FrameLayout Ø LinearLayout Ø TableLayout Ø RelativeLayout

Layouts in Android

Common layout types used in Android are;

Ø    FrameLayout

Ø    LinearLayout

Ø    TableLayout

Ø    RelativeLayout

They all are subclasses of ViewGroup. The objects that are placed inside these layouts are known as child UI elements. Let us see the difference among these layouts in detail.

Ø    FrameLayout

This is the simplest layout. The FrameLayout space can be filled with only a single object. Therefore, if you place two objects, for instance, a button and a textView, then one object will appear over the previous one. If the new object is transparent, then the previous one would be visible. Also, the items will appear only on the top left corner of the screen. The location cannot be changed or the user is not allowed to set a location.

Example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<FrameLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"

    android:layout_width="fill_parent"

    android:layout_height="fill_parent"

     >

    <TextView

        android:layout_width="fill_parent"

        android:layout_height="wrap_content"

        android:text="@string/hello" />

   

    <Button android:layout_width="wrap_content"

        android:layout_height="wrap_content"

        android:text="Button"/>

</FrameLayout>

ScreenShot:

Ø    LinearLayout

LinearLayout helps you in aligning the objects in a particular direction. That is, either in vertical or horizontal direction. In order to set this direction, we use the orientation attribute. So the child elements or the objects placed in the LinearLayout are arranged one after another like a stack manner.

Example for ‘vertical’ orientation

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"

    android:layout_width="fill_parent"

    android:layout_height="fill_parent"

    android:orientation="vertical"

     >

    <TextView

        android:layout_width="fill_parent"

        android:layout_height="wrap_content"

        android:text="@string/hello" />

   

    <Button android:layout_width="wrap_content"

        android:layout_height="wrap_content"

        android:text="Button"/>

</LinearLayout>

Example for ‘horizontal’ orientation

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"

    android:layout_width="fill_parent"

    android:layout_height="fill_parent"

    android:orientation="horizontal"

     >

    <TextView

        android:layout_width="wrap_content"

        android:layout_height="wrap_content"

        android:text="@string/hello" />

   

    <Button android:layout_width="wrap_content"

        android:layout_height="wrap_content"

        android:text="Button"/>

</LinearLayout>