I don't understand why android starts apps

[Jumboman]

Just throwing this out here and hopefully someone can explain this to me.

I have the DroidX, everytime I go into Task Killer I see mostly all the apps I have are already started, without me physically starting them. So, I kill all the apps but when I go back into task killer thay are all started once again. Seems to me these apps shouldnt be started unless I started them. Not automatically started. It's killing my battery life.

Hopefully someone can explain this to me and is this something that Google is looking into to fix?

Thanks,

Jumboman

 

[Mostly Harmless]

What apps are you talking about? And stop using a task killer, it isn't helping you.

 

[sitlet]

Yes, stop using a task killer it only makes things worse.

Android, unlike Windows, will keep programs loaded in the background to fully use its memory. There's no point of having 4gb of ram on a pc if you never use more than 2gb of it. So those apps just sit in memory, not using any battery, just waiting to be opened. When you use a task killer, you are disrupting the way Android works, and Android will just load those programs back into memory, using MORE battery than if you would have not used a task killer.

 

[OfTheDamned]

As others have said, those apps aren't really running they are more or less acting as placeholders in the memory. They aren't using your battery unless they are running. What is using battery is CPU cycles and your CPU is cycling more when you open the task killer, kill an app and it then reloads to take its position exactly as it was before. At this point, the only thing that has been accomplished is the unneeded use of power to get you right back where you started.

As far as Google goes, they won't really be fixing anything as there isn't anything to fix.

This may be helpful in understanding what Android does in the background and the application life cycle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL6gSd4ugSI&feature=channel

For a written version you can take a look at:
Application Fundamentals | Android Developers

If you would like to know more about task killers, please see the link in my signature.

BTW, Welcome to the forum and sorry to give you homework.

 

[dan330]

yes.. dont use task killer... you only driving yourself mad!

android is a different animal than your other OS....
it wants to take care of all memory management for you.
apps in memory dont affect you!!!!!
forget about it!

maybe.. the apps that are restarting..
are apps that have to do updates... that you asked for...
weather..
news...
accounts...
facebook..
etc...

 

[Jumboman]

Thanks for all the quick replys and thanks for straightening me out too. I'm going to uninstall task killer and just leave things be. Now that you all explained those apps that I thought were running are actualling running in memory makes a whole lot of sense.

Thanks again!

Jumboman

 

[Demache]

As others have said, those apps aren't really running they are more or less acting as placeholders in the memory. They aren't using your battery unless they are running. What is using battery is CPU cycles and your CPU is cycling more when you open the task killer, kill an app and it then reloads to take its position exactly as it was before. At this point, the only thing that has been accomplished is the unneeded use of power to get you right back where you started.

As far as Google goes, they won't really be fixing anything as there isn't anything to fix.

This may be helpful in understanding what Android does in the background and the application life cycle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL6gSd4ugSI&feature=channel

For a written version you can take a look at:
Application Fundamentals | Android Developers

If you would like to know more about task killers, please see the link in my signature.

BTW, Welcome to the forum and sorry to give you homework.

And that's a pretty old video as well. Way before even the original G1 phone came out. So Android has been far more refined, and phones are far more powerful and have tons more RAM for storing those processes.

 

[Hrethgir]

Thanks for all the quick replys and thanks for straightening me out too. I'm going to uninstall task killer and just leave things be. Now that you all explained those apps that I thought were running are actualling running in memory makes a whole lot of sense.

Thanks again!

Jumboman

Those apps aren't even running in memory, they are just sitting there. It's like the difference between a car parked and idling and a car parked and off. Neither one is going anywhere, but the idling one is burning gas while the other isn't. In Windows, a program running is the idling car, and on Linux/Android, the engine is off. The car is parked and ready to drive, but isn't using a drop of gas.

 

[GFTbak]

could be all true but what about my memory that's full all of the time?
Doesn't it slow down my phone?

I use task killer also because of the fact that my memory is full (completely) all the time. (x10 mini)

 

[reinbeau]

could be all true but what about my memory that's full all of the time?
Doesn't it slow down my phone?

Did you watch the video posted by OfTheDamned above? It explains the whole process - you do not need to use a task manager. Your memory isn't 'full all of the time'. It's a dynamic process.

 

[GFTbak]

Did you watch the video posted by OfTheDamned above? It explains the whole process - you do not need to use a task manager. Your memory isn't 'full all of the time'. It's a dynamic process.

didn't watch yet... youtube is blokked here (I am at work)
I will watch it the first thing I come home.

 

[Deleted User]

I'd have to disagree. Although they are just sitting there, not consuming battery, they do slow down the phone.
When I have about 40 or less MB free, then several apps run slow, dungon hunter and angery birds to be specific. They hang and pause etc. If I exit, kill all my tasks, they run smooth as can be. I bench mark higher with memory empty.
However, when not playing those games, the phone is smoother and faster when not killing tasks all the time. I use ATK only when I need to play those special apps otherwise I let everything sit in memory as intended.