TextLayoutBuilder
An Android library that allows you to build text layouts more easily.
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Quick Overview
TextLayoutBuilder is an Android library developed by Facebook that simplifies the process of creating text layouts with multiple styles and custom rendering. It provides a fluent interface for building complex text layouts, including support for multiple fonts, colors, and styles within a single block of text.
Pros
- Simplifies the creation of complex text layouts in Android applications
- Offers better performance compared to traditional TextView implementations
- Provides a fluent API for easy configuration and customization
- Supports custom text rendering and styling
Cons
- Limited to Android platform only
- May have a learning curve for developers used to traditional TextView methods
- Requires additional setup and integration into existing projects
- Not actively maintained (last update was in 2018)
Code Examples
- Creating a simple text layout:
TextLayoutBuilder builder = new TextLayoutBuilder()
.setText("Hello, World!")
.setTextColor(Color.BLACK)
.setTextSize(16)
.build();
- Adding multiple styles to a single text layout:
TextLayoutBuilder builder = new TextLayoutBuilder()
.setText("Hello, World!")
.setTextColor(Color.BLACK)
.setTextSize(16)
.addTextStyle(new TextStyle(0, 5)
.setTextColor(Color.RED)
.setTextSize(20))
.build();
- Using custom fonts:
Typeface customFont = Typeface.createFromAsset(getAssets(), "fonts/custom_font.ttf");
TextLayoutBuilder builder = new TextLayoutBuilder()
.setText("Custom Font Text")
.setTypeface(customFont)
.setTextSize(18)
.build();
Getting Started
To use TextLayoutBuilder in your Android project:
- Add the dependency to your app's
build.gradle
file:
dependencies {
implementation 'com.facebook.fbui.textlayoutbuilder:textlayoutbuilder:1.4.0'
}
- In your Java code, import and use the TextLayoutBuilder:
import com.facebook.fbui.textlayoutbuilder.TextLayoutBuilder;
// ...
TextLayoutBuilder builder = new TextLayoutBuilder()
.setText("Your text here")
.setTextColor(Color.BLACK)
.setTextSize(16)
.build();
// Use the built layout in your custom view or drawing code
Competitor Comparisons
Epoxy is an Android library for building complex screens in a RecyclerView
Pros of Epoxy
- More comprehensive UI building solution, handling complex RecyclerView layouts
- Supports data binding and view binding out of the box
- Offers automatic diffing for efficient updates
Cons of Epoxy
- Steeper learning curve due to its extensive features
- Potentially overkill for simpler UI layouts
- Requires more setup and configuration
Code Comparison
TextLayoutBuilder:
TextLayoutBuilder builder = new TextLayoutBuilder()
.setText("Hello, World!")
.setTextColor(Color.BLACK)
.setWidth(500)
.build();
Epoxy:
class HelloWorldModel : EpoxyModelWithHolder<HelloWorldHolder>() {
override fun bind(holder: HelloWorldHolder) {
holder.textView.text = "Hello, World!"
}
override fun getDefaultLayout() = R.layout.hello_world_item
}
Summary
TextLayoutBuilder focuses on efficient text rendering and layout, while Epoxy is a more comprehensive solution for building complex RecyclerView-based UIs. TextLayoutBuilder is simpler to use for text-specific tasks, while Epoxy offers more flexibility and features for overall UI construction. The choice between them depends on the specific needs of your project, with TextLayoutBuilder being more suitable for text-heavy applications and Epoxy for complex, dynamic list-based UIs.
Flexbox for Android
Pros of flexbox-layout
- More comprehensive layout system, supporting complex UI structures
- Better performance for dynamic layouts with multiple elements
- Wider adoption and community support in the Android ecosystem
Cons of flexbox-layout
- Steeper learning curve for developers new to Flexbox concepts
- May require more setup and configuration for simple text layouts
- Potentially higher memory usage for complex layouts
Code Comparison
TextLayoutBuilder:
TextLayoutBuilder builder = new TextLayoutBuilder()
.setText("Hello, World!")
.setTextColor(Color.BLACK)
.setWidth(500)
.build();
flexbox-layout:
<com.google.android.flexbox.FlexboxLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Hello, World!" />
</com.google.android.flexbox.FlexboxLayout>
Summary
TextLayoutBuilder focuses on optimizing text rendering and layout, while flexbox-layout provides a more versatile solution for complex UI layouts. TextLayoutBuilder may be more suitable for text-heavy applications with specific performance requirements, whereas flexbox-layout offers greater flexibility for general-purpose UI design in Android applications.
A powerful image downloading and caching library for Android
Pros of Picasso
- Focuses on image loading and caching, providing a comprehensive solution for image handling in Android apps
- Offers automatic memory and disk caching, reducing network usage and improving app performance
- Supports image transformations and placeholders, enhancing the user experience
Cons of Picasso
- Limited to image processing and doesn't handle text layout
- May require additional libraries for complex text rendering tasks
- Lacks specific text-related features like hyphenation or custom line breaking
Code Comparison
TextLayoutBuilder:
TextLayoutBuilder builder = new TextLayoutBuilder()
.setText("Hello, World!")
.setTextColor(Color.BLACK)
.setWidth(500)
.build();
Picasso:
Picasso.get()
.load("https://example.com/image.jpg")
.placeholder(R.drawable.placeholder)
.into(imageView);
Summary
TextLayoutBuilder and Picasso serve different purposes in Android development. TextLayoutBuilder focuses on efficient text layout and rendering, while Picasso specializes in image loading and caching. Picasso excels in image handling but lacks text-specific features. TextLayoutBuilder offers more control over text layout but doesn't handle images. The choice between the two depends on the specific needs of your project, with TextLayoutBuilder being more suitable for text-heavy applications and Picasso for image-centric apps.
An image loading and caching library for Android focused on smooth scrolling
Pros of Glide
- Broader functionality: Glide is a full-featured image loading and caching library, while TextLayoutBuilder focuses solely on text layout
- Active development: Glide is regularly updated and maintained, with a large community of contributors
- Extensive documentation and examples available
Cons of Glide
- Larger library size: Glide includes more features, resulting in a larger footprint compared to TextLayoutBuilder
- Learning curve: Glide's extensive API may require more time to master than TextLayoutBuilder's focused functionality
- Not specialized for text: Glide's primary focus is on images, lacking TextLayoutBuilder's text-specific optimizations
Code Comparison
TextLayoutBuilder:
TextLayoutBuilder builder = new TextLayoutBuilder()
.setText("Hello, World!")
.setTextColor(Color.BLACK)
.setWidth(500)
.build();
Glide:
Glide.with(context)
.load("https://example.com/image.jpg")
.placeholder(R.drawable.placeholder)
.into(imageView);
While both libraries serve different purposes, this comparison highlights their distinct focuses: TextLayoutBuilder for efficient text layout and Glide for comprehensive image loading and caching.
A declarative framework for building efficient UIs on Android.
Pros of Litho
- More comprehensive UI framework for building efficient UIs at scale
- Supports declarative UI development with a component-based architecture
- Offers better performance optimization through background layout and incremental mount
Cons of Litho
- Steeper learning curve due to its unique programming model
- Requires more setup and configuration compared to TextLayoutBuilder
- Less focused on text layout specifically, as it's a full UI framework
Code Comparison
TextLayoutBuilder:
TextLayoutBuilder builder = new TextLayoutBuilder()
.setText("Hello, World!")
.setTextColor(Color.BLACK)
.setWidth(500)
.build();
Litho:
Component text = Text.create(c)
.text("Hello, World!")
.textColor(Color.BLACK)
.widthDip(500)
.build();
Summary
TextLayoutBuilder is a specialized library for efficient text layout, while Litho is a more comprehensive UI framework. TextLayoutBuilder is simpler to use for text-specific tasks, but Litho offers more powerful features for building complex UIs. The choice between them depends on the project's scope and requirements.
An Android library for managing images and the memory they use.
Pros of Fresco
- Comprehensive image loading and caching library for Android
- Supports a wide range of image formats and sources
- Optimized for memory usage and performance
Cons of Fresco
- Larger library size compared to TextLayoutBuilder
- Steeper learning curve due to more complex API
- Focused on images, not text layout
Code Comparison
TextLayoutBuilder:
TextLayoutBuilder builder = new TextLayoutBuilder()
.setText("Hello, World!")
.setTextColor(Color.BLACK)
.setWidth(500)
.build();
Fresco:
SimpleDraweeView draweeView = findViewById(R.id.my_image_view);
draweeView.setImageURI("https://example.com/image.jpg");
Key Differences
- TextLayoutBuilder is specifically designed for text layout, while Fresco is primarily for image loading and display
- Fresco offers more features for image handling, including caching and progressive loading
- TextLayoutBuilder provides fine-grained control over text layout, which is not a focus of Fresco
Use Cases
- Use TextLayoutBuilder for complex text layouts or custom text rendering
- Choose Fresco for projects requiring advanced image loading, caching, and display capabilities
Community and Support
- Fresco has a larger community and more frequent updates
- TextLayoutBuilder is more focused but has less active development
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TextLayoutBuilder
Build text Layouts easily on Android.
Features
- Create text
Layout
s easily. - Reuse builders to create similarly styled
Layout
s. - Cache
Layout
s of commonly used strings. - Improve performance by warming up the FreeType cache.
Download
If using Gradle, add this to your build.gradle
:
compile 'com.facebook.fbui.textlayoutbuilder:textlayoutbuilder:1.7.0'
or, if using Maven:
<dependency>
<groupId>com.facebook.fbui.textlayoutbuilder</groupId>
<artifactId>textlayoutbuilder</artifactId>
<version>1.7.0</version>
<type>aar</type>
</dependency>
Usage
- Set the properties on the
TextLayoutBuilder
:
TextLayoutBuilder builder = new TextLayoutBuilder()
.setText("TextLayoutBuilder makes life easy")
.setTextColor(Color.BLUE)
.setWidth(400 /*, MEASURE_MODE_EXACTLY */);
- Call
build()
on the builder to get aLayout
:
Layout layout = builder.build();
- Use the
Layout
in your code:
public class CustomView extends View {
private Layout layout;
public CustomView(Context context) {
super(context);
}
public void setLayout(Layout layout) {
this.layout = layout;
}
@Override
protected void onDraw(Canvas canvas) {
super.onDraw(canvas);
// Draw the layout.
layout.draw(canvas);
}
}
Additional Usage
- Cache the layouts for commonly used strings by turning on caching in the
TextLayoutBuilder
.
textLayoutBuilder.setShouldCacheLayout(true);
- Glyph warming provides significant performance boost for large blurbs of text.
Turn this on and pass in a
GlyphWarmer
for theTextLayoutBuilder
.
textLayoutBuilder
.setShouldWarmText(true)
.setGlyphWarmer(new GlyphWarmerImpl());
- Import a style defined in XML into a
TextLayoutBuilder
object.
ResourceTextLayoutHelper.updateFromStyleResource(
textLayoutBuilder, // builder object
context, // Activity context
resId); // style resource id
License
TextLayoutBuilder is Apache-2-licensed.
Top Related Projects
Epoxy is an Android library for building complex screens in a RecyclerView
Flexbox for Android
A powerful image downloading and caching library for Android
An image loading and caching library for Android focused on smooth scrolling
A declarative framework for building efficient UIs on Android.
An Android library for managing images and the memory they use.
Convert designs to code with AI
Introducing Visual Copilot: A new AI model to turn Figma designs to high quality code using your components.
Try Visual Copilot