Check Database Frequently in android

Question

I need to create an android app which save events and reminders in a database. When the correct time comes it should show a notification. For that case I need to create a service to look for events for any particular time. What is the method I should use to do such a thing ?

Thanks in Advance !!!

Answer 1

Use AlarmManager to arrange to get control when the first event occurs. At that time, you can do whatever it is you need to do (e.g., display a Notification to remind the user) plus schedule the next alarm for the next event.

Answer 2

What I did was to create a Service and have it do the polling, and when it finds something it then calls an Activity to display the notification.

For the Service I just use a thread that calls itself, and then has a delayed call to a handler.

I went with a service so it could run in the background, as it seems to be better than keeping an activity alive that may be killed off.

private Handler mHandler = new Handler();
public static final int ONE_MINUTE = 60000;
private Runnable periodicTask = new Runnable() {
    public void run() {
        mHandler.postDelayed(periodicTask, TIME_DELAY * ONE_MINUTE);
        /* call your database code here */
    }
};

I had the delay be user-configurable in minutes.