LinearLayoutCompat makes your Android linear layout more compatible, flexible and consistent

LinearLayout

LinearLayout is one of the most commonly used layout containers. It is a simple linear layout class that arranges subviews (widgets) horizontally or vertically. LinearLayout provides two main attributes to define the arrangement of subviews: orientation and gravity.

The orientation attribute defines the orientation of the child views in the LinearLayout. There are two possible values:

• horizontal: The subviews are arranged horizontally.
• vertical: The subviews are arranged vertically.

The gravity attribute defines how the subviews are aligned in the LinearLayout. For example, if there is a horizontal LinearLayout, use the gravity attribute to define whether the subviews are aligned to the left, right, or center.

The layout_weight attribute is used to control how the child views are distributed in the remaining space. For example, if two child views have layout_weight set to 1, the remaining space in the LinearLayout will be evenly divided.

 <LinearLayout android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:orientation="vertical"> <!-- 垂直排列的子视图--> <Button android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:text="按钮1" /> <LinearLayout android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:orientation="horizontal"> <!-- 水平排列的子视图--> <TextView android:layout_width="0dp" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_weight="1" android:text="文本" /> <Button android:layout_width="0dp" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_weight="1" android:text="按钮2" /> </LinearLayout> </LinearLayout>

LinearLayoutCompat

LinearLayoutCompat is a compatible class of LinearLayout. Its main purpose is to achieve similar functions to LinearLayout while providing better version compatibility.

Benefits include:

• 「Backward compatibility」: LinearLayoutCompat can provide similar behavior and appearance to LinearLayout on newer versions of Android.
• 「Style and Theme」: LinearLayoutCompat supports the use of AppCompat themes, using modern design elements such as dark themes, colored controls, etc. without worrying about the display effects on older versions of Android.
• 「Material Design Support」: Through the AppCompat library, LinearLayoutCompat can more easily integrate Material Design elements and components to provide users with a more modern and consistent experience.

LinearLayoutCompat supports the same attributes as LinearLayout, such as orientation, background, layout_margin, padding, gravity, and layout_weight. LinearLayoutCompat also introduces some additional attributes, such as app:divider and app:dividerPadding, which are used to set dividers (dividers) between child elements and adjust the spacing between dividers and child elements.

 dependencies { implementation 'androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.6.1' }

 <androidx.appcompat.widget.LinearLayoutCompat xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent" android:orientation="vertical" app:showDividers="beginning|middle|end" app:divider="@drawable/line" android:padding="16dp"> <!-- 垂直排列的子视图--> <TextView android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:text="这是一个文本视图" android:textSize="18sp" /> <Button android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:text="点击我" /> </androidx.appcompat.widget.LinearLayoutCompat>

LinearLayoutCompat is designed to be compatible with lower versions, so on newer versions of Android devices, using LinearLayout is usually sufficient. If you need to ensure that your app runs properly on different versions of Android devices and maintains a consistent appearance and behavior, using LinearLayoutCompat may be a better choice.