Why backup related process might cause Application's onCreate is not executed?

Cheok Yan Cheng :

It is common to have Application class as follow

public class WeNoteApplication extends MultiDexApplication {
    public static WeNoteApplication instance() {
        return me;
    }

    @Override
    public void onCreate() {
        super.onCreate();

        me = this;

---

During normal circumstance, Application's onCreate will always be called before entry point Activity's onCreate.

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

        // Normally, it will NOT be null.
        android.util.Log.i("CHEOK", "WeNoteApplication -> " + WeNoteApplication.instance());

However, if I run the following command while the app is launched

c:\yocto>adb shell bmgr restore com.yocto.wenote
restoreStarting: 1 packages
onUpdate: 0 = com.yocto.wenote
restoreFinished: 0
done

The app will be closed. If, I tap on the app icon to launch again. This is what happens

1. Application's onCreate is not executed!
2. Activity's onCreate is executed, and WeNoteApplication.instance() is null

I look at some Google's Android source code (WorkManager for instance)

https://github.com/googlecodelabs/android-workmanager/issues/80

In their comment, they states that

// 1. The app is performing an auto-backup.  Prior to O, JobScheduler could erroneously
//    try to send commands to JobService in this state (b/32180780).  Since neither
//    Application#onCreate nor ContentProviders have run,...

It seems that, if backup related process is involved, Application's onCreate will not be executed!

Why it is so? Is this behavior ever documented some where?

---

Issue tracker

https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/138423608

---

Full example for bug demonstration

https://github.com/yccheok/AutoBackup-bug

Mattia Maestrini :

You can bypass your issue with this workaround.

The idea behind this is to create a custom BackupAgent to receive notification of onRestoreFinished event and then kill your process, so the next time you will open the app the system will create your custom Application class.

Usually using a custom BackupAgent force you to implement the abstract methods onBackup and onRestore, which are used for key-value backup. Luckily if you specify android:fullBackupOnly in the manifest, the system will use the file-based Auto Backup instead, as explained here.

First of all, create the custom BackupAgent:

package com.yocto.cheok;

import android.app.ActivityManager;
import android.app.backup.BackupAgent;
import android.app.backup.BackupDataInput;
import android.app.backup.BackupDataOutput;
import android.content.Context;
import android.os.ParcelFileDescriptor;
import android.os.Process;

import java.util.List;

public class CustomBackupAgent extends BackupAgent {

    private Boolean isRestoreFinished = false;

    @Override
    public void onBackup(ParcelFileDescriptor oldState, BackupDataOutput data, ParcelFileDescriptor newState) {
        //NO-OP - abstract method
    }

    @Override
    public void onRestore(BackupDataInput data, int appVersionCode, ParcelFileDescriptor newState) {
        //NO-OP - abstract method
    }

    @Override
    public void onRestoreFinished() {
        super.onRestoreFinished();

        isRestoreFinished = true;
    }

    @Override
    public void onDestroy() {
        super.onDestroy();

        if (isRestoreFinished) {
            ActivityManager activityManager = (ActivityManager) getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE);

            if (activityManager != null) {
                final List<ActivityManager.RunningAppProcessInfo> runningServices = activityManager.getRunningAppProcesses();

                if (runningServices != null &&
                        runningServices.size() > 0 &&
                        runningServices.get(0).processName.equals("com.yocto.cheok")
                ) {
                    Process.killProcess(runningServices.get(0).pid);
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

then add android:backupAgent="com.yocto.cheok.CustomBackupAgent" and android:fullBackupOnly="true" to the Android manifest:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="com.yocto.cheok">

    <application
        android:name="com.yocto.cheok.CheokApplication"
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:backupAgent="com.yocto.cheok.CustomBackupAgent"
        android:fullBackupContent="@xml/my_backup_rules"
        android:fullBackupOnly="true"
        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
        android:supportsRtl="true"
        android:theme="@style/AppTheme">
        <activity android:name="com.yocto.cheok.MainActivity">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
    </application>

</manifest>

Next time you will lunch the app after a restore you will get:

2019-07-28 22:25:33.528 6956-6956/com.yocto.cheok I/CHEOK: CheokApplication onCreate
2019-07-28 22:25:33.642 6956-6956/com.yocto.cheok I/CHEOK: In MainActivity, CheokApplication = com.yocto.cheok.CheokApplication@7b28a29