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1 /*
2  * Copyright (C) 2006 The Android Open Source Project
3  *
4  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
5  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
6  * You may obtain a copy of the License at
7  *
8  *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
9  *
10  * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
11  * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
12  * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
13  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
14  * limitations under the License.
15  */
16 
17 package android.os;
18 
19 import java.io.FileDescriptor;
20 import java.io.PrintWriter;
21 
22 /**
23  * Base interface for a remotable object, the core part of a lightweight
24  * remote procedure call mechanism designed for high performance when
25  * performing in-process and cross-process calls.  This
26  * interface describes the abstract protocol for interacting with a
27  * remotable object.  Do not implement this interface directly, instead
28  * extend from {@link Binder}.
29  *
30  * <p>The key IBinder API is {@link #transact transact()} matched by
31  * {@link Binder#onTransact Binder.onTransact()}.  These
32  * methods allow you to send a call to an IBinder object and receive a
33  * call coming in to a Binder object, respectively.  This transaction API
34  * is synchronous, such that a call to {@link #transact transact()} does not
35  * return until the target has returned from
36  * {@link Binder#onTransact Binder.onTransact()}; this is the
37  * expected behavior when calling an object that exists in the local
38  * process, and the underlying inter-process communication (IPC) mechanism
39  * ensures that these same semantics apply when going across processes.
40  *
41  * <p>The data sent through transact() is a {@link Parcel}, a generic buffer
42  * of data that also maintains some meta-data about its contents.  The meta
43  * data is used to manage IBinder object references in the buffer, so that those
44  * references can be maintained as the buffer moves across processes.  This
45  * mechanism ensures that when an IBinder is written into a Parcel and sent to
46  * another process, if that other process sends a reference to that same IBinder
47  * back to the original process, then the original process will receive the
48  * same IBinder object back.  These semantics allow IBinder/Binder objects to
49  * be used as a unique identity (to serve as a token or for other purposes)
50  * that can be managed across processes.
51  *
52  * <p>The system maintains a pool of transaction threads in each process that
53  * it runs in.  These threads are used to dispatch all
54  * IPCs coming in from other processes.  For example, when an IPC is made from
55  * process A to process B, the calling thread in A blocks in transact() as
56  * it sends the transaction to process B.  The next available pool thread in
57  * B receives the incoming transaction, calls Binder.onTransact() on the target
58  * object, and replies with the result Parcel.  Upon receiving its result, the
59  * thread in process A returns to allow its execution to continue.  In effect,
60  * other processes appear to use as additional threads that you did not create
61  * executing in your own process.
62  *
63  * <p>The Binder system also supports recursion across processes.  For example
64  * if process A performs a transaction to process B, and process B while
65  * handling that transaction calls transact() on an IBinder that is implemented
66  * in A, then the thread in A that is currently waiting for the original
67  * transaction to finish will take care of calling Binder.onTransact() on the
68  * object being called by B.  This ensures that the recursion semantics when
69  * calling remote binder object are the same as when calling local objects.
70  *
71  * <p>When working with remote objects, you often want to find out when they
72  * are no longer valid.  There are three ways this can be determined:
73  * <ul>
74  * <li> The {@link #transact transact()} method will throw a
75  * {@link RemoteException} exception if you try to call it on an IBinder
76  * whose process no longer exists.
77  * <li> The {@link #pingBinder()} method can be called, and will return false
78  * if the remote process no longer exists.
79  * <li> The {@link #linkToDeath linkToDeath()} method can be used to register
80  * a {@link DeathRecipient} with the IBinder, which will be called when its
81  * containing process goes away.
82  * </ul>
83  *
84  * @see Binder
85  */
86 public interface IBinder {
87     /**
88      * The first transaction code available for user commands.
89      */
90     int FIRST_CALL_TRANSACTION  = 0x00000001;
91     /**
92      * The last transaction code available for user commands.
93      */
94     int LAST_CALL_TRANSACTION   = 0x00ffffff;
95 
96     /**
97      * IBinder protocol transaction code: pingBinder().
98      */
99     int PING_TRANSACTION        = ('_'<<24)|('P'<<16)|('N'<<8)|'G';
100 
101     /**
102      * IBinder protocol transaction code: dump internal state.
103      */
104     int DUMP_TRANSACTION        = ('_'<<24)|('D'<<16)|('M'<<8)|'P';
105 
106     /**
107      * IBinder protocol transaction code: interrogate the recipient side
108      * of the transaction for its canonical interface descriptor.
109      */
110     int INTERFACE_TRANSACTION   = ('_'<<24)|('N'<<16)|('T'<<8)|'F';
111 
112     /**
113      * Flag to {@link #transact}: this is a one-way call, meaning that the
114      * caller returns immediately, without waiting for a result from the
115      * callee.
116      */
117     int FLAG_ONEWAY             = 0x00000001;
118 
119     /**
120      * Get the canonical name of the interface supported by this binder.
121      */
getInterfaceDescriptor()122     public String getInterfaceDescriptor() throws RemoteException;
123 
124     /**
125      * Check to see if the object still exists.
126      *
127      * @return Returns false if the
128      * hosting process is gone, otherwise the result (always by default
129      * true) returned by the pingBinder() implementation on the other
130      * side.
131      */
pingBinder()132     public boolean pingBinder();
133 
134     /**
135      * Check to see if the process that the binder is in is still alive.
136      *
137      * @return false if the process is not alive.  Note that if it returns
138      * true, the process may have died while the call is returning.
139      */
isBinderAlive()140     public boolean isBinderAlive();
141 
142     /**
143      * Attempt to retrieve a local implementation of an interface
144      * for this Binder object.  If null is returned, you will need
145      * to instantiate a proxy class to marshall calls through
146      * the transact() method.
147      */
queryLocalInterface(String descriptor)148     public IInterface queryLocalInterface(String descriptor);
149 
150     /**
151      * Print the object's state into the given stream.
152      *
153      * @param fd The raw file descriptor that the dump is being sent to.
154      * @param args additional arguments to the dump request.
155      */
dump(FileDescriptor fd, String[] args)156     public void dump(FileDescriptor fd, String[] args) throws RemoteException;
157 
158     /**
159      * Perform a generic operation with the object.
160      *
161      * @param code The action to perform.  This should
162      * be a number between {@link #FIRST_CALL_TRANSACTION} and
163      * {@link #LAST_CALL_TRANSACTION}.
164      * @param data Marshalled data to send to the target.  Most not be null.
165      * If you are not sending any data, you must create an empty Parcel
166      * that is given here.
167      * @param reply Marshalled data to be received from the target.  May be
168      * null if you are not interested in the return value.
169      * @param flags Additional operation flags.  Either 0 for a normal
170      * RPC, or {@link #FLAG_ONEWAY} for a one-way RPC.
171      */
transact(int code, Parcel data, Parcel reply, int flags)172     public boolean transact(int code, Parcel data, Parcel reply, int flags)
173         throws RemoteException;
174 
175     /**
176      * Interface for receiving a callback when the process hosting an IBinder
177      * has gone away.
178      *
179      * @see #linkToDeath
180      */
181     public interface DeathRecipient {
binderDied()182         public void binderDied();
183     }
184 
185     /**
186      * Register the recipient for a notification if this binder
187      * goes away.  If this binder object unexpectedly goes away
188      * (typically because its hosting process has been killed),
189      * then the given {@link DeathRecipient}'s
190      * {@link DeathRecipient#binderDied DeathRecipient.binderDied()} method
191      * will be called.
192      *
193      * <p>You will only receive death notifications for remote binders,
194      * as local binders by definition can't die without you dying as well.
195      *
196      * @throws Throws {@link RemoteException} if the target IBinder's
197      * process has already died.
198      *
199      * @see #unlinkToDeath
200      */
linkToDeath(DeathRecipient recipient, int flags)201     public void linkToDeath(DeathRecipient recipient, int flags)
202             throws RemoteException;
203 
204     /**
205      * Remove a previously registered death notification.
206      * The recipient will no longer be called if this object
207      * dies.
208      *
209      * @return Returns true if the <var>recipient</var> is successfully
210      * unlinked, assuring you that its
211      * {@link DeathRecipient#binderDied DeathRecipient.binderDied()} method
212      * will not be called.  Returns false if the target IBinder has already
213      * died, meaning the method has been (or soon will be) called.
214      *
215      * @throws Throws {@link java.util.NoSuchElementException} if the given
216      * <var>recipient</var> has not been registered with the IBinder, and
217      * the IBinder is still alive.  Note that if the <var>recipient</var>
218      * was never registered, but the IBinder has already died, then this
219      * exception will <em>not</em> be thrown, and you will receive a false
220      * return value instead.
221      */
unlinkToDeath(DeathRecipient recipient, int flags)222     public boolean unlinkToDeath(DeathRecipient recipient, int flags);
223 }
224