@princessdharmy and I decided to build a native version of CryptoNews originally started by @johnesan in xamarin(which was discontinued due to being a cross platform framework, it comes with so many limitations that makes the application unable to fully harness the power of native functionalities).

History

• Reimplementing CryptoNews in Native Android
• Reimplementing CryptoNews in Native Android #UPDATE
• Reimplementing CryptoNews in Native Android #UPDATE 2

Update and New Features

• User Can Now see Snackbar when Internet Connection is absent.
  Before this update, a single check was made while the activity is loaded to check for Internet action. I added a Livedata Listener to Update once the user loses Internet Connection. This use of a Snackbar provides the user with a smooth user experience without hindering the user's experience on the app.
• When a User starts without Internet Access - Turning on the data fetches the data automatically without leaving the activity.
• When a User Scrolls an already fetched List - He is also reminded about the Internet Connection
• Progressbar was completely removed from the First Activity and replaced with existing swipe_to_refresh layout. (Progressbar was redundant)
• Enabled landscape Layout (:))
  https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/405280567983210507/428508564353449984/Screenshot_20180328-115925.png

How it was implemented

A ConnectionClassLiveData class that extends LiveData was created . This class contains the BroadcastReceiver which monitors the network state.
The class shown below

public class ConnectionClassLiveData extends LiveData {

    private Context context;


    @Inject
    public ConnectionClassLiveData(Context context) {
        this.context = context;
    }


    @Override
    protected void onActive() {
        super.onActive();
        IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter(ConnectivityManager.CONNECTIVITY_ACTION);
        context.registerReceiver(networkReceiver, filter);

    }


    @Override
    protected void onInactive() {
        super.onInactive();
        context.unregisterReceiver(networkReceiver);
    }

    private BroadcastReceiver networkReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
        @Override
        public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
            if (intent.getExtras() != null){
                NetworkInfo actvenetwork = (NetworkInfo)
                        intent.getExtras().get(ConnectivityManager.EXTRA_NETWORK_INFO);
                boolean isConnected = actvenetwork != null &&
                        actvenetwork.isConnectedOrConnecting();

                if (isConnected){
                    switch (actvenetwork.getType()){
                        case  ConnectivityManager.TYPE_WIFI:
                            postValue(new ConnectionModel(WifiData, true));
                            break;
                        case  ConnectivityManager.TYPE_MOBILE:
                            postValue(new ConnectionModel(MobileData, true));
                            break;

                    }
                }else {
                    postValue(new ConnectionModel(0, false));
                }
            }

        }
    };
}

The BroadcastReceiver is registered in the active onActive and InActive() methods.

In our fragment, i was able to provide the ConnectionClassLiveData class with Dagger and implemented the way the snackbar behaves when the network Changed.

 //Connection Listener to give us rea time internet connection status
        connectionClassLiveData.observe(this, connectionModel -> {
            if (connectionModel.isConnected()) {
                isConnected = true;
                if (newsList.size() == 0) {
                    newsViewModel.refresh();
                }
            } else {
                isConnected = false;
                Snackbar.make(mContainer, R.string.error, Snackbar.LENGTH_LONG).show();

            }

The Swipe-to-refresh layout was implemnted in the onCreateView and was dismissed when the data was gotten.

 @Override
    public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container,
                             Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        View view  = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_latest_news, container, false);
        ButterKnife.bind(this, view);
        swipeRefreshLayout.setOnRefreshListener(this);
        swipeRefreshLayout.setRefreshing(true);
        swipeRefreshLayout.setColorSchemeColors(R.color.colorAccent, R.color.colorAccent, R.color.colorAccent);
        setupViews();

        return view;
    }

RECORDING OF ADDED FEATURE

https://youtu.be/lvEtUKSigEI

Roadmap

• Searching all news
• ~~Persisting user news~~
• Providing different layouts (Work in Progress)
• Providing different themes for user
• Push Notifications
• News Posts sharing
• Incorporating more news and giving the user the flexibility of deciding what he wants to read per time.

Resources

• Github Commits - Link of commit can be found here
• Apk for download - Download here

Posted on Utopian.io - Rewarding Open Source Contributors