Calling Windows Phone app boffins ... I would appreciate any comments on the scenario I describe here.
Our Windows Phone 8.0 app polls a web service at configurable intervals for important "problems" to report. The problems are as important as a phone call and it's vital that polling continue when the phone is asleep. It's also vital that the user be alerted at any time of a problem by a sound or vibrate (just like a phone call). Responding to the alert will launch or reactivate a UI app to work on the problem. My reading indicates that I need an Agent running in the background for polling. But agents are restricted and can't play sounds or vibrate, they can only popup Toast messages. Nor can Agents directly communicate with a UI app as there is no concept of Remoting or similar. The docs hint that the only way an Agent can communicate with another app is via a lock guarded file or database. I can't find any kind of "Notification Service" in the OS that can act as a message broker like in Apple and Android phones. If this is all true then I can live with it, but these points are unclear to me: 1. How can the Agent guarantee that the user receives an unmissable alert? 2. How can responding to an Agent alert launch or reactivate the UI app? Can the Toast do this? Thanks *Greg K*
