Behavior Components in Android Jetpack

Introduction

Major issues like controlling activity life cycles, making configuration changes, and avoiding memory leaks are addressed with Android Jetpack. The support library and architecture components that already exist are brought together and categorized into four groups using Android Jetpack components:

• Foundation Components
• Architecture Components
• Behavior Components
• UI Components

These elements aid in the simplification of complicated processes and remove the majority of boilerplate code from the application. Backward compatibility, testing support, and Kotin language support are made easier by the foundation component.

Behaviour Components in Android Jetpack includes:

• DownloadManager
• Media & Playback
• Permissions
• Notifications
• Sharing
• Slices

Behaviour Components in Android Jetpack

DownloadManager

You may enqueue and manage downloads in your application using the DownloadManager, an Android system service. It has nothing to do specifically with the Android Jetpack libraries.

Even if the user leaves your app or the device restarts, the DownloadManager offers a mechanism to manage lengthy downloads in the background. It handles file downloads, network connectivity changes, and download queue management.

You normally create a request containing the URL of the file you wish to download along with any other options when using the DownloadManager. The DownloadManager will then take care of the download in the background after you enqueue the request with it. You can keep track of the download's progress and get alerts when it's finished.

Here's a brief example of how you can use the DownloadManager in your Android app:

Explantion:

• First, we obtain a reference to the DownloadManager service by calling getSystemService() with the DOWNLOAD_SERVICE constant from the Context class. Since getSystemService() returns a generic Any type, we use the as keyword to cast it explicitly to DownloadManager.
• We create a Uri object by parsing the URL of the file we want to download. In this example, we use a placeholder URL http://example.com/file.zip. Replace it with the actual URL of the file you want to download.
• We create a new instance of DownloadManager.Request and pass the downloadUri to it. Then, we use the setDestinationInExternalPublicDir() method to specify the destination directory and file name for the downloaded file. In this example, we set it to the downloads directory (Environment.DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS) with the file name as "file.zip". Adjust the directory and file name according to your requirements.
• Finally, we enqueue the download request by calling the enqueue() method on the downloadManager object and passing in the request. This method returns a unique download ID that represents the download operation. You can use this ID to track the progress or retrieve information about the download later.

Media & Playback

There are a number of components and libraries available in Android Jetpack to help with controlling media playback and delivering a seamless user experience.

Here are some key components related to media and playback in Android Jetpack:

• MediaPlayer:
  A key element of the Android framework for playing music and video files is the MediaPlayer class.
• ExoPlayer:
  ExoPlayer includes features including adaptive streaming, fluid playback, DRM, and sophisticated buffering techniques. It gives Android apps a higher-level API for managing media playing.
• MediaSession:
  Allows interaction with media playback controls across platforms and control interfaces.
• MediaBrowserService:
  The MediaBrowserService class enables browsing and playback of material from a remote media library in conjunction with the MediaSession. It enables you to make media material accessible to clients like media browsers, Android Auto, or other connected devices, and to give them playback controls.
• MediaPlayerController:
  It serves as a bridge between the UI elements and the media playback engine (such as MediaPlayer or ExoPlayer). The controller provides a clear API for the UI to monitor and control the media playing while handling playback status, progress updates, and user interactions.
• MediaMetadataRetriever:
  You can extract metadata from media files, including title, artist, album, duration, and album art, using the MediaMetadataRetriever class. It can be used to the UI of your app to display media data, including custom media controllers, lock screens, notifications, or any other pertinent views.

Permissions

Android Jetpack offers various components and libraries to manage permissions efficiently. Since API 23, the permission model has changed, allowing apps to request permissions while running. Users can now grant single-time permissions for specific tasks instead of "allow always". This enhances security and privacy for Android app users. The system permissions have a variety of levels, including protective levels. The two crucial protection levels for every permit are as follows:

• Normal:
  The permissions that come under this category are secure in terms of protecting users' privacy and completing tasks that call for the assistance of other applications. The application already has this kind of permission by default. A typical permission might be the ability to change the time zone for a device or application.
• Dangerous:
  This category of permissions, which includes the ability to view a user's contact information, is risky because it targets their sensitive information. These permissions may also have an impact on how other apps function. Typically, the app will request risky permissions while running.

Dangerous permissions that seek the user’s choice to grant or deny it are classified into 9 groups.

Notifications

Notifications are a crucial feature in mobile applications, alerting users of app activities and increasing engagement. Android's Notification service has evolved over time, allowing expressive graphics and buttons. Notifications are used not only on mobile phones but also on Android TV and wearables to manage media operations.

The following list includes the common forms of notifications:

• Messages from other users.
• timely and detailed job reminders.

Methods for informing users:
The device has the ability to draw the user's attention and can alert them to new notifications. Here are several methods for doing the same:

• Sound the alarm or vibrate
• Display the status-bar icon
• notify users using the lock screen
• the device's LED to blink
• On the active screen, notifications may briefly appear.

Sharing

Android apps play a crucial role in sharing information among users. The Behaviour component's Sharing division enables apps to interact and integrate with one another. The ShareActionProvider class is used for exchanging items and information between apps.

Android employs intents and related extras to make the process of sharing information between different apps easier.

Users can transfer data between apps in Android in two different ways:

• Using Android Share sheet:
  A dialogue box that appears on the screen when a user requests a share action is known as the Android Share sheet. A sheet-like display of all the apps that are installed on the device and are compatible with the sharing feature is seen. Sending information or content directly to another user or outside of an app is the primary goal of this share sheet.
• Using Android Intent Resolver:
  Android Intent Resolver is mostly used for file sharing within various apps that are installed on the device. For instance, prompting the user to select their preferred mail client by opening an email file on the device.

Implementation example:

• Create an action in your app that triggers the sharing process.
• Create an Intent with the action Intent.ACTION_SEND to share content.
• Add the content to be shared (text, images, links, etc.) to the Intent using appropriate extras (Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, Intent.EXTRA_STREAM, etc.).
• Use the Intent.createChooser() method to show the Share sheet, allowing users to choose the app they want to share the content with.
• Start the Share Intent using startActivity().

Handle Incoming Shared Content in the App:

• To handle incoming shared content, add an Intent Filter with the action Intent.ACTION_SEND in the app's manifest for the specific data type (text, image, etc.) you want to support.
• Extract the shared content from the Intent using getIntent().getExtras() or getIntent().getData() in the appropriate activity.
• Process the received content accordingly within your app.

Slices

Slices are a UI component in Android that display remote app content in platforms like Google Search and Google Assistant. They are supported by Android 4.4 (API 19) and later. With SliceProvider, developers can make app data accessible to users through Slices. Android Jetpack simplifies creating adaptable UI templates with Slices. Slices use Content Providers and content URIs to host various types of slices. The onBindSlice() method is used to display the slice, and notifyChange() updates slices.

To create and integrate Slices into Google Search or Google Assistant:

• Define Slices in your app to display content.
• Implement SliceProvider to serve Slice data.
• Register SliceProvider in the app's manifest.
• Publish Slice data using SliceManager APIs.
• Integrate with Google Search or Assistant using SliceView or SliceLiveData APIs.
• Test and handle Slice actions and clicks.