Simple Explanation of RecyclerView in Android

A simple explanation and animation of RecyclerView in Android. We discuss the build.gradle dependencies, layout, Adapter, ViewHolder, and collection. There is not source code in this video, but there is a hands-on example video with source code that follows this video.
github.com/discospiff/PlantPlacesMobile26
github.com/discospiff/PlantPlacesKotlin

[@ThreadsX]

Best Explanation ever, After 2 years i find out "what is exactly happens in RecyclerView ". Thank you so much!!!

[@discospiff]

Excellent! Glad it helped. I occasionally have to go back through my notes to remember how all of the parts work together. :)

[@Kazner0h]

I'm so grateful for that animation. So many videos on here just show someone implementing a recycler view but not explaining what the components are, what they do, etc. It makes it feel impossible to intuitively understand these things to then use them intelligently.

[@discospiff]

Funny, when I went from teaching in-person to teaching online, I had to find a way to mimic the dry-erase lessons I would do. I'm a big fan of animations, as I think it helps to visualize what's going on. Thanks for the feedback!

[@leoncampa]

You have just made me understand a concept that I was failing to grasp for weeks due to poor explanation by my professors and textbooks. Thank you. I wish all code concepts could be explained in such a beautifully laid out visual manner.

[@discospiff]

Glad to hear the feedback - thanks! I used to explain things on a whiteboard in class. Now I find PowerPoint animations work well to explain concepts in a virtual format. :)

[@logic_master950]

Same here

[@zakkenjaneezou]

You did a better job explaining recycler views in 8 minutes than my professor with an hour-long lecture. Cheers!

[@discospiff]

Thanks! I tried explaining this many times myself... then realized that an animation does a better job than an explanation. Easier to visualize, and you can replay as you wish. I'm glad you found it helpful!

[@progtom7585]

Im a beginner and tried to code this from scratch this morning, i nearly went bald from the effort. This video helped a lot explain the key concepts. Much better than any other video i watched. Thank you!

[@discospiff]

I'm very happy to hear it helped. If a picture is worth 1000 words, I believe an animation is worth 1000 pictures. :) recyclerview is great stuff. I'm sure you're building something great!

[@rohan-rj1ft]

Where was this video until now? This is the best, clean, and easiest explanation of RecyclerView I have ever come across. To the point and don't need longer videos to understand this. Good one Brandan!

[@discospiff]

It's been here the while time. :) glad you found it.

[@damercy]

Finally some good explanation of what exactly we're doing instead of straight up kotlin code. 🎉🙏

[@kaderloop785]

4 minutes in, I've understood so much more than my 2 hour lecture last week. Good job.

[@discospiff]

Thanks! I'm happy to know this helps. What is the most confusing part?

[@chinaguy101]

God, your explanation is so clear, and your accent is clear too, save me from hearing other's crap

[@GiedrysRokas]

Thank you very much for explaining it in less than 9 minutes. :)

[@discospiff]

Thanks for noticing. :) I do a lot of editing to make the videos as concise as possible.

[@alexandred.4317]

Thanks for this explanation Mr Jones, greetings from Belgium !

[@discospiff]

Thanks for watching, and thanks for saying hello! I visited Belgium back in 2016... had a lovely time.

[@defenderndefendern1568]

Thank you so much. This is on point. Great job!! Thank you for contributing this to the world

[@discospiff]

You're welcome! And I really appreciate the comment. It makes my day. "Knowledge is like open source software: it improves when it is shared."

[@yusufmiftahudeen]

you definitely make things easier to understand with this animation.

[@discospiff]

I'm happy to hear this! I say, if a picture is worth 1,000 words, an animation is worth 10,000 words. :) While we used RecyclerView for quite a long time in Android, LazyColumn in Jetpack Compose is becoming a popular alternative.

[@meena7222]

Thank you so much for making that animation to help with understanding

[@discospiff]

Thanks! I use animations in many of my videos, as it replicates what I would put on a dry erase/ chalk board in a traditional lecture. I also learn best from animations. :)

[@hussainaqeel7371]

What an amazing explaination! The animation really did it for me!

[@discospiff]

I really lie animations. They help to demonstrate concepts.

[@ibrahimylmaz8378]

Its free and explicit, thank you!

[@dre429]

Great Explanation and it was posted on my birthday!

[@discospiff]

Thanks! I have a few followup videos that show the code as well. And happy birthday!

[@manishswami7512]

Sir thank you So much .... I have been somewhat afraid to use Recycler view but now I am confident. Means a lot. Thanks again.

[@discospiff]

Outstanding! I hope you do something great with it.

[@jackc87]

Fantastic! Thank you so much for this.

[@discospiff]

I'm glad it helped! I tried to remember how recycler view works, and then decided it would be easiest to demonstrate it in a video.

[@carolinamaciel4917]

Thanks for this video!

[@discospiff]

Glad it helped, thanks for the comment! It's a bit of a tricky concept to master, so I think an animation is a good way to visualize it.

[@lyricsversion8189]

Thank you, you’re awesome 👏

[@discospiff]

Glad it helped. Thanks for the comment!

[@PATRICKCHUAD]

This tutorial is amazing interesting. Thank you for sharing. Now I can visualize recycle view in android.

[@discospiff]

It's a tricky concept... and tricky concepts make for good animations. Thanks!

[@platinumphonesandcomputers]

Good explanation especially that animation

[@discospiff]

Thanks! I'm glad you like the animation. I like to use those too demonstrate concepts in videos.

[@sukruthag4584]

Best explanation ever

[@discospiff]

Thanks! It's a complicated concept, so I thought an animation would help. I'm glad you like it!

[@TomButler]

Thank you so much!

[@discospiff]

You're welcome! I'm glad it helped. The workings of RecyclerViews can be confusing, which was the motivation behind making this video. :)

[@techtutorial2424]

Ts amazing illustration....

[@discospiff]

Thanks! If a picture is worth 1000 words, an animation is worth 1000 pictures. :)

[@myleenwilliams6220]

thank you a ton!!!

[@discospiff]

You're welcome! Thanks for the comment. This is a complex topic, which is where an animation can help to explain, IMHO.

[@paulndibe250]

thank you so so much,

[@discospiff]

Glad it helped! Thanks.

[@brucebane7401]

amazing!!!

[@discospiff]

Thanks for watching! Glad it helped.

[@user-cn4ls8xy7t]

Thank you for this beautiful explanation Great job. If I have to implement a list of only buttons in my page is it a good idea to use a RecyclerView for this ? or better to create them static

[@discospiff]

Will the buttons change? Will the number of buttons change? Are the button clicks specific to a row? If so, use recycler view. If not, make them static. My friend Jonathan Davis made a great video on buttons in recycler views: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHaoioysi9x9fbs

[@user-cn4ls8xy7t]

Thank you. The number of buttons is static. What I like in the in the RecyclerView is the self managing of scrolling. As a beginner I didn't yet know how to manage scrolling.

[@artoslots]

2020 DEPENDENCIES implementation 'androidx.recyclerview:recyclerview:1.1.0'

[@user-rj3pu3yk6s]

I have a list of items from the tones I want when I click on one of the items it plays a tone and the other item plays another tone I have prepared everything and done Click Listene and select it with the required item but I need to separate the items so that each item is separate by itself when pressed

[@loveworksnoevil]

Did u make an if then with variable, or textview equals

[@nachiappans7030]

Is recycle layout is like drawing template with pen for tic tac toe and playing with pencil such that we can just erase the play after each game and reuse it in simpler term putting boxes in pen x and o in pencil if im wrong correct me

[@discospiff]

I like that analogy! Yes, spot on.

[@gavenlrobertson7352]

Amazing! Question for you, how fast does it populate the list data? I notice when we start up the app its usually populated instantly with the first set of items im just curious on how it does it so quickly

[@discospiff]

A lot of that depends on the source of data itself. If it's coming over a network, there may be a delay. But if there's a local, in memory cache, and the device has enough memory to handle the application, the UI update should be fairly fast and smooth.

[@stefanioan7569]

My respect for your explaining and presenting. I am trying to find a way to teach recyclerView and explain a strategy for "learning how to learn", do you have any tips&trick? Also, how did you understand recyclerView? Ps: I think your work is amazing and many thanks for that!

[@discospiff]

Thanks! I find the best way to learn how to learn is to teach it to others. :) And the best way to teach is to make an animated presentation, as I've done here. That helps me to internalize it. One note, though... RecyclerView is starting to get replaced by LazyColumn in Jetpack Compose. Have a look at this video, which explains LazyColumn. It might be worth using, instead of RecyclerView. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nH2Vd5h-artpkNk

[@Ray-Zah]

You sound like Mr. Vandresen.

[@discospiff]

Beavis and Butthead. Old school.

[@logic_master950]

bosssssssssssssss hey bosssssssssssssssssssssssss