How can I get the context of a class (non-activity) in Android?

Question

I have come across this question on StackOverflow but I can't use the solutions suggested. One of the most common solutions was to extend the Application class but I can't do that because the class I am in already extends another class. Is there any other way of getting the context of a class?

public class SMSReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
         .......
         .......
         CreateDB dc = new CreateDB(mcontext);
         dc.addBook(new Book(senderPhoneNumber,ang));

}

Basically, I need to receive a message and add the sender's number and the message to a database and I need to get the context to create an instance of the database. I am a beginner in android so it would be great if you could keep the language simple.

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 15 '14 at 06:23

2

when you extends BroadCastReceiver you have to add this method

 public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent){

}

as you can see there is a context in the parameter

answered Feb 15 '14 at 06:23

Anas Reza

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Thanks! I didn't realise that I could use the same context and was trying to create a constructor which was resulting in my app crashing all the time. – Harichandan Pulagam Feb 15 '14 at 06:27
I am a newbie on StackOverflow and am apparently not allowed to accept an answer shortly after asking it.. I will definitely do so when it allows me.. – Harichandan Pulagam Feb 15 '14 at 06:33

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited Feb 15 '14 at 06:27

1

You can get the Context from onReceive() method as follows...

public class SMSReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {

  @Override
  public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
    CreateDB dc = new CreateDB(context);
    dc.addBook(new Book(senderPhoneNumber,ang));
  }
}

edited Feb 15 '14 at 06:27

Gopal Gopi

11,101
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answered Feb 15 '14 at 06:25

Hamid Shatu

9,664
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Abhijit Chakra · Answer 3 · 2014-02-15T06:53:10.463

0

From Activity in your application you can access the Context of the activity. In your class by using a static reference for example In you activity class create a static reference

public class MyActivity extends Activity {
public static Context mContext;

public static Context getContext() {
    return mContext;
}

public static void setContext(Context mContext) {
    this.mContext = mContext;
}
}

and just pass it in your SMSReceiver class like this

public class SMSReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
         .......
         .......
         CreateDB dc = new CreateDB(MyActivity.getContext());
         dc.addBook(new Book(senderPhoneNumber,ang));

}

edited Feb 15 '14 at 06:53

answered Feb 15 '14 at 06:41

Abhijit Chakra

3,201
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I have tried that.. apparently you cannot have a context that is static.. Using the above method gives an error : "Cannot make a static reference to the non-static method getApplicationContext() from the type ContextWrapper" – Harichandan Pulagam Feb 15 '14 at 06:46
Yes you are right then you can use a get and set method see my edited answer. – Abhijit Chakra Feb 15 '14 at 06:54
I was able to run the program after removing static from the setContext() you suggested but it gave a runtime exception.. – Harichandan Pulagam Feb 15 '14 at 07:04
can you put off the log cat messages. – Abhijit Chakra Feb 15 '14 at 07:05

How can I get the context of a class (non-activity) in Android?

3 Answers3