What is the difference between Service
and an IntentService
in Android?
What is the difference between AsyncTask
and an IntentService
in Android?
1. Difference between Service and IntentService
Service: It is the base class for the Android services, that you can extend for creating any service. Since the service run inside the UI thread, it requires that you create a working thread for executing its work.
IntentService: it is a subclass of Service
, that simplifies your work. It works already in a working thread, and can receive asynchronous requests. So, you don't need to create it manually, or to worry about synchronization. You can simply extend it and override the method:
onHandleIntent(Intent intent)
where you can manage all the incoming requests.
Taking a look at the documentation, you can see in details what the IntentService
do for you:
onStartCommand()
separate from your application's main thread.onHandleIntent()
implementation, so you never have to worry about multi-threading.stopSelf()
.onBind()
that returns null.onStartCommand()
that sends the intent to the work queue and then to your onHandleIntent()
implementation.So, if you need more control you can use the Service
class, but often for a simple service the best solution is the IntentService
.
2. Difference between AsyncTask and Service
They are two different concepts.
Service: can be intended as an Activity with no interface. It is suitable for long-running operations.
AsyncTask: is a particular class that wraps a working thread (performing background operations), facilitating the interaction with the UI Thread, without managing threads or handlers directly.