Unity – My first android app

Unity – A simple unit converter is my first android app. The app in itself is no great piece of software wizardry but I managed to play around some of the basic android concepts. Currently in its current version there are just 4 main types of units – length, mass,temperature and volume each with just 2 unit types. I am planning to implement a full-fledged android version with all types of units and unit conversions shortly. Watch this space for more.

For this simple version I have a textfield to take user input of the value to be converted. I also have 2 spinners with the list of units. The first spinner (fromUnit) has its content loaded in runtime from an ArrayAdapter. The contents of the 2nd spinner is based on the selection of the 1st spinner. So if the 1st spinner chooses a length unit the 2nd spinner will also be loaded with the length units and so on. There is also a Calculate button with a “convert” method for onClick to convert from the fromUnit to the toUnit.

The resource/activity_main.xml

<RelativeLayout xmlns:android=http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android&#8221;
xmlns:tools=http://schemas.android.com/tools&#8221;
android:layout_width=“match_parent”
android:layout_height=“match_parent”
tools:context=“.MainActivity” >
<Button
android:id=“@+id/button1”
android:layout_width=“wrap_content”
android:layout_height=“wrap_content”
android:layout_below=“@+id/spinner2”android:layout_centerHorizontal=“true”
android:layout_marginTop=“62dp”
android:onClick=“convert”
android:text=“Calculate” />
<EditText
android:id=“@+id/editText1”
android:layout_width=“wrap_content”
android:layout_height=“wrap_content”
android:layout_alignParentTop=“true”
android:layout_centerHorizontal=“true”
android:layout_marginTop=“24dp”
android:ems=“10”
android:inputType=“numberDecimal” >

<requestFocus />
</EditText>
<Spinner
android:id=“@+id/spinner1”
android:layout_width=“wrap_content”
android:layout_height=“wrap_content”
android:layout_alignParentLeft=“true”
android:layout_below=“@+id/editText1”
android:layout_marginTop=“24dp” />
<Spinner
android:id=“@+id/spinner2”
android:layout_width=“wrap_content”
android:layout_height=“wrap_content”
android:layout_alignParentLeft=“true”
android:layout_below=“@+id/spinner1”
android:layout_marginTop=“44dp” />
</RelativeLayout>
The fromUnit is based on the units array below
String[] units = {“kilogram”,“mile”,
“kilometer”,“pound”,“gallon”,“liter”,“centigrade”,“fahrenheit”,
};
In the onCreate() method I create an ArrayAdapter and set the spinner with this adapter as follows
final ArrayAdapter<String> adapter = new ArrayAdapter<String> (this,
android.R.layout.simple_spinner_item,units);
sp = (Spinner) findViewById(R.id.spinner1);
sp.setAdapter(adapter);
I also set the 2nd spinner (toUnit) based on the selected unit in spinner 1. Hence I conditionally set the 2nd spinner as follows
sp1 = (Spinner) findViewById(R.id.spinner2);
sp.setOnItemSelectedListener(new OnItemSelectedListener() {
public void onItemSelected(AdapterView<?> argo0, View arg1,
int arg2, long arg3) {
int item = sp.getSelectedItemPosition();
fromUnit = units[item];
if( (fromUnit.equals(“kilometer”)) || (fromUnit.equals(“mile”))) {
sp1.setAdapter(lengthAdapter);
unitType=1;
}
else if ((fromUnit.equals(“kilogram”)) || (fromUnit.equals(“pound”))){
sp1.setAdapter(massAdapter);
unitType=2;
}
else if ((fromUnit.equals(“centigrade”)) || (fromUnit.equals(“fahrenheit”))) {
sp1.setAdapter(tempAdapter);
unitType=3;
}
else if((fromUnit.equals(“liter”)) ||(fromUnit.equals(“gallon”))){
sp1.setAdapter(volumeAdapter);
unitType=4;
}
else {
sp1.setAdapter(adapter);
unitType =5;
}
Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(),“You have selected: “ +
fromUnit, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
public void onNothingSelected(AdapterView<?> arg0) {
}
});
sp1.setOnItemSelectedListener(new OnItemSelectedListener() {
public void onItemSelected(AdapterView<?> argo0, View arg1,
int arg2, long arg3) {
int item = sp1.getSelectedItemPosition();
if(unitType == 1) {
toUnit= lengthUnits[item];
}
else if(unitType == 2){
toUnit = massUnits[item];
}
else if(unitType == 3){
toUnit = tempUnits[item];
}
else if (unitType == 4) {
toUnit = volumeUnits[item];
}
else {
toUnit = units[item];
}
Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(),“SP2:You have
selected: “ +
toUnit, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
public void onNothingSelected(AdapterView<?> arg0) {
}
});
Finally based on the fromUnit and the toUnit the appropriate method is called in the onClick method of the Calculate button.
if((fromUnit.equals(“kilometer”)) && (toUnit.equals(“mile”))){
text.setText(String.valueOf(convertkilometer2mile(inputValue)));
}

else if((fromUnit.equals(“mile”)) && (toUnit.equals(“kilometer”))) {
text.setText(String.valueOf(convertmile2kilometer(inputValue)));
}
and so on…
While this is an elementary app I intend to develop a more thorough version shortly with some of the good features of android.
The complete code can be downloaded from the link Unity.zip

Also see
1. Train Spotting android app – Nuts & bolts
2. The making of Dino Pong android game

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