Android + Phonegap + Parse Push keeps crashing

Question

I've been trying to make a simple Phonegap app that receives Parse Push notifications on Android. I've read a number of tutorials and read through related issues here and elsewhere but i can't seem to get it to work without crashing.

I have the latest of Java JDK, Cordova + Node JS + plugman, Android API 19 (seems to be required by cordova), Apache ant, etc...

Bottom line: I can start the app. I can receive the notification just fine. But when I tap the notification to go back to the app it always crashes.

Question? Can anyone explain why this is happening? Or even better if you have a sample project that works? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

References:

https://parse.com/tutorials/android-push-notifications

http://www.raymondcamden.com/2012/10/10/PhoneGap-Parsecom-and-Push-Notifications -- a bit out of date

How do I get Parse.com Push Notifications working in a Cordova/Phonegap Android app?

apache cordova app crashes after receiving parse.com push notification

Sources:

AndroidManifest.xml

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<manifest android:hardwareAccelerated="true" android:versionCode="1" android:versionName="0.0.1" package="com.company.challenger" xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <supports-screens android:anyDensity="true" android:largeScreens="true" android:normalScreens="true" android:resizeable="true" android:smallScreens="true" android:xlargeScreens="true" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WAKE_LOCK" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.VIBRATE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS" />
    <uses-permission android:name="com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE" />
    <permission android:name="com.company.challenger.permission.C2D_MESSAGE" android:protectionLevel="signature" />
    <uses-permission android:name="com.company.challenger.permission.C2D_MESSAGE" />
    <application android:hardwareAccelerated="true" android:icon="@drawable/icon" android:label="@string/app_name" android:name="com.company.challenger.ChallengerApplication">
        <activity android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden|keyboard|screenSize|locale" android:label="@string/app_name" android:launchMode="singleTop" android:name="ChallengerApplication" android:theme="@android:style/Theme.Black.NoTitleBar" android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustResize">
            <intent-filter android:label="@string/launcher_name">
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
        <service android:name="com.parse.PushService" />
        <receiver android:name="com.parse.ParseBroadcastReceiver">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED" />
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.USER_PRESENT" />
            </intent-filter>
        </receiver>
        <receiver android:name="com.parse.GcmBroadcastReceiver" android:permission="com.google.android.c2dm.permission.SEND">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="com.google.android.c2dm.intent.RECEIVE" />
                <action android:name="com.google.android.c2dm.intent.REGISTRATION" />
                <category android:name="com.company.challenger" />
            </intent-filter>
        </receiver>
        <receiver android:exported="false" android:name="com.parse.ParsePushBroadcastReceiver">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="com.parse.push.intent.RECEIVE" />
                <action android:name="com.parse.push.intent.DELETE" />
                <action android:name="com.parse.push.intent.OPEN" />
            </intent-filter>
        </receiver>
    </application>
    <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="10" android:targetSdkVersion="19" />
</manifest>

CordovaApp.java

package com.company.challenger;

import com.parse.ParseAnalytics;
import android.os.Bundle;
import org.apache.cordova.*;

public class CordovaApp extends CordovaActivity
{
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
    {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        super.init();
        // Set by <content src="index.html" /> in config.xml
        loadUrl(launchUrl);
        ParseAnalytics.trackAppOpened(getIntent());
    }
}

ChallengerApplication.java

package com.company.challenger;

import android.app.Application;
import android.content.Context;

import com.parse.Parse;
import com.parse.ParseInstallation;
import com.parse.PushService;

import com.company.challenger.CordovaApp;

public class ChallengerApplication extends Application 
{
    private static ChallengerApplication instance = new ChallengerApplication();

    public ChallengerApplication() {
        instance = this;
    }

    public static Context getContext() {
        return instance;
    }

    @Override
    public void onCreate() {
        super.onCreate();
        // register device for parse
        Parse.initialize(this, "app key", "client key");
        PushService.setDefaultPushCallback(this, CordovaApp.class);
        ParseInstallation.getCurrentInstallation().saveInBackground();
    }
}

Answer 1

Proper answer this time...

I basically started from scratch following the latest parse tutorial and making sure the initialize parse in the MainApplication and not in your javascript.

This is the gist:

1. Create a MainApplication.java with a skeleton like this:

    package com.{your_company}.{your_app};
    import android.app.Application;
    import android.content.Context;

    import com.parse.Parse;
    import com.parse.ParsePush;
    import com.parse.SaveCallback;
    import com.parse.ParseException;

    import com.{your_company}.{your_app}.MainActivity;

    public class MainApplication extends Application 
    {
            @Override
            public void onCreate() {
                super.onCreate();
                // parse initialization goes here
            }
    }

2. Add the following attribute to your application tag in AndroidManifest.xml

    <application ... android:name="com.{your_company}.{your_app}.MainApplication">

3. Follow this tutorial from Parse.com which is fairly decent https://parse.com/tutorials/android-push-notifications .

4. The final onCreate in MainApplication.java should look something like this:

    @Override
    public void onCreate() {
       super.onCreate();
       Parse.enableLocalDatastore(app);
       Parse.initialize(app, "{app_key}", "{client_key}");

       ParsePush.subscribeInBackground("", new SaveCallback() {
          @Override
          public void done(ParseException e) {
             if (e == null) {
                Log.d("com.parse.push", "successfully subscribed to the broadcast channel.");
             } else {
                Log.e("com.parse.push", "failed to subscribe for push", e);
             }
          }
       });
    }

From this experience I found the following insights:

• Not recommended to use any parse push plugins floating around because there are all out of date using deprecated calls or simply did not work out of the box.
• The Parse initialize must occur in the MainApplication and cannot occur in the javascript. (I don't have the reference for this one, I came across it somewhere down the line when frantically researching).
• Always use the latest Parse SDK and use ParsePush (the new service) and not PushService which is depricated.

Hopefully this helps.