Communicate with Activity from Service (LocalService) - Android Best Practices

Question

Common scenario - Activity with a background Service to poll server.

The Service will run periodically via AlarmManager and also perform tasks for the Activity (user

Answer 1

I think the best design would be the Android LocalService example: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Service.html#LocalServiceSample

I wouldn't. Use the loosest possible coupling you can stand. Hence, on average, aim for the command pattern with startService() instead of the binding pattern with bindService(). Notably, binding is a bit of a pain when it comes to dealing with configuration changes (e.g., screen rotations).

What is the best way for the Service to call the Activity? Do I use Intents, BroadcastReceivers, Messages? How?

See Notify activity from service