how to evitate android app to restart after screen goes to black [solved]

Android Processing

diediaga

how to evitate android app to restart after screen goes to black [solved]

in Android Processing • 2 years ago

HI
I'm developping a simple android game with processing.
The problem I have is that after the screen of my phone goes to black (sleeping mode) my app restart and my game start again from the beggining.
there's is any way to avoid this?
thanks

Replies(4)

calsign

Re: how to evitate android app to restart after screen goes to black

2 years ago

I know why you have the problem, but I do not have a solution.

The app that you create through processing is started as an Activity, see the Processing Android Wiki (I think it says that there...) Activities, unfortunately, have several flaws including this one.

EDIT:
I suppose that you could detect when the screen is about to timeout and then save all necessary data to a file, and upon start of the program, check to see if the file has data and if the activity was shut down properly- then load the data and it will appear as if the application has never quit.

diediaga

Re: how to evitate android app to restart after screen goes to black

2 years ago

Hi
thanks very much for your answer
I was thinking to do the same: save into a file the state information of my app and load it again the next time the app restart.
My only doubt about this method is how I know when the app start for the first time? or how I know the app close?. Because I have to delete the data in order to start from beginning the app when I want. (for example the first time I start it)
i was thinking to compare the time: save the time in the data file and compare with the next this file is loaded. But I dont like this method. Because it is always hard to choose the time limit.
do you have any idea of how to know the app was kill? or started for the first time?
this could be the best solution.

regards

calsign

Re: how to evitate android app to restart after screen goes to black

2 years ago

You need to override the parent onDestroy(), which is the method called to the Activity when it is about to be- well, destroyed:

void onDestroy() {
      //Do your saving here
      super.onDestroy();
}

You need to call super.onDestroy() so that things get shut off properly.
And then...
In keyPressed, you override back button being pressed.

void keyPressed() {
      if(key == CODED && keyCode == KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BACK) {
            //Assert closing here
            //If it should not close:
            key = 0;
            //But if it is closed, the next startup will be a new session
      }
}

And for buttons such as home, that will call onDestroy() or leave the program running for multitasking.

diediaga

Re: how to evitate android app to restart after screen goes to black

2 years ago

HI
thanks very much for your help.
i test the code you sent me and it works very well.
I implement onDestroy as you suggested but it looks lake onDestroy was called also when the screen goes to black. So I decided to reset the data only when return key was pressed. You can see my code bellow to have a better idea of what I did.

// Override the activity class methods
void onResume()
{
// Make sure that when the activity has been
// suspended to background,
// the game continue in same position

loadScores();
}

//when the phone goes to sleep save the scores in txt file
void onPause()
{

saveScore();
super.onPause();

}

//when return key pressed (close the game) the scores are reset and saved
//so next time the app will be run the game starts from begging
void keyPressed() {
if (key == CODED) {
    if(keyCode == KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BACK) {

      //we reset the scores to 0 and save them
      saveScoreToCero();
}

thanks very much for your help
diego

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