Android Layout Engine

Proteus is meant to be a drop-in replacement for Android’s LayoutInflater; but unlike the compiled XML layouts bundled in the APK, Proteus inflates layouts at runtime. With Proteus, you can control your Apps layout from the backend (no WebViews). Forget the boilerplate code to findViewById, cast it to a TextView, and then setText(). Proteus has runtime data bindings and formatters. Plugin in your own custom views and attributes and functions to flavour proteus to your requirements.

example-full

Getting Started

gradle (gradle 3.x.x)

// Add it in your root build.gradle at the end of repositories:
allprojects {
	repositories {
		...
		maven { url "https://jitpack.io" }
	}
}

// Add the dependency
dependencies {
        compile 'com.github.flipkart-incubator:proteus-core:5.0.0-rc12@aar'
        compile 'com.github.flipkart-incubator:gson-adapter:5.0.0-rc12@aar'
}
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include as a module (gradle 3.x.x)

  • Clone the proteus in the project folder
git clone https://github.com/flipkart-incubator/proteus.git
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  • Include the a project in you apps build.gradle file
dependencies {
  compile project('proteus:proteus-core')
  compile project('proteus:gson-adapter')
}
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How it works

Instead of writing layouts in XML, in proteus layouts are described in JSON, which can be used to inflate native Android UI at runtime. The JSON layouts can be hosted anywhere (on the device, on servers, etc.).

The Layout defines the the view heirarchy, just like XML.

The Data (optional) defines data bindings. These data bindings are similar to Android's Data Binding library.

Give the layout and data to ProteusLayoutInflater and get back a native view hierarchy.

Watch Demo Videos to see it in action.

Sample layout

{
  "type": "LinearLayout",
  "orientation": "vertical",
  "padding": "16dp",
  "children": [{
    "layout_width": "200dp",
    "gravity": "center",
    "type": "TextView",
    "text": "@{user.profile.name}"
  }, {
    "type": "HorizontalProgressBar",
    "layout_width": "200dp",
    "layout_marginTop": "8dp",
    "max": 6000,
    "progress": "@{user.profile.experience}"
  }]
}
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Sample data

{
  "user": {
    "profile": {
      "name": "John Doe",
      "experience": 4192
    }
  }
}
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Sample Java code

ProteusView view = proteusLayoutInflater.inflate(<layout>, <data>);
container.addView(view.getAsView());
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Setting up the Demo App

The demo app will let you play around with proteus as well as help you understand the internals better.

  • Install NodeJS
  • open a terminal
  • cd into the project directory
  • run npm start
  • Start an AVD emulator
  • Install the Demo App

Ready to tinker

  • Tinker around with the layout and data
  • Hit the FAB to refresh the app.

Resources

Supported Modules

  • Native Android Widgets
  • CardView v7
  • Android Design Library
  • RecyclerView v7
  • Android Support v4

GitHub