Start service if it's not running with AlarmManager

Question

i've got service which is started by AlarmManager likes this

Intent in = new Intent(SecondActivity.this,BotService.class);
                    PendingIntent pi = PendingIntent.getService(SecondActivity.this, 9768, in,PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);

                    AlarmManager alarms = (AlarmManager) SecondActivity.this.getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
                    alarms.set(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, cal.getTimeInMillis(),pi);

When service is started it sets AlarmManager again, i do this because i need recurring service in random intervals.

That is done by this:

Intent in = new Intent(BotService.this, BotService.class);
            PendingIntent pi = PendingIntent.getService(BotService.this, 9768,
                    in, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);

            AlarmManager alarms = (AlarmManager) BotService.this.getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
            alarms.set(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, cal.getTimeInMillis()+ (attack_interval * MINS) + attack_interval_min, pi);

My service could last for random period of time, how to start service by AlarmManager if service is not running?

And if it is running i need to set AlarmManager again because in other way my service wouldn't start again. Thank you for your answers. If anything unclear please ask.

You can have register your app to Startup event of System, so whenever system start, you have a chance to make your alarm. — xandy, Feb 01 '13 at 09:20

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:24

You may want to implement an IntentService instead; you'd get rid of all the lifecycle hassle then if the approach suits your needs.

Also, why don't you set a repeating alarm by setInexactRepeating or setRepeating? Of course, you'd only do this if you're sure that your IntentService never runs longer that the alarm interval, or if you have another reasonable mechanism to ignore the alarm when your IntentService still runs.

Update: If you are also asking how to initially start your service... well, it depends. Many people see the BOOT_COMPLETED broadcast as the solution to everything. However, it prevents the user from moving your app to the SD card. If you can live with your service running repeatedly only after your app was run, your app can initiate this. Othewrwise, you may still be able to avoid the BOOT_COMPLETED trap if you look at which other events the system sends which may be relevant for your service, such as a change in internet connectivity. If you decide for BOOT_COMPLETED, you can find an example here.

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 01 '13 at 09:20

If you look at the documentation. When the Service starts, it has a startID, this can be used for determining the number of service instances that are running at that given time.

Refer:

public int onStartCommand (Intent intent, int flags, int startId)

Added in API level 5
Called by the system every time a client explicitly starts the service by calling startService(Intent), providing the arguments it supplied and a unique integer token representing the start request. Do not call this method directly.

For backwards compatibility, the default implementation calls onStart(Intent, int) and returns either START_STICKY or START_STICKY_COMPATIBILITY.

If you need your application to run on platform versions prior to API level 5, you can use the following model to handle the older onStart(Intent, int) callback in that case. The handleCommand method is implemented by you as appropriate:

So i tried to do something with onStartCommand, and i came up with that if Service already running OnCreate isn't executed when service stars. So i in onStartCommand checking for Boolean which set in OnCreate.In that way i can determine if service is running. Thank you. — sider, Feb 02 '13 at 11:13

Start service if it's not running with AlarmManager

2 Answers2