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How to Define Callbacks in Android?

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How do I use callbacks on Android?

Callbacks are all over the place in Android Development. That's simply because they do a job, and they do it well! By definition: A callback is a function passed into another function as an argument, which is then invoked inside the outer function to complete some kind of routine or action.

How do you implement callbacks?

To implement a callback functionCreate the managed callback function. The example declares a delegate type, called CallBack , which takes two arguments (hwnd and lparam). The first argument is a handle to the window; the second argument is application-defined.

What is callback interface in Android?

What's a Callback? Callbacks is a mechanism in Object Oriented Programming that allows an application to handle subscribed events, arising at runtime, through a listener interface. The subscribers will need to provide a concrete implementation of the interface abstract methods.

How do you explain callbacks?

In computer programming, a callback is a piece of executable code that is passed as an argument to other code, which is expected to call back (execute) the argument at some convenient time. The invocation may be immediate as in a synchronous callback or it might happen at later time, as in an asynchronous callback.


In many cases, you have an interface and pass along an object that implements it. Dialogs for example have the OnClickListener.

Just as a random example:

// The callback interface
interface MyCallback {
    void callbackCall();
}

// The class that takes the callback
class Worker {
   MyCallback callback;

   void onEvent() {
      callback.callbackCall();
   }
}

// Option 1:

class Callback implements MyCallback {
   void callbackCall() {
      // callback code goes here
   }
}

worker.callback = new Callback();

// Option 2:

worker.callback = new MyCallback() {

   void callbackCall() {
      // callback code goes here
   }
};

I probably messed up the syntax in option 2. It's early.


When something happens in my view I fire off an event that my activity is listening for:

// DECLARED IN (CUSTOM) VIEW

    private OnScoreSavedListener onScoreSavedListener;
    public interface OnScoreSavedListener {
        public void onScoreSaved();
    }
    // ALLOWS YOU TO SET LISTENER && INVOKE THE OVERIDING METHOD 
    // FROM WITHIN ACTIVITY
    public void setOnScoreSavedListener(OnScoreSavedListener listener) {
        onScoreSavedListener = listener;
    }

// DECLARED IN ACTIVITY

    MyCustomView slider = (MyCustomView) view.findViewById(R.id.slider)
    slider.setOnScoreSavedListener(new OnScoreSavedListener() {
        @Override
        public void onScoreSaved() {
            Log.v("","EVENT FIRED");
        }
    });

If you want to know more about communication (callbacks) between fragments see here: http://developer.android.com/guide/components/fragments.html#CommunicatingWithActivity


No need to define a new interface when you can use an existing one: android.os.Handler.Callback. Pass an object of type Callback, and invoke callback's handleMessage(Message msg).


Example to implement callback method using interface.

Define the interface, NewInterface.java.

package javaapplication1;

public interface NewInterface {
    void callback();
}

Create a new class, NewClass.java. It will call the callback method in main class.

package javaapplication1;

public class NewClass {

    private NewInterface mainClass;

    public NewClass(NewInterface mClass){
        mainClass = mClass;
    }

    public void calledFromMain(){
        //Do somthing...

        //call back main
        mainClass.callback();
    }
}

The main class, JavaApplication1.java, to implement the interface NewInterface - callback() method. It will create and call NewClass object. Then, the NewClass object will callback it's callback() method in turn.

package javaapplication1;
public class JavaApplication1 implements NewInterface{

    NewClass newClass;

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        System.out.println("test...");

        JavaApplication1 myApplication = new JavaApplication1();
        myApplication.doSomething();

    }

    private void doSomething(){
        newClass = new NewClass(this);
        newClass.calledFromMain();
    }

    @Override
    public void callback() {
        System.out.println("callback");
    }

}

to clarify a bit on dragon's answer (since it took me a while to figure out what to do with Handler.Callback):

Handler can be used to execute callbacks in the current or another thread, by passing it Messages. the Message holds data to be used from the callback. a Handler.Callback can be passed to the constructor of Handler in order to avoid extending Handler directly. thus, to execute some code via callback from the current thread:

Message message = new Message();
<set data to be passed to callback - eg message.obj, message.arg1 etc - here>

Callback callback = new Callback() {
    public boolean handleMessage(Message msg) {
        <code to be executed during callback>
    }
};

Handler handler = new Handler(callback);
handler.sendMessage(message);

EDIT: just realized there's a better way to get the same result (minus control of exactly when to execute the callback):

post(new Runnable() {
    @Override
    public void run() {
        <code to be executed during callback>
    }
});