Programming Android, 2nd Edition

Chapter 14. Search

When we speak of Android, it’s hard to avoid talking also about Google, and Google is almost synonymous with search. Search as a capability has become the entryway for the user to extract specific information based on a query. To this end, Android provides a universal interface, namely the Quick Search Box and Search Bar, to make the idea of search ubiquitous. At the base level, there is a search framework—a UI framework—and its usage is highly encouraged.

Search Interface

The search framework enables your application to be searchable. Be aware that the search framework is just a UI framework and does not provide the underpinnings for the actual search logic. Instead, it provides the UI portions that allow the user to input a search query and execute it. This in turn can call search logic that you specify, and thus return the appropriate results. To show the basics of building out the search logic as well as the search interface, we’ll explore an example search application that allows users to search through Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Search Basics

Search requires a couple of things from the application. First it requires the actual logic that returns the search results. It also requires the searchable configuration that establishes some of the specifics regarding what occurs when the search UI is initiated and how it is executed. Finally, a searchable activity is launched, receives the query, and after calling upon the search logic, displays the results.

Search logic ...