How to implement created_at and updated_at column using Room Persistence ORM tools in android

Question

How can I implement created_at and updated_at columns using Room Persistence ORM tools in Android, that can update the timestamp automatically when creating or updating a row in a table?

Answer 1

To follow on the above with a Java example.

The Base entity for all the Room entities This maps to a table that contains an id, created_at and updated_at column.

public abstract class BaseEntity implements Serializable {

    @PrimaryKey(autoGenerate = true)
    private long id;

    @ColumnInfo(name = "created_at", defaultValue = "CURRENT_TIMESTAMP")
    @TypeConverters(DateConverter.class)
    private Date createdAt;

    @ColumnInfo(name = "updated_at", defaultValue = "CURRENT_TIMESTAMP")
    @TypeConverters(DateConverter.class)
    private Date updatedAt;

    public long getId() {
        return id;
    }

    public void setId(long id) {
        this.id = id;
    }

    public Date getCreatedAt() {
        return createdAt;
    }

    public void setCreatedAt(Date createdAt) {
        this.createdAt = createdAt;
    }

    public Date getUpdatedAt() {
        return updatedAt;
    }

    public void setUpdatedAt(Date updatedAt) {
        this.updatedAt = updatedAt;
    }
}

The Room Date TypeConverter This converts Java Dates into numbers which can be saved in the sqlite database.

public class DateConverter {

    @TypeConverter
    public static Date toDate(Long timestamp) {
        if (timestamp == null) {
            return null;
        }
        return new Date(timestamp);
    }

    @TypeConverter
    public static Long toTimestamp(Date date) {
        if (date == null) {
            return null;
        }

        return date.getTime();
    }
}

The abstract BaseDao This Dao implements all the basic Insert, Update and Delete methods.

@Dao
public abstract class AbstractBaseEntityDao<T extends BaseEntity> {

    @Insert
    public abstract long actualInsert(T t);

    public long insert(T t) {
        t.setCreatedAt(new Date());
        t.setUpdatedAt(new Date());
        return actualInsert(t);
    }

    @Insert
    public abstract List<Long> actualInsertAll(List<T> ts);

    public List<Long> insertAll(List<T> ts) {
        if (ts != null) {
            for (T t : ts) {
                t.setCreatedAt(new Date());
                t.setUpdatedAt(new Date());
            }
        }
        return actualInsertAll(ts);
    }

    @Update
    public abstract void actualUpdate(T t);

    public void update(T t) {
        t.setUpdatedAt(new Date());
        actualUpdate(t);
    }

    @Update
    public abstract void actualUpdateAll(List<T> ts);

    public void updateAll(List<T> ts) {
        if (ts != null) {
            for (T t : ts) {
                t.setUpdatedAt(new Date());
            }
        }
        actualUpdateAll(ts);
    }

    @Delete
    public abstract void delete(T t);

    @Delete
    public abstract void deleteAll(List<T> ts);
}

User and UserDao Here is an example of a concrete Entity and Dao for a User (typical use-case).

@Entity(tableName = "users")
public class User extends BaseEntity {

    @ColumnInfo(name = "name")
    private String name;

    public User() {
    }

    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }
}

@Dao
public abstract class UserDao extends AbstractBaseEntityDao<User> {

    @Query("select * from users")
    public abstract List<User> getAllUsers();
}

How to insert a User This will use the AbstractBaseEntityDao which sets the created_at and updated_at timestamps.

Note: do not do this on the UI thread!!

YourDatabase database = YourDatabase.getInstance(getApplicationContext());
UserDao userDao = database.userDao();
long userId = userDao.insert(userToAdd);
userToAdd.setId(userId);

How to update the User

YourDatabase database = YourDatabase.getInstance(getApplicationContext());
UserDao userDao = database.userDao();
userDao.update(userToEdit);