Clearing the stack :Android

Clearing the stack :Android
If the user leaves a task for a long time, the system clears the task of all activities except the root activity. When the user returns to the task again, it's as the user left it, except that only the initial activity is present. The idea is that, after a time, users will likely have abandoned what they were doing before and are returning to the task to begin something new.

That's the default. There are some activity attributes that can be used to control this behavior and modify it:

The alwaysRetainTaskState attribute
If this attribute is set to "true" in the root activity of a task, the default behavior just described does not happen. The task retains all activities in its stack even after a long period.
The clearTaskOnLaunch attribute
If this attribute is set to "true" in the root activity of a task, the stack is cleared down to the root activity whenever the user leaves the task and returns to it. In other words, it's the polar opposite of alwaysRetainTaskState. The user always returns to the task in its initial state, even after a momentary absence.
The finishOnTaskLaunch attribute
This attribute is like clearTaskOnLaunch, but it operates on a single activity, not an entire task. And it can cause any activity to go away, including the root activity. When it's set to "true", the activity remains part of the task only for the current session. If the user leaves and then returns to the task, it no longer is present.

There's another way to force activities to be removed from the stack. If an Intent object includes the FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP flag, and the target task already has an instance of the type of activity that should handle the intent in its stack, all activities above that instance are cleared away so that it stands at the top of the stack and can respond to the intent. If the launch mode of the designated activity is "standard", it too will be removed from the stack, and a new instance will be launched to handle the incoming intent. That's because a new instance is always created for a new intent when the launch mode is "standard".

FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP is most often used in conjunction with FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK. When used together, these flags are a way of locating an existing activity in another task and putting it in a position where it can respond to the intent.