How to use resource arrays using xml in Android?

Question

I am new in Android development and facing a problem with managing Android resources. I want to create a listView with an ImageView and a TextView.

Following is my implementation which works fine, but actually I wanted to use arrays which I created before like this:

int[] img = getResources().getIntArray(R.Array.img);

package com.simplelistviewwithlistactivity;

import android.app.AlertDialog;
import android.app.AlertDialog.Builder;
import android.app.ListActivity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.ListView;

public class ListActivityS extends ListActivity {
    int[] img = { R.drawable.r1, R.drawable.r2, R.drawable.skycubemap1,
            R.drawable.skycubemap1, R.drawable.skycubemap2,
            R.drawable.skycubemap3, R.drawable.skycubemap4,
            R.drawable.skycubemap5 };

    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        getListView().setDividerHeight(2);
        getListView().setAdapter(new BindDataAdapter(this, img, item));
    }

    @Override
    protected void onListItemClick(ListView l, View v, int position, long id) {
        super.onListItemClick(l, v, position, id);
        Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(this);
        builder.setMessage(item[position] + " is clicked.");
        builder.setPositiveButton("OK", null);
        builder.show();
    }

    @Override
    public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
        getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.activity_list, menu);
        return true;
    }

    private String item[] = { "This is list Item1", "This is list Item2",
            "This is list Item3", "This is list Item4", "This is list Item5",
            "This is list Item6", "This is list Item8", "This is list Item8"

You can use colors in an array by following this example: stackoverflow.com/a/17584066/560600 — Sky Kelsey
– Sky Kelsey, Commented Jul 11, 2013 at 2:24
Hi Jannis, did you find any of the given answers useful to solve your problem? If so, please consider marking the answer accepted. your small action will help others to find the solution to a similar problem. — sourav.bh
– sourav.bh, Commented Jan 11, 2019 at 12:29

Ahmad · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-17 19:33:59Z

54

Create an XML like below and put it in res/values/arrays.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
    <array name="icons">
        <item>@drawable/home</item>
        <item>@drawable/settings</item>
        <item>@drawable/logout</item>
    </array>
    <array name="colors">
        <item>#FFFF0000</item>
        <item>#FF00FF00</item>
        <item>#FF0000FF</item>
    </array>
</resources>

Then use code like this:

Resources res = getResources();
TypedArray icons = res.obtainTypedArray(R.array.icons);
Drawable drawable = icons.getDrawable(0);

TypedArray colors = res.obtainTypedArray(R.array.colors);
int color = colors.getColor(0,0);

Source: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/more-resources.html

edited May 17, 2013 at 19:33

Ahmad

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answered May 17, 2013 at 19:32

Fraggle

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1 Comment

CoolMind Over a year ago

Don't forget to call recycle() of icons and colors after using.

CoolMind · Accepted Answer · 2021-01-12 20:39:00Z

18

You can use resources from res/values/arrays.xml.

For drawables

<integer-array name="your_images">
    <item>@drawable/ic_active_image</item>
    <item>@drawable/ic_visited_image</item>
</integer-array>

val position = 1 // Position in array.
val drawables = resources.obtainTypedArray(R.array.your_images)
val drawable = drawables.getResourceId(position, -1)
image.setImageResource(drawable)
drawables.recycle()

For colors

<array name="your_colors">
    <item>#365374</item>
    <item>#00B9FF</item>
</array>

val position = 1
val colors = resources.obtainTypedArray(R.array.your_colors)
val color = colors.getColor(position, -1)
title.setTextColor(color)
colors.recycle()

For strings

<string-array name="your_strings">
    <item>Active</item>
    <item>Visited</item>
</string-array>

val position = 1
val strings = resources.getStringArray(R.array.your_strings)
title.text = strings[position]

Plurals:

<plurals name="proposal_plurals">
    <item quantity="zero">No proposals</item>
    <item quantity="one">%1$d proposal</item>
    <item quantity="two">%1$d proposals</item>
    <item quantity="few">%1$d proposals</item>
    <item quantity="many">%1$d proposals</item>
    <item quantity="other">%1$d proposals</item>
</plurals>

val count = 117
val proposals = count.takeIf { it != 0 }?.let {
    resources.getQuantityString(R.plurals.proposal_plurals, it, it)
} ?: "No proposals"

edited Jan 12, 2021 at 20:39

answered Jan 10, 2019 at 14:32

CoolMind

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2 Comments

The incredible Jan Over a year ago

Your code for color looks like you could also use getColor() directly on resources... and save yourself recycle(). Is that right?

CoolMind Over a year ago

@TheincredibleJan, why not? It is a common scenario. In Kotlin we use use operator instead.

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