Because this question is still attracting a lot of users from google search(about Android timer) I would like to insert my two coins.
First of all, the Timer class will be deprecated in Java 9 (read the accepted answer).
The official suggested way is to use ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor which is more effective and features-rich that can additionally schedule commands to run after a given delay, or to execute periodically. Plus,it gives additional flexibility and capabilities of ThreadPoolExecutor.
Here is an example of using plain functionalities.
Create executor service:
final ScheduledExecutorService SCHEDULER = Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(1);
Just schedule you runnable:
final Future<?> future = SCHEDULER.schedule(Runnable task, long delay,TimeUnit unit);
You can now use future to cancel the task or check if it is done for example:
future.isDone();
Hope you will find this useful for creating a tasks in Android.
Complete example:
ScheduledExecutorService scheduler = Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(1);
Future<?> sampleFutureTimer = scheduler.schedule(new Runnable(), 120, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
if (sampleFutureTimer.isDone()){
// Do something which will save world.
}
If you also need to run your code on UI thread (and not on timer thread), take a look on the blog: http://steve.odyfamily.com/?p=12
public class myActivity extends Activity {
private Timer myTimer;
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle icicle) {
super.onCreate(icicle);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
myTimer = new Timer();
myTimer.schedule(new TimerTask() {
@Override
public void run() {
TimerMethod();
}
}, 0, 1000);
}
private void TimerMethod()
{
//This method is called directly by the timer
//and runs in the same thread as the timer.
//We call the method that will work with the UI
//through the runOnUiThread method.
this.runOnUiThread(Timer_Tick);
}
private Runnable Timer_Tick = new Runnable() {
public void run() {
//This method runs in the same thread as the UI.
//Do something to the UI thread here
}
};
}
If you have delta time already.
public class Timer {
private float lastFrameChanged;
private float frameDuration;
private Runnable r;
public Timer(float frameDuration, Runnable r) {
this.frameDuration = frameDuration;
this.lastFrameChanged = 0;
this.r = r;
}
public void update(float dt) {
lastFrameChanged += dt;
if (lastFrameChanged > frameDuration) {
lastFrameChanged = 0;
r.run();
}
}
}
This is some simple code for a timer:
Timer timer = new Timer();
TimerTask t = new TimerTask() {
@Override
public void run() {
System.out.println("1");
}
};
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(t,1000,1000);
Here is a simple reliable way...
Put the following code in your Activity, and the tick() method will be called every second in the UI thread while your activity is in the "resumed" state. Of course, you can change the tick() method to do what you want, or to be called more or less frequently.
@Override
public void onPause() {
_handler = null;
super.onPause();
}
private Handler _handler;
@Override
public void onResume() {
super.onResume();
_handler = new Handler();
Runnable r = new Runnable() {
public void run() {
if (_handler == _h0) {
tick();
_handler.postDelayed(this, 1000);
}
}
private final Handler _h0 = _handler;
};
r.run();
}
private void tick() {
System.out.println("Tick " + System.currentTimeMillis());
}
For those interested, the "_h0=_handler" code is necessary to avoid two timers running simultaneously if your activity is paused and resumed within the tick period.
You need to create a thread to handle the update loop and use it to update the textarea. The tricky part though is that only the main thread can actually modify the ui so the update loop thread needs to signal the main thread to do the update. This is done using a Handler.
Check out this link: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/dialogs.html# Click on the section titled "Example ProgressDialog with a second thread". It's an example of exactly what you need to do, except with a progress dialog instead of a textfield.
enter code here
Thread th=new Thread(new Runnable() {
@Override
public void run() {
try { for(int i=0;i<5;i++) {
b1.setText(""+i);
Thread.sleep(5000);
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
@Override
public void run() {
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {
pp();
}
}
});
}} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
});
th.start();
You can also use an animator for it:
int secondsToRun = 999;
ValueAnimator timer = ValueAnimator.ofInt(secondsToRun);
timer.setDuration(secondsToRun * 1000).setInterpolator(new LinearInterpolator());
timer.addUpdateListener(new ValueAnimator.AnimatorUpdateListener()
{
@Override
public void onAnimationUpdate(ValueAnimator animation)
{
int elapsedSeconds = (int) animation.getAnimatedValue();
int minutes = elapsedSeconds / 60;
int seconds = elapsedSeconds % 60;
textView.setText(String.format("%d:%02d", minutes, seconds));
}
});
timer.start();
For those who can't rely on Chronometer, I made a utility class out of one of the suggestions:
public class TimerTextHelper implements Runnable {
private final Handler handler = new Handler();
private final TextView textView;
private volatile long startTime;
private volatile long elapsedTime;
public TimerTextHelper(TextView textView) {
this.textView = textView;
}
@Override
public void run() {
long millis = System.currentTimeMillis() - startTime;
int seconds = (int) (millis / 1000);
int minutes = seconds / 60;
seconds = seconds % 60;
textView.setText(String.format("%d:%02d", minutes, seconds));
if (elapsedTime == -1) {
handler.postDelayed(this, 500);
}
}
public void start() {
this.startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
this.elapsedTime = -1;
handler.post(this);
}
public void stop() {
this.elapsedTime = System.currentTimeMillis() - startTime;
handler.removeCallbacks(this);
}
public long getElapsedTime() {
return elapsedTime;
}
}
to use..just do:
TimerTextHelper timerTextHelper = new TimerTextHelper(textView);
timerTextHelper.start();
.....
timerTextHelper.stop();
long elapsedTime = timerTextHelper.getElapsedTime();
I use this way:
String[] array={
"man","for","think"
}; int j;
then below the onCreate
TextView t = findViewById(R.id.textView);
new CountDownTimer(5000,1000) {
@Override
public void onTick(long millisUntilFinished) {}
@Override
public void onFinish() {
t.setText("I "+array[j] +" You");
j++;
if(j== array.length-1) j=0;
start();
}
}.start();
it's easy way to solve this problem.
I think you can do it in Rx way like:
timerSubscribe = Observable.interval(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
.subscribeOn(Schedulers.io())
.observeOn(AndroidSchedulers.mainThread())
.subscribe(new Action1<Long>() {
@Override
public void call(Long aLong) {
//TODO do your stuff
}
});
And cancel this like:
timerSubscribe.unsubscribe();
Rx Timer http://reactivex.io/documentation/operators/timer.html
You want your UI updates to happen in the already-existent UI thread.
The best way is to use a Handler that uses postDelayed to run a Runnable after a delay (each run schedules the next); clear the callback with removeCallbacks.
You're already looking in the right place, so look at it again, perhaps clarify why that code sample isn't what you want. (See also the identical article at Updating the UI from a Timer).
void method(boolean u,int max)
{
uu=u;
maxi=max;
if (uu==true)
{
CountDownTimer uy = new CountDownTimer(maxi, 1000)
{
public void onFinish()
{
text.setText("Finish");
}
@Override
public void onTick(long l) {
String currentTimeString=DateFormat.getTimeInstance().format(new Date());
text.setText(currentTimeString);
}
}.start();
}
else{text.setText("Stop ");
}
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.CheckBox;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.app.Activity;
public class MainActivity extends Activity {
CheckBox optSingleShot;
Button btnStart, btnCancel;
TextView textCounter;
Timer timer;
MyTimerTask myTimerTask;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
optSingleShot = (CheckBox)findViewById(R.id.singleshot);
btnStart = (Button)findViewById(R.id.start);
btnCancel = (Button)findViewById(R.id.cancel);
textCounter = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.counter);
btnStart.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener(){
@Override
public void onClick(View arg0) {
if(timer != null){
timer.cancel();
}
//re-schedule timer here
//otherwise, IllegalStateException of
//"TimerTask is scheduled already"
//will be thrown
timer = new Timer();
myTimerTask = new MyTimerTask();
if(optSingleShot.isChecked()){
//singleshot delay 1000 ms
timer.schedule(myTimerTask, 1000);
}else{
//delay 1000ms, repeat in 5000ms
timer.schedule(myTimerTask, 1000, 5000);
}
}});
btnCancel.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener(){
@Override
public void onClick(View v) {
if (timer!=null){
timer.cancel();
timer = null;
}
}
});
}
class MyTimerTask extends TimerTask {
@Override
public void run() {
Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();
SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat =
new SimpleDateFormat("dd:MMMM:yyyy HH:mm:ss a");
final String strDate = simpleDateFormat.format(calendar.getTime());
runOnUiThread(new Runnable(){
@Override
public void run() {
textCounter.setText(strDate);
}});
}
}
}
.xml
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:orientation="vertical"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center_horizontal"
android:autoLink="web"
android:text="http://android-er.blogspot.com/"
android:textStyle="bold" />
<CheckBox
android:id="@+id/singleshot"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Single Shot"/>
I'm surprised that there is no answer that would mention solution with RxJava2. It is really simple and provides an easy way to setup timer in Android.
First you need to setup Gradle dependency, if you didn't do so already:
implementation "io.reactivex.rxjava2:rxjava:2.x.y"
(replace x and y with current version number)
Since we have just a simple, NON-REPEATING TASK, we can use Completable object:
Completable.timer(2, TimeUnit.SECONDS, Schedulers.computation())
.observeOn(AndroidSchedulers.mainThread())
.subscribe(() -> {
// Timer finished, do something...
});
For REPEATING TASK, you can use Observable in a similar way:
Observable.interval(2, TimeUnit.SECONDS, Schedulers.computation())
.observeOn(AndroidSchedulers.mainThread())
.subscribe(tick -> {
// called every 2 seconds, do something...
}, throwable -> {
// handle error
});
Schedulers.computation() ensures that our timer is running on background thread and .observeOn(AndroidSchedulers.mainThread()) means code we run after timer finishes will be done on main thread.
To avoid unwanted memory leaks, you should ensure to unsubscribe when Activity/Fragment is destroyed.
If one just want to schedule a countdown until a time in the future with regular notifications on intervals along the way, you can use the CountDownTimer class that is available since API level 1.
new CountDownTimer(30000, 1000) {
public void onTick(long millisUntilFinished) {
editText.setText("Seconds remaining: " + millisUntilFinished / 1000);
}
public void onFinish() {
editText.setText("Done");
}
}.start();
He're is simplier solution, works fine in my app.
public class MyActivity extends Acitivity {
TextView myTextView;
boolean someCondition=true;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.my_activity);
myTextView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.refreshing_field);
//starting our task which update textview every 1000 ms
new RefreshTask().execute();
}
//class which updates our textview every second
class RefreshTask extends AsyncTask {
@Override
protected void onProgressUpdate(Object... values) {
super.onProgressUpdate(values);
String text = String.valueOf(System.currentTimeMillis());
myTextView.setText(text);
}
@Override
protected Object doInBackground(Object... params) {
while(someCondition) {
try {
//sleep for 1s in background...
Thread.sleep(1000);
//and update textview in ui thread
publishProgress();
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
};
return null;
}
}
}
I Abstract Timer away and made it a separate class:
Timer.java
import android.os.Handler;
public class Timer {
IAction action;
Handler timerHandler = new Handler();
int delayMS = 1000;
public Timer(IAction action, int delayMS) {
this.action = action;
this.delayMS = delayMS;
}
public Timer(IAction action) {
this(action, 1000);
}
public Timer() {
this(null);
}
Runnable timerRunnable = new Runnable() {
@Override
public void run() {
if (action != null)
action.Task();
timerHandler.postDelayed(this, delayMS);
}
};
public void start() {
timerHandler.postDelayed(timerRunnable, 0);
}
public void stop() {
timerHandler.removeCallbacks(timerRunnable);
}
}
And Extract main action from Timer class out as
IAction.java
public interface IAction {
void Task();
}
And I used it just like this:
MainActivity.java
public class MainActivity extends Activity implements IAction{
...
Timer timerClass;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
...
timerClass = new Timer(this,1000);
timerClass.start();
...
}
...
int i = 1;
@Override
public void Task() {
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
@Override
public void run() {
timer.setText(i + "");
i++;
}
});
}
...
}
I Hope This Helps
It is simple! You create new timer.
Timer timer = new Timer();
Then you extend the timer task
class UpdateBallTask extends TimerTask {
Ball myBall;
public void run() {
//calculate the new position of myBall
}
}
And then add the new task to the Timer with some update interval
final int FPS = 40;
TimerTask updateBall = new UpdateBallTask();
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(updateBall, 0, 1000/FPS);
Disclaimer: This is not the ideal solution. This is solution using the Timer class (as asked by OP). In Android SDK, it is recommended to use the Handler class (there is example in the accepted answer).
for whom wants to do this in kotlin:
val timer = fixedRateTimer(period = 1000L) {
val currentTime: Date = Calendar.getInstance().time
runOnUiThread {
tvFOO.text = currentTime.toString()
}
}
for stopping the timer you can use this:
timer.cancel()
this function has many other options, give it a try
If anyone is interested, I started playing around with creating a standard object to run on an activities UI thread. Seems to work ok. Comments welcome. I'd love this to be available on the layout designer as a component to drag onto an Activity. Can't believe something like that doesn't already exist.
package com.example.util.timer;
import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
import android.app.Activity;
public class ActivityTimer {
private Activity m_Activity;
private boolean m_Enabled;
private Timer m_Timer;
private long m_Delay;
private long m_Period;
private ActivityTimerListener m_Listener;
private ActivityTimer _self;
private boolean m_FireOnce;
public ActivityTimer() {
m_Delay = 0;
m_Period = 100;
m_Listener = null;
m_FireOnce = false;
_self = this;
}
public boolean isEnabled() {
return m_Enabled;
}
public void setEnabled(boolean enabled) {
if (m_Enabled == enabled)
return;
// Disable any existing timer before we enable a new one
Disable();
if (enabled) {
Enable();
}
}
private void Enable() {
if (m_Enabled)
return;
m_Enabled = true;
m_Timer = new Timer();
if (m_FireOnce) {
m_Timer.schedule(new TimerTask() {
@Override
public void run() {
OnTick();
}
}, m_Delay);
} else {
m_Timer.schedule(new TimerTask() {
@Override
public void run() {
OnTick();
}
}, m_Delay, m_Period);
}
}
private void Disable() {
if (!m_Enabled)
return;
m_Enabled = false;
if (m_Timer == null)
return;
m_Timer.cancel();
m_Timer.purge();
m_Timer = null;
}
private void OnTick() {
if (m_Activity != null && m_Listener != null) {
m_Activity.runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
@Override
public void run() {
m_Listener.OnTimerTick(m_Activity, _self);
}
});
}
if (m_FireOnce)
Disable();
}
public long getDelay() {
return m_Delay;
}
public void setDelay(long delay) {
m_Delay = delay;
}
public long getPeriod() {
return m_Period;
}
public void setPeriod(long period) {
if (m_Period == period)
return;
m_Period = period;
}
public Activity getActivity() {
return m_Activity;
}
public void setActivity(Activity activity) {
if (m_Activity == activity)
return;
m_Activity = activity;
}
public ActivityTimerListener getActionListener() {
return m_Listener;
}
public void setActionListener(ActivityTimerListener listener) {
m_Listener = listener;
}
public void start() {
if (m_Enabled)
return;
Enable();
}
public boolean isFireOnlyOnce() {
return m_FireOnce;
}
public void setFireOnlyOnce(boolean fireOnce) {
m_FireOnce = fireOnce;
}
}
In the activity, I have this onStart:
@Override
protected void onStart() {
super.onStart();
m_Timer = new ActivityTimer();
m_Timer.setFireOnlyOnce(true);
m_Timer.setActivity(this);
m_Timer.setActionListener(this);
m_Timer.setDelay(3000);
m_Timer.start();
}
Source: Stackoverflow.com