howdy, Prasanna!

Hi Mark

how can I help you today?

I am using a simplecursor adapter with a list view. I am using a custom row that has 3 textfields and a button to populate the list. The 3 text fields are populated from the database. When you click on the button I want to show and alert with detail information which I want obtain from the relevant row in the database. How do I set a onClickListener to the button in a way that I am able to get access to the relevant row in the cursor?

personally, I *really* don

er

personally, I *really* don't like ListView holding rows that are this interactive

if there are only a few rows (say, less than 50), use a vertical LinearLayout in a ScrollView

there will be more than 50 rows

in which case, this should not be in one ListView, IMHO

be that as it may

that sample project shows how to attach listeners to widgets in a ListView row (in this case, a RatingBar) with knowledge of what position they are associated with

ok

so, if I am not to use a ListView for this, how would I proceed?

having a ListView is fine, but the data entry should not be in-line in the ListView, but in a detail fragment/activity/whateer

er, whatever

(BTW, the sample app I mentioned is described on pages 733-737 of Version 4.1 of the book)

ok thanks Mark.

There is not going to be data entry for this implementation in the ListView.

you said that there are "3 text fields" in the rows

oh, meant textview

sorry

if you really mean three TextViews, then I don't know why you need the button -- just respond to taps on the rows themselves, the way ListViews normally work

Good point. I think I will respond to the taps on the row. The button was what the client had in mind ...

Do you have an example in your book on respond to the row tap

if you are using ListActivity or ListFragment, just override onListItemClick()

lots of samples show that

ok

if not, you will need to call setOnItemClickListener() on the ListView, supplying an OnItemClickListener implementation

got it

Another question ...

I have a list view that has 3 columns that are populated using a cursor adapter. I want to provide a search box for the user to serch the text in any of the 3 columns. Any hints on how I would go about doign this

which part of "this" are you concerned about?

is there any component, api etc that I can use for search the data in a sqlite database

um, well you search a SQLite database by executing a query, via rawQuery() or kin

that's how you got your Cursor for your CursorAdapter in the first place, presumably

yes

so, if you want to search the contents of the database, create and execute another query

ok

so just bring up an alert to collect the text to search and execute a query and show the results I guess ...

you can bring up the standard search field if you prefer, vs. a dialog

how do I do this?

see Searching with SearchManager, starting on page 1247, of Version 4.1 of the book :-)

thanks Mark

I will refer to the book, thanks directing me.

Ok Mark. Heading out. Hope you have a great rest of the day.

you too!

Actually I more question

hi again! :-)

On the same ListView, I want to implement sorting on a few columns ...

I am thinking of having buttons on top of the relevant columns, so that when you press on one of these buttons ...

I will execute the query again doing the relevant sort and populating the ListView again ...

Am I doing the right thing here?

in terms of re-querying the database, that is certainly simplest

if speed is an issue, you could look to do more stuff in-memory to do the sort on the original query result

in terms of the buttons-on-top-of-the-columns, I don't see that UI approach taken often

sort is either triggered by an options menu/action bar item, or perhaps a Spinner in the UI itself

basically, so a single errant tap doesn't lose the user's place, presumably

yes, makes sense

do you have an example in your book similar to re-querying the database and showing results again?

well, the search sample in the chapter I mentioned shows displaying search results

it's not in a database, though

I do not have a sample that shows implementing search with database-backed content, sorry

do you have a an example that does just queries the database again and shows the results in a ListView

not in terms of "again"

I have samples that show querying a database, but only on startup, not based on user input

in the case of sorting, you'd just use swapCursor() or changeCursor() on your CursorAdapter to load in new results

actually, my database samples do show re-loading the database contents after rows are added

great

howdy, crazykid!

thanks Mark.

hi Mark

Prasanna: sure

crazykid: how can I help you today?

i've decided that my main navigation is better suited for tabhost - I may utilize the view pager inside one of the tab's for sub-navigation, but the view pager doesn't really fit the overall feel we are going for

crazykid: sorry, I need a bit more context as to what you are talking about

(BTW, howdy, um, KBZoiD!)

hello everyone

hi Mark :)

right now i am following the tutorial on tabhost and tabwidget...its set up in a way to load views. is it wrong to have the tabs load activities instead?

hi KB

activities-in-tabs is officially deprecated

sorry mark I was referring to our convo last week regarding the different methods for navigation in my current project

mind if i upload an image?

I apologize for not necessarily remembering everything from week to week in the chats

heck, some days I barely remember what I had for breakfast :-)

yes, feel free to upload an image

i know my fault

FWIW, bottom tabs are frowned upon: http://developer.android.com/design/patter…

so in this app, the navigation at the bottom loads a new activity in the main area..I assume its a activity because the back button returns you to the previous view

the BACK button behavior has no bearing here

hrmm, ok how about this ::uploading another file::

activities-in-tabs would exit the whole tab set on a BACK press too

they have overridden onBackPressed() to have alternative behavior

oh ok

overriding onBackPressed() does not have much to do with how the contents are rendered

so that could have been views-in-tabs, activities-in-tabs, or something else entirely

ok

if the classic TabHost gives you your desired look, that's fine, though I'd still look into how you can re-implement the TabWidget style in the form of an indicator to go with ViewPager

swiping between "tabs" is getting fairly popular

to the point where users may start expecting it

roger

so i can set up the "global" tabbed navigation in the viewpager?

i mean the look and feel

I hesitate a bit on the word "in"

the content is "in" the ViewPager

the tabs are an indicator associated with the ViewPager

depending on implementation, that indicator strip may be a child or sibling of the ViewPager

let me take a question from KBZoiD, then circle back to you for more follow-up

KBZoiD: do you have a question?

sounds good

no no, no problem :D im just starting reading your book and reading other people's questions is quite useful for me :)

thank you anyway! i understand it all so far :P

oh, OK

crazykid: back to you, then

yea so I guess I just need to get my head around viewpager a little better

there's a whole chapter on it in the book :-)

the tutorials also use it, FWIW

gotta go now. nice to meet you guys and thank you for the book Mark

catch you guys soon

bye

haha, i know and i had no issues while reading / doing the examples..now when applying it to my app and navigation issue I'm having a tough time figuring out how to incorporate

bye KB

but I'll just re-read :)

one more thing

so any resource I see (stackoverflow, etc) loading activities via tabs I should avoid, correct?

again, that technique is deprecated

it probably still works as well as it ever did, but I would go in other directions

ok, how about fragments in tabs?

that's perfectly reasonable and is the preferred alternative to activities-in-tabs

ok cool, thanks mark

adios

have a pleasant day, both of you!

that is a wrap for today's chat

the next one is Thursday, 10am Eastern