Member Avatar for Za3mi

Dear all! I am gonna devlop a launcher in android studio in which icons of all apps are created(app's original icon+some effects) at run time. Kindly provide me suggestion, what should i do? I am having problem in making it's logic. Thanks in advance...!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rproffitt

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Short plan, a small example, and a few gotchas to fill the logic gap asked about (and to answer ’ request for specifics). Building a launcher is non-trivial ( called that out) so start by rendering icons in your own grid view and iterate.

  1. Basic approach — steps
  • Pull the app icon from PackageManager (use getApplicationIcon(packageName)). (developer.android.com)
  • Rasterize any Drawable to a Bitmap and compose it on a Canvas (base icon → effects/overlay → final bitmap).
  • Render that bitmap in your launcher UI (ImageView) and cache the result.
  1. Minimal Java utility (illustrates the logic)
    
private static Bitmap drawableToBitmap(Drawable d, int w, int h) {
 Bitmap bmp = Bitmap.createBitmap(w, h, Bitmap.Config.ARGB_8888);
 Canvas c = new Canvas(bmp);
 d.setBounds(0, 0, w, h);
 d.draw(c);
 return bmp;
}

public static Bitmap mergeIconWithOverlay(Context ctx, Drawable base, Drawable overlay, int sizePx) {
Bitmap out = Bitmap.createBitmap(sizePx, sizePx, Bitmap.Config.ARGB_8888);
Canvas canvas = new Canvas(out);
canvas.drawBitmap(drawableToBitmap(base, sizePx, sizePx), 0, 0, null);
if (overlay != null) {
overlay.setBounds(0, 0, sizePx, sizePx);
overlay.draw(canvas);
}
return out;
}


Using draw()/setBounds is safe for BitmapDrawable and AdaptiveIconDrawable — don’t cast to BitmapDrawable. See the Drawable-to-bitmap helpers/docs. ([android.github.io](https://android.github.io/android-ktx/core-ktx/androidx.graphics.drawable/android.graphics.drawable.-drawable/to-bitmap.html?utm_source=openai))

3) Adaptive icons and system integration
Adaptive icons use foreground/background layers (API 26+) and should be drawn, not cast; handle AdaptiveIconDrawable by drawing its layers to your canvas, and if you need to supply a system Icon (shortcuts/widgets) use Icon.createWithAdaptiveBitmap or createWithBitmap as appropriate. ([developer.android.com](https://developer.android.com/guide/practices/ui_guidelines/icon_design_adaptive.html?utm_source=openai))

4) Performance & production tips
- Do bitmap creation off the UI thread and reuse bitmaps. Cache merged bitmaps in an LruCache keyed by package+overlay id. ([developer.android.com](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/util/LruCache?utm_source=openai))  
- If you only need simple stacking (no permanent bitmap), a LayerDrawable or XML layer-list can be used to avoid manual bitmap merging. ([developer.android.com](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/graphics/drawable/LayerDrawable?utm_source=openai))

Start with a prototype that merges one icon type, measure memory/CPU, then scale. This gives a clear, testable logic path before committing to a full launcher rewrite.

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Member Avatar for hericles

In other words you have had an idea but don't know how to implement it?
You say you have a problem with the logic but you don't even tell us what that is. How are we to help you wth that?

Member Avatar for rproffitt

Not to discourage you but there are too many launchers today. As I read http://www.androidcentral.com/best-android-launchers the one thing you need to think of is "Can I do this?"

I'm a big fan of taking on an app that at first looks just beyond the scope or scale of what I know I can do. Over the years I've learned that you get a better view and see the end after a few weeks or months into a project.

However today I'm encountering clients and folk that think that major apps can be made in "Two Weeks." Maybe if you rip off someone else's app and claim it as yours? But who does that?

Android apps can be challenging even to seasoned app writers. Have you at least completed a dozen apps before you try a launcher?

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