Question

I’m new to android developing, so i apologise if this is a simple/noob-ish question, and for any incorrect terminology.

but what i need to know is how can i include a list alongside of other UI elements (such as TextView, ImageView elements etc)

upto now, all i have been able to achieve is a list activity all on its own, which to do this i have been using the ListActivity class type.

My list activity:

import android.app.ListActivity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;

public class ListViewExample extends ListActivity 
{
    String[] exampleList = {
            "Item 1",
            "Item 2",
            "Item 3"
            //etc etc
    };

    @Override  
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) 
    {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);  
        setContentView(R.layout.listview);

        setListAdapter(new ArrayAdapter<String>(this,
            android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1, exampleList));
    }
}

Which is started within my Main class/activity:

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;

public class NewtestActivity extends Activity {
    /** Called when the activity is first created. */
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.main);

        startActivity(new Intent( this, ListViewExample.class));
    }
}

but with the function of “startActivity()”, this seems to just switch to that activity, and not “include” it to the current, which of-corse means that any elements within “R.layout.main” (defined above the calling of “startActivity()) are not shown.

Is there anyway to include this activity within my main activity?
or is there a better way of making a list?

(my goal will eventually be to make the list array dynamic, just thought id say in case that affected on any suggested solution).

thanks for any help (:

Answer 1

An alternative to the other answer, which is probably more scalable, is to simply make ListViewExample extend a basic Activity. Then, in the onCreate() method, retrieve the ListView by using findViewById() and then use setAdapter() on this. For example, if your ListView was given the id listview1:

public class ListViewExample extends Activity {
    String[] exampleList = {
            "Item 1",
            "Item 2",
            "Item 3"
            //etc etc
    };

    @Override  
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);  
        setContentView(R.layout.listview);

        // Get an instance of your listview in code
        ListView listview = (ListView) findViewById(R.id.listview1);

        // Set the listview's adapter
        listview.setAdapter(new ArrayAdapter<String>(this,
            android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1, exampleList));
    }
}

This will give you the flexibility to have a layout with more than just a listview in it