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Bind Android views and callbacks to fields and methods.

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Quick Overview

Butterknife is a view binding library for Android that uses annotation processing to generate boilerplate code for you. It simplifies the process of finding and interacting with views in your Android layouts, reducing the amount of repetitive code you need to write.

Pros

  • Reduces boilerplate code, making your Android activities and fragments cleaner and more readable
  • Improves performance by generating code at compile-time rather than using reflection at runtime
  • Provides additional features like view lists, resource binding, and listener binding
  • Easy to integrate into existing projects and has a gentle learning curve

Cons

  • No longer actively maintained (as of 2021, the project is in maintenance mode)
  • With the introduction of view binding in Android, some of its advantages have become less significant
  • Adds an extra step to the build process, which can slightly increase compilation time
  • Requires annotation processing, which may not be supported in all build environments

Code Examples

  1. Binding a view:
class ExampleActivity extends Activity {
  @BindView(R.id.title) TextView title;
  @BindView(R.id.subtitle) TextView subtitle;

  @Override public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.simple_activity);
    ButterKnife.bind(this);
    // TODO Use fields...
  }
}
  1. Binding a click listener:
@OnClick(R.id.submit)
public void submit() {
  // TODO submit data to server...
}
  1. Binding multiple views:
@BindViews({ R.id.first_name, R.id.middle_name, R.id.last_name })
List<EditText> nameViews;

Getting Started

  1. Add Butterknife to your project's build.gradle:
dependencies {
  implementation 'com.jakewharton:butterknife:10.2.3'
  annotationProcessor 'com.jakewharton:butterknife-compiler:10.2.3'
}
  1. In your Activity or Fragment, bind the views:
public class MyActivity extends Activity {
  @BindView(R.id.title) TextView title;
  @BindView(R.id.subtitle) TextView subtitle;

  @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.simple_activity);
    ButterKnife.bind(this);
  }
}
  1. Use the bound views in your code without needing to call findViewById().

Competitor Comparisons

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Pros of Dagger

  • More powerful dependency injection framework, offering compile-time safety and runtime performance
  • Supports constructor injection, which is considered a best practice in DI
  • Provides a more comprehensive solution for managing dependencies in large-scale applications

Cons of Dagger

  • Steeper learning curve and more complex setup compared to Butterknife
  • Requires more boilerplate code for configuration and setup
  • Can be overkill for smaller projects or simpler use cases

Code Comparison

Butterknife:

class ExampleActivity extends Activity {
  @BindView(R.id.title) TextView title;
  @BindView(R.id.subtitle) TextView subtitle;

  @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.simple_activity);
    ButterKnife.bind(this);
  }
}

Dagger:

@Component(modules = AppModule.class)
public interface AppComponent {
    void inject(MainActivity activity);
}

@Module
class AppModule {
    @Provides
    @Singleton
    SharedPreferences provideSharedPreferences(Application application) {
        return PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(application);
    }
}
24,676

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Pros of EventBus

  • Decouples components, allowing for easier event-driven architecture
  • Supports sticky events for late subscribers
  • Offers thread switching capabilities

Cons of EventBus

  • Can lead to less explicit code and harder-to-follow event flows
  • Requires manual event registration and unregistration
  • May introduce performance overhead for complex event hierarchies

Code Comparison

EventBus:

@Subscribe(threadMode = ThreadMode.MAIN)
public void onMessageEvent(MessageEvent event) {
    // Handle event
}

Butterknife:

@BindView(R.id.title) TextView title;
@OnClick(R.id.submit) void submit() {
    // Handle click
}

EventBus focuses on event-based communication between components, while Butterknife simplifies view binding and click handling in Android applications. EventBus is more suitable for complex, decoupled architectures, whereas Butterknife excels at reducing boilerplate code for UI-related tasks.

EventBus requires explicit event registration and unregistration, which can be error-prone if not managed properly. Butterknife, on the other hand, generates code at compile-time, reducing runtime overhead.

Both libraries have their strengths, and the choice between them depends on the specific needs of the project. EventBus is better for loosely coupled, event-driven designs, while Butterknife is ideal for streamlining Android UI code.

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RxJava – Reactive Extensions for the JVM – a library for composing asynchronous and event-based programs using observable sequences for the Java VM.

Pros of RxJava

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  • Extensive set of operators for composing and transforming observables
  • Supports backpressure handling for managing data flow

Cons of RxJava

  • Steeper learning curve due to its complex nature and concepts
  • Can lead to overengineering for simple tasks
  • Potential performance overhead for small-scale operations

Code Comparison

RxJava:

Observable.just("Hello, World!")
    .map(String::toUpperCase)
    .subscribe(System.out::println);

Butterknife:

@BindView(R.id.title) TextView title;
@OnClick(R.id.submit) void submit() { ... }

Key Differences

  • RxJava focuses on reactive programming and handling asynchronous data streams
  • Butterknife simplifies view binding and event handling in Android applications
  • RxJava is more versatile and can be used in various Java/Android scenarios
  • Butterknife is specifically designed for Android view injection and event binding

Use Cases

  • Choose RxJava for complex asynchronous operations, event-driven programming, and managing data streams
  • Opt for Butterknife when you need a lightweight solution for view binding and reducing boilerplate code in Android UI development

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README

Butter Knife

Attention: This tool is now deprecated. Please switch to view binding. Existing versions will continue to work, obviously, but only critical bug fixes for integration with AGP will be considered. Feature development and general bug fixes have stopped.

Logo

Field and method binding for Android views which uses annotation processing to generate boilerplate code for you.

  • Eliminate findViewById calls by using @BindView on fields.
  • Group multiple views in a list or array. Operate on all of them at once with actions, setters, or properties.
  • Eliminate anonymous inner-classes for listeners by annotating methods with @OnClick and others.
  • Eliminate resource lookups by using resource annotations on fields.
class ExampleActivity extends Activity {
  @BindView(R.id.user) EditText username;
  @BindView(R.id.pass) EditText password;

  @BindString(R.string.login_error) String loginErrorMessage;

  @OnClick(R.id.submit) void submit() {
    // TODO call server...
  }

  @Override public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.simple_activity);
    ButterKnife.bind(this);
    // TODO Use fields...
  }
}

For documentation and additional information see the website.

Remember: A butter knife is like a dagger, only infinitely less sharp.

Download

android {
  ...
  // Butterknife requires Java 8.
  compileOptions {
    sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
    targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
  }
}

dependencies {
  implementation 'com.jakewharton:butterknife:10.2.3'
  annotationProcessor 'com.jakewharton:butterknife-compiler:10.2.3'
}

If you are using Kotlin, replace annotationProcessor with kapt.

Snapshots of the development version are available in Sonatype's snapshots repository.

Library projects

To use Butter Knife in a library, add the plugin to your buildscript:

buildscript {
  repositories {
    mavenCentral()
    google()
  }
  dependencies {
    classpath 'com.jakewharton:butterknife-gradle-plugin:10.2.3'
  }
}

and then apply it in your module:

apply plugin: 'com.android.library'
apply plugin: 'com.jakewharton.butterknife'

Now make sure you use R2 instead of R inside all Butter Knife annotations.

class ExampleActivity extends Activity {
  @BindView(R2.id.user) EditText username;
  @BindView(R2.id.pass) EditText password;
...
}

License

Copyright 2013 Jake Wharton

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at

   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.