Surface
public class Surface
extends Object implements Parcelable
| java.lang.Object | |
| ↳ | android.view.Surface |
Handle onto a raw buffer that is being managed by the screen compositor.
A Surface is generally created by or from a consumer of image buffers (such as a SurfaceTexture, MediaRecorder, or Allocation), and is handed to some kind of producer (such as OpenGL, MediaPlayer, or CameraDevice) to draw into.
Note: A Surface acts like a weak reference to the consumer it is associated with. By itself it will not keep its parent consumer from being reclaimed.
Summary
Nested classes | |
|---|---|
class | Surface.OutOfResourcesException Exception thrown when a Canvas couldn't be locked with |
Constants | |
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int | CHANGE_FRAME_RATE_ALWAYS Change the frame rate even if the transition is going to be non-seamless, i.e. |
int | CHANGE_FRAME_RATE_ONLY_IF_SEAMLESS Change the frame rate only if the transition is going to be seamless. |
int | FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_AT_LEAST The surface requests a frame rate that is at least the specified frame rate. |
int | FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_DEFAULT There are no inherent restrictions on the frame rate of this surface. |
int | FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_FIXED_SOURCE This surface is being used to display content with an inherently fixed frame rate, e.g. a video that has a specific frame rate. |
int | ROTATION_0 Rotation constant: 0 degree rotation (natural orientation) |
int | ROTATION_180 Rotation constant: 180 degree rotation. |
int | ROTATION_270 Rotation constant: 270 degree rotation. |
int | ROTATION_90 Rotation constant: 90 degree rotation. |
Inherited constants |
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Fields | |
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public static final Creator<Surface> | CREATOR
|
Public constructors | |
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Surface(SurfaceTexture surfaceTexture) Create Surface from a | |
Surface(SurfaceControl from) Create a Surface associated with a given | |
Public methods | |
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void | clearFrameRate() Clears the frame rate which was set for this surface. |
int | describeContents() Describe the kinds of special objects contained in this Parcelable instance's marshaled representation. |
boolean | isValid() Returns true if this object holds a valid surface. |
Canvas | lockCanvas(Rect inOutDirty) Gets a |
Canvas | lockHardwareCanvas() Gets a |
void | readFromParcel(Parcel source) |
void | release() Release the local reference to the server-side surface. |
void | setFrameRate(float frameRate, int compatibility, int changeFrameRateStrategy) Sets the intended frame rate for this surface. |
void | setFrameRate(float frameRate, int compatibility) Sets the intended frame rate for this surface. |
String | toString() Returns a string representation of the object. |
void | unlockCanvas(Canvas canvas) This method was deprecated in API level 17. This API has been removed and is not supported. Do not use. |
void | unlockCanvasAndPost(Canvas canvas) Posts the new contents of the |
void | writeToParcel(Parcel dest, int flags) Flatten this object in to a Parcel. |
Protected methods | |
|---|---|
void | finalize() Called by the garbage collector on an object when garbage collection determines that there are no more references to the object. |
Inherited methods | |
|---|---|
Constants
CHANGE_FRAME_RATE_ALWAYS
public static final int CHANGE_FRAME_RATE_ALWAYS
Change the frame rate even if the transition is going to be non-seamless, i.e. with visual interruptions for the user. Non-seamless switches might be used when the benefit of matching the content's frame rate outweighs the cost of the transition, for example when displaying long-running video content.
Constant Value: 1 (0x00000001)
CHANGE_FRAME_RATE_ONLY_IF_SEAMLESS
public static final int CHANGE_FRAME_RATE_ONLY_IF_SEAMLESS
Change the frame rate only if the transition is going to be seamless.
Constant Value: 0 (0x00000000)
FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_AT_LEAST
public static final int FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_AT_LEAST
The surface requests a frame rate that is at least the specified frame rate. This value should be used for UIs, animations, scrolling and fling, and anything that is not a game or video. For video, use ERROR(/FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_FIXED_SOURCE) instead. For game content, use ERROR(/FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_DEFAULT).
Constant Value: 2 (0x00000002)
FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_DEFAULT
public static final int FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_DEFAULT
There are no inherent restrictions on the frame rate of this surface. When the system selects a frame rate other than what the app requested, the app will be able to run at the system frame rate without requiring pull down. This value should be used when displaying game content, UIs, and anything that isn't video. In Android version Build.VERSION_CODES.BAKLAVA and above, use ERROR(/FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_DEFAULT) for game content. For other cases, see ERROR(/FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_FIXED_SOURCE) and ERROR(/FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_AT_LEAST).
Constant Value: 0 (0x00000000)
FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_FIXED_SOURCE
public static final int FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_FIXED_SOURCE
This surface is being used to display content with an inherently fixed frame rate, e.g. a video that has a specific frame rate. When the system selects a frame rate other than what the app requested, the app will need to do pull down or use some other technique to adapt to the system's frame rate. The user experience is likely to be worse (e.g. more frame stuttering) than it would be if the system had chosen the app's requested frame rate. This value should be used for video content.
Constant Value: 1 (0x00000001)
ROTATION_0
public static final int ROTATION_0
Rotation constant: 0 degree rotation (natural orientation)
Constant Value: 0 (0x00000000)
ROTATION_180
public static final int ROTATION_180
Rotation constant: 180 degree rotation.
Constant Value: 2 (0x00000002)
ROTATION_270
public static final int ROTATION_270
Rotation constant: 270 degree rotation.
Constant Value: 3 (0x00000003)
ROTATION_90
public static final int ROTATION_90
Rotation constant: 90 degree rotation.
Constant Value: 1 (0x00000001)
Fields
Public constructors
Surface
public Surface (SurfaceTexture surfaceTexture)
Create Surface from a SurfaceTexture. Images drawn to the Surface will be made available to the SurfaceTexture, which can attach them to an OpenGL ES texture via SurfaceTexture.updateTexImage(). Please note that holding onto the Surface created here is not enough to keep the provided SurfaceTexture from being reclaimed. In that sense, the Surface will act like a weak reference to the SurfaceTexture.
| Parameters | |
|---|---|
surfaceTexture | SurfaceTexture: The SurfaceTexture that is updated by this Surface. |
| Throws | |
|---|---|
Surface.OutOfResourcesException | if the surface could not be created. |
Surface
public Surface (SurfaceControl from)
Create a Surface associated with a given SurfaceControl. Buffers submitted to this surface will be displayed by the system compositor according to the parameters specified by the control. Multiple surfaces may be constructed from one SurfaceControl, but only one can be connected (e.g. have an active EGL context) at a time.
| Parameters | |
|---|---|
from | SurfaceControl: The SurfaceControl to associate this Surface with This value cannot be null. |
Public methods
clearFrameRate
public void clearFrameRate ()
Clears the frame rate which was set for this surface.
This is equivalent to calling setFrameRate(float, int, int) using 0 for frameRate.
Note that this only has an effect for surfaces presented on the display. If this surface is consumed by something other than the system compositor, e.g. a media codec, this call has no effect.
See also:
describeContents
public int describeContents ()
Describe the kinds of special objects contained in this Parcelable instance's marshaled representation. For example, if the object will include a file descriptor in the output of writeToParcel(android.os.Parcel, int), the return value of this method must include the CONTENTS_FILE_DESCRIPTOR bit.
| Returns | |
|---|---|
int | a bitmask indicating the set of special object types marshaled by this Parcelable object instance. Value is either 0 or CONTENTS_FILE_DESCRIPTOR |
isValid
public boolean isValid ()
Returns true if this object holds a valid surface.
| Returns | |
|---|---|
boolean | True if it holds a physical surface, so lockCanvas() will succeed. Otherwise returns false. |
lockCanvas
public Canvas lockCanvas (Rect inOutDirty)
Gets a Canvas for drawing into this surface. After drawing into the provided Canvas, the caller must invoke unlockCanvasAndPost(Canvas) to post the new contents to the surface.
| Parameters | |
|---|---|
inOutDirty | Rect: A rectangle that represents the dirty region that the caller wants to redraw. This function may choose to expand the dirty rectangle if for example the surface has been resized or if the previous contents of the surface were not available. The caller must redraw the entire dirty region as represented by the contents of the inOutDirty rectangle upon return from this function. The caller may also pass null instead, in the case where the entire surface should be redrawn. |
| Returns | |
|---|---|
Canvas | A canvas for drawing into the surface. |
| Throws | |
|---|---|
IllegalArgumentException | If the inOutDirty rectangle is not valid. |
Surface.OutOfResourcesException | If the canvas cannot be locked. |
lockHardwareCanvas
public Canvas lockHardwareCanvas ()
Gets a Canvas for drawing into this surface. After drawing into the provided Canvas, the caller must invoke unlockCanvasAndPost(Canvas) to post the new contents to the surface. Unlike lockCanvas(android.graphics.Rect) this will return a hardware-accelerated canvas. See the unsupported drawing operations for a list of what is and isn't supported in a hardware-accelerated canvas. It is also required to fully cover the surface every time lockHardwareCanvas() is called as the buffer is not preserved between frames. Partial updates are not supported.
| Returns | |
|---|---|
Canvas | A canvas for drawing into the surface. |
| Throws | |
|---|---|
IllegalStateException | If the canvas cannot be locked. |
readFromParcel
public void readFromParcel (Parcel source)
| Parameters | |
|---|---|
source | Parcel |
release
public void release ()
Release the local reference to the server-side surface. Always call release() when you're done with a Surface. This will make the surface invalid.
setFrameRate
public void setFrameRate (float frameRate, int compatibility, int changeFrameRateStrategy)
Sets the intended frame rate for this surface.
On devices that are capable of running the display at different refresh rates, the system may choose a display refresh rate to better match this surface's frame rate. Usage of this API won't introduce frame rate throttling, or affect other aspects of the application's frame production pipeline. However, because the system may change the display refresh rate, calls to this function may result in changes to Choreographer callback timings, and changes to the time interval at which the system releases buffers back to the application.
Note that this only has an effect for surfaces presented on the display. If this surface is consumed by something other than the system compositor, e.g. a media codec, this call has no effect.
| Parameters | |
|---|---|
frameRate | float: The intended frame rate of this surface, in frames per second. 0 is a special value that indicates the app will accept the system's choice for the display frame rate, which is the default behavior if this function isn't called. The frameRate parameter does not need to be a valid refresh rate for this device's display - e.g., it's fine to pass 30fps to a device that can only run the display at 60fps. Value is 0.0f or greater |
compatibility | int: The frame rate compatibility of this surface. The compatibility value may influence the system's choice of display frame rate. This parameter is ignored when frameRate is 0. Value is FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_DEFAULT, FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_FIXED_SOURCE, FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_AT_LEAST, android.view.Surface.FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_EXACT, or android.view.Surface.FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_MIN |
changeFrameRateStrategy | int: Whether display refresh rate transitions caused by this surface should be seamless. A seamless transition is one that doesn't have any visual interruptions, such as a black screen for a second or two. This parameter is ignored when frameRate is 0. Value is CHANGE_FRAME_RATE_ONLY_IF_SEAMLESS, or CHANGE_FRAME_RATE_ALWAYS |
| Throws | |
|---|---|
IllegalArgumentException | If frameRate, compatibility or changeFrameRateStrategy are invalid. |
See also:
setFrameRate
public void setFrameRate (float frameRate, int compatibility)
Sets the intended frame rate for this surface. Any switching of refresh rates is most probably going to be seamless.
| Parameters | |
|---|---|
frameRate | float: Value is 0.0f or greater |
compatibility | int: Value is FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_DEFAULT, FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_FIXED_SOURCE, FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_AT_LEAST, android.view.Surface.FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_EXACT, or android.view.Surface.FRAME_RATE_COMPATIBILITY_MIN |
See also:
toString
public String toString ()
Returns a string representation of the object.
| Returns | |
|---|---|
String | a string representation of the object. |
unlockCanvas
public void unlockCanvas (Canvas canvas)
This method was deprecated in API level 17.
This API has been removed and is not supported. Do not use.
| Parameters | |
|---|---|
canvas | Canvas |
unlockCanvasAndPost
public void unlockCanvasAndPost (Canvas canvas)
Posts the new contents of the Canvas to the surface and releases the Canvas.
| Parameters | |
|---|---|
canvas | Canvas: The canvas previously obtained from lockCanvas(Rect). |
writeToParcel
public void writeToParcel (Parcel dest, int flags)
Flatten this object in to a Parcel.
| Parameters | |
|---|---|
dest | Parcel: The Parcel in which the object should be written. This value cannot be null. |
flags | int: Additional flags about how the object should be written. May be 0 or Parcelable.PARCELABLE_WRITE_RETURN_VALUE. Value is either 0 or a combination of Parcelable.PARCELABLE_WRITE_RETURN_VALUE, and android.os.Parcelable.PARCELABLE_ELIDE_DUPLICATES |
Protected methods
finalize
protected void finalize ()
Called by the garbage collector on an object when garbage collection determines that there are no more references to the object. A subclass overrides the finalize method to dispose of system resources or to perform other cleanup.
The general contract of finalize is that it is invoked if and when the Java virtual machine has determined that there is no longer any means by which this object can be accessed by any thread that has not yet died, except as a result of an action taken by the finalization of some other object or class which is ready to be finalized. The finalize method may take any action, including making this object available again to other threads; the usual purpose of finalize, however, is to perform cleanup actions before the object is irrevocably discarded. For example, the finalize method for an object that represents an input/output connection might perform explicit I/O transactions to break the connection before the object is permanently discarded.
The finalize method of class Object performs no special action; it simply returns normally. Subclasses of Object may override this definition.
The Java programming language does not guarantee which thread will invoke the finalize method for any given object. It is guaranteed, however, that the thread that invokes finalize will not be holding any user-visible synchronization locks when finalize is invoked. If an uncaught exception is thrown by the finalize method, the exception is ignored and finalization of that object terminates.
After the finalize method has been invoked for an object, no further action is taken until the Java virtual machine has again determined that there is no longer any means by which this object can be accessed by any thread that has not yet died, including possible actions by other objects or classes which are ready to be finalized, at which point the object may be discarded.
The finalize method is never invoked more than once by a Java virtual machine for any given object.
Any exception thrown by the finalize method causes the finalization of this object to be halted, but is otherwise ignored.
| Throws | |
|---|---|
Throwable | |
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Last updated 2025-08-20 UTC.