Android page development tutorial similar to WeChat homepage (Kotlin)

 

prerequisite

Install and configure Android Studio

Android Studio Electric Eel | 2022.1.1 Patch 2
Build #AI-221.6008.13.2211.9619390, built on February 17, 2023
Runtime version: 11.0.15+0-b2043.56-9505619 amd64
VM: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM by JetBrains s.r.o.
Windows 11 10.0
GC: G1 Young Generation, G1 Old Generation
Memory: 1280M
Cores: 6
Registry:
    external.system.auto.import.disabled=true
    ide.text.editor.with.preview.show.floating.toolbar=false
    ide.balloon.shadow.size=0
 
Non-Bundled Plugins:
    com.intuit.intellij.makefile (1.0.15)
    com.github.setial (4.0.2)
    com.alayouni.ansiHighlight (1.2.4)
    GsonOrXmlFormat (2.0)
    GLSL (1.19)
    com.mistamek.drawablepreview.drawable-preview (1.1.5)
    com.layernet.plugin.adbwifi (1.0.5)
    com.likfe.ideaplugin.eventbus3 (2020.0.2)

gradle-wrapper.properties

#Tue Apr 25 13:34:44 CST 2023
distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-7.4-bin.zip
distributionPath=wrapper/dists
zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME

build.gradle(:Project)

// Top-level build file where you can add configuration options common to all sub-projects/modules.
plugins {
    id 'com.android.application' version '7.3.1' apply false
    id 'com.android.library' version '7.3.1' apply false
    id 'org.jetbrains.kotlin.android' version '1.7.20' apply false
}

setting.gradle

pluginManagement {
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
        gradlePluginPortal()
    }
}
dependencyResolutionManagement {
    repositoriesMode.set(RepositoriesMode.FAIL_ON_PROJECT_REPOS)
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
}
rootProject.name = "logindemo"
include ':app'

Basic understanding of the Kotlin language

create new project

First, open Android Studio and create a new project. Choose the "Empty Activity" template, and give your project a name such as "###Demo". Next, select Kotlin as the development language, and make sure to select the appropriate minimum SDK version.

Add dependent library

In the project's build.gradle (Module) file, add the following dependencies:

dependencies {
    implementation 'com.google.android.material:material:1.5.0'
}

After syncing Gradle, we can use TabLayout and ViewPager from the Material Design component library.

Design Home Interface

In the activity_main.xml file, we will create a layout containing TabLayout and ViewPager.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout 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">

    <com.google.android.material.tabs.TabLayout
        android:id="@+id/tabLayout"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
        app:tabIndicatorColor="@color/teal_200"
        app:tabSelectedTextColor="@color/teal_200"
        app:tabTextColor="@color/black" />

    <androidx.viewpager.widget.ViewPager
        android:id="@+id/viewPager"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="0dp"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintBottom_toTopOf="@+id/tabLayout"/>

</androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>

Create Fragments

In order to realize the sliding switching function similar to WeChat, we need to create several Fragments. In this tutorial, we'll create three Fragments representing Chat, Contacts, and Discovery.

package com.example.logindemo.fragment

import android.os.Bundle
import android.view.LayoutInflater
import android.view.View
import android.view.ViewGroup
import androidx.fragment.app.Fragment
import com.example.logindemo.R

class ChatFragment : Fragment() {

    override fun onCreateView(
        inflater: LayoutInflater, container: ViewGroup?,
        savedInstanceState: Bundle?
    ): View? {
        return inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_chat, container, false)
    }
}

package com.example.logindemo.fragment

import android.os.Bundle
import android.view.LayoutInflater
import android.view.View
import android.view.ViewGroup
import androidx.fragment.app.Fragment
import com.example.logindemo.R

class ContactsFragment : Fragment() {

    override fun onCreateView(
        inflater: LayoutInflater, container: ViewGroup?,
        savedInstanceState: Bundle?
    ): View? {
        return inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_contacts, container, false)
    }
}

package com.example.logindemo.fragment

import android.os.Bundle
import android.view.LayoutInflater
import android.view.View
import android.view.ViewGroup
import androidx.fragment.app.Fragment
import com.example.logindemo.R

class DiscoverFragment : Fragment() {

    override fun onCreateView(
        inflater: LayoutInflater, container: ViewGroup?,
        savedInstanceState: Bundle?
    ): View? {
        return inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_discover, container, false)
    }
}

fragment_chat.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout 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">

    <TextView
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
        android:text="聊天"/>

</androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>

fragment_contacts.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout 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">

    <TextView
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
        android:text="联系人"/>

</androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>

fragment_discover.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout 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">

    <TextView
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
        android:text="发现"/>

</androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>

Set ViewPager and TabLayout

In the MainActivity.kt file, we will set ViewPager and TabLayout to realize the sliding switching function.

package com.example.logindemo

import android.os.Bundle
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import androidx.fragment.app.Fragment
import androidx.fragment.app.FragmentPagerAdapter
import androidx.viewpager.widget.ViewPager
import com.example.logindemo.fragment.ChatFragment
import com.example.logindemo.fragment.ContactsFragment
import com.example.logindemo.fragment.DiscoverFragment
import com.google.android.material.tabs.TabLayout

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    private lateinit var viewPager: ViewPager
    private lateinit var tabLayout: TabLayout

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)

        val fragments = listOf(
            ChatFragment(),
            ContactsFragment(),
            DiscoverFragment()
        )
        viewPager = findViewById(R.id.viewPager)
        tabLayout = findViewById(R.id.tabLayout)

        viewPager.adapter = ViewPagerAdapter(supportFragmentManager, fragments)
        tabLayout.setupWithViewPager(viewPager)

        tabLayout.getTabAt(0)?.text = "聊天"
        tabLayout.getTabAt(1)?.text = "联系人"
        tabLayout.getTabAt(2)?.text = "发现"
    }

    class ViewPagerAdapter(
        fragmentManager: androidx.fragment.app.FragmentManager,
        private val fragments: List<Fragment>
    ) : FragmentPagerAdapter(fragmentManager, BEHAVIOR_RESUME_ONLY_CURRENT_FRAGMENT) {

        override fun getItem(position: Int): Fragment {
            return fragments[position]
        }

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

We have completed the Android application development that imitates the WeChat homepage. Run the app, and you will see a home page interface similar to WeChat, where you can switch between different Fragments by sliding or clicking the TabLayout.