Wtf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

[Backnblack]

Perhaps you should check out some of the alternate home screens available.

I agree. I think this would speed things up as well. Separation of memory, or partitioning memory is one way to free up virtual memory, sense everything won't be ran on one screen, and things can be "ran in background".

Not really familiar with the android operating system, eh?

Ha...

I've checked out a multi-tude of ALTERNATIVE home screens available. Perhaps you should check out the story I posted? That is the native system doing it, no alternatives. We know there are alternatives available that isn't the point. I'm not Google, Motorola, or HTC, but I'm pretty fond of the OS, why do you need some help with it? Maybe I can provide some help.

I believe he was talking about things that can be "ran in the background" which as everyone knows, Droid Does...

 

[Where'sMyCoffe?]

Perhaps you should check out some of the alternate home screens available.

Not really familiar with the android operating system, eh?

Ha...

I've checked out a multi-tude of ALTERNATIVE home screens available. Perhaps you should check out the story I posted? That is the native system doing it, no alternatives. We know there are alternatives available that isn't the point. I'm not Google, Motorola, or HTC, but I'm pretty fond of the OS, why do you need some help with it? Maybe I can provide some help.

I believe he was talking about things that can be "ran in the background" which as everyone knows, Droid Does...

I know, thats why I put it in quotes. lol

"everything won't be ran on one screen, and things can be "ran in background"."

"Ran on one screen", "ran in the background". Its tongue in cheek. lol Meaning that we can actually have programs actually visually run on other screens.


But... your response sparked my interest in if Android truly does run a program in background. Here is a gem I found:

To specifically answer your question, yes that will work.

To more thoroughly answer your question, yes but multitasking in Android is very different than multitasking you're used to on a desktop computer.

On a Windows desktop, you can start, end, and switch between actively running programs freely. They continue running the same way wether they're in focus or in the background. In Android, as I'm sure you're probably aware, you don't have to shut down programs because the system will do it for you when it runs low on memory.

This is a very ambiguous statement and it had me confused for a long time. How dare the operating system assume that I'm done with a program just because its memory gets low! What if I lose my work because it closed a program I was still working in?

The answer is that unlike Windows, Android makes a clear distinction between a program that's doing work (like downloading a file or playing some music) and one that's simply sitting around waiting for the user to return. The commonly quoted "Android can run programs in the background" case is the one where the background program is doing work. You can listen to music from any program while doing work in another. You can download a file while reading your email. That all works as expected.

The other case, the one where programs are open but just sitting around, is a little harder to define. This is the case where a program will technically remain running until the system needs memory, then it will be closed without warning. Because of this, it is up to the individual Application developer to create the illusion of smooth multitasking.

What that means is, every time an Application loses its focus (disappears from the screen in favor of displaying another program "on top" of it), it effectively HAS to save its state out to permanent memory. If it doesn't, then it will be reset when its memory is reclaimed by the system. Since the Application has no way of knowing if it will ever regain focus before being closed, the only reasonable solution is to write out the value of every single variable in memory to the permanent storage, then reload all those variables when the application regains focus. Because of this requirement, you can almost say that Android doesn't *really* support multitasking between programs, but just creates the illusion that it is.

That conclusion in itself is a bit misleading, because Android actually CAN multitask between programs, but because it requires all good programs to assume that they're going to be closed whenever focus is lost it doesn't really make much difference. The only real advantage it gains is that if the program is NOT closed before it regains focus, then it can save a second or two by not bothering to load in the save state data from permanent storage.

If you're not doing any development on Android, most of that is probably pointless to know. The only thing you really need to know as a user is that yes Android can multitask, but you have to be careful because many poorly written programs will not be able to seamlessly multitask with others because a lot of the multitasking illusion is left in the hands of the application developers, and you may be surprised to discover that your work is gone when you return to a program that you thought you left open.

Thats some pretty interesting stuff, that not everyone knows.

 

[jsh1120]

Thats some pretty interesting stuff, that not everyone knows.

Uh, right. Not everyone knows that stuff. If one is familiar with the concept of "multitasking" dating back almost 40 years to the original versions of Unix, however, it's pretty much the way such operating systems and their progeny including the Android o/s have always worked.

 

[Where'sMyCoffe?]

Thats some pretty interesting stuff, that not everyone knows.

Uh, right. Not everyone knows that stuff. If one is familiar with the concept of "multitasking" dating back almost 40 years to the original versions of Unix, however, it's pretty much the way such operating systems and their progeny including the Android o/s have always worked.

Yes. Granted, Windows, OS X, handle multitasking differently than Android does.