path: root/docs/html/training/game-controllers/compatibility.jd

page.title=Supporting Controllers Across Android Versions
trainingnavtop=true

@jd:body

<!-- This is the training bar -->
<div id="tb-wrapper">
<div id="tb">

<h2>This lesson teaches you to</h2>
<ol>
  <li><a href="#prepare">Prepare to Abstract APIs for Game Controller
Suppport</a></li>
  <li><a href="#abstraction">Add an Interface for Backward Compatibility</a></li>
  <li><a href="#newer">Implement the Interface on Android 4.1 and Higher</a></li>
  <li><a href="#older">Implement the Interface on Android 2.3 up to Android
4.0</a></li>
  <li><a href="#using">Use the Version-Specific Implementations</a></li>
</ol>

<h2>Try it out</h2>
<div class="download-box">
  <a href="http://developer.android.com/shareables/training/ControllerSample.zip"
class="button">Download the sample</a>
  <p class="filename">ControllerSample.zip</p>
</div>

</div>
</div>

<p>If you are supporting game controllers in your game, it's your responsibility
to make sure that your game responds to controllers consistently across devices
running on different versions of Android. This lets your game reach a wider
audience, and your players can enjoy a seamless gameplay experience with
their controllers even when they switch or upgrade their Android devices.</p>

<p>This lesson demonstrates how to use APIs available in Android 4.1 and higher
in a backward compatible way, enabling your game to support the following
features on devices running Android 2.3 and higher:</p>
<ul>
<li>The game can detect if a new game controller is added, changed, or removed.</li>
<li>The game can query the capabilities of a game controller.</li>
<li>The game can recognize incoming motion events from a game controller.</li>
</ul>

<p>The examples in this lesson are based on the reference implementation
provided by the sample {@code ControllerSample.zip} available for download
above. This sample shows how to implement the {@code InputManagerCompat}
interface to support different versions of Android. To compile the sample, you
must use Android 4.1 (API level 16) or higher. Once compiled, the sample app
runs on any device running Android 2.3 (API level 9) or higher as the build
target.
</p>

<h2 id="prepare">Prepare to Abstract APIs for Game Controller Support</h2>
<p>Suppose you want to be able to determine if a game controller's connection
status has changed on devices running on Android 2.3 (API level 9). However,
the APIs are only available in Android 4.1 (API level 16) and higher, so you
need to provide an implementation that supports Android 4.1 and higher while
providing a fallback mechanism that supports Android 2.3 up to Android 4.0.</p>

<p>To help you determine which features require such a fallback mechanism for
    older versions, table 1 lists the differences in game controller support
    between Android 2.3 (API level 9), 3.1 (API level 12), and 4.1 (API level
    16).</p>

<p class="table-caption" id="game-controller-support-table">
<strong>Table 1.</strong> APIs for game controller support across
different Android versions.
</p>

<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Controller Information</th>
<th>Controller API</th>
<th>API level 9</th>
<th>API level 12</th>
<th>API level 16</th>
</tr>

<tr>
<td rowspan="5">Device Identification</td>
<td>{@link android.hardware.input.InputManager#getInputDeviceIds()}</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&nbsp;</big></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&nbsp;</big></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>{@link android.hardware.input.InputManager#getInputDevice(int)
getInputDevice()}</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&nbsp;</big></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>{@link android.view.InputDevice#getVibrator()}</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&nbsp;</big></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
</tr>

<td>{@link android.view.InputDevice#SOURCE_JOYSTICK}</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>{@link android.view.InputDevice#SOURCE_GAMEPAD}</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td rowspan="3">Connection Status</td>
<td>{@link android.hardware.input.InputManager.InputDeviceListener#onInputDeviceAdded(int) onInputDeviceAdded()}</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>{@link android.hardware.input.InputManager.InputDeviceListener#onInputDeviceChanged(int) onInputDeviceChanged()}</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>{@link android.hardware.input.InputManager.InputDeviceListener#onInputDeviceRemoved(int) onInputDeviceRemoved()}</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td rowspan="4">Input Event Identification</td>
<td>D-pad press (
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_DPAD_UP},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_DPAD_LEFT},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_DPAD_RIGHT},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER})</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>Gamepad button press (
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_BUTTON_A BUTTON_A},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_BUTTON_B BUTTON_B},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_BUTTON_THUMBL BUTTON_THUMBL},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_BUTTON_THUMBR BUTTON_THUMBR},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_BUTTON_SELECT BUTTON_SELECT},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_BUTTON_START BUTTON_START},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_BUTTON_R1 BUTTON_R1},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_BUTTON_L1 BUTTON_L1},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_BUTTON_R2 BUTTON_R2},
{@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_BUTTON_L2 BUTTON_L2})</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>Joystick and hat switch movement (
{@link android.view.MotionEvent#AXIS_X},
{@link android.view.MotionEvent#AXIS_Y},
{@link android.view.MotionEvent#AXIS_Z},
{@link android.view.MotionEvent#AXIS_RZ},
{@link android.view.MotionEvent#AXIS_HAT_X},
{@link android.view.MotionEvent#AXIS_HAT_Y})</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>Analog trigger press (
{@link android.view.MotionEvent#AXIS_LTRIGGER},
{@link android.view.MotionEvent#AXIS_RTRIGGER})</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><big>&bull;</big></td>
</tr>

</tbody>
</table>

<p>You can use abstraction to build version-aware game controller support that
works across platforms. This approach involves the following steps:</p>
<ol>
<li>Define an intermediary Java interface that abstracts the implementation of
the game controller features required by your game.</li>
<li>Create a proxy implementation of your interface that uses APIs in Android
4.1 and higher.</li>
<li>Create a custom implementation of your interface that uses APIs available
between Android 2.3 up to Android 4.0.</li>
<li>Create the logic for switching between these implementations at runtime,
and begin using the interface in your game.</li>
</ol>

<p>For an overview of how abstraction can be used to ensure that applications
can work in a backward compatible way across different versions of Android, see
<a href="{@docRoot}training/backward-compatible-ui/index.html">Creating
Backward-Compatible UIs</a>.
</p>

<h2 id="abstraction">Add an Interface for Backward Compatibility</h2>

<p>To provide backward compatibility, you can create a custom interface then
add version-specific implementations. One advantage of this approach is that it
lets you mirror the public interfaces on Android 4.1 (API level 16) that
support game controllers.</p>
<pre>
// The InputManagerCompat interface is a reference example.
// The full code is provided in the ControllerSample.zip sample.
public interface InputManagerCompat {
    ...
    public InputDevice getInputDevice(int id);
    public int[] getInputDeviceIds();

    public void registerInputDeviceListener(
            InputManagerCompat.InputDeviceListener listener,
            Handler handler);
    public void unregisterInputDeviceListener(
            InputManagerCompat.InputDeviceListener listener);

    public void onGenericMotionEvent(MotionEvent event);

    public void onPause();
    public void onResume();

    public interface InputDeviceListener {
        void onInputDeviceAdded(int deviceId);
        void onInputDeviceChanged(int deviceId);
        void onInputDeviceRemoved(int deviceId);
    }
    ...
}
</pre>
<p>The {@code InputManagerCompat} interface provides the following methods:</p>
<dl>
<dt>{@code getInputDevice()}</dt>
<dd>Mirrors {@link android.hardware.input.InputManager#getInputDevice(int)
getInputDevice()}. Obtains the {@link android.view.InputDevice}
object that represents the capabilities of a game controller.</dd>
<dt>{@code getInputDeviceIds()}</dt>
<dd>Mirrors {@link android.hardware.input.InputManager#getInputDeviceIds()
getInputDeviceIds()}. Returns an array of integers, each of
which is an ID for a different input device. This is useful if you're building
a game that supports multiple players and you want to detect how many
controllers are connected.</dd>
<dt>{@code registerInputDeviceListener()}</dt>
<dd>Mirrors {@link android.hardware.input.InputManager#registerInputDeviceListener(android.hardware.input.InputManager.InputDeviceListener, android.os.Handler)
registerInputDeviceListener()}. Lets you register to be informed when a new
device is added, changed, or removed.</dd>
<dt>{@code unregisterInputDeviceListener()}</dt>
<dd>Mirrors {@link android.hardware.input.InputManager#unregisterInputDeviceListener(android.hardware.input.InputManager.InputDeviceListener) unregisterInputDeviceListener()}.
Unregisters an input device listener.</dd>
<dt>{@code onGenericMotionEvent()}</dt>
<dd>Mirrors {@link android.view.View#onGenericMotionEvent(android.view.MotionEvent)
onGenericMotionEvent()}. Lets your game intercept and handle
{@link android.view.MotionEvent} objects and axis values that represent events
such as joystick movements and analog trigger presses.</dd>
<dt>{@code onPause()}</dt>
<dd>Stops polling for game controller events when the
main activity is paused, or when the game no longer has focus.</dd>
<dt>{@code onResume()}</dt>
<dd>Starts polling for game controller events when the
main activity is resumed, or when the game is started and runs in the
foreground.</dd>
<dt>{@code InputDeviceListener}</dt>
<dd>Mirrors the {@link android.hardware.input.InputManager.InputDeviceListener}
interface. Lets your game know when a game controller has been added, changed, or
removed.</dd>
</dl>
<p>Next, create implementations for {@code InputManagerCompat} that work
across different platform versions. If your game is running on Android 4.1 or
higher and calls an {@code InputManagerCompat} method, the proxy implementation
calls the equivalent method in {@link android.hardware.input.InputManager}.
However, if your game is running on Android 2.3 up to Android 4.0, the custom implementation processes calls to {@code InputManagerCompat} methods by using
only APIs introduced no later than Android 2.3. Regardless of which
version-specific implementation is used at runtime, the implementation passes
the call results back transparently to the game.</p>

<img src="{@docRoot}images/training/backward-compatible-inputmanager.png" alt=""
id="figure1" />
<p class="img-caption">
  <strong>Figure 1.</strong> Class diagram of interface and version-specific
implementations.
</p>

<h2 id="newer">Implement the Interface on Android 4.1 and Higher</h2>
<p>{@code InputManagerCompatV16} is an implementation of the
{@code InputManagerCompat} interface that proxies method calls to an
actual {@link android.hardware.input.InputManager} and {@link
android.hardware.input.InputManager.InputDeviceListener}. The
{@link android.hardware.input.InputManager} is obtained from the system
{@link android.content.Context}.</p>

<pre>
// The InputManagerCompatV16 class is a reference implementation.
// The full code is provided in the ControllerSample.zip sample.
public class InputManagerV16 implements InputManagerCompat {

    private final InputManager mInputManager;
    private final Map<InputManagerCompat.InputDeviceListener,
            V16InputDeviceListener> mListeners;

    public InputManagerV16(Context context) {
        mInputManager = (InputManager)
                context.getSystemService(Context.INPUT_SERVICE);
        mListeners = new HashMap<InputManagerCompat.InputDeviceListener,
                V16InputDeviceListener>();
    }

    &#64;Override
    public InputDevice getInputDevice(int id) {
        return mInputManager.getInputDevice(id);
    }

    &#64;Override
    public int[] getInputDeviceIds() {
        return mInputManager.getInputDeviceIds();
    }

    static class V16InputDeviceListener implements
            InputManager.InputDeviceListener {
        final InputManagerCompat.InputDeviceListener mIDL;

        public V16InputDeviceListener(InputDeviceListener idl) {
            mIDL = idl;
        }

        &#64;Override
        public void onInputDeviceAdded(int deviceId) {
            mIDL.onInputDeviceAdded(deviceId);
        }

        // Do the same for device change and removal
        ...
    }

    &#64;Override
    public void registerInputDeviceListener(InputDeviceListener listener,
            Handler handler) {
        V16InputDeviceListener v16Listener = new
                V16InputDeviceListener(listener);
        mInputManager.registerInputDeviceListener(v16Listener, handler);
        mListeners.put(listener, v16Listener);
    }

    // Do the same for unregistering an input device listener
    ...

    &#64;Override
    public void onGenericMotionEvent(MotionEvent event) {
        // unused in V16
    }

    &#64;Override
    public void onPause() {
        // unused in V16
    }

    &#64;Override
    public void onResume() {
        // unused in V16
    }

}
</pre>

<h2 id="older">Implementing the Interface on Android 2.3 up to Android 4.0</h2>

<p>The {@code InputManagerV9} implementation uses APIs introduced no later
than Android 2.3. To create an implementation of {@code
InputManagerCompat} that supports Android 2.3 up to Android 4.0, you can use
the following objects:
<ul>
<li>A {@link android.util.SparseArray} of device IDs to track the
game controllers that are connected to the device.</li>
<li>A {@link android.os.Handler} to process device events. When an app is started
or resumed, the {@link android.os.Handler} receives a message to start polling
for game controller disconnection. The {@link android.os.Handler} will start a
loop to check each known connected game controller and see if a device ID is
returned. A {@code null} return value indicates that the game controller is
disconnected. The {@link android.os.Handler} stops polling when the app is
paused.</li>
<li>A {@link java.util.Map} of {@code InputManagerCompat.InputDeviceListener}
objects. You will use the listeners to update the connection status of tracked
game controllers.</li>
</ul>

<pre>
// The InputManagerCompatV9 class is a reference implementation.
// The full code is provided in the ControllerSample.zip sample.
public class InputManagerV9 implements InputManagerCompat {
    private final SparseArray<long[]> mDevices;
    private final Map<InputDeviceListener, Handler> mListeners;
    private final Handler mDefaultHandler;
    …

    public InputManagerV9() {
        mDevices = new SparseArray<long[]>();
        mListeners = new HashMap<InputDeviceListener, Handler>();
        mDefaultHandler = new PollingMessageHandler(this);
    }
}
</pre>

<p>Implement a {@code PollingMessageHandler} object that extends
{@link android.os.Handler}, and override the
{@link android.os.Handler#handleMessage(android.os.Message) handleMessage()}
method. This method checks if an attached game controller has been
disconnected and notifies registered listeners.</p>

<pre>
private static class PollingMessageHandler extends Handler {
    private final WeakReference<InputManagerV9> mInputManager;

    PollingMessageHandler(InputManagerV9 im) {
        mInputManager = new WeakReference<InputManagerV9>(im);
    }

    &#64;Override
    public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
        super.handleMessage(msg);
        switch (msg.what) {
            case MESSAGE_TEST_FOR_DISCONNECT:
                InputManagerV9 imv = mInputManager.get();
                if (null != imv) {
                    long time = SystemClock.elapsedRealtime();
                    int size = imv.mDevices.size();
                    for (int i = 0; i &lt; size; i++) {
                        long[] lastContact = imv.mDevices.valueAt(i);
                        if (null != lastContact) {
                            if (time - lastContact[0] > CHECK_ELAPSED_TIME) {
                                // check to see if the device has been
                                // disconnected
                                int id = imv.mDevices.keyAt(i);
                                if (null == InputDevice.getDevice(id)) {
                                    // Notify the registered listeners
                                    // that the game controller is disconnected
                                    ...
                                    imv.mDevices.remove(id);
                                } else {
                                    lastContact[0] = time;
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                    sendEmptyMessageDelayed(MESSAGE_TEST_FOR_DISCONNECT,
                            CHECK_ELAPSED_TIME);
                }
                break;
        }
    }
}
</pre>

<p>To start and stop polling for game controller disconnection, override
these methods:</p>
<pre>
private static final int MESSAGE_TEST_FOR_DISCONNECT = 101;
private static final long CHECK_ELAPSED_TIME = 3000L;

&#64;Override
public void onPause() {
    mDefaultHandler.removeMessages(MESSAGE_TEST_FOR_DISCONNECT);
}

&#64;Override
public void onResume() {
    mDefaultHandler.sendEmptyMessageDelayed(MESSAGE_TEST_FOR_DISCONNECT,
            CHECK_ELAPSED_TIME);
}
</pre>

<p>To detect that an input device has been added, override the
{@code onGenericMotionEvent()} method. When the system reports a motion event,
check if this event came from a device ID that is already tracked, or from a
new device ID. If the device ID is new, notify registered listeners.</p>

<pre>
&#64;Override
public void onGenericMotionEvent(MotionEvent event) {
    // detect new devices
    int id = event.getDeviceId();
    long[] timeArray = mDevices.get(id);
    if (null == timeArray) {
        // Notify the registered listeners that a game controller is added
        ...
        timeArray = new long[1];
        mDevices.put(id, timeArray);
    }
    long time = SystemClock.elapsedRealtime();
    timeArray[0] = time;
}
</pre>

<p>Notification of listeners is implemented by using the
{@link android.os.Handler} object to send a {@code DeviceEvent}
{@link java.lang.Runnable} object to the message queue. The {@code DeviceEvent}
contains a reference to an {@code InputManagerCompat.InputDeviceListener}. When
the {@code DeviceEvent} runs, the appropriate callback method of the listener
is called to signal if the game controller was added, changed, or removed.
</p>

<pre>
&#64;Override
public void registerInputDeviceListener(InputDeviceListener listener,
        Handler handler) {
    mListeners.remove(listener);
    if (handler == null) {
        handler = mDefaultHandler;
    }
    mListeners.put(listener, handler);
}

&#64;Override
public void unregisterInputDeviceListener(InputDeviceListener listener) {
    mListeners.remove(listener);
}

private void notifyListeners(int why, int deviceId) {
    // the state of some device has changed
    if (!mListeners.isEmpty()) {
        for (InputDeviceListener listener : mListeners.keySet()) {
            Handler handler = mListeners.get(listener);
            DeviceEvent odc = DeviceEvent.getDeviceEvent(why, deviceId,
                    listener);
            handler.post(odc);
        }
    }
}

private static class DeviceEvent implements Runnable {
    private int mMessageType;
    private int mId;
    private InputDeviceListener mListener;
    private static Queue<DeviceEvent> sObjectQueue =
            new ArrayDeque<DeviceEvent>();
    ...

    static DeviceEvent getDeviceEvent(int messageType, int id,
            InputDeviceListener listener) {
        DeviceEvent curChanged = sObjectQueue.poll();
        if (null == curChanged) {
            curChanged = new DeviceEvent();
        }
        curChanged.mMessageType = messageType;
        curChanged.mId = id;
        curChanged.mListener = listener;
        return curChanged;
    }

    &#64;Override
    public void run() {
        switch (mMessageType) {
            case ON_DEVICE_ADDED:
                mListener.onInputDeviceAdded(mId);
                break;
            case ON_DEVICE_CHANGED:
                mListener.onInputDeviceChanged(mId);
                break;
            case ON_DEVICE_REMOVED:
                mListener.onInputDeviceRemoved(mId);
                break;
            default:
                // Handle unknown message type
                ...
                break;
        }
        // Put this runnable back in the queue
        sObjectQueue.offer(this);
    }
}
</pre>

<p>You now have two implementations of {@code InputManagerCompat}: one that
works on devices running Android 4.1 and higher, and another
that works on devices running Android 2.3 up to Android 4.0.</p>

<h2 id="using">Use the Version-Specific Implementation</h2>
<p>The version-specific switching logic is implemented in a class that acts as
a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_(software_concept)"
class="external-link" target="_blank">factory</a>.</p>
<pre>
public static class Factory {
    public static InputManagerCompat getInputManager(Context context) {
        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.JELLY_BEAN) {
            return new InputManagerV16(context);
        } else {
            return new InputManagerV9();
        }
    }
}
</pre>
<p>Now you can simply instantiate an {@code InputManagerCompat} object and
register an {@code InputManagerCompat.InputDeviceListener} in your main
{@link android.view.View}. Because of the version-switching logic you set
up, your game automatically uses the implementation that's appropriate for the
version of Android the device is running.</p>
<pre>
public class GameView extends View implements InputDeviceListener {
    private InputManagerCompat mInputManager;
    ...

    public GameView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
        mInputManager =
                InputManagerCompat.Factory.getInputManager(this.getContext());
        mInputManager.registerInputDeviceListener(this, null);
        ...
    }
}
</pre>
<p>Next, override the
{@link android.view.View#onGenericMotionEvent(android.view.MotionEvent)
onGenericMotionEvent()} method in your main view, as described in
<a href="controller-input.html#analog">Handle a MotionEvent from a Game
Controller</a>. Your game should now be able to process game controller events
consistently on devices running Android 2.3 (API level 9) and higher.
<p>
<pre>
&#64;Override
public boolean onGenericMotionEvent(MotionEvent event) {
    mInputManager.onGenericMotionEvent(event);

    // Handle analog input from the controller as normal
    ...
    return super.onGenericMotionEvent(event);
}
</pre>
<p>You can find a complete implementation of this compatibility code in the
{@code GameView} class provided in the sample {@code ControllerSample.zip}
available for download above.</p>