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      1 page.title=Pausing and Resuming an Activity
      2 page.tags=activity lifecycle
      3 helpoutsWidget=true
      4 
      5 trainingnavtop=true
      6 
      7 @jd:body
      8 
      9 <div id="tb-wrapper">
     10   <div id="tb">
     11     
     12     <h2>This lesson teaches you to</h2>
     13     <ol>
     14       <li><a href="#Pause">Pause Your Activity</a></li>
     15       <li><a href="#Resume">Resume Your Activity</a></li>
     16     </ol>
     17     
     18     <h2>You should also read</h2>
     19     <ul>
     20       <li><a href="{@docRoot}guide/components/activities.html">Activities</a>
     21       </li>
     22     </ul>
     23 
     24 <h2>Try it out</h2>
     25 
     26 <div class="download-box">
     27  <a href="http://developer.android.com/shareables/training/ActivityLifecycle.zip"
     28 class="button">Download the demo</a>
     29  <p class="filename">ActivityLifecycle.zip</p>
     30 </div>
     31 
     32   </div>
     33 </div>
     34 
     35 <p>During normal app use, the foreground activity is sometimes obstructed by other 
     36 visual components that cause the activity to <em>pause</em>.  For example, when a semi-transparent
     37 activity opens (such as one in the style of a dialog), the previous activity pauses. As long as the
     38 activity is still partially visible but currently not the activity in focus, it remains paused.</p>
     39 
     40 <p>However, once the activity is fully-obstructed and not visible, it <em>stops</em> (which is
     41 discussed in the next lesson).</p>
     42 
     43 <p>As your activity enters the paused state, the system calls the {@link
     44 android.app.Activity#onPause onPause()} method on your {@link android.app.Activity}, which allows
     45 you to stop ongoing actions that should not continue while paused (such as a video) or persist
     46 any information that should be permanently saved in case the user continues to leave your app. If
     47 the user returns to your activity from the paused state, the system resumes it and calls the
     48 {@link android.app.Activity#onResume onResume()} method.</p>
     49 
     50 <p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> When your activity receives a call to {@link
     51 android.app.Activity#onPause()}, it may be an indication that the activity will be paused for a
     52 moment and the user may return focus to your activity. However, it's usually the first indication
     53 that the user is leaving your activity.</p>
     54 
     55 <img src="{@docRoot}images/training/basics/basic-lifecycle-paused.png" />
     56 <p class="img-caption"><strong>Figure 1.</strong> When a semi-transparent activity obscures
     57 your activity, the system calls {@link android.app.Activity#onPause onPause()} and the activity
     58 waits in the Paused state (1). If the user returns to the activity while it's still paused, the
     59 system calls {@link android.app.Activity#onResume onResume()} (2).</p>
     60 
     61 
     62 <h2 id="Pause">Pause Your Activity</h2>
     63       
     64 <p>When the system calls {@link android.app.Activity#onPause()} for your activity, it
     65 technically means your activity is still partially visible, but most often is an indication that
     66 the user is leaving the activity and it will soon enter the Stopped state.  You should usually use
     67 the {@link android.app.Activity#onPause()} callback to:</p>
     68 
     69 <ul>
     70   <li>Stop animations or other ongoing actions that could consume CPU.</li>
     71   <li>Commit unsaved changes, but only if users expect such changes to be permanently saved when
     72 they leave (such as a draft email).</li>
     73   <li>Release system resources, such as broadcast receivers, handles to sensors (like
     74 GPS), or any resources that may affect battery life while your activity is paused and the user
     75 does not need them.</li>
     76 </ul>
     77 
     78 <p>For example, if your application uses the {@link android.hardware.Camera}, the
     79 {@link android.app.Activity#onPause()} method is a good place to release it.</p>
     80 
     81 <pre>
     82 &#64;Override
     83 public void onPause() {
     84     super.onPause();  // Always call the superclass method first
     85 
     86     // Release the Camera because we don't need it when paused
     87     // and other activities might need to use it.
     88     if (mCamera != null) {
     89         mCamera.release()
     90         mCamera = null;
     91     }
     92 }
     93 </pre>
     94 
     95 <p>Generally, you should <strong>not</strong> use {@link android.app.Activity#onPause()} to store
     96 user changes (such as personal information entered into a form) to permanent storage. The only time
     97 you should persist user changes to permanent storage within {@link android.app.Activity#onPause()}
     98 is when you're certain users expect the changes to be auto-saved (such as when drafting an email).
     99 However, you should avoid performing CPU-intensive work during {@link
    100 android.app.Activity#onPause()}, such as writing to a database, because it can slow the visible
    101 transition to the next activity (you should instead perform heavy-load shutdown operations during
    102 {@link android.app.Activity#onStop onStop()}).</p>
    103 
    104 <p>You should keep the amount of operations done in the {@link android.app.Activity#onPause
    105 onPause()} method relatively simple in order to allow for a speedy transition to the user's next
    106 destination if your activity is actually being stopped.</p>
    107 
    108 <p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> When your activity is paused, the {@link
    109 android.app.Activity} instance is kept resident in memory and is recalled when the activity resumes.
    110 You dont need to re-initialize components that were created during any of the callback methods
    111 leading up to the Resumed state.</p>
    112 
    113 
    114 
    115 <h2 id="Resume">Resume Your Activity</h2>
    116 
    117 <p>When the user resumes your activity from the Paused state, the system calls the {@link
    118 android.app.Activity#onResume()} method.</p>
    119 
    120 <p>Be aware that the system calls this method every time your activity comes into the foreground,
    121 including when it's created for the first time. As such, you should implement {@link
    122 android.app.Activity#onResume()} to initialize components that you release during {@link
    123 android.app.Activity#onPause()} and perform any other initializations that must occur each time the
    124 activity enters the Resumed state (such as begin animations and initialize components only used
    125 while the activity has user focus).</p>
    126 
    127 <p>The following example of {@link android.app.Activity#onResume()} is the counterpart to
    128 the {@link android.app.Activity#onPause()} example above, so it initializes the camera that's
    129 released when the activity pauses.</p>
    130 
    131 <pre>
    132 &#64;Override
    133 public void onResume() {
    134     super.onResume();  // Always call the superclass method first
    135 
    136     // Get the Camera instance as the activity achieves full user focus
    137     if (mCamera == null) {
    138         initializeCamera(); // Local method to handle camera init
    139     }
    140 }
    141 </pre>
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