Handler是更新UI界面的机制，也是消息处理的机制,我们可以发送消息，也可以处理消息。
（1）为什么要有Handler？
Android在设计的时候，封装了一套消息创建、传递、处理机制，如果不遵循这样的机制就没办法更新UI信息，就会抛出异常。如果一个耗时的任务在主线程中操作，那么就会出现界面卡死，也就是Android的卡顿，耗时的操作需要在子线程中完成，但是这些操作完成之后还需要通知UI，Handler可以很好的处理这个工作。
Handler是Google工程师为我们设计好的处理高并发的工具类，这个类用于线程间通信。
（2）handler基本使用
首先，看一下代码：
/**
* 处理事件
*/
private Handler handler = new Handler(){
@Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
super.handleMessage(msg);
}
};
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
new Thread(new Runnable() {
@Override
public void run() {
Message message = new Message();
//发送数据，当一个耗时任务完成时，通知主线程
handler.sendMessage(message);
}
}).start();
}
}
handler.sendMessage(message)一般执行在子线程，用于通知主线程任务已完成，message是数据，可以将数据传递到主线程。主线程的handleMessage的回调方法中有一个参数message，这个message就是从子线程中传递过来的，handleMessage主要用于处理UI。
子线程通知主线程的方法或者子线程传递数据到主线程的方法还有很多，如下：
sendMessage(Message msg)
sendMessageDelayed(Message msg, long delayMillis)
sendEmptyMessage(int what)
sendEmptyMessageAtTime(int what, long uptimeMillis)
sendEmptyMessageDelayed(int what, long delayMillis)
sendMessageAtFrontOfQueue(Message msg)
sendMessageAtTime(Message msg, long uptimeMillis)
除此之外，handler还有一些post方法：
post(Runnable r)
postAtFrontOfQueue(Runnable r)
postAtTime(Runnable r, long uptimeMillis)
postAtTime(Runnable r, Object token, long uptimeMillis)
postDelayed(Runnable r, long delayMillis)
postDelayed(Runnable r, Object token, long delayMillis)
post方法将callback传入Message，callback就是子线程本身，使用代码如下：
new Handler().post(new Runnable() {
@Override
public void run() {
}
});
类似于
new Thread(new Runnable() {
@Override
public void run() {
}
}).start();
（3）Android为什么要设置只能通过Handler机制更新UI？
最根本的问题解决多线程并发的问题；
假设如果在一个Activity中，有多个线程去更新UI，并且都没有加锁机制，那么会产生生么样的问题？——更新界面混乱；
如果对更新UI 的操作都加锁处理的话会产生什么样子的问题？——性能下降
对于上述问题的考虑，Android提供了一套更新UI的机制，我们只需要遵循这样的机制就好了。
不用关心多线程的问题，更新UI的操作，都是在主线程的消息队列当中轮询处理的。
（4）从源码分析Handler
在上层，一般使用
sendMessage(Message msg)
来发送消息，所以研究Handler的源码还是从sendMessage 开始。
【第一步】 跟踪sendMessage 方法
/**
* Pushes a message onto the end of the message queue after all pending messages
* before the current time. It will be received in {@link #handleMessage},
* in the thread attached to this handler.
*
* @return Returns true if the message was successfully placed in to the
* message queue. Returns false on failure, usually because the
* looper processing the message queue is exiting.
*/
public final boolean sendMessage(Message msg)
{
return sendMessageDelayed(msg, 0);
}
【第二步】 跟踪sendMessageDelayed 方法
/**
* Enqueue a message into the message queue after all pending messages
* before (current time + delayMillis). You will receive it in
* {@link #handleMessage}, in the thread attached to this handler.
*
* @return Returns true if the message was successfully placed in to the
* message queue. Returns false on failure, usually because the
* looper processing the message queue is exiting. Note that a
* result of true does not mean the message will be processed -- if
* the looper is quit before the delivery time of the message
* occurs then the message will be dropped.
*/
public final boolean sendMessageDelayed(Message msg, long delayMillis)
{
if (delayMillis < 0) {
delayMillis = 0;
}
return sendMessageAtTime(msg, SystemClock.uptimeMillis() + delayMillis);
}
【第三步】 跟踪sendMessageAtTime 方法
/**
* Enqueue a message into the message queue after all pending messages
* before the absolute time (in milliseconds) <var>uptimeMillis</var>.
* <b>The time-base is {@link android.os.SystemClock#uptimeMillis}.</b>
* Time spent in deep sleep will add an additional delay to execution.
* You will receive it in {@link #handleMessage}, in the thread attached
* to this handler.
*
* @param uptimeMillis The absolute time at which the message should be
* delivered, using the
* {@link android.os.SystemClock#uptimeMillis} time-base.
*
* @return Returns true if the message was successfully placed in to the
* message queue. Returns false on failure, usually because the
* looper processing the message queue is exiting. Note that a
* result of true does not mean the message will be processed -- if
* the looper is quit before the delivery time of the message
* occurs then the message will be dropped.
*/
public boolean sendMessageAtTime(Message msg, long uptimeMillis) {
MessageQueue queue = mQueue;
if (queue == null) {
RuntimeException e = new RuntimeException(
this + " sendMessageAtTime() called with no mQueue");
Log.w("Looper", e.getMessage(), e);
return false;
}
return enqueueMessage(queue, msg, uptimeMillis);
}
源码中的MessageQueue类就是消息队列类，先看下如下代码片段：
MessageQueue queue = mQueue;
我们需要搞清楚一个问题，mQueue变量哪里来，消息队列对象是怎么传入Handler对象里的？
万幸的是，Handler类中只有一个地方对mQueue变量赋值
/**
* 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 respect 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 " + Thread.currentThread()
+ " that has not called Looper.prepare()");
}
mQueue = mLooper.mQueue;
mCallback = callback;
mAsynchronous = async;
}
以上代码是Handler的构造方法，其中我们只需要看mQueue变量相关的代码即可
mLooper = Looper.myLooper();
mQueue = mLooper.mQueue;
所以消息队列对象mQueue是从mLooper中拿到的，Looper是一个消息轮询器。
【第四步】 跟踪enqueueMessage 方法
private boolean enqueueMessage(MessageQueue queue, Message msg, long uptimeMillis) {
msg.target = this;
if (mAsynchronous) {
msg.setAsynchronous(true);
}
return queue.enqueueMessage(msg, uptimeMillis);
}
【第五步】 跟踪MessageQueue 类中的enqueueMessage 方法
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(TAG, 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;
}
代码比较多，同样，只需要看懂核心代码即可
msg.next = p; // invariant: p == prev.next
prev.next = msg;
以上代码就是核心代码了，意思就是说，将消息插入消息队列的队尾，也就是入队的操作。
源码跟踪到这里就可以总结出：handler.sendMessage(message)方法的作用是将Message插入到消息队列（MessageQueue）中，换句话说，Handler的作用是将Message放入消息队列（MessageQueue）中。
那么，Handler不仅仅可以发送消息，还可以接收消息：
private Handler handler = new Handler(){
@Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
super.handleMessage(msg);
}
};
以上代码大家都很熟悉了，Message将由handleMessage方法接收，那么Message是哪里来的呢？
在上面跟踪发送消息流程的源码中，我们已经知道了消息的插入其实采用了链表的插入方式，如下代码：
msg.next = p; // invariant: p == prev.next
prev.next = msg;
那么，出队（删除队列的某元素）的代码怎么写呢？
msg.next == null;
以上代码就是将msg的next节点断开，从而达到从MessageQueue中删除next节点的目的。
在MessageQueue类中搜索相关的代码之后终于找到了出队方法。
【第六步】 寻找出队方法
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 (DEBUG) Log.v(TAG, "Returning message: " + msg);
msg.markInUse();
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(TAG, "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;
}
}
【第七步】 Message出队之后做了什么事？
消息出队之后又去干嘛了呢？next方法中没有发现，但是next方法的返回值是Message，所以需要往上跟踪。
上面已经提到，消息队列对象是由Looper提供的，既然消息队列对象是由Looper提供的，那么看看Looper类中有没有调用next方法吧。
【第八步】 Looper中实现出队
/**
* 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();
// Allow overriding a threshold with a system prop. e.g.
// adb shell 'setprop log.looper.1000.main.slow 1 && stop && start'
final int thresholdOverride =
SystemProperties.getInt("log.looper."
+ Process.myUid() + "."
+ Thread.currentThread().getName()
+ ".slow", 0);
boolean slowDeliveryDetected = false;
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
final Printer logging = me.mLogging;
if (logging != null) {
logging.println(">>>>> Dispatching to " + msg.target + " " +
msg.callback + ": " + msg.what);
}
final long traceTag = me.mTraceTag;
long slowDispatchThresholdMs = me.mSlowDispatchThresholdMs;
long slowDeliveryThresholdMs = me.mSlowDeliveryThresholdMs;
if (thresholdOverride > 0) {
slowDispatchThresholdMs = thresholdOverride;
slowDeliveryThresholdMs = thresholdOverride;
}
final boolean logSlowDelivery = (slowDeliveryThresholdMs > 0) && (msg.when > 0);
final boolean logSlowDispatch = (slowDispatchThresholdMs > 0);
final boolean needStartTime = logSlowDelivery || logSlowDispatch;
final boolean needEndTime = logSlowDispatch;
if (traceTag != 0 && Trace.isTagEnabled(traceTag)) {
Trace.traceBegin(traceTag, msg.target.getTraceName(msg));
}
final long dispatchStart = needStartTime ? SystemClock.uptimeMillis() : 0;
final long dispatchEnd;
try {
msg.target.dispatchMessage(msg);
dispatchEnd = needEndTime ? SystemClock.uptimeMillis() : 0;
} finally {
if (traceTag != 0) {
Trace.traceEnd(traceTag);
}
}
if (logSlowDelivery) {
if (slowDeliveryDetected) {
if ((dispatchStart - msg.when) <= 10) {
Slog.w(TAG, "Drained");
slowDeliveryDetected = false;
}
} else {
if (showSlowLog(slowDeliveryThresholdMs, msg.when, dispatchStart, "delivery",
msg)) {
// Once we write a slow delivery log, suppress until the queue drains.
slowDeliveryDetected = true;
}
}
}
if (logSlowDispatch) {
showSlowLog(slowDispatchThresholdMs, dispatchStart, dispatchEnd, "dispatch", 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();
}
}
我们最终发现，消息出队的操作其实由Looper类的loop()方法实现的。
那么，消息是怎么传递到Handler的handleMessage方法的呢？loop()方法中有一句核心代码：
msg.target.dispatchMessage(msg);
这个target就是Hander，最终调用了Handler中的dispatchMessage方法：
/**
* Handle system messages here.
*/
public void dispatchMessage(Message msg) {
if (msg.callback != null) {
handleCallback(msg);
} else {
if (mCallback != null) {
if (mCallback.handleMessage(msg)) {
return;
}
}
handleMessage(msg);
}
}
这样，Message出队之后，将Message传递到了handleMessage方法，由Hander的handleMessage方法接收并处理Message。
最后，还需要说明一下一个for循环的细节，当消息出队时，有一段代码：
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
final Printer logging = me.mLogging;
if (logging != null) {
logging.println(">>>>> Dispatching to " + msg.target + " " +
msg.callback + ": " + msg.what);
}
final long traceTag = me.mTraceTag;
long slowDispatchThresholdMs = me.mSlowDispatchThresholdMs;
long slowDeliveryThresholdMs = me.mSlowDeliveryThresholdMs;
if (thresholdOverride > 0) {
slowDispatchThresholdMs = thresholdOverride;
slowDeliveryThresholdMs = thresholdOverride;
}
final boolean logSlowDelivery = (slowDeliveryThresholdMs > 0) && (msg.when > 0);
final boolean logSlowDispatch = (slowDispatchThresholdMs > 0);
final boolean needStartTime = logSlowDelivery || logSlowDispatch;
final boolean needEndTime = logSlowDispatch;
if (traceTag != 0 && Trace.isTagEnabled(traceTag)) {
Trace.traceBegin(traceTag, msg.target.getTraceName(msg));
}
final long dispatchStart = needStartTime ? SystemClock.uptimeMillis() : 0;
final long dispatchEnd;
try {
msg.target.dispatchMessage(msg);
dispatchEnd = needEndTime ? SystemClock.uptimeMillis() : 0;
} finally {
if (traceTag != 0) {
Trace.traceEnd(traceTag);
}
}
if (logSlowDelivery) {
if (slowDeliveryDetected) {
if ((dispatchStart - msg.when) <= 10) {
Slog.w(TAG, "Drained");
slowDeliveryDetected = false;
}
} else {
if (showSlowLog(slowDeliveryThresholdMs, msg.when, dispatchStart, "delivery",
msg)) {
// Once we write a slow delivery log, suppress until the queue drains.
slowDeliveryDetected = true;
}
}
}
if (logSlowDispatch) {
showSlowLog(slowDispatchThresholdMs, dispatchStart, dispatchEnd, "dispatch", 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();
}
for (;;) {}是无限循环，也就是说无限出队，直至无消息可以出队时线程挂起等待。
这种机制其实就是：生产者消费者设计模式。
[本章完...]
