Call startSerice() from anywhere in the app code

Question

I would like to automatically insert some crafted code to any possible parts of the target app code. This crafted code includes a "context.startService()" to contact with a remote service from another app. How can I automatically get this context instance so that I can call startService() from anywhere within the app code?

Thanks a lot in advance. Any inputs are highly appreciated.

Your activity or service is a context. You need to pass it as a parameter to whatever other class wants to start the service. — Gabe Sechan, Mar 29 '14 at 18:49
Thanks Gabe. But the problem is I want to do this automatically and the location to start service is unpredictable. It is unfeasible to add context parameter to the arguments of ALL functions calls within an app. — user3361508, Mar 29 '14 at 18:57
Add it to your constructor, save it in a variable, and use it when you need it. — Gabe Sechan, Mar 29 '14 at 19:17
You still need to pass the context instance across several class constructors. For example Activity -> class A -> class B -> class C, to get the context of Activity in class C, I need to modify all constructors of classes A,B,C. Any easier ways? — user3361508, Mar 29 '14 at 19:45
Other than changing your structure to be more android friendly, no. In some cases I'd consider singleton or globals, but not for contexts- too easy to cause massive memory leaks. — Gabe Sechan, Mar 29 '14 at 19:50

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:20

If I understand correctly, you want to start a service from anywhere within your codebase without passing around context objects. The solution below is a way to do this but look at this post to get a better understanding of why this isn't always the best solution.

Create a class that extends from Application:

import android.app.Application;

public class MyApplication extends Application {

  private static Application sInstance;

  public MyApplication() {
      sInstance = this;
  }

  public static Application getInstance() {
      return sInstance;
  }
}

This will give you access to your application's context so you can start a service from anywhere.

Now in some part of your code:

void foo() {
    MyApplication.getInstance().startService(new Intent(MY_SERVICE));
}

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 29 '14 at 19:00

0

create a new method, that gets your context, and then calls your service with said context, then call that method instead.

shouldnt change your code much....

answered Mar 29 '14 at 19:00

Technivorous

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Thanks for your comments. How to get the context instance from a new method? Could you please provide any hints/code examples?? Thanks! – user3361508 Mar 29 '14 at 19:46

Call startSerice() from anywhere in the app code

2 Answers2