How to Create a News App in Android?
Networking is an integral part of android development, especially when building data-driven clients. The java class mainly used for network connections is HttpUrlConnection. The class requires manual management of data parsing and asynchronous execution of requests. For network operations, we are better off using a library called Fast Android Networking Library which can take care of sending and parsing network requests. In this article, we will step through the process of building an android news application. Fast Android Networking Library supports all types of HTTP/HTTPS requests and in our app, we will use it for
- Performing GET requests
- Loading images from the internet into ImageViews
Here is what the application will look like in the end:
Step By Step Implementation
Step 1: Create a New Project
To learn how to create a new project in Android Studio please refer to How to Create/Start a New Project in Android Studio and choose java as the programming language.
Step 2: Add dependencies
Select Gradle Scripts > build.gradle(Module:app) and add the below dependency in the dependencies section.
implementation 'com.amitshekhar.android:android-networking:1.0.2' implementation 'com.amitshekhar.android:jackson-android-networking:1.0.2'
After adding the dependencies, sync your project by clicking Sync Now.
Step 3: Add permissions
Select manifests > AndroidManifest.xml and add the internet permission above the application tag.
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
Step 4: Get an API Key
Visit newsapi and register. The key will be displayed after registration and also sent to your email inbox.
Step 5: Create a new empty activity and add a WebView to the layout
Go to app > java > right-click > New > Activity > Empty Activity and name it as WebActivity. This activity will display web pages of articles as part of the activity layout. To add a WebView to the activity_web.xml file. Navigate to app > res > layout > activity_web.xml and add the below code to that file.
XML
<? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "utf-8" ?> < LinearLayout xmlns:android = "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" xmlns:app = "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto" xmlns:tools = "http://schemas.android.com/tools" android:layout_width = "match_parent" android:layout_height = "match_parent" tools:context = ".WebActivity" > <!-- webview to display web pages as part of the activity --> < WebView android:id = "@+id/webview" android:layout_width = "match_parent" android:layout_height = "match_parent" /> </ LinearLayout > |
Step 6: Working with the WebActivity.java file
Below is the code for WebActivity.java.
Java
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity; import android.content.Intent; import android.os.Bundle; import android.util.Log; import android.webkit.WebView; public class WebActivity extends AppCompatActivity { // setting the TAG for debugging purposes private static String TAG= "WebActivity" ; // declaring the webview private WebView myWebView; // declaring the url string variable private String url; @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super .onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_web); // assigning the views to id's myWebView = (WebView) findViewById(R.id.webview); Intent intent = getIntent(); // checking if there is an intent if (intent!= null ){ // retrieving the url in the intent url = intent.getStringExtra( "url_key" ); // loading and displaying a // web page in the activity myWebView.loadUrl(url); } } @Override protected void onRestart() { super .onRestart(); finish(); } } |
Step 7: Add a RecyclerView to the activity_main.xml file
Select app > res > layout > activity_main.xml and add the below code to that file. The RecyclerView is used to efficiently display a list of data and in our case, it will display a list of news articles.
XML
<? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "utf-8" ?> < RelativeLayout xmlns:android = "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" xmlns:app = "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto" xmlns:tools = "http://schemas.android.com/tools" android:layout_width = "match_parent" android:layout_height = "match_parent" tools:context = ".MainActivity" > <!-- A RecyclerView to efficiently display a list of articles --> < androidx.recyclerview.widget.RecyclerView android:id = "@+id/recyclerview_id" android:layout_width = "match_parent" android:layout_height = "match_parent" > </ androidx.recyclerview.widget.RecyclerView > <!-- loading spinner to be displayed while the library fetches news --> < ProgressBar android:id = "@+id/progressbar_id" android:layout_width = "wrap_content" android:indeterminateTint = "#0F9D58" android:layout_centerHorizontal = "true" android:layout_centerVertical = "true" android:layout_height = "wrap_content" > </ ProgressBar > </ RelativeLayout > |
Step 8: Create a new custom layout
Navigate to File > New > XML > Layout XML File and name it as article_item. The article_item.xml file will be used for each row within the news article list. Below is the code for the article_item.xml file.
XML
<? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "utf-8" ?> < LinearLayout xmlns:android = "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:layout_width = "match_parent" android:orientation = "vertical" android:layout_height = "wrap_content" > <!-- horizontal LinearLayout containing image and article details --> < LinearLayout android:layout_width = "match_parent" android:gravity = "center" android:weightSum = "10" android:orientation = "horizontal" android:layout_height = "wrap_content" > <!-- Image of news thumbnail --> <!-- ANImageView is a view provided by Fast Android Networking Library --> < com.androidnetworking.widget.ANImageView android:id = "@+id/image_id" android:layout_weight = "3" android:layout_width = "0dp" android:layout_height = "wrap_content" /> < LinearLayout android:layout_weight = "7" android:layout_width = "0dp" android:layout_height = "wrap_content" android:padding = "10dp" android:orientation = "vertical" > <!-- Text with title --> < TextView android:id = "@+id/title_id" android:layout_width = "wrap_content" android:layout_height = "wrap_content" android:ellipsize = "end" android:maxLines = "2" android:textStyle = "bold" android:textColor = "#0F9D58" android:textSize = "14sp" /> <!-- Text with description name --> < TextView android:id = "@+id/description_id" android:layout_marginTop = "2dp" android:layout_width = "wrap_content" android:layout_height = "wrap_content" android:ellipsize = "end" android:fontFamily = "sans-serif-medium" android:textAllCaps = "false" android:textSize = "12sp" /> </ LinearLayout > </ LinearLayout > <!-- Text with author name and date --> < TextView android:id = "@+id/contributordate_id" android:layout_marginTop = "1dp" android:layout_width = "wrap_content" android:layout_height = "wrap_content" android:ellipsize = "end" android:maxLines = "1" android:textSize = "12sp" /> <!-- View showing thin green horizontal line separating articles --> < View android:layout_width = "match_parent" android:layout_marginTop = "3dp" android:layout_marginBottom = "5dp" android:layout_height = "0.2dp" android:background = "#0F9D58" /> </ LinearLayout > |
Step 9: Create a NewsArticle Model class
Navigate to app > Java > package > Right Click on package> New > Java Class and name it as NewsArticle. We created this model class for storing news article data like title, content, description e.t.c.
In our model class, there are mainly three types of methods :
- Constructors: initializes newly created NewsArticle objects
- Get methods: for getting property values
- Set methods: for setting property values
Below is the code for the NewsArticle.java file.
Java
public class NewsArticle { // the properties/attributes // of the ArticleModel String author; String title; String description; String url; String urlToImage; String publishedAt; String content; // ArticleModel empty constructor public NewsArticle() { } // get method : returns the name of the author public String getAuthor() { return author; } // set method : sets the author public void setAuthor(String author) { this .author = author; } // get method : returns the title of the article public String getTitle() { return title; } // set method : sets the title public void setTitle(String title) { this .title = title; } // get method : returns the description of the article public String getDescription() { return description; } // set method : sets the description public void setDescription(String description) { this .description = description; } // get method : returns url of the article public String getUrl() { return url; } // set method : sets the url of the article public void setUrl(String url) { this .url = url; } // get method : returns the urlToImage of the article public String getUrlToImage() { return urlToImage; } // set method : sets the UrlToImage public void setUrlToImage(String urlToImage) { this .urlToImage = urlToImage; } // get method : returns the date public String getPublishedAt() { return publishedAt; } // set method : sets the date public void setPublishedAt(String publishedAt) { this .publishedAt = publishedAt; } // get method : returns the content of the article public String getContent() { return content; } // set method : sets the title public void setContent(String content) { this .content = content; } } |
Step 10: Create an ArticleAdapter class
Navigate to app > Java > package > Right Click on package> New > Java Class and name it as ArticleAdapter.The ArticleAdapter class is responsible for getting data from the NewsArticle model and displaying it on view. The adapter will provide access to the data items and is answerable for creating a view for each news article in the data set. Below is the code for the ArticleAdapter.java file.
Java
import android.content.Context; import android.content.Intent; import android.view.LayoutInflater; import android.view.View; import android.view.ViewGroup; import android.widget.TextView; import androidx.annotation.NonNull; import androidx.recyclerview.widget.RecyclerView; import com.androidnetworking.widget.ANImageView; import java.util.ArrayList; public class ArticleAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<ArticleAdapter.ViewHolder> { // setting the TAG for debugging purposes private static String TAG= "ArticleAdapter" ; private ArrayList<NewsArticle> mArrayList; private Context mContext; public ArticleAdapter(Context context,ArrayList<NewsArticle> list){ // initializing the constructor this .mContext=context; this .mArrayList=list; } @NonNull @Override public ViewHolder onCreateViewHolder( @NonNull ViewGroup parent, int viewType) { // inflating the layout with the article view (R.layout.article_item) View view=LayoutInflater.from(mContext).inflate(R.layout.article_item,parent, false ); return new ViewHolder(view); } @Override public void onBindViewHolder( @NonNull ViewHolder holder, int position) { // the parameter position is the index of the current article // getting the current article from the ArrayList using the position NewsArticle currentArticle=mArrayList.get(position); // setting the text of textViews holder.title.setText(currentArticle.getTitle()); holder.description.setText(currentArticle.getDescription()); // subString(0,10) trims the date to make it short holder.contributordate.setText(currentArticle.getAuthor()+ " | " +currentArticle.getPublishedAt().substring( 0 , 10 )); // Loading image from network into // Fast Android Networking View ANImageView holder.image.setDefaultImageResId(R.drawable.ic_launcher_background); holder.image.setErrorImageResId(R.drawable.ic_launcher_foreground); holder.image.setImageUrl(currentArticle.getUrlToImage()); // setting the content Description on the Image holder.image.setContentDescription(currentArticle.getContent()); // handling click event of the article holder.itemView.setOnClickListener( new View.OnClickListener() { @Override public void onClick(View view) { // an intent to the WebActivity that display web pages Intent intent = new Intent(mContext, WebActivity. class ); intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK); intent.putExtra( "url_key" ,currentArticle.getUrl()); // starting an Activity to display the page of the article mContext.startActivity(intent); } }); } @Override public int getItemCount() { return mArrayList.size(); } public class ViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder{ // declaring the views private TextView title,description,contributordate; private ANImageView image; public ViewHolder( @NonNull View itemView) { super (itemView); // assigning views to their ids title=itemView.findViewById(R.id.title_id); description=itemView.findViewById(R.id.description_id); image=itemView.findViewById(R.id.image_id); contributordate=itemView.findViewById(R.id.contributordate_id); } } } |
Step 11: Working with the MainActivity.java file
In our activity, we will make GET requests to the news API using Android Fast Library and populate the RecyclerView with news articles. Firstly, we will create a string variable and set it to the API key (the key we created in step 4). For example if your API key = b971358de21d4af48ae24b5faf06bbok. Then declare the variable as :
private static String API_KEY="b971358de21d4af48ae24b5faf06bbok";
Below is the code for the MainActivity.java file.
Java
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity; import androidx.recyclerview.widget.LinearLayoutManager; import androidx.recyclerview.widget.RecyclerView; import android.os.Bundle; import android.util.Log; import android.view.View; import android.widget.ProgressBar; import com.androidnetworking.AndroidNetworking; import com.androidnetworking.common.Priority; import com.androidnetworking.error.ANError; import com.androidnetworking.interfaces.JSONObjectRequestListener; import com.jacksonandroidnetworking.JacksonParserFactory; import org.json.JSONArray; import org.json.JSONException; import org.json.JSONObject; import java.util.ArrayList; public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity { // TODO : set the API_KEY variable to your api key private static String API_KEY= "" ; // setting the TAG for debugging purposes private static String TAG= "MainActivity" ; // declaring the views private ProgressBar mProgressBar; private RecyclerView mRecyclerView; // declaring an ArrayList of articles private ArrayList<NewsArticle> mArticleList; private ArticleAdapter mArticleAdapter; @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super .onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_main); // initializing the Fast Android Networking Library AndroidNetworking.initialize(getApplicationContext()); // setting the JacksonParserFactory AndroidNetworking.setParserFactory( new JacksonParserFactory()); // assigning views to their ids mProgressBar=(ProgressBar)findViewById(R.id.progressbar_id); mRecyclerView=(RecyclerView)findViewById(R.id.recyclerview_id); // setting the recyclerview layout manager mRecyclerView.setLayoutManager( new LinearLayoutManager( this )); // initializing the ArrayList of articles mArticleList= new ArrayList<>(); // calling get_news_from_api() get_news_from_api(); } public void get_news_from_api(){ // clearing the articles list before adding news ones mArticleList.clear(); // Making a GET Request using Fast // Android Networking Library // the request returns a JSONObject containing // news articles from the news api // or it will return an error AndroidNetworking.get( "https://newsapi.org/v2/top-headlines" ) .addQueryParameter( "country" , "in" ) .addQueryParameter( "apiKey" ,API_KEY) .addHeaders( "token" , "1234" ) .setTag( "test" ) .setPriority(Priority.LOW) .build() .getAsJSONObject( new JSONObjectRequestListener(){ @Override public void onResponse(JSONObject response) { // disabling the progress bar mProgressBar.setVisibility(View.GONE); // handling the response try { // storing the response in a JSONArray JSONArray articles=response.getJSONArray( "articles" ); // looping through all the articles // to access them individually for ( int j= 0 ;j<articles.length();j++) { // accessing each article object in the JSONArray JSONObject article=articles.getJSONObject(j); // initializing an empty ArticleModel NewsArticle currentArticle= new NewsArticle(); // storing values of the article object properties String author=article.getString( "author" ); String title=article.getString( "title" ); String description=article.getString( "description" ); String url=article.getString( "url" ); String urlToImage=article.getString( "urlToImage" ); String publishedAt=article.getString( "publishedAt" ); String content=article.getString( "content" ); // setting the values of the ArticleModel // using the set methods currentArticle.setAuthor(author); currentArticle.setTitle(title); currentArticle.setDescription(description); currentArticle.setUrl(url); currentArticle.setUrlToImage(urlToImage); currentArticle.setPublishedAt(publishedAt); currentArticle.setContent(content); // adding an article to the articles List mArticleList.add(currentArticle); } // setting the adapter mArticleAdapter= new ArticleAdapter(getApplicationContext(),mArticleList); mRecyclerView.setAdapter(mArticleAdapter); } catch (JSONException e) { e.printStackTrace(); // logging the JSONException LogCat Log.d(TAG, "Error : " +e.getMessage()); } } @Override public void onError(ANError error) { // logging the error detail and response to LogCat Log.d(TAG, "Error detail : " +error.getErrorDetail()); Log.d(TAG, "Error response : " +error.getResponse()); } }); } } |
Output: