A little confused about apps running...

[kennedy27403]

OK. When I go to the built in Task Manager and say Kill All, it clears the screen of any apps that were shown to be running. But when I go into Settings>Applications>Manage Applications>Running, lots of things show up as running in the background, leading me to believe they are draining battery life. What's more, when I try to close them (for example Google Maps, which says it has been running for 16+ hours) some of them start right back up on the same screen (ie, Google Maps disappears for a second but then reappears with the seconds counting upward). What am I doing wrong? New to Android so sorry if this is dumb question.

 

[yodatom10]

OK. When I go to the built in Task Manager and say Kill All, it clears the screen of any apps that were shown to be running. But when I go into Settings>Applications>Manage Applications>Running, lots of things show up as running in the background, leading me to believe they are draining battery life. What's more, when I try to close them (for example Google Maps, which says it has been running for 16+ hours) some of them start right back up on the same screen (ie, Google Maps disappears for a second but then reappears with the seconds counting upward). What am I doing wrong? New to Android so sorry if this is dumb question.

Just let them be android will Handel that for u. And do not install a task killer. !!!!

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

 

[solo1]

OK. When I go to the built in Task Manager and say Kill All, it clears the screen of any apps that were shown to be running. But when I go into Settings>Applications>Manage Applications>Running, lots of things show up as running in the background, leading me to believe they are draining battery life. What's more, when I try to close them (for example Google Maps, which says it has been running for 16+ hours) some of them start right back up on the same screen (ie, Google Maps disappears for a second but then reappears with the seconds counting upward). What am I doing wrong? New to Android so sorry if this is dumb question.

Android Developers Blog: Multitasking the Android Way

Excerpt Android Developers;

When does an application "stop"?

A common misunderstanding about Android multitasking is the difference between a process and an application. In Android these are not tightly coupled entities: applications may seem present to the user without an actual process currently running the app; multiple applications may share processes, or one application may make use of multiple processes depending on its needs; the process(es) of an application may be kept around by Android even when that application is not actively doing something.

The fact that you can see an application's process "running" does not mean the application is running or doing anything. It may simply be there because Android needed it at some point, and has decided that it would be best to keep it around in case it needs it again. Likewise, you may leave an application for a little bit and return to it from where you left off, and during that time Android may have needed to get rid of the process for other things.

A key to how Android handles applications in this way is that processes don't shut down cleanly. When the user leaves an application, its process is kept around in the background, allowing it to continue working (for example downloading web pages) if needed, and come immediately to the foreground if the user returns to it. If a device never runs out of memory, then Android will keep all of these processes around, truly leaving all applications "running" all of the time.

Of course, there is a limited amount of memory, and to accommodate this Android must decide when to get rid of processes that are not needed. This leads to Android's process lifecycle, the rules it uses to decide how important each process is and thus the next one that should be dropped. These rules are based on both how important a process is for the user's current experience, as well as how long it has been since the process was last needed by the user.

Once Android determines that it needs to remove a process, it does this brutally, simply force-killing it. The kernel can then immediately reclaim all resources needed by the process, without relying on that application being well written and responsive to a polite request to exit. Allowing the kernel to immediately reclaim application resources makes it a lot easier to avoid serious out of memory situations.

If a user later returns to an application that's been killed, Android needs a way to re-launch it in the same state as it was last seen, to preserve the "all applications are running all of the time" experience. This is done by keeping track of the parts of the application the user is aware of (the Activities), and re-starting them with information about the last state they were seen in. This last state is generated each time the user leaves that part of the application, not when it is killed, so that the kernel can later freely kill it without depending on the application to respond correctly at that point.

In some ways, Android's process management can be seen as a form of swap space: application processes represent a certain amount of in-use memory; when memory is low, some processes can be killed (swapped out); when those processes are needed again, they can be re-started from their last saved state (swapped in).

 

[jean15paul]

Android Developers Blog: Multitasking the Android Way

Excerpt Android Developers;

When does an application "stop"?

A common misunderstanding about Android multitasking is the difference between a process and an application. In Android these are not tightly coupled entities: applications may seem present to the user without an actual process currently running the app; multiple applications may share processes, or one application may make use of multiple processes depending on its needs; the process(es) of an application may be kept around by Android even when that application is not actively doing something.

The fact that you can see an application's process "running" does not mean the application is running or doing anything. It may simply be there because Android needed it at some point, and has decided that it would be best to keep it around in case it needs it again. Likewise, you may leave an application for a little bit and return to it from where you left off, and during that time Android may have needed to get rid of the process for other things.

A key to how Android handles applications in this way is that processes don't shut down cleanly. When the user leaves an application, its process is kept around in the background, allowing it to continue working (for example downloading web pages) if needed, and come immediately to the foreground if the user returns to it. If a device never runs out of memory, then Android will keep all of these processes around, truly leaving all applications "running" all of the time.

Of course, there is a limited amount of memory, and to accommodate this Android must decide when to get rid of processes that are not needed. This leads to Android's process lifecycle, the rules it uses to decide how important each process is and thus the next one that should be dropped. These rules are based on both how important a process is for the user's current experience, as well as how long it has been since the process was last needed by the user.

Once Android determines that it needs to remove a process, it does this brutally, simply force-killing it. The kernel can then immediately reclaim all resources needed by the process, without relying on that application being well written and responsive to a polite request to exit. Allowing the kernel to immediately reclaim application resources makes it a lot easier to avoid serious out of memory situations.

If a user later returns to an application that's been killed, Android needs a way to re-launch it in the same state as it was last seen, to preserve the "all applications are running all of the time" experience. This is done by keeping track of the parts of the application the user is aware of (the Activities), and re-starting them with information about the last state they were seen in. This last state is generated each time the user leaves that part of the application, not when it is killed, so that the kernel can later freely kill it without depending on the application to respond correctly at that point.

In some ways, Android's process management can be seen as a form of swap space: application processes represent a certain amount of in-use memory; when memory is low, some processes can be killed (swapped out); when those processes are needed again, they can be re-started from their last saved state (swapped in).

So this raises a couple of questions for me. When I long press the home button and get a list of "recent" applications, does that imply that those applications and/or processes are still running? Also, when I go into the task manager and see a list of "all application" that are running, are those applications or processes? If kill one, what exactly am I doing? force closing the application? the process?

Thanks for the help

 

[solo1]

So this raises a couple of questions for me. When I long press the home button and get a list of "recent" applications, does that imply that those applications and/or processes are still running? Also, when I go into the task manager and see a list of "all application" that are running, are those applications or processes? If kill one, what exactly am I doing? force closing the application? the process?

Thanks for the help

Your recent app list are just that ... Your most recent used apps ... Even if you "forced closed/killed" the app it will still be in that list ... The reason most resources will tell you NOT to use an task killer is because Android uses these background runners for the reason of user experience ... If you manually start killing a particular app it may disrupt another app that may be using it ... Or Android may need it to load faster ... It kills apps as it needs the memory ... The rule of thumb is ... If you have to ask if you need to use a task killer, YOU DON"T NEED IT ... Another fact is that all OS system uses this form of background usage in one form or another ... The only reason the Android community is concerned or even aware of it is because Android is SO open source and Allows the end user way more control of there devices than iOS, Windows Mobile, WebOS, Symbian ... Your car's breaking system is constantly running condition checks and adjusting situations in the background in case it needs to utilize another part of the system to run accurately ... If you start killing or force closing the paths of checks you greatly affect other system operations ... Just let the system do its work

 

[kennedy27403]

Your recent app list are just that ... Your most recent used apps ... Even if you "forced closed/killed" the app it will still be in that list ... The reason most resources will tell you NOT to use an task killer is because Android uses these background runners for the reason of user experience ... If you manually start killing a particular app it may disrupt another app that may be using it ... Or Android may need it to load faster ... It kills apps as it needs the memory ... The rule of thumb is ... If you have to ask if you need to use a task killer, YOU DON"T NEED IT ... Another fact is that all OS system uses this form of background usage in one form or another ... The only reason the Android community is concerned or even aware of it is because Android is SO open source and Allows the end user way more control of there devices than iOS, Windows Mobile, WebOS, Symbian ... Your car's breaking system is constantly running condition checks and adjusting situations in the background in case it needs to utilize another part of the system to run accurately ... If you start killing or force closing the paths of checks you greatly affect other system operations ... Just let the system do its work

So are you saying that I should never worry about killing apps in the task manager? I pretty much do this every time I power down the phone. I guess I'm assuming that all those open apps are draining the battery. How accurate/inaccurate is this?

 

[solo1]

So are you saying that I should never worry about killing apps in the task manager? I pretty much do this every time I power down the phone. I guess I'm assuming that all those open apps are draining the battery. How accurate/inaccurate is this?

You closing all those apps are doing just the opposite of saving battery resource ... Imagine your home furnace heater ... It takes less energy to keep it in a comfort zone than to keep turning it completely off when you get hot ... It takes more battery to completely open an app than to just have it available in the background ready to go if need be ... Remember just because it says its running doesn't mean its using battery power ... Android shuts apps down according to what your pattern of usage is when it needs resources ... Your best form of battery reserves is to watch whats happening in the foreground , not the background.

 

[mauddib]

Here is a good link that goes into why you shouldn't need a task killer.

FAQ: Why You Shouldn’t Be Using a Task Killer with Android

 

[kennedy27403]

So all those open apps aren't actually using up any battery, with the exception of programs that pull live information, say like Weatherbug or an Email app? And even those I guess use less battery the longer you have them set to update new info?

 

[TheMatrix31]

Interesting. So just don't even use the built-in task killer at all? I just get paranoid about the phone slowing down and stuff, but if that's not a problem, then, I'll have to learn not to use the built-in one.

 

[wseyller]

Only time I kill an app is if it goes roque. There are a handfull of apps around that will keep the processor active for no good reason even though it is not in focus. Some even might keep the gps active when it shouldn't. If I run into apps like those they get uninstalled. For the most part apps stay in memory but there is no processor activity unless they are syncing some information on a determined schedule.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[tkemack]

I use an app called "watch dog" it let's me see what is doing what and if an app is misbehaving. I don't ever kill anything unless it's one of those poorly written rogue Apps. And like the previous poster, and I delete them after they go crazy

sent to you in three dimensions

 

[vanjangles]

Interesting. So just don't even use the built-in task killer at all? I just get paranoid about the phone slowing down and stuff, but if that's not a problem, then, I'll have to learn not to use the built-in one.

I don't think you should not ever use it, just use it when you need to. Adroid does a good job of killing tasks when you don't use them for a while. But sometimes you may want or need to close them yourself which is exactly what the built in task manager is for.

 

[vanjangles]

OK. When I go to the built in Task Manager and say Kill All, it clears the screen of any apps that were shown to be running. But when I go into Settings>Applications>Manage Applications>Running, lots of things show up as running in the background, leading me to believe they are draining battery life. What's more, when I try to close them (for example Google Maps, which says it has been running for 16+ hours) some of them start right back up on the same screen (ie, Google Maps disappears for a second but then reappears with the seconds counting upward). What am I doing wrong? New to Android so sorry if this is dumb question.

If you search for the thread called "RAM usage" it discusses this a little bit. Basically what shows in the task manager vs. what shows in running services is backwards. The RAM usage at the bottom of the running services is what is really being used and what shows in the task manager includes all of the processes or "caches" that are going on. I emailed HTC and they know about the problem, whether anything gets done is a different story. But everything that solo1 is saying is correct, the system keeps caches open to load programs faster, those programs are not actively running just stored for future use.

 

[kennedy27403]

So how exactly do I identify 'rogue' applications? Do I have to use an app or is there something already on the phones to do this?

 

[tkemack]

like I said, I try watch dog. It's free. You can set the threshold to however you like. I use 30 or 40%, so when an app uses that much of your cpu it will notify you. You can then kill it separately from everything else if you'd like

 

[kennedy27403]

I'll give Watchdog a shot. Do you know if it consumes much battery? Looks like the default polling interval is every minute. Seems like that might use a bit of power in the background.

 

[tkemack]

It is currently using .2% of CPU running as a service, this is also with the widget (optional to use) that's pretty minuscule

 

[Saneless]

I use quick system info. You can see the CPU of any process and if for some reason one is using too much you can kill it