If it's only a single object (say connection) you need to periodically access, I would probably make it to be a singleton, which is created by the services and available to the other components of your app:
class MyConnection {
private static MyConnection inst;
public static void set(........) { <-------- set by service
}
public static getInstance() { return inst; } <------- and accessible to other components
}
But, if you need a more elaborate and continuous interaction with your service, you should probably set it to
be a bound service, and hand craft the interface you would like it to implement:
Create a Bound Service:
class MyConnectionService extends Service {
private final IBinder myBinder = new MyLocalBinder();
@Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent arg0) {
return myBinder;
}
public ConnectionRecord getConnection() {
return myConnection;
}
public class MyLocalBinder extends Binder {
MyConnectionService getService() {
return MyConnectionService.this;
}
}
}
And bind to it from another component, e.g. an Activity:
public class MyActivity extends Activity {
MyConnectionService serviceConnector;
boolean isBound = false;
private ServiceConnection serviceConnector = new ServiceConnection() {
public void onServiceConnected(ComponentName className,
IBinder service) {
MyLocalBinder binder = (MyLocalBinder) service;
serviceConnector = binder.getService(); //<--------- from here on can access service!
isBound = true;
}
public void onServiceDisconnected(ComponentName arg0) {
serviceConnector = null;
isBound = false;
}
};
.
.
.
}
Note that after onServiceConnected() is completed you will have a serviceConnector object you can use to communicate
with the service, which is what we aimed for.
