对于普通线程来说,执行完run()方法内的代码后线程就结束了。所谓异步消息处理线程
而言,线程启动后会进入一个无限循环体之中,每循环一次,就从其内部的消息队列中取出一
个消息,并回调该消息相应的消息处理函数,执行完一个消息后再继续回到循环体之中。除非
消息队列为空,线程会暂停,直到消息队列中有新的消息了,则继续无限循环。
异步消息处理线程其本质上也是一个线程,只不过这种线程的执行代码被设计成如上所描述
的逻辑而已。一般来说,当同时处在以下两种需求时使用异步消息处理线程:
1.任务需要常驻。比如说用于处理用户交互的任务。
2.任务需要根据外部传递的消息而执行不同的操作。
当有这两种需求的时候,就应该使用一个异步消息处理线程去接管。
实现异步线程要解决的问题具体包括:
1.每个异步线程内部包含一个消息队列(MessageQueue),队列中的消息一般采用排队机制
即先到达的消息会先得到处理。
2.线程的执行体中使用while (tru e )进行无限循环,循环体中从消息队列中取出消息,并且根
据消息的来源,回调其对应的消息处理函数。
3.其他外部线程可以向本线程的消息队列中发送消息,消息队列内部的读/写操作必须进行加锁
即消息队列不能同时进行读/ 写操作。
在线程内部有一个或多个Handler对象,外部程序通过该Handler对象向线程发送异步消息,消
息经由Handler传递到MessageQueue对象中。线程内部只能包含一个MessageQueue对象,线
程主执行函数中从MessageQueue中读取消息,并回调Handler对象中的回调函数handleMessage()。
我们通过调用Looper类的静态方法prepare()为线程创建MessageQueue对象:
// sThreadLocal.get() will return null unless you've called prepare(). static final ThreadLocal<Looper> sThreadLocal = new ThreadLocal<Looper>(); private static Looper sMainLooper; // guarded by Looper.class final MessageQueue mQueue; final Thread mThread; private Printer mLogging; /** Initialize the current thread as a looper. * This gives you a chance to create handlers that then reference * this looper, before actually starting the loop. Be sure to call * {@link #loop()} after calling this method, and end it by calling * {@link #quit()}. */ public static void prepare() { prepare(true); } private static void prepare(boolean quitAllowed) { if (sThreadLocal.get() != null) { throw new RuntimeException("Only one Looper may be created per thread"); } sThreadLocal.set(new Looper(quitAllowed)); }
从以上的Looper部分源代码可以可以看出,.变量sThreadLocal的类型是ThreadLocal,该类的作
用是提供“线程局部存储”,那么什么是线程局部存储(TLS)?这个问题嘛...可以从变量作用于的
角度来理解。
变量的常见作用域一般包括以下几种。
1.函数内部的变量。其作用域就是该函数,即每次调用该函数时,该变量都会重新回到初始值。
2.类内部的变量。其作用域是该类所产生的对象,即只要对象没有销毁,则对象内部的变量值
一直保持。
3.类内部的静态变量。其作用域是整个过程,即只要在该进程中,则该变量的值就一直保持,无
论使用该类构造过多少个对象,该变量只有一个赋值,并一直保持。
对于类内部的静态变量而言,无论是从进程中哪个线程引用该变量,其值总是相同的,因为在编
译器内部为静态变量分配了单独的内存空间。但有时我们却希望,当从同一个线程中引用该变量时
其值总是相同,而从不同的线程中引用该变量时,其值应该不同,即我们需要一种作用域为线程的
变量定义,这就是“ 线程局部存储”(同一个线程引用变量值相同,不同线程引用则变量值不相同)。
ThreadLocal就是能够提供这种功能的类,Looper内部的sThreadLocal变量是当该进程第一次调用
Looper.prepare()时被复制的,之后该进程中的其他线程调用prepare()函数时,sThreadLocal变量就已经
被赋值了。sThreadLocal对象内部会根据调用prepare()线程的id 保存一个数据对象,这个数据对象就是
所谓的“线程局部存储” 对象,该对象是通过sThreadLocal的set()方法设置进去的,Looper类中保存
的这个对象是一个Looper对象。
prepare()函数中首先调用sThreadLocal.get()函数获取该线程对应的Looper对象,如果该线程已经存
在Looper对象,则提示出错,否则,为该线程创建一个新的Looper对象。为什么一个线程中只能有一
个Looper对象呢?这仅仅是异步线程所需要的,因为每个Looper对象都会定义一个MessageQueue对
象,一个异步线程中只能有一个消息队列,所以也就只能有一个Looper对象,这与“线程局部存储”
本身没有什么关系,换句话说,这不是ThreadLocal 所导致的结果,可以使用ThreadLocal类来保存
任何数据对象,这就是为什么ThreadLocal是一个模板类的原因。
变量作用域类型 |
意义 |
函数成员变量 | 仅在函数内部有效 |
类成员变量 | 仅在对象内部有效 |
线程局部存储(TLS)变量 | 在本线程内的任何对象内保持一致 |
静态变量 | 在本进程内的任何对象内保持一致 |
跨进程通信(IPC)变量 | 一般使用Binder进行定义,在所有进程中保持一致 |
Looper的作用有两点,第一是为调用该类中静态函数prepare()的线程创建一个消息队列;第二
是提供静态函数loop(),使调用该函数的线程进行无限循环,并从消息队列中读取消息。
在Looper的静态函数prepare()中,会给线程局部存储变量中添加一个新的Looper对象,Looper
的构造函数中则会创建一个MessageQueue对象:
/** Initialize the current thread as a looper. * This gives you a chance to create handlers that then reference * this looper, before actually starting the loop. Be sure to call * {@link #loop()} after calling this method, and end it by calling * {@link #quit()}. */ public static void prepare() { prepare(true); } private static void prepare(boolean quitAllowed) { if (sThreadLocal.get() != null) { throw new RuntimeException("Only one Looper may be created per thread"); } sThreadLocal.set(new Looper(quitAllowed)); }
private Looper(boolean quitAllowed) { mQueue = new MessageQueue(quitAllowed); mThread = Thread.currentThread(); }
Looper.prepare() -> 创建Looper -> 创建Looper时创建MessageQueue -> 然后调用Looper.loop()
当需要把一个线程变成异步消息处理线程时,应该在Thread类的run()函数中先调用Looper.prepare()
( sThreadLocal.set(new Looper(quitAllowed)); ) 为线程创建一个MessageQueue对象
(mQueue = new MessageQueue(quitAllowed); ) ,然后调用Looper.loop()函数,是当前线程进
入消息处理循环,让我们再来看看loop()函数的代码:
/** * Run the message queue in this thread. Be sure to call * {@link #quit()} to end the loop. */ public static void loop() { final Looper me = myLooper(); if (me == null) { throw new RuntimeException("No Looper; Looper.prepare() wasn't called on this thread."); } final MessageQueue queue = me.mQueue; // Make sure the identity of this thread is that of the local process, // and keep track of what that identity token actually is. Binder.clearCallingIdentity(); final long ident = Binder.clearCallingIdentity(); for (;;) { Message msg = queue.next(); // might block if (msg == null) { // No message indicates that the message queue is quitting. return; } // This must be in a local variable, in case a UI event sets the logger Printer logging = me.mLogging; if (logging != null) { logging.println(">>>>> Dispatching to " + msg.target + " " + msg.callback + ": " + msg.what); } msg.target.dispatchMessage(msg); if (logging != null) { logging.println("<<<<< Finished to " + msg.target + " " + msg.callback); } // Make sure that during the course of dispatching the // identity of the thread wasn't corrupted. final long newIdent = Binder.clearCallingIdentity(); if (ident != newIdent) { Log.wtf(TAG, "Thread identity changed from 0x" + Long.toHexString(ident) + " to 0x" + Long.toHexString(newIdent) + " while dispatching to " + msg.target.getClass().getName() + " " + msg.callback + " what=" + msg.what); } msg.recycleUnchecked(); } }
loop()代码的执行流程:
1.调用myLooper函数返回当前线程的Looper对象,从如下myLooper()源码可以看出,该函
数内部仅仅通过调用sThreadLocal.get()方法返回当前线程id对象的Looper对象。
/** * Return the Looper object associated with the current thread. Returns * null if the calling thread is not associated with a Looper. */ public static Looper myLooper() { return sThreadLocal.get(); }
2.进入for(;;)无限循环:
<1>.调用MessageQueue对象的next()函数取出队列中的消息( Message msg = queue.next(); )
注意:如果当前队列为空则,则当前线程会被挂起,也就是说,next()函数内部会暂停当前线程。
<2>.回调msg.target.dispatchMessage()函数,完成对该消息的处理,也就是说,消息的具体处理实
际上是由程序指定的。msg变量的类型是Message,msg.target的类型是Handler。可以看如下Message源码:
/** If set message is in use. * This flag is set when the message is enqueued and remains set while it * is delivered and afterwards when it is recycled. The flag is only cleared * when a new message is created or obtained since that is the only time that * applications are allowed to modify the contents of the message. * * It is an error to attempt to enqueue or recycle a message that is already in use. */ /*package*/ static final int FLAG_IN_USE = 1 << 0; /** If set message is asynchronous */ /*package*/ static final int FLAG_ASYNCHRONOUS = 1 << 1; /** Flags to clear in the copyFrom method */ /*package*/ static final int FLAGS_TO_CLEAR_ON_COPY_FROM = FLAG_IN_USE; /*package*/ int flags; /*package*/ long when; /*package*/ Bundle data; /*package*/ Handler target; /*package*/ Runnable callback;
/** * Retrieve the a {@link android.os.Handler Handler} implementation that * will receive this message. The object must implement * {@link android.os.Handler#handleMessage(android.os.Message) * Handler.handleMessage()}. Each Handler has its own name-space for * message codes, so you do not need to * worry about yours conflicting with other handlers. */ public Handler getTarget() { return target; }
Message类内部使用了一个数据池去保存Message对象,从而避免不停地创建和删除Message类对象
因此,每次处理完该消息后,需要将该Message对象表明为空闲,以便Message对象可以被重用。
Android5.0的Message.recycle()源码如下:
/** * Return a Message instance to the global pool. * <p> * You MUST NOT touch the Message after calling this function because it has * effectively been freed. It is an error to recycle a message that is currently * enqueued or that is in the process of being delivered to a Handler. * </p> */ public void recycle() { if (isInUse()) { if (gCheckRecycle) { throw new IllegalStateException("This message cannot be recycled because it " + "is still in use."); } return; } recycleUnchecked(); } /** * Recycles a Message that may be in-use. * Used internally by the MessageQueue and Looper when disposing of queued Messages. */ void recycleUnchecked() { // Mark the message as in use while it remains in the recycled object pool. // Clear out all other details. flags = FLAG_IN_USE; what = 0; arg1 = 0; arg2 = 0; obj = null; replyTo = null; sendingUid = -1; when = 0; target = null; callback = null; data = null; synchronized (sPoolSync) { if (sPoolSize < MAX_POOL_SIZE) { next = sPool; sPool = this; sPoolSize++; } } }
消息队列采用排队方式对消息进行处理,就是先到的消息会先得到处理,但是如果消息本身指定
了被处理的时刻,则必须等到该时刻才能处理消息。消息在MessageQueue中使用Message类表
示,队列中的消息以链表的结构进行存储,Message对象内部包含一个next变量,该变量指向下一
个消息。
MessageQueue中的两个主要函数是 "取出消息" 和 "添加消息" ,分别为函数next()和enqueueMessage()。
next()源码 :
Message next() { // Return here if the message loop has already quit and been disposed. // This can happen if the application tries to restart a looper after quit // which is not supported. final long ptr = mPtr; if (ptr == 0) { return null; } int pendingIdleHandlerCount = -1; // -1 only during first iteration int nextPollTimeoutMillis = 0; for (;;) { if (nextPollTimeoutMillis != 0) { Binder.flushPendingCommands(); } nativePollOnce(ptr, nextPollTimeoutMillis); synchronized (this) { // Try to retrieve the next message. Return if found. final long now = SystemClock.uptimeMillis(); Message prevMsg = null; Message msg = mMessages; if (msg != null && msg.target == null) { // Stalled by a barrier. Find the next asynchronous message in the queue. do { prevMsg = msg; msg = msg.next; } while (msg != null && !msg.isAsynchronous()); } if (msg != null) { if (now < msg.when) { // Next message is not ready. Set a timeout to wake up when it is ready. nextPollTimeoutMillis = (int) Math.min(msg.when - now, Integer.MAX_VALUE); } else { // Got a message. mBlocked = false; if (prevMsg != null) { prevMsg.next = msg.next; } else { mMessages = msg.next; } msg.next = null; if (false) Log.v("MessageQueue", "Returning message: " + msg); return msg; } } else { // No more messages. nextPollTimeoutMillis = -1; } // Process the quit message now that all pending messages have been handled. if (mQuitting) { dispose(); return null; } // If first time idle, then get the number of idlers to run. // Idle handles only run if the queue is empty or if the first message // in the queue (possibly a barrier) is due to be handled in the future. if (pendingIdleHandlerCount < 0 && (mMessages == null || now < mMessages.when)) { pendingIdleHandlerCount = mIdleHandlers.size(); } if (pendingIdleHandlerCount <= 0) { // No idle handlers to run. Loop and wait some more. mBlocked = true; continue; } if (mPendingIdleHandlers == null) { mPendingIdleHandlers = new IdleHandler[Math.max(pendingIdleHandlerCount, 4)]; } mPendingIdleHandlers = mIdleHandlers.toArray(mPendingIdleHandlers); } // Run the idle handlers. // We only ever reach this code block during the first iteration. for (int i = 0; i < pendingIdleHandlerCount; i++) { final IdleHandler idler = mPendingIdleHandlers[i]; mPendingIdleHandlers[i] = null; // release the reference to the handler boolean keep = false; try { keep = idler.queueIdle(); } catch (Throwable t) { Log.wtf("MessageQueue", "IdleHandler threw exception", t); } if (!keep) { synchronized (this) { mIdleHandlers.remove(idler); } } } // Reset the idle handler count to 0 so we do not run them again. pendingIdleHandlerCount = 0; // While calling an idle handler, a new message could have been delivered // so go back and look again for a pending message without waiting. nextPollTimeoutMillis = 0; } }
<1>.nativePollOnce(ptr, nextPollTimeoutMillis) :这是一个JNI函数,其作用是从消息队列中
取出一个消息。MessageQueue类内部本身并没有保存消息队列,真正的消息队列数据保存在JNI
中的C 代码中,也就是说,在C 环境中创建了一个NativeMessageQueue数据对象,这就是
nativePollOnce()第一个参数的意义。它是一个in t型变量,在C 环境中,该变量将被强制转换为一
个NativeMessageQueue对象。在C环境中,如果消息队列中没有消息,将导致当前线程被挂起
(wait ) ;如果消息队列中有消息,则C 代码中将把该消息赋值给Java环境中的mMessages变量。
<2>.在synchronized(this)关键字中,th is被用做取消息和写消息的锁,在enqueueMessage()函
数中也使用synchronized(this)进行代码同步。本步代码比较简单,仅仅是判断消息所指定的执行时
间是否到了。如果到了,就返回该消息,并将mMessages变量置空;如果时间还没有到,则尝试读
取下一个消息。
<3>.如果mMessages为空,则说明C 环境中的消息队列没有可执行的消息了, 因此,执行
mPendingldleHandlers列表中的“ 空闲回调函数”。程序员可以向MessageQueue中注册一些
“空闲回调函数”,从而当线程中没有消息可处理时去执行这些“空闲代码”。
enqueueMessage():
boolean enqueueMessage(Message msg, long when) { if (msg.target == null) { throw new IllegalArgumentException("Message must have a target."); } if (msg.isInUse()) { throw new IllegalStateException(msg + " This message is already in use."); } synchronized (this) { if (mQuitting) { IllegalStateException e = new IllegalStateException( msg.target + " sending message to a Handler on a dead thread"); Log.w("MessageQueue", e.getMessage(), e); msg.recycle(); return false; } msg.markInUse(); msg.when = when; Message p = mMessages; boolean needWake; if (p == null || when == 0 || when < p.when) { // New head, wake up the event queue if blocked. msg.next = p; mMessages = msg; needWake = mBlocked; } else { // Inserted within the middle of the queue. Usually we don't have to wake // up the event queue unless there is a barrier at the head of the queue // and the message is the earliest asynchronous message in the queue. needWake = mBlocked && p.target == null && msg.isAsynchronous(); Message prev; for (;;) { prev = p; p = p.next; if (p == null || when < p.when) { break; } if (needWake && p.isAsynchronous()) { needWake = false; } } msg.next = p; // invariant: p == prev.next prev.next = msg; } // We can assume mPtr != 0 because mQuitting is false. if (needWake) { nativeWake(mPtr); } } return true; }
<1>.将参数msg赋值给mMessages (mMessages = msg; ) 。
<2>.调用nativeWake(mPtr)。这是一个JNI函数,其内部会将mMessages消息添加到C 环境中
的消息队列中,并且如果消息线程正处于挂起(wait)状态,则唤醒该线程。
虽然MessageQueue提供了直接读/写的函数接口,但是一般不直接读/写消息队列。在Looper.loop()
函数中,当取出消息后,会回调msg.target对象的handleMessage()函数,而msg.target的类型正是
Handler。
一般使用Handler类向消息队列中发送消息,并重载Handler类的handleMessage()函数添加消息处理代码。
Handler对象只能添加到有消息队列的线程中,否则会发生异常。我们可以从Handler类的构造
函数中看得出来:
/** * Use the {@link Looper} for the current thread with the specified callback interface * and set whether the handler should be asynchronous. * * Handlers are synchronous by default unless this constructor is used to make * one that is strictly asynchronous. * * Asynchronous messages represent interrupts or events that do not require global ordering * with represent to synchronous messages. Asynchronous messages are not subject to * the synchronization barriers introduced by {@link MessageQueue#enqueueSyncBarrier(long)}. * * @param callback The callback interface in which to handle messages, or null. * @param async If true, the handler calls {@link Message#setAsynchronous(boolean)} for * each {@link Message} that is sent to it or {@link Runnable} that is posted to it. * * @hide */ public Handler(Callback callback, boolean async) { if (FIND_POTENTIAL_LEAKS) { final Class<? extends Handler> klass = getClass(); if ((klass.isAnonymousClass() || klass.isMemberClass() || klass.isLocalClass()) && (klass.getModifiers() & Modifier.STATIC) == 0) { Log.w(TAG, "The following Handler class should be static or leaks might occur: " + klass.getCanonicalName()); } } mLooper = Looper.myLooper(); if (mLooper == null) { throw new RuntimeException( "Can't create handler inside thread that has not called Looper.prepare()"); } mQueue = mLooper.mQueue; mCallback = callback; mAsynchronous = async; }
因此,在构造Handler对象前,必须已经执行过Looper.prepare(),但prepare()不能被执行两
次。创建Handler对象可以再执行Looper.loop()函数之前,也可以再执行之后。我们平时一般
在Activity对象的初始化代码中添加Handler对象,但是实际上,在Activity对象被构造前,Activity
所在的线程已经执行了Looper.prepare()。所以为什么明明Handler里有判断(if(mLooper == null))
我们感觉我们没调用Looper.prepare()方法也能初始化Handler。
一个线程中可以包含多个Handler对象。在Looper.loop()函数中,不同的Message对应不同的Handler
对象,从而回调不同的handleMessage()函数。
异步消息处理线程在Framework中被广泛使用,除了用于多线程消息传递外,它还和跨进程调用(IPC)
一起被使用,用于实现异步跨进程调用。所以我们可以这样,以后只要看到Handler对象,就应该想到异
步消息处理线程。