Using Android's TIME_TICK intent in Tasker

I keep coming back to the TimeAndTorque task.  Not because it's all that important, but because I keep finding better ways to execute it.

It started off as a looping task (http://mikesgeneralblog.blogspot.com/2015/06/digital-dash-documentation-part-9.html) and then moved to being triggered by a Schrödinger's Profile, (http://mikesgeneralblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/schrodingers-profile.html) and now it's being driven by Android's TIME_TICK Broadcast Intent.

If you don't know what a Broadcast Intent is, you can think of it as an olde tyme town crier.  The town crier would wander the streets calling out the time and any relevant news.  The Broadcast Intent is basically the same thing; it's just a message that the Android system sends out.  Like the town crier, the system doesn't really know or care it anyone is listening; it's job is just to send out the message.

There are a lot of Broadcast Intents that the system sends out, but the one we are interested in here is called the TIME_TICK.  This message is broadcast at the top of every minute and can be used for triggering events or synchronizing information.

Other apps can broadcast intents as well.  I use one generated by PowerAmp to grab and display music track and artist information (http://mikesgeneralblog.blogspot.com/2015/06/digital-dash-documentation-part-5-music.html).

Fortunately, Tasker makes it easy to listen for these intents and harness them for our own uses. To begin listening for the TIME_TICK, create a new Event profile and choose "Intent Received" from the System category. In the Action field enter "android.intent.action.TIME_TICK" (without the quotes).  You can leave all the other fields blank.  Then, just exit the event configuration and choose the task that you want to run when this intent is received.

Here's what the code looks like for my TimeAndTorque profile and task:

Profile: V3_TimeTick (484)
        Event: Intent Received [ Action:android.intent.action.TIME_TICK Cat:None Cat:None Scheme:* Mime Type:* ]
        State: Variable Value [ %V3_DrivingMode Set ]
Enter: V3_TimeAndTorque (336)
        A1: Variable Split [ Name:%TIME Splitter:. Delete Base:Off ]
        A2: Variable Subtract [ Name:%TIME1 Value:12 Wrap Around:0 ] If [ %TIME1 > 12 ]
        A3: Variable Set [ Name:%V3_DispTime To:%TIME1:%TIME2 Do Maths:Off Append:Off ]
        A4: Run Shell [ Command:/data/data/burrows.apps.busybox/app_busybox/tail -1 /storage/emulated/0/torqueLogs/trackLog.csv Timeout (Seconds):0 Use Root:Off Store Output In:%obd_log Store Errors In: Store Result In: Continue Task After Error:On ]
        A5: Variable Split [ Name:%obd_log Splitter:, Delete Base:Off ]
        A6: Test Element [ Scene Name:V3_LH Element:LowFuel Test:Element Visibility Store Result In:%lowdistanceindicator Continue Task After Error:On ]
        A7: If [ %obd_log6 < 60 & %lowdistanceindicator ~ false ]
        A8: Element Visibility [ Scene Name:V3_LH Element Match:LowFuel Set:True Animation Time (MS):0 ]
        A9: Say [ Text:Warning.  Range limit under sixty miles. Engine:Voice:default:default Stream:3 Pitch:5 Speed:4 Respect Audio Focus:On Network:Off Continue Task Immediately:Off Continue Task After Error:On ]
        A10: End If
        A11: If [ %obd_log6 > 60 & %lowdistanceindicator ~ true ]
        A12: Element Visibility [ Scene Name:V3_LH Element Match:LowFuel Set:False Animation Time (MS):0 ]
        A13: End If

Once every minute, the profile will become active and run the TimeAndTorque task, grabbing the time (and synchronizing my on-screen display) and running the low-fuel check (If you want more detail about the task itself, check the documentation in the first link, above.)

This method is simple, clean, and reliable.  I doubt that I'll find a better way to run this task, but who knows; I learn something new about Tasker amost every day.