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Simple Android grid example using RecyclerView with GridLayoutManager (like the old GridView)

I know that RecyclerView has replaced the functionality of the old ListView and GridView. I am looking for a very basic example that shows a minimal grid setup using RecyclerView. I am not looking for long tutorial style explanations, just a minimal example. I imagine the simplest grid that mimics the old GridView would consist of the following features:

RecyclerView

ListView

GridView

RecyclerView

2 Answers
2

Short answer

For those who are already familiar with setting up a RecyclerView to make a list, the good news is that making a grid is largely the same. You just use a GridLayoutManager instead of a LinearLayoutManager when you set the RecyclerView up.

RecyclerView

GridLayoutManager

LinearLayoutManager

RecyclerView

recyclerView.setLayoutManager(new GridLayoutManager(this, numberOfColumns));


If you need more help than that, then check out the following example.

Full example

The following is a minimal example that will look like the image below.

Start with an empty activity. You will perform the following tasks to add the RecyclerView grid. All you need to do is copy and paste the code in each section. Later you can customize it to fit your needs.

RecyclerView

Update Gradle dependencies

Make sure the following dependencies are in your app gradle.build file:

gradle.build

compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:27.1.1'
compile 'com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:27.1.1'


You can update the version numbers to whatever is the most current.

Create activity layout

Add the RecyclerView to your xml layout.

RecyclerView

activity_main.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">

<android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView
android:id="@+id/rvNumbers"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"/>

</RelativeLayout>


Create grid cell layout

Each cell in our RecyclerView grid is only going to have a single TextView. Create a new layout resource file.

RecyclerView

TextView

recyclerview_item.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:padding="5dp"
android:layout_width="50dp"
android:layout_height="50dp">

<TextView
android:id="@+id/info_text"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:gravity="center"
android:background="@color/colorAccent"/>

</LinearLayout>


Create the adapter

The RecyclerView needs an adapter to populate the views in each cell with your data. Create a new java file.

RecyclerView

MyRecyclerViewAdapter.java

public class MyRecyclerViewAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<MyRecyclerViewAdapter.ViewHolder>

private String mData;
private LayoutInflater mInflater;
private ItemClickListener mClickListener;

// data is passed into the constructor
MyRecyclerViewAdapter(Context context, String data)
this.mInflater = LayoutInflater.from(context);
this.mData = data;


// inflates the cell layout from xml when needed
@Override
@NonNull
public ViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(@NonNull ViewGroup parent, int viewType)
View view = mInflater.inflate(R.layout.recyclerview_item, parent, false);
return new ViewHolder(view);


// binds the data to the TextView in each cell
@Override
public void onBindViewHolder(@NonNull ViewHolder holder, int position)
holder.myTextView.setText(mData[position]);


// total number of cells
@Override
public int getItemCount()
return mData.length;



// stores and recycles views as they are scrolled off screen
public class ViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder implements View.OnClickListener
TextView myTextView;

ViewHolder(View itemView)
super(itemView);
myTextView = itemView.findViewById(R.id.info_text);
itemView.setOnClickListener(this);


@Override
public void onClick(View view)
if (mClickListener != null) mClickListener.onItemClick(view, getAdapterPosition());



// convenience method for getting data at click position
String getItem(int id)
return mData[id];


// allows clicks events to be caught
void setClickListener(ItemClickListener itemClickListener)
this.mClickListener = itemClickListener;


// parent activity will implement this method to respond to click events
public interface ItemClickListener
void onItemClick(View view, int position);




Notes

GridView

Initialize RecyclerView in Activity

Add the following code to your main activity.

MainActivity.java

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity implements MyRecyclerViewAdapter.ItemClickListener

MyRecyclerViewAdapter adapter;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

// data to populate the RecyclerView with
String data = "1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8", "9", "10", "11", "12", "13", "14", "15", "16", "17", "18", "19", "20", "21", "22", "23", "24", "25", "26", "27", "28", "29", "30", "31", "32", "33", "34", "35", "36", "37", "38", "39", "40", "41", "42", "43", "44", "45", "46", "47", "48";

// set up the RecyclerView
RecyclerView recyclerView = findViewById(R.id.rvNumbers);
int numberOfColumns = 6;
recyclerView.setLayoutManager(new GridLayoutManager(this, numberOfColumns));
adapter = new MyRecyclerViewAdapter(this, data);
adapter.setClickListener(this);
recyclerView.setAdapter(adapter);


@Override
public void onItemClick(View view, int position)
Log.i("TAG", "You clicked number " + adapter.getItem(position) + ", which is at cell position " + position);




Notes

ItemClickListener

onItemClick

Finished

That's it. You should be able to run your project now and get something similar to the image at the top.

Going on

Rounded corners

Auto-fitting columns

Further study

recyclerView.setLayoutManager(new GridLayoutManager(this, numberOfColumns));

Although I do like and appreciate Suragch's answer, I would like to leave a note because I found that coding the Adapter (MyRecyclerViewAdapter) to define and expose the Listener method onItemClick isn't the best way to do it, due to not using class encapsulation correctly. So my suggestion is to let the Adapter handle the Listening operations solely (that's his purpose!) and separate those from the Activity that uses the Adapter (MainActivity). So this is how I would set the Adapter class:

MyRecyclerViewAdapter

onItemClick

MainActivity

MyRecyclerViewAdapter.java

public class MyRecyclerViewAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<MyRecyclerViewAdapter.ViewHolder>

private String mData = new String[0];
private LayoutInflater mInflater;

// Data is passed into the constructor
public MyRecyclerViewAdapter(Context context, String data)
this.mInflater = LayoutInflater.from(context);
this.mData = data;


// Inflates the cell layout from xml when needed
@Override
public ViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(ViewGroup parent, int viewType)
View view = mInflater.inflate(R.layout.recyclerview_item, parent, false);
ViewHolder viewHolder = new ViewHolder(view);
return viewHolder;


// Binds the data to the textview in each cell
@Override
public void onBindViewHolder(ViewHolder holder, int position)
String animal = mData[position];
holder.myTextView.setText(animal);


// Total number of cells
@Override
public int getItemCount()
return mData.length;


// Stores and recycles views as they are scrolled off screen
public class ViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder implements View.OnClickListener
public TextView myTextView;

public ViewHolder(View itemView)
super(itemView);
myTextView = (TextView) itemView.findViewById(R.id.info_text);
itemView.setOnClickListener(this);


@Override
public void onClick(View view)
onItemClick(view, getAdapterPosition());



// Convenience method for getting data at click position
public String getItem(int id)
return mData[id];


// Method that executes your code for the action received
public void onItemClick(View view, int position)
Log.i("TAG", "You clicked number " + getItem(position).toString() + ", which is at cell position " + position);




Please note the onItemClick method now defined in MyRecyclerViewAdapter that is the place where you would want to code your tasks for the event/action received.

onItemClick

MyRecyclerViewAdapter

There is only a small change to be done in order to complete this transformation: the Activity doesn't need to implement MyRecyclerViewAdapter.ItemClickListener anymore, because now that is done completely by the Adapter. This would then be the final modification:

MyRecyclerViewAdapter.ItemClickListener

MainActivity.java

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity

MyRecyclerViewAdapter adapter;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

// data to populate the RecyclerView with
String data = "1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8", "9", "10", "11", "12", "13", "14", "15", "16", "17", "18", "19", "20", "21", "22", "23", "24", "25", "26", "27", "28", "29", "30", "31", "32", "33", "34", "35", "36", "37", "38", "39", "40", "41", "42", "43", "44", "45", "46", "47", "48";

// set up the RecyclerView
RecyclerView recyclerView = (RecyclerView) findViewById(R.id.rvNumbers);
int numberOfColumns = 6;
recyclerView.setLayoutManager(new GridLayoutManager(this, numberOfColumns));
adapter = new MyRecyclerViewAdapter(this, data);
adapter.setClickListener(this);
recyclerView.setAdapter(adapter);




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