Android Service Example

What is a service?

Service is an application component that can perform long-running operations in the background and does not provide a user interface. Services are used for operations that need to be performed even when the user is not interacting with your application, such as handling network transactions, playing music, or interacting with content providers. 

Let's jump into an example of a service in Android

1/ First of all, we have to create a new class extending the Service class of Android. In this example, we are creating a class named MyService.

package com.akapps.serviceexample;

import android.app.Service;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.IBinder;
import android.util.Log;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MyService extends Service {

    @Override
    public void onCreate() {
        super.onCreate();
        Toast.makeText(this, "Service created", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
    }

    @Override
    public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {

        Log.d("MyService", "Service Started");
        // Here we can run any operation we want
        // It will run in the background without the user interaction

        return START_STICKY;
    }

    @Override
    public void onDestroy() {
        super.onDestroy();
        Log.d("MyService", "Service Stopped");
    }

    @Override
    public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
        return null;
    }
}

2/ Then we also need to register it in the manifest file. We are putting it inside the application component trees

         <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools">

    <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:dataExtractionRules="@xml/data_extraction_rules"
        android:fullBackupContent="@xml/backup_rules"
        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
        android:supportsRtl="true"
        android:theme="@style/Theme.ServiceExample"
        tools:targetApi="31">
        <activity
            android:name=".MainActivity"
            android:exported="true">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>

        <service android:name=".MyService" />
    </application>

</manifest>

3/ Let's add a button to start the service from the main activity

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<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:gravity="center"
    tools:context=".MainActivity">

    <Button
        android:id="@+id/start"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Start" />
</LinearLayout>

4/ Finally, we start the service from the main activity

 package com.akapps.serviceexample;

import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;

import androidx.activity.EdgeToEdge;
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    private Button startButton;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        EdgeToEdge.enable(this);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        // Initialize the UI elements
        startButton = findViewById(R.id.start);

        // Set click listeners
        startButton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View view) {
                // Start the service
                Intent serviceIntent = new Intent(MainActivity.this, MyService.class);
                startService(serviceIntent);
            }
        });
    }
}