because the user has likely moved
    if (isSignificantlyNewer) {
        return true;
        // If the new location is more than two minutes older, it must be worse
    } else if (isSignificantlyOlder) {
        return false;
    }

    // Check whether the new location fix is more or less accurate
    int accuracyDelta = (int) (location.getAccuracy() - currentBestLocation.getAccuracy());
    boolean isLessAccurate = accuracyDelta > 0;
    boolean isMoreAccurate = accuracyDelta < 0;
    boolean isSignificantlyLessAccurate = accuracyDelta > 200;

    // Check if the old and new location are from the same provider
    boolean isFromSameProvider = isSameProvider(location.getProvider(),
            currentBestLocation.getProvider());

    // Determine location quality using a combination of timeliness and accuracy
    if (isMoreAccurate) {
        return true;
    } else if (isNewer && !isLessAccurate) {
        return true;
    } else if (isNewer && !isSignificantlyLessAccurate && isFromSameProvider) {
        return true;
    }
    return false;
}



/** Checks whether two providers are the same */
private boolean isSameProvider(String provider1, String provider2) {
    if (provider1 == null) {
        return provider2 == null;
    }
    return provider1.equals(provider2);
}



@Override
public void onDestroy() {
    // handler.removeCallbacks(sendUpdatesToUI);     
    super.onDestroy();
    Log.v("STOP_SERVICE", "DONE");
    locationManager.removeUpdates(listener);
}

public static Thread performOnBackgroundThread(final Runnable runnable) {
    final Thread t = new Thread() {
        @Override
        public void run() {
            try {
                runnable.run();
            } finally {

            }
        }
    };
    t.start();
    return t;
}
public class MyLocationListener implements LocationListener
{

    public void onLocationChanged(final Location loc)
    {
        Log.i("*****", "Location changed");
        if(isBetterLocation(loc, previousBestLocation)) {
            loc.getLatitude();
            loc.getLongitude();
            intent.putExtra("Latitude", loc.getLatitude());
            intent.putExtra("Longitude", loc.getLongitude());
            intent.putExtra("Provider", loc.getProvider());
            sendBroadcast(intent);

        }
    }

    @Override
    public void onStatusChanged(String provider, int status, Bundle extras) {

    }

    public void onProviderDisabled(String provider)
    {
        Toast.makeText( getApplicationContext(), "Gps Disabled", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT ).show();
    }


    public void onProviderEnabled(String provider)
    {
        Toast.makeText( getApplicationContext(), "Gps Enabled", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
    }
}

Add this Service any where in your project, the way you want! :)