In this article, we will learn how to create android StackView programmatically in Kotlin. We will go through various steps that explains how to create StackView and add it in kotlin file, use different attributes to customise it etc. in any android application. For example, how to set text in StackView programmatically, how to set id of StackView, how to capitalise text of StackView dynamically etc. We will get answer to all such questions in this post.

Learn to use Different Attributes of StackView in XML File to Customize it.

Output

Tutorialwing Kotlin Dynamic StackView Output

Getting Started

We can define android StackView widget as below –

StackView is a widget that are used to create views like stack cards in the application. You can flip current views to create space for views just after it. Whenever current view is flipped, next view, just after it, comes forward and takes place of current view.

Now, how do we use StackView in android application ?

Before we move ahead, we need to setup for viewBinding to access StackView in Kotlin file without using findViewById() method.

Setup ViewBinding

Add viewBinding true in app/build.gradle file.

 
 android { 
 	// OTHER CODE... 
 	buildFeatures { 
 		viewBinding true 
 	} 
 } 
 

Now, set content in activity using view binding.
Open MainActivity.kt file and write below code in it.

 
 class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() { 
 	
 	private lateinit var binding: ActivityMainBinding 
 	
 	override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) { 
 		super.onCreate(savedInstanceState) 
 		binding = ActivityMainBinding.inflate(layoutInflater) 
 		val view = binding.root 
 		setContentView(view) 
 	} 
 } 
 

Now, we can access view in Kotlin file without using findViewById() method.

Since we have a new project, we will modify the xml and class file to use StackView programmatically in kotlin. Please follow the steps below.

1. Download Drawable Resources

We will need drawable images stored in res/drawable folder in the application. So, we can click here to download images to be used in the application.

2. Modify Values Folder

Open res/values/strings.xml file. Add below code into it.

<resources>
    <string name="app_name">DynamicStackView</string>
    <string name="no_image">No Image</string>
</resources>

3. Create View For Single Item

Now, we will create view for single item of stackView. So, create a new file, item.xml file, in res/layout folder. Then, add below code into it.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FrameLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:background="@android:color/black">

    <ImageView
        android:id="@+id/imageView"
        android:layout_width="260dp"
        android:layout_height="260dp"
        android:layout_margin="3dp"
        android:contentDescription="@string/no_image"/>

</FrameLayout>

4. Create Adapter For StackView

Now, we will create adapter for stackView that are responsible to provide data in stackView. So, create a new file, StackAdapter.kt, in main/java/com.tutorialwing.dynamicstackview/StackAdapter.kt. Then, add below code into it.

package com.tutorialwing.dynamicstackview

import android.content.Context
import android.view.LayoutInflater
import android.view.View
import android.view.ViewGroup
import android.widget.BaseAdapter
import android.widget.ImageView
import com.tutorialwing.dynamicstackview.databinding.ItemBinding

class StackAdapter internal constructor(context: Context, private val nameList: IntArray) :
	BaseAdapter() {

	private val inflater: LayoutInflater = LayoutInflater.from(context)

	override fun getCount(): Int {
		return nameList.size
	}

	override fun getItem(position: Int): Any {
		return nameList[position]
	}

	override fun getItemId(position: Int): Long {
		return position.toLong()
	}

	override fun getView(position: Int, view: View?, parent: ViewGroup): View {
		var convertView = view
		val holder: ViewHolder
		if (convertView == null) {
			val binding = ItemBinding.inflate(inflater)
			convertView = binding.root
			holder = ViewHolder()
			holder.imageView = binding.imageView
			convertView.tag = holder
		} else {
			holder = convertView.tag as ViewHolder
		}
		holder.imageView!!.setBackgroundResource(nameList[position])
		return convertView
	}

	inner class ViewHolder {
		internal var imageView: ImageView? = null
	}
}

Adapter provides data in the stackView. We have used viewHolder pattern to create views in the stackView.

5. Modify Layout Folder

Open res/layout/activity_main.xml file. Add below code into it.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
    android:id="@+id/rootContainer"
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:gravity="center"
    android:orientation="vertical">

</LinearLayout>

Note that LinearLayout has id rootContainer. In Kotlin file, we will create StackView Dynamically and add it into this LinearLayout having id rootContainer.

6. Create Android StackView programmatically in Kotlin

Open src/main/java/com.tutorialwing.dynamicstackview/MainActivity.kt file. Then, add below code into it.

package com.tutorialwing.dynamicstackview

import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import android.os.Bundle
import android.view.ViewGroup
import android.widget.LinearLayout
import android.widget.StackView
import com.tutorialwing.dynamicstackview.databinding.ActivityMainBinding

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
	private lateinit var binding: ActivityMainBinding

	private var nameList = intArrayOf(
		R.drawable.guava,
		R.drawable.jackfruit,
		R.drawable.mix_fruit,
		R.drawable.pizza,
		R.drawable.pomegranate,
		R.drawable.strawberry,
		R.drawable.zespri_kiwi
	)

	override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
		super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
		binding = ActivityMainBinding.inflate(layoutInflater)
		val view = binding.root
		setContentView(view)

		setupStackView()
	}

	private fun setupStackView() {
		val stackView = StackView(this)
		stackView.layoutParams = LinearLayout.LayoutParams(
			ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT,
			ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT
		)

		binding.rootContainer.addView(stackView)

		val adapter = StackAdapter(this, nameList)
		stackView.adapter = adapter
		adapter.notifyDataSetChanged()
	}
}

In MainActivity.kt file, we have created StackView widget. Then, we have set layout params in it. After that, we have added this stackView widget in the linearLayout, having id rootContainer. Then, we have created adapter for stackView and set it in the view.

Finally, when you run the application, you will get output as shown above.

Tutorialwing Kotlin Dynamic StackView Output

Now, Let’s check how to use different attributes of StackView to customize it dynamically –

Set Id of StackView

Follow steps below to set id of StackView programmatically –

• Create ids.xml file in res/values folder. Then, add below code into it –

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  <resources>
      <item type="id" name="stackView_ID" />
  </resources>
  

• Now, we can set id of StackView dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –

  stackView.id = R.id.stackView_ID  // StackView
  

  Here, we have set id of StackView using property access syntax – stackView.id

Learn to Set ID of StackView Using XML Attribute

Set Width and Height of StackView

We use layoutParams to set width and height of any View programmatically. In this article, we have added StackView in LinearLayout. So, we will define LayoutParams as below –

stackView.layoutParams = LinearLayout.LayoutParams(
	ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT,
	ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT
)

Here, we have set width and height as WRAP_CONTENT. Some of possible values for width and height are –

• WRAP_CONTENT: Sets value of width or height depending on text inside it.
• MATCH_PARENT: Sets value of width of height depending on width or height of parent layout . i.e. width or height of StackView will be same as width or height of parent layout.
• Fixed Value: Sets width or height as per value provided.

Learn to Set Width or Height of StackView Using XML Attribute

Set Padding of StackView

Follow steps below to set padding of StackView Dynamically –

• If there is no dimens.xml file, create dimens.xml file in res/values folder. Then, add below code in it –

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  <resources>
      <dimen name="text_padding">16dp</dimen>
  </resources>
  

• Now, we can set padding of StackView dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –

  val padding = resources.getDimension(R.dimen.text_padding).toInt()
  stackView.setPadding(padding, padding, padding, padding)
  

  Here, we have accessed dimension defined in dimens.xml using getDimension() method. Then, set padding of StackView using setPadding() method.

Learn to Set Padding of StackView Using XML Attribute

Set Margin of StackView

Follow steps below to set margin of StackView Dynamically –

• If there is no dimens.xml file, create dimens.xml file in res/values folder. Then, add below code in it –

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  <resources>
      <dimen name="text_margin">16dp</dimen>
  </resources>
  

• Now, we can set margin of StackView dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –

  val margin = resources.getDimension(R.dimen.text_margin).toInt()
  val layoutParams = LinearLayout.LayoutParams(
  	ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT,
  	ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT
  )
  layoutParams.setMargins(margin, margin, margin, margin)
  stackView.layoutParams = layoutParams
  

  Here, we have accessed dimension defined in dimens.xml using getDimension() method. Then, we have defined layoutParams, set margin to layoutParams. After that, set layoutParams to StackView.

Learn to Set Margin of StackView Using XML Attribute

Set Background of StackView

Follow steps below to set background of StackView programmatically –

• If there is no colors.xml file, create colors.xml file in res/values folder. Then, add below code in it –

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  <resources>
      <color name="purple_200">#FFBB86FC</color>
  </resources>
  

• Now, we can set background of StackView dynamically, in MainActivity.kt file, as –

  val color = ContextCompat.getColor(this, R.color.purple_200)
  stackView.setBackgroundColor(color)
  

  Here, we used setBackgroundColor() method to set background color in stackView.

Learn to Set Background of StackView Using XML Attribute

Set Visibility of StackView

We can set visibility of StackView programmatically as –

stackView.visibility = View.VISIBLE

Here, we have set visibility of StackView using stackView.visibility attribute. Visibility can be of three types – gone, visible and invisible.
Learn to Set Visibility of StackView Using XML Attribute

That’s end of tutorial on StackView Programmatically in Kotlin With Example.