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getApplication() vs getApplicationContext() in Android
Introduction
Android is an operating system designed by Google for mobile devices, based on the Linux kernel and other open-source software. Android is used on smartphones, tablets, watches, televisions and automobiles. Android developers have to use different contexts while developing an application. When it comes to using a context inside a class or method one needs to understand the difference between getApplication() and getApplicationContext(). So in this article we will take a look at getApplication() vs getApplicationContext() in Android.
What is context?
Context is a situation during which some event happens.In android context is considered as the current state of the application or the current state of the object within the application. Context in android is generally used to get the information regarding the other part of your application package or activity.
A context provides access to the information about the overall environment of an application. It represents the different services such as package services managers (for activities), resource manager (for views), power manager (for battery levels) and many more. getApplication() returns a singleton object which is used as a default object of type Application in all other components. On other hand getApplicationContext() also returns a singleton object which contains information about the current state of the application like theme details, version information and others.
What is meant by the getApplication() method?
The getApplication() method is a method of the Context class in Android which returns a context object for the entire application. This can be used to access application-level resources such as shared preferences, resources, and other data. It can also be used to get access to system services such as the activity manager, package manager, and others. This method is often used to provide global information about the application environment.
What is meant by the getApplicationContext() method?
The getApplicationContext() is a method in the Android Application class that returns a context for the entire application. It enables activities, services, and other components to access global information about the application, such as the package name and theme, as well as user-defined information like the application name. It also provides access to system services such as location services and power management. The application context can be accessed from any part of the application and is a safe way to access global application data.
Difference between getApplicationContext() and getApplication()
getApplicationContext() |
getApplication() |
|---|---|
It provides access to the application instance. |
It provides access to the application object. |
It returns the Context object of the current activity. |
It returns the Activity object of the current activity. |
It is mostly used to access the system services like Layout Inflater, Activity Manager, etc. |
It is mostly used to access resources and other activities. |
It is used to access the application level data like shared preferences, database, etc. |
It is used to access the UI components like TextView, EditText, Buttons, etc. |
It is used to get the global application context. |
It is used to get the current activity. |
Conclusion
In this article we have taken a look at the different between getApplication() and getApplicationContext() in Android and How we can use them within our android application.
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