Question

If so, is there a tutorial that I have missed somewhere that might help me get started with this? If not, can someone point me towards a place to get started setting up a database where I would preload the information instead of actually having the user do it?

Answer 1

Here’s a simple example of loading values from a values xml file into a string array, searching through the values, and selecting one for display.

values/strings.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
    <string
        name="hello">Hello World, Main!</string>
    <string
        name="app_name">Q6024120_Load_And_Search_Array</string>
    <string-array
        name="planets_array">
        <item>Mercury</item>
        <item>Venus</item>
        <item>Earth</item>
        <item>Mars</item>
        <item>Jupiter</item>
        <item>Saturn</item>
        <item>Uranus</item>
        <item>Neptune</item>
    </string-array>
</resources>

public class Main extends Activity
{
  @Override
  public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
  {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.main);

    String[] planets = getResources().getStringArray(R.array.planets_array);
    int foundIndex = -1;
    for (int i = 0; i < planets.length; i++)
    {
      String planet = planets[i];
      if (planet.equals("Mars"))
      {
        foundIndex = i;
        break;
      }
    }
    String foundPlanet = foundIndex >= 0 ? planets[foundIndex] : "nothing";
    ((TextView)findViewById(R.id.found_planet)).setText("found: " + foundPlanet);
  }
}

If you’d rather load the data from an xml file in the assets folder, note that it’s a bit involved. Take a look at android: how to load xml file from assets directory?.

If the values are just a simple list of strings, then xml structure probably isn’t necessary. Here’s a simple example of loading the values from a text file in the assets folder.

assets/planets.txt

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune

public class Main extends Activity
{
  @Override
  public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
  {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.main);

    // String[] planets = getResources().getStringArray(R.array.planets_array);
    String[] planets = readFromAssetsTxt();
    int foundIndex = -1;
    for (int i = 0; i < planets.length; i++)
    {
      String planet = planets[i];
      if (planet.equals("Mars"))
      {
        foundIndex = i;
        break;
      }
    }
    String foundPlanet = foundIndex >= 0 ? planets[foundIndex] : "nothing";
    ((TextView) findViewById(R.id.found_planet)).setText("found: " + foundPlanet);
  }

  String[] readFromAssetsTxt()
  {
    try
    {
      AssetManager assetManager = getAssets();
      List<String> planets = new ArrayList<String>();
      BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(assetManager.open("planets.txt")));
      String planet = null;
      while ((planet = in.readLine()) != null)
      {
        planets.add(planet);
      }
      in.close();
      String[] planetsArray = new String[planets.size()];
      planets.toArray(planetsArray);
      return planetsArray;
    }
    catch (IOException e)
    {
      e.printStackTrace();
    }
    return new String[] {};
  }
}