Flat, Modern Notifications

Here's a comprehensive tutorial on how to use the Flat, Modern Notifications in Android:

Introduction:

Android's Flat, Modern Notifications are a new way to give users a more intuitive and material design-based notification experience. Released in Android 8.0 Oreo, these notifications are designed to resemble the Material Design principles set forth by Google. In this tutorial, we'll go over the basics of using and managing Flat, Modern Notifications in your app, including how to create and customize notification layouts, handle notification actions, and customize the notification shade.

Getting Started:

Before we dive into the meat of the tutorial, make sure you've got the following:

• A fully set up Android development environment, with the Android SDK and Android Studio installed
• A basic understanding of Android app development concepts, such as Activities, Fragments, and Intents
• Knowledge of Java or Kotlin (optional)

Step 1: Adding the Notification Channel

To start using the new Flat, Modern Notifications, you'll need to declare a notification channel in your app's AndroidManifest.xml file. This channel will define the settings and configurations for your notifications.

Add the following line within the <application> tag:

<meta-data
    android:name="notifications_channel"
    android:value="your_custom_channel_name" />

Replace your_custom_channel_name with a unique name for your notification channel.

Step 2: Creating a Notification

To create a Flat, Modern Notification, you'll need to construct a NotificationCompat.Builder object in your app. This object is responsible for building and customizing your notification.

Create a new Java or Kotlin file, and add the following code:

import android.app.NotificationManager
import android.app.PendingIntent
import android.content.Context
import android.media.session.MediaSession
import android.media.session.PlaybackState
import android.util.Log
import androidx.core.app.NotificationCompat

class NotificationHelper(private val mContext: Context) {
    private val notificationManager = mContext.getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE) as NotificationManager

    fun createNotification(title: String, message: String): NotificationCompat.Builder {
        val notification = NotificationCompat.Builder(mContext, CHANNEL_ID)
           .setSmallIcon(R.drawable.your_icon)
           .setContentTitle(title)
           .setContentText(message)

        return notification
    }
}

Replace CHANNEL_ID with the notification channel you declared in Step 1. Add the necessary icon and text to create your notification.

Step 3: Launching the Notification

To show your notification, you'll need to use an intent to launch the notification activity. First, create a new intent to trigger the notification:

val notificationIntent = Intent(mContext, NotificationActivity::class.java)
notificationIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_NOTIFICATION_ID, 0)

Then, use the NotificationCompat.Builder object to set the intent for the notification:

 notification.setIntent(notificationIntent)

Now, use the NotificationManager object to show the notification:

notificationManager.notify(0, notification.build())

Step 4: Customizing the Notification

One of the most powerful features of Flat, Modern Notifications is the ability to customize the layout and appearance of your notifications. To do this, you can use the NotificationCompat.Builder methods to add custom views, actions, and more.

For example, you can use setCustomView() to set a custom layout for your notification:

notification.setCustomView(R.layout.notification_custom_view)

Or you can use addAction() to add a custom action to your notification:

notification.addAction(R.drawable.your_icon, "Action Text", null)

Step 5: Handling Notification Actions

Notifications actions allow users to interact with your notifications from the notification shade. To handle these actions, you'll need to create a new intent-filter for your notification activity.

In the NotificationActivity, add the following code:

override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
    if (intent!= null) {
        handleNotificationAction()
    }
}

private fun handleNotificationAction() {
    val actionExtra = intent.getStringExtra(Intent.EXTRA_ACTION)
    if (actionExtra == null) return
    // Handle the action...
}

This code checks the action extra from the intent and handles it as needed.

Conclusion:

In this tutorial, we've covered the basics of using and managing Flat, Modern Notifications in Android. We've learned how to create and customize notification layouts, handle notification actions, and more. With these new notifications, you'll be able to give your users a more intuitive and immersive experience in your app.