Starting a service from another Apk from a ResolveInfo

Question

I'm creating an app that reads every Service that has an IntentFilter that matches a custom action by using this:

Intent intent = new Intent(ACTION);
List<ResolveInfo> infos = getActivity().getPackageManager()
                .queryIntentServices(intent, 0);

I have no problem retrieving the Services, but when I try to bind them to the current Activity, my IBinder implementation is not passed to onServiceConnected(ComponentName, IBinder). Instead, a BinderProxyis being passed.

How can I get my LocalBinder from that BinderProxy?

EDIT:

Here's my implementation:

public abstract class LocalService extends Service {

    private LocalBinder mBinder = new LocalBinder();

    public class LocalBinder extends Binder {

        public LocalService getServiceInstance() {
            return LocalService.this;
        }
    }

    @Override
    public final IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
        return mBinder;
    }

    public abstract List<Category> getInitialCategories();

    public abstract void onObjectSelected(Item object,
            LocalCallback callback);

}

What I want to do is to be able to call the last 2 methods from other people's implementations of my LocalService.

Answer 1

I don't think you can do that.

You're binding to a service in a different process. It would be impossible to get a reference to your actual LocalBinder instance, because processes cannot share object instances.

---

I haven't tested this scenario myself, but according to the documentation if you need IPC for Services you have two alternatives, either a Messenger or AIDL. The first one seems much simpler.

If you need your interface to work across different processes, you can create an interface for the service with a Messenger. In this manner, the service defines a Handler that responds to different types of Message objects. This Handler is the basis for a Messenger that can then share an IBinder with the client, allowing the client to send commands to the service using Message objects. Additionally, the client can define a Messenger of its own so the service can send messages back.

This is the simplest way to perform interprocess communication (IPC), because the Messenger queues all requests into a single thread so that you don't have to design your service to be thread-safe.