Question

Can anyone explain android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1 and android.R.layout.simple_list_item_2 in arrayadapter in Android?

I know in android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1 and android.R.layout.simple_list_item_2 are layouts that are defined by Android itself.

android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1 only contains one TextView, but android.R.layout.simple_list_item_2 contains two TextViews.

I would like an example for android.R.layout.simple_list_item_2. How do I show two TextViews in a ListView using adapter?

My code is

package com.app.listview;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;
import android.widget.ListView;

public class ExampleListViewActivity extends Activity {

    private String[] nameArr = new String[] {"Arun", "Anil", "Ankit", "Manoj"};
    /** Called when the activity is first created. */
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.main);
        
        ListView listView = (ListView) findViewById(R.id.lv);
        ArrayAdapter<String> adapter = new ArrayAdapter<String>(this,
                                                                android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1,
                                                                android.R.id.text1,
                                                                nameArr);
        listView.setAdapter(adapter);
    }
}

Answer 1

The difference is the following. simple_list_item_1 contains only a TextView, whereas simple_list_item_2 has two inside a subclass of RelativeLayout. These are both taken from Jelly Bean.

simple_list_item_1

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- Copyright (C) 2006 The Android Open Source Project

     Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
     you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
     You may obtain a copy of the License at

          http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

     Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
     distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
     WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
     See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
     limitations under the License.
-->

<TextView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:id="@android:id/text1"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceListItemSmall"
    android:gravity="center_vertical"
    android:paddingLeft="?android:attr/listPreferredItemPaddingLeft"
    android:paddingRight="?android:attr/listPreferredItemPaddingRight"
    android:minHeight="?android:attr/listPreferredItemHeightSmall"
/>

simple_list_item_2

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- Copyright (C) 2006 The Android Open Source Project

     Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
     you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
     You may obtain a copy of the License at

          http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

     Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
     distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
     WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
     See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
     limitations under the License.
-->

<TwoLineListItem xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" 
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:minHeight="?android:attr/listPreferredItemHeight"
    android:mode="twoLine"
>

    <TextView android:id="@android:id/text1"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:layout_marginLeft="?android:attr/listPreferredItemPaddingLeft"
    android:layout_marginTop="8dip"
        android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceListItem"
    />

    <TextView android:id="@android:id/text2"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_below="@android:id/text1"
    android:layout_alignLeft="@android:id/text1"
        android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall"
    />

</TwoLineListItem>

According to the docs for ArrayAdapter:

By default this class expects that the provided resource id references
a single TextView.

So by default, an ArrayAdapter doesn’t automatically fill in multiple TextView instances. You can, however, override the getView() method and fill in the two TextViews that appear in R.layout.simple_list_item_2