Author: Nusrat Faria

Recycler view is a more advanced version of listview and works based on View holder design pattern. Using recyclerview we can show grids as well as a list of items.

This example demonstrates how to integrate RecyclerView by creating a beautiful student records app that displays student name with age.

Step 1 − Create a new project in Android Studio, go to File ⇒ New Project and fill all required details to create a new project.

Step 2 − Open build.gradle and add Recycler view library dependency.

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'
android {
   compileSdkVersion 28
   defaultConfig {
      applicationId "com.example.andy.tutorialspoint"
      minSdkVersion 19
      targetSdkVersion 28
      versionCode 1
      versionName "1.0"
      testInstrumentationRunner "android.support.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
   }
   buildTypes {
      release {
         minifyEnabled false
         proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
      }
   }
}
dependencies {
   implementation fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
   implementation 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:28.0.0'
   implementation 'com.android.support:design:28.0.0'
   implementation 'com.android.support.constraint:constraint-layout:1.1.3'
   implementation 'com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:28.0.0'
   testImplementation 'junit:junit:4.12'
   androidTestImplementation 'com.android.support.test:runner:1.0.2'
   androidTestImplementation 'com.android.support.test.espresso:espresso-core:3.0.2'
}

Step 3 − Add the following code to res/layout/activity_main.xml.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout
   xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
   xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
   xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
   android:layout_width="match_parent"
   android:layout_height="match_parent"
   app:layout_behavior="@string/appbar_scrolling_view_behavior"
   tools:showIn="@layout/activity_main"
   tools:context=".MainActivity">
   <android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView
      android:id="@+id/recycler_view"
      android:layout_width="match_parent"
      android:layout_height="wrap_content"
      android:scrollbars="vertical"
    />
</RelativeLayout>

In the above code, we have added recycler view to window manager as relative parent layout.

Step 4 − Add the following code to src/MainActivity.java

package com.example.andy.tutorialspoint;
import android.annotation.TargetApi;
import android.os.Build;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.design.widget.TabLayout;
import android.support.v4.view.ViewPager;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.support.v7.widget.DividerItemDecoration;
import android.support.v7.widget.LinearLayoutManager;
import android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView;
import android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
   private RecyclerView recyclerView;
   private StudentAdapter studentAdapter;
   private List studentDataList =new ArrayList<>();
   @TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.O)
   @Override
   protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
      super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
      setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
      recyclerView = findViewById(R.id.recycler_view);
      studentAdapter=new StudentAdapter(studentDataList);
      RecyclerView.LayoutManager manager=new LinearLayoutManager(this);
      recyclerView.setLayoutManager(manager);
      recyclerView.addItemDecoration(new DividerItemDecoration(this, LinearLayoutManager.VERTICAL));
      recyclerView.setAdapter(studentAdapter);
      StudentDataPrepare();
   }
   private void StudentDataPrepare() {
      studentData data=new studentData("sai",25);
      studentDataList.add(data);
      data=new studentData("sai",25);
      studentDataList.add(data);
      data=new studentData("raghu",20);
      studentDataList.add(data);
      data=new studentData("raj",28);
      studentDataList.add(data);
      data=new studentData("amar",15);
      studentDataList.add(data);
      data=new studentData("bapu",19);
      studentDataList.add(data);
      data=new studentData("chandra",52);
      studentDataList.add(data);
      data=new studentData("deraj",30);
      studentDataList.add(data);
      data=new studentData("eshanth",28);
      studentDataList.add(data);
   }
}

In the above code, we have added a recycler view and studentAdapter. In that student adapter, we have passed studentDatalist as ArrayList. In Student, data list contains the name of the student and age.

Step 5 − Following is the content of the modified file src/ StudentAdapter.java.

package com.example.andy.tutorialspoint;
import android.support.annotation.NonNull;
import android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.TextView;
import java.util.List;
class StudentAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter {
   List studentDataList;
   public StudentAdapter(List studentDataList) {
      this.studentDataList=studentDataList;
   }
   @NonNull
   @Override
   public MyViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(@NonNull ViewGroup viewGroup, int i) {
      View itemView = LayoutInflater.from(viewGroup.getContext())
      .inflate(R.layout.student_list_row, viewGroup, false);
      return new MyViewHolder(itemView);
   }
   @Override
   public void onBindViewHolder(MyViewHolder viewHolder, int i) {
      studentData data=studentDataList.get(i);
      viewHolder.name.setText(data.name);
      viewHolder.age.setText(String.valueOf(data.age));
   }
   @Override
   public int getItemCount() {
      return studentDataList.size();
   }
   class MyViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {
      TextView name,age;
      public MyViewHolder(View itemView) {
         super(itemView);
         name=itemView.findViewById(R.id.name);
         age=itemView.findViewById(R.id.age);
      }
   }
}

In the adapter class, we have four methods as shown below –

onCreateViewHolder() – It is used to create a view holder and it returns a view.

onBindViewHolder() – it going to bind with created view holder.

getItemCount() – it contains size of list.

MyViewHolder class– it is view holder inner class which is extended by RecyclerView.ViewHolder

Step 6 − Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/student_list_row.xml.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
   android:orientation="horizontal" android:layout_width="match_parent"
   android:weightSum="1"
   android:layout_height="wrap_content">
<TextView
   android:id="@+id/name"
   android:layout_width="0dp"
   android:layout_weight="0.5"
   android:gravity="center"
   android:textSize="15sp"
   android:layout_height="100dp" />
   <TextView
      android:id="@+id/age"
      android:layout_width="0dp"
      android:layout_weight="0.5"
      android:gravity="center"
      android:textSize="15sp"
      android:layout_height="100dp" />
</LinearLayout>

In the above list item view, we have created two text views for name and age.

Step 7 − Following is the content of the modified file src/ studentData.java.

package com.example.andy.tutorialspoint;
class studentData {
   String name;
   int age;
   public studentData(String name, int age) {
      this.name=name;
      this.age=age;
   }
}

In the above code informs about student data object. Let’s try to run your application. I assume you have connected your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from the android studio, open one of your project’s activity files and click Run  icon from the toolbar. Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which will display your default screen −