In-depth explanation of Android HandlerThread.

1 year ago
Benjamin Taylor
2 minutes

HandlerThread is a class provided by the Android SDK that is used to execute tasks in the background thread and send messages to the main thread. It is a subclass of Thread and implements the Looper interface, making it suitable for handling time-consuming operations, network requests, and other tasks.

Using HandlerThread can prevent the main thread from being blocked and improve the responsiveness of the application. Below are some important methods and examples of using HandlerThread.

  1. Construction method:
  2. Create a HandlerThread object with a specified name.
  3. Method:
  4. start(): Begin the HandlerThread, which will create a new background thread and prepare a Looper.
  5. Exit the HandlerThread, stop the Looper loop, and destroy the background thread by calling quit().
  6. getLooper(): Obtain the Looper object of HandlerThread.
  7. getThreadId(): Obtain the thread ID of the HandlerThread.
  8. Original: 我每天都去公园慢跑。
    Paraphrased: I go jogging in the park every day.
  9. Create a HandlerThread object, start the thread, create a Handler within the thread, handle messages within the Handler, send a message to the HandlerThread, and then quit the HandlerThread.

In the above example, we first create a HandlerThread object named “MyHandlerThread” and start it by calling the start() method. Then, we create a Handler within the HandlerThread, obtain the Looper object of the HandlerThread using the getLooper() method, and handle messages in the handleMessage() method. Finally, we use the sendEmptyMessage() method of the Handler to send an empty message to the HandlerThread.

It is important to note that when using HandlerThread, make sure to call the quit() method before exiting to stop the Looper loop, as failing to do so may result in memory leaks.

Summary: HandlerThread is a utility class used to execute tasks in the background thread and send messages to the main thread, which can improve the responsiveness of the application. When using it, make sure to call the quit() method to stop the Looper loop before exiting.

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