SyncAdapter without a ContentProvider

Question

I want to implement a SyncAdapter for a content I want to synchronize with a server. It seems that to do so, you need a ContentProvider registered for the authority you spec

Answer 1

You always have to specify a content provider when implementing a SyncAdapter, but that's not to say it actually has to do anything.

I've written SyncAdapters that create accounts and integrate with the "Accounts & sync" framework in Android that don't necessarily store their content in a standard provider.

In your xml/syncadapter.xml:

In your manifest:

And then add a dummy provider that doesn't do anything useful except exist, DummyProvider.java:

public class DummyProvider extends ContentProvider {

    @Override
    public int delete(Uri uri, String selection, String[] selectionArgs) {
         return 0;
    }

    @Override
    public String getType(Uri uri) {
        return null;
    }

    @Override
    public Uri insert(Uri uri, ContentValues values) {
        return null;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean onCreate() {
        return false;
    }

    @Override
    public Cursor query(Uri uri, String[] projection, String selection,
                    String[] selectionArgs, String sortOrder) {
        return null;
    }

    @Override
    public int update(Uri uri, ContentValues values, String selection,
                    String[] selectionArgs) {
        return 0;
    }
}