What's the correct way to implement AsyncTask? static or non static nested class?

Issue

The "Login" from Android examples implemented AsyncTask as a non-static inner class. However, according to Commonsguys, this class should be static and use weak-reference to the outside activity see this.

So what is the correct way to implement AsyncTask? Static or non-static?

Commonsguy Implementation
https://github.com/commonsguy/cw-android/tree/master/Rotation/RotationAsync/

Log in example from Google

package com.example.asynctaskdemo;

import android.animation.Animator;
import android.animation.AnimatorListenerAdapter;
import android.annotation.TargetApi;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.AsyncTask;
import android.os.Build;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.text.TextUtils;
import android.view.KeyEvent;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.inputmethod.EditorInfo;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.TextView;

/**
 * Activity which displays a login screen to the user, offering registration as
 * well.
 */
public class LoginActivity extends Activity {
    /**
     * A dummy authentication store containing known user names and passwords.
     * TODO: remove after connecting to a real authentication system.
     */
    private static final String[] DUMMY_CREDENTIALS = new String[] { "[email protected]:hello", "[email protected]:world" };

    /**
     * The default email to populate the email field with.
     */
    public static final String EXTRA_EMAIL = "com.example.android.authenticatordemo.extra.EMAIL";

    /**
     * Keep track of the login task to ensure we can cancel it if requested.
     */
    private UserLoginTask mAuthTask = null;

    // Values for email and password at the time of the login attempt.
    private String mEmail;
    private String mPassword;

    // UI references.
    private EditText mEmailView;
    private EditText mPasswordView;
    private View mLoginFormView;
    private View mLoginStatusView;
    private TextView mLoginStatusMessageView;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

        setContentView(R.layout.activity_login);

        // Set up the login form.
        mEmail = getIntent().getStringExtra(EXTRA_EMAIL);
        mEmailView = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.email);
        mEmailView.setText(mEmail);

        mPasswordView = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.password);
        mPasswordView.setOnEditorActionListener(new TextView.OnEditorActionListener() {
            @Override
            public boolean onEditorAction(TextView textView, int id, KeyEvent keyEvent) {
                if (id == R.id.login || id == EditorInfo.IME_NULL) {
                    attemptLogin();
                    return true;
                }
                return false;
            }
        });

        mLoginFormView = findViewById(R.id.login_form);
        mLoginStatusView = findViewById(R.id.login_status);
        mLoginStatusMessageView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.login_status_message);

        findViewById(R.id.sign_in_button).setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View view) {
                attemptLogin();
            }
        });
    }

    @Override
    public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
        super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu);
        getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.activity_login, menu);
        return true;
    }

    /**
     * Attempts to sign in or register the account specified by the login form.
     * If there are form errors (invalid email, missing fields, etc.), the
     * errors are presented and no actual login attempt is made.
     */
    public void attemptLogin() {
        if (mAuthTask != null) {
            return;
        }

        // Reset errors.
        mEmailView.setError(null);
        mPasswordView.setError(null);

        // Store values at the time of the login attempt.
        mEmail = mEmailView.getText().toString();
        mPassword = mPasswordView.getText().toString();

        boolean cancel = false;
        View focusView = null;

        // Check for a valid password.
        if (TextUtils.isEmpty(mPassword)) {
            mPasswordView.setError(getString(R.string.error_field_required));
            focusView = mPasswordView;
            cancel = true;
        }
        else if (mPassword.length() < 4) {
            mPasswordView.setError(getString(R.string.error_invalid_password));
            focusView = mPasswordView;
            cancel = true;
        }

        // Check for a valid email address.
        if (TextUtils.isEmpty(mEmail)) {
            mEmailView.setError(getString(R.string.error_field_required));
            focusView = mEmailView;
            cancel = true;
        }
        else if (!mEmail.contains("@")) {
            mEmailView.setError(getString(R.string.error_invalid_email));
            focusView = mEmailView;
            cancel = true;
        }

        if (cancel) {
            // There was an error; don't attempt login and focus the first
            // form field with an error.
            focusView.requestFocus();
        }
        else {
            // Show a progress spinner, and kick off a background task to
            // perform the user login attempt.
            mLoginStatusMessageView.setText(R.string.login_progress_signing_in);
            showProgress(true);
            mAuthTask = new UserLoginTask();
            mAuthTask.execute((Void) null);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Shows the progress UI and hides the login form.
     */
    @TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB_MR2)
    private void showProgress(final boolean show) {
        // On Honeycomb MR2 we have the ViewPropertyAnimator APIs, which allow
        // for very easy animations. If available, use these APIs to fade-in
        // the progress spinner.
        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB_MR2) {
            int shortAnimTime = getResources().getInteger(android.R.integer.config_shortAnimTime);

            mLoginStatusView.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
            mLoginStatusView.animate().setDuration(shortAnimTime).alpha(show ? 1 : 0).setListener(new AnimatorListenerAdapter() {
                @Override
                public void onAnimationEnd(Animator animation) {
                    mLoginStatusView.setVisibility(show ? View.VISIBLE : View.GONE);
                }
            });

            mLoginFormView.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
            mLoginFormView.animate().setDuration(shortAnimTime).alpha(show ? 0 : 1).setListener(new AnimatorListenerAdapter() {
                @Override
                public void onAnimationEnd(Animator animation) {
                    mLoginFormView.setVisibility(show ? View.GONE : View.VISIBLE);
                }
            });
        }
        else {
            // The ViewPropertyAnimator APIs are not available, so simply show
            // and hide the relevant UI components.
            mLoginStatusView.setVisibility(show ? View.VISIBLE : View.GONE);
            mLoginFormView.setVisibility(show ? View.GONE : View.VISIBLE);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Represents an asynchronous login/registration task used to authenticate
     * the user.
     */
    public class UserLoginTask extends AsyncTask<Void, Void, Boolean> {
        @Override
        protected Boolean doInBackground(Void... params) {
            // TODO: attempt authentication against a network service.

            try {
                // Simulate network access.
                Thread.sleep(2000);
            }
            catch (InterruptedException e) {
                return false;
            }

            for (String credential : DUMMY_CREDENTIALS) {
                String[] pieces = credential.split(":");
                if (pieces[0].equals(mEmail)) {
                    // Account exists, return true if the password matches.
                    return pieces[1].equals(mPassword);
                }
            }

            // TODO: register the new account here.
            return true;
        }

        @Override
        protected void onPostExecute(final Boolean success) {
            mAuthTask = null;
            showProgress(false);

            if (success) {
                finish();
            }
            else {
                mPasswordView.setError(getString(R.string.error_incorrect_password));
                mPasswordView.requestFocus();
            }
        }

        @Override
        protected void onCancelled() {
            mAuthTask = null;
            showProgress(false);
        }
    }
}

If it depends on a specific situation, then with ListView items (text + plus Bitmap) loaded from the internet using HttpClient, how should I implement my AsyncTask?

Solution

In general I would recommend the static implementation (though both are acceptable).

The Google approach will require less code but your asynctask will be tightly coupled with your actitivy (which means not easily reusable). But sometimes this approach is more readable.

With the CommonsGuy approach, it will require more effort (and more code) to decouple activity and asynctask, but in the end you will have a more modular, more reusable code.

Answered By - sdabet