Which context to use for Toast in Android?

Question

I just learned that I can use either:

Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, R.string.some_string,Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

or,

Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), R.string.some_string,Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

To display a Toast in Android.

Earlier I thought context was actually a sort of handle to the parent window where it should be display but the documentation is unclear about this.

Then I came across this table:

It also doesn't seem to mention what context exactly to use for a Toast?

Edit:

Is context like a "handle to parent window" for the sub-window like Toast? or does it actually allow the Toast.makeText to get access to resources or something?

Why is it being used at all if the context doesn't matter?

the Activity's context. For the ui use always the activity's context — Blackbelt, Jun 16 '16 at 14:26
take a look at here http://stackoverflow.com/a/22295639/1462770 — Amir, Jun 16 '16 at 14:29

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 08 '19 at 13:27

Looking at Toast.java, I can see the Context is used only for:

obtaining Resources
obtaining Package Name
getText which is actually same as #1

So apparently there's no difference whether it's Activity or ApplicationContext, unless those resources depend on theme (which is not the case as far as I can tell).

And no, the context passed to Toast is not a handle to parent window in any sense.

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 16 '16 at 14:36

I'd recommend to use the activity in your case. Since you're calling from the activity itself. The activity is a Context and you're using the method on the activity to get another context (the application). It is a little unnecessary.

However in the case you're calling a toast from somewhere else it might be a better idea to use the application, since the application will always be there while your app is active.

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:10

0

You can show Toast only from UI (main thread) context. If you want show this from Service (but this is contradicts Google guidelines), you can do this way: Show toast at current Activity from service

edited May 23 '17 at 12:10

Community

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answered Jun 16 '16 at 14:27

Alex

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Google used application context: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/notifiers/toasts.html – Yousha Aleayoub May 09 '17 at 13:45

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 16 '16 at 14:28

0

For toasts, which are short-lived, you can usually use whatever context you want. Typically, you would use the activity context, but application context is fine as well.

answered Jun 16 '16 at 14:28

Josh Kitchens

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Yes, this makes sense. Please review my question for an edit. – user963241 Jun 16 '16 at 14:44

Which context to use for Toast in Android?

Edit:

4 Answers4