getaction

getAction is a method name used in several programming environments to retrieve the action associated with an object, event, or message. In Android development, it is most commonly associated with the Intent class, where getAction returns the action string that describes the general operation requested by the Intent.

In Android, the action is a string that signals what kind of operation should be performed, such as viewing, editing, or sending data. This action is typically set when the Intent is created or configured, and getAction can be used by the receiving component to decide how to handle the Intent. The method signature is typically public String getAction(), and it may return null if no action was specified.

A common usage pattern is to retrieve the action in an activity or service and branch logic accordingly. For example:

Intent intent = getIntent();

String action = intent.getAction();

if (Intent.ACTION_VIEW.equals(action)) {

// handle view action

}

When comparing actions, it is advisable to use a null-safe approach, such as comparing against a known constant using equals, to avoid a potential null pointer exception.

Outside of Android, getAction may appear in other frameworks or libraries with similar semantics—returning an identifier that describes the intended operation or event. However, the exact behavior and available constants vary by platform. In general, getAction serves as a standard way to query the declared or inferred purpose of a message or object in event-driven code. See also: Intent, IntentFilter, Action.