Start a service in a separate process android

Question

I want to start a service in a separate process (i.e when I go to my Application manager in the settings and then go to running services, it should show my service in a separate process).

My Android Manifest is as follows:

<application     android:allowBackup="true"     android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"     android:label="@string/app_name"     android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >     <activity         android:name="com.example.timerapp.MainActivity"         android:label="@string/app_name" >         <intent-filter>             <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />              <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />         </intent-filter>     </activity>      <service android:name="com.example.timerapp.WorkerThread"         android:process="com.moizali"></service> </application> 

I am starting the service in my MainActivity so obviously when I kill the application the service shuts down as well. Can anyone tell me how to start the service as a different process.

Answer 1

Check out the process attribute for service in AndroidManifest.xml. You need to change your android:process value to start with a :.

http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/service-element.html

The relevant section:

If the name assigned to this attribute begins with a colon (':'), a new process, private to the application, is created when it's needed and the service runs in that process. If the process name begins with a lowercase character, the service will run in a global process of that name, provided that it has permission to do so. This allows components in different applications to share a process, reducing resource usage.

The other answer provided doesn't really answer the question of how to start a service in a separate process.

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Defining a Process of a Service

The android:process field defines the name of the process where the service is to run. Normally, all components of an application run in the default process created for the application. However, a component can override the default with its own process attribute, allowing you to spread your application across multiple processes.

If the name assigned to this attribute begins with a colon (':'), the service will run in its own separate process.

<service   android:name="com.example.appName"   android:process=":externalProcess" /> 

If the process name begins with a lowercase character, the service will run in a global process of that name, provided that it has permission to do so. This allows components in different applications to share a process, reducing resource usage.