optimal way of doing background opertion in android?

Question

what is the optimal way to run background operation multiple times on different sets of data with only one instance running in the background?

Answer 1

You can make use of WorkManager architecture component to achieve it. Schedule a PeriodicWorkRequest as follows:

Create Worker class:

public class MyWorker extends Worker {
    @Override
    public Worker.WorkerResult doWork() {

        // Do the work here

        // Indicate success or failure with your return value:
        return WorkerResult.SUCCESS;

        // (Returning RETRY tells WorkManager to try this task again
        // later; FAILURE says not to try again.)
    }
}

Schedule the Work:

  PeriodicWorkRequest periodicWork = new 
  PeriodicWorkRequest.Builder(MyWorker.class, 12, TimeUnit.HOURS)
                                   .build();
  WorkManager.getInstance().enqueue(periodicWork);

This creates a PeriodicWorkRequest to run periodically once every 12 hours.

You can check out my answer on SO which describes if WorkManager is appropriate for your use-case.

The minimum supported API is 14.

Based on the documentation:

• WorkManger uses JobScheduler for API 23+

• For API 14-22

  • If using Firebase JobDispatcher in the app and the optional Firebase dependency, uses Firebase JobDispatcher
  • Otherwise, uses a custom AlarmManager + BroadcastReceiver implementation