---
title: "What is an Intent? Can it be used to provide data to a ContentProvider? Why or why not?"  
description: "What is an Intent? Can it be used to provide data to a ContentProvider? Why or why not?"  
author: "Anonymous User"  
published: 2015-08-04  
updated: 2020-09-23  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/interview/12753/what-is-an-intent-can-it-be-used-to-provide-data-to-a-contentprovider-why-or-why-not  
category: "android"  
tags: ["android", "android intent", "android contentprovider"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

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# What is an Intent? Can it be used to provide data to a ContentProvider? Why or why not?

The Intent object is a common mechanism for starting new activity and transfering data from one activity to another. However, you cannot start a ContentProvider using an Intent.\
When you want to access data in a ContentProvider, you must instead use the ContentResolver object in your application’s Context to communicate with the provider as a client. The ContentResolver object communicates with the provider object, an instance of a class that implements ContentProvider. The provider object receives data requests from clients, performs the requested action, and returns the results.

## Answers

### Answer by Anonymous User

The Intent object is a common mechanism for starting new activity and transfering data from one activity to another. However, you cannot start a ContentProvider using an Intent.\
When you want to access data in a ContentProvider, you must instead use the ContentResolver object in your application’s Context to communicate with the provider as a client. The ContentResolver object communicates with the provider object, an instance of a class that implements ContentProvider. The provider object receives data requests from clients, performs the requested action, and returns the results.


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