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Android APIs
public class

Binder

extends Object
implements IBinder
java.lang.Object
   ↳ android.os.Binder

Class Overview

Base class for a remotable object, the core part of a lightweight remote procedure call mechanism defined by IBinder . This class is an implementation of IBinder that provides the standard support creating a local implementation of such an object.

Most developers will not implement this class directly, instead using the aidl tool to describe the desired interface, having it generate the appropriate Binder subclass. You can, however, derive directly from Binder to implement your own custom RPC protocol or simply instantiate a raw Binder object directly to use as a token that can be shared across processes.

See Also

Summary

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Inherited Constants
From interface android.os.IBinder
Public Constructors
Binder ()
Default constructor initializes the object.
Public Methods
void attachInterface ( IInterface owner, String descriptor)
Convenience method for associating a specific interface with the Binder.
final static long clearCallingIdentity ()
Reset the identity of the incoming IPC on the current thread.
void dump ( FileDescriptor fd, String[] args)
Implemented to call the more convenient version dump(FileDescriptor, PrintWriter, String[]) .
void dumpAsync ( FileDescriptor fd, String[] args)
Like dump(FileDescriptor, String[]) , but ensures the target executes asynchronously.
final static void flushPendingCommands ()
Flush any Binder commands pending in the current thread to the kernel driver.
final static int getCallingPid ()
Return the ID of the process that sent you the current transaction that is being processed.
final static int getCallingUid ()
Return the Linux uid assigned to the process that sent you the current transaction that is being processed.
final static UserHandle getCallingUserHandle ()
Return the UserHandle assigned to the process that sent you the current transaction that is being processed.
String getInterfaceDescriptor ()
Default implementation returns an empty interface name.
boolean isBinderAlive ()
Check to see if the process that the binder is in is still alive. Note that if you're calling on a local binder, this always returns true because your process is alive if you're calling it.
final static void joinThreadPool ()
Add the calling thread to the IPC thread pool.
void linkToDeath ( IBinder.DeathRecipient recipient, int flags)
Local implementation is a no-op.
boolean pingBinder ()
Default implementation always returns true -- if you got here, the object is alive.
IInterface queryLocalInterface ( String descriptor)
Use information supplied to attachInterface() to return the associated IInterface if it matches the requested descriptor.
final static void restoreCallingIdentity (long token)
Restore the identity of the incoming IPC on the current thread back to a previously identity that was returned by clearCallingIdentity() .
final boolean transact (int code, Parcel data, Parcel reply, int flags)
Default implementation rewinds the parcels and calls onTransact.
boolean unlinkToDeath ( IBinder.DeathRecipient recipient, int flags)
Local implementation is a no-op.
Protected Methods
void dump ( FileDescriptor fd, PrintWriter fout, String[] args)
Print the object's state into the given stream.
void finalize ()
Invoked when the garbage collector has detected that this instance is no longer reachable.
boolean onTransact (int code, Parcel data, Parcel reply, int flags)
Default implementation is a stub that returns false.
[Expand]
Inherited Methods
From class java.lang.Object
From interface android.os.IBinder

Public Constructors

public Binder ()

Added in API level 1

Default constructor initializes the object.

Public Methods

public void attachInterface ( IInterface owner, String descriptor)

Added in API level 1

Convenience method for associating a specific interface with the Binder. After calling, queryLocalInterface() will be implemented for you to return the given owner IInterface when the corresponding descriptor is requested.

public static final long clearCallingIdentity ()

Added in API level 1

Reset the identity of the incoming IPC on the current thread. This can be useful if, while handling an incoming call, you will be calling on interfaces of other objects that may be local to your process and need to do permission checks on the calls coming into them (so they will check the permission of your own local process, and not whatever process originally called you).

Returns

public void dump ( FileDescriptor fd, String[] args)

Added in API level 3

Implemented to call the more convenient version dump(FileDescriptor, PrintWriter, String[]) .

Parameters
fd The raw file descriptor that the dump is being sent to.
args additional arguments to the dump request.

public void dumpAsync ( FileDescriptor fd, String[] args)

Like dump(FileDescriptor, String[]) , but ensures the target executes asynchronously.

Parameters
fd The raw file descriptor that the dump is being sent to.
args additional arguments to the dump request.

public static final void flushPendingCommands ()

Added in API level 1

Flush any Binder commands pending in the current thread to the kernel driver. This can be useful to call before performing an operation that may block for a long time, to ensure that any pending object references have been released in order to prevent the process from holding on to objects longer than it needs to.

public static final int getCallingPid ()

Added in API level 1

Return the ID of the process that sent you the current transaction that is being processed. This pid can be used with higher-level system services to determine its identity and check permissions. If the current thread is not currently executing an incoming transaction, then its own pid is returned.

public static final int getCallingUid ()

Added in API level 1

Return the Linux uid assigned to the process that sent you the current transaction that is being processed. This uid can be used with higher-level system services to determine its identity and check permissions. If the current thread is not currently executing an incoming transaction, then its own uid is returned.

public static final UserHandle getCallingUserHandle ()

Return the UserHandle assigned to the process that sent you the current transaction that is being processed. This is the user of the caller. It is distinct from getCallingUid() in that a particular user will have multiple distinct apps running under it each with their own uid. If the current thread is not currently executing an incoming transaction, then its own UserHandle is returned.

public String getInterfaceDescriptor ()

Added in API level 1

Default implementation returns an empty interface name.

public boolean isBinderAlive ()

Added in API level 1

Check to see if the process that the binder is in is still alive. Note that if you're calling on a local binder, this always returns true because your process is alive if you're calling it.

Returns
  • false if the process is not alive. Note that if it returns true, the process may have died while the call is returning.

public static final void joinThreadPool ()

Added in API level 1

Add the calling thread to the IPC thread pool. This function does not return until the current process is exiting.

public void linkToDeath ( IBinder.DeathRecipient recipient, int flags)

Added in API level 1

Local implementation is a no-op.

public boolean pingBinder ()

Added in API level 1

Default implementation always returns true -- if you got here, the object is alive.

Returns
  • Returns false if the hosting process is gone, otherwise the result (always by default true) returned by the pingBinder() implementation on the other side.

public IInterface queryLocalInterface ( String descriptor)

Added in API level 1

Use information supplied to attachInterface() to return the associated IInterface if it matches the requested descriptor.

public static final void restoreCallingIdentity (long token)

Added in API level 1

Restore the identity of the incoming IPC on the current thread back to a previously identity that was returned by clearCallingIdentity() .

Parameters
token The opaque token that was previously returned by clearCallingIdentity() .

public final boolean transact (int code, Parcel data, Parcel reply, int flags)

Added in API level 1

Default implementation rewinds the parcels and calls onTransact. On the remote side, transact calls into the binder to do the IPC.

Parameters
code The action to perform. This should be a number between FIRST_CALL_TRANSACTION and LAST_CALL_TRANSACTION .
data Marshalled data to send to the target. Must not be null. If you are not sending any data, you must create an empty Parcel that is given here.
reply Marshalled data to be received from the target. May be null if you are not interested in the return value.
flags Additional operation flags. Either 0 for a normal RPC, or FLAG_ONEWAY for a one-way RPC.

public boolean unlinkToDeath ( IBinder.DeathRecipient recipient, int flags)

Added in API level 1

Local implementation is a no-op.

Returns
  • true if the recipient is successfully unlinked, assuring you that its DeathRecipient.binderDied() method will not be called; false if the target IBinder has already died, meaning the method has been (or soon will be) called.

Protected Methods

protected void dump ( FileDescriptor fd, PrintWriter fout, String[] args)

Added in API level 1

Print the object's state into the given stream.

Parameters
fd The raw file descriptor that the dump is being sent to.
fout The file to which you should dump your state. This will be closed for you after you return.
args additional arguments to the dump request.

protected void finalize ()

Added in API level 1

Invoked when the garbage collector has detected that this instance is no longer reachable. The default implementation does nothing, but this method can be overridden to free resources.

Note that objects that override finalize are significantly more expensive than objects that don't. Finalizers may be run a long time after the object is no longer reachable, depending on memory pressure, so it's a bad idea to rely on them for cleanup. Note also that finalizers are run on a single VM-wide finalizer thread, so doing blocking work in a finalizer is a bad idea. A finalizer is usually only necessary for a class that has a native peer and needs to call a native method to destroy that peer. Even then, it's better to provide an explicit close method (and implement Closeable ), and insist that callers manually dispose of instances. This works well for something like files, but less well for something like a BigInteger where typical calling code would have to deal with lots of temporaries. Unfortunately, code that creates lots of temporaries is the worst kind of code from the point of view of the single finalizer thread.

If you must use finalizers, consider at least providing your own ReferenceQueue and having your own thread process that queue.

Unlike constructors, finalizers are not automatically chained. You are responsible for calling super.finalize() yourself.

Uncaught exceptions thrown by finalizers are ignored and do not terminate the finalizer thread. See Effective Java Item 7, "Avoid finalizers" for more.

protected boolean onTransact (int code, Parcel data, Parcel reply, int flags)

Added in API level 1

Default implementation is a stub that returns false. You will want to override this to do the appropriate unmarshalling of transactions.

If you want to call this, call transact().