How to Successfully Populate a ListView in Android with a Custom Adapter

Описание: Discover an effective solution to the issue of populating a `ListView` in Android whenever you face challenges with a custom adapter.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/73348221/ asked by the user 'Lightball' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/19722102/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/73378563/ provided by the user 'Tyler V' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/9473786/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Solving the ListView Population Issue in Android

If you've been building your Android app and recently encountered difficulties when trying to fill a ListView using an ArrayList, rest assured—you are not alone. Many developers face similar challenges, especially when they implement custom adapters. In this guide, we will explore a common problem: failing to display data from an ArrayList in a ListView using a custom adapter, and how to solve it efficiently.

Understanding the Problem

In the scenario presented, an Android application is designed to search for game information using an API. The user can enter search queries, which will be processed, and results displayed in a ListView. However, when attempting to populate the ListView with game details, the application faces issues:

The ListView (list_item_text) inside the lv_listofgames does not display any data.

Attempts to implement a separate adapter lead to crashes or empty items in the ListView.

Key Points to Note

You have an Activity with an EditText, a Button, and a ListView.

You make a network call that brings back a list of games.

The goal is to populate a nested ListView item with game titles, release dates, and platforms.



Step-by-Step Solution

To resolve the issue, there are two primary adjustments you need to make in your code.

1. Update the Layout

Currently, your layout file (R.layout.details) contains a ListView where you should instead utilize a TextView. Since your intention is to simply show text in each row of the list, replace the ListView with a TextView.

Modifications Needed:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Update ViewHolder Class

After changing the layout, ensure your ViewHolder class correctly references the TextView:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

2. Set Data in the Adapter

The second issue leading to empty rows in your ListView is that, while you are creating the rows, you are not setting the text to be displayed in them. In your getView method, be sure to set the text appropriately.

Implementing the Changes:

In your adapter's getView method, add the following line to set the text based on the current position:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

By making these essential changes—modifying the layout to use a TextView instead of a ListView and ensuring you set content in the adapter—you should be able to populate your ListView successfully. With these adjustments, your app will better display the games based on user search queries.

Now you're set to tackle your Android development challenges with renewed confidence! Happy coding!