Pasting and Extracting Stuff

A lot of times, but especially when I am implementing some new logic, coding for me takes several steps:
1. Write down what I have to do as comments
2. Implement what I have written down
3. Refactor and improve what I have implemented

More often than not, step 3 means moving stuff around, copy-pasting things, extracting variables, defining constants, etc. I am not a hardcode never-using-my-mouse developer. If anything, I think my brain is limited to holding a limited number of shortcuts for everything I use in my life. Android Studio has the perfect shortcuts for making this easier for me. Luckily, these shortcuts made it to the list of things my brain remembers.

How many times have I copied (or even cut!) text but instead of pasting, I press ⌘+V (CMD+V) again! ARGH. I used to do ⌘+Z (CMD+Z) any number of times until I get back what I wanted. That is, until I learned about ⌘+⇧+V (CMD+SHIFT+V)! This key combo shows the clipboard history, which means no more fretting. Yay!

Refactoring also mostly involves extracting variables. I have already shown how to extract strings into strings.xml, and here I show how to extract things into methods, variables, fields, or constants.

It is fairly easy to remember them. Just combine ⌘+⌥ (CMD+OPTION) with the first letter of what you want to extract to. Time for a handy table!

Shortcut
⌘+⌥+M	Method
⌘+⌥+V	Variable
⌘+⌥+F	Field
⌘+⌥+C	Constant

This video might do a better job of showing what I'm trying to say. Code from Chris Banes's Cheesesquare demo.

Quick tip: Quick Formatting of Android XML Files

One of the most useful tools in Android's Eclipse plug-in is the Layout Editor. It is easy to experiment with layouts using the drag-and-drop enabled editor without having to worry about the correct syntax or if you are using the correct attribute name.

After creating your layout this way, however, you can end up with a messy XML file. I say "messy" in the sense that elements can run on in one veeeeeeeeeeeery long line, and if you are about to edit the XML file manually, this can be a nightmare.

I used to format the XML file by hand, putting in line breaks and correcting indentation. But one edit using the graphical layout editor and it's messed up again. And then I had a light bulb moment. Eclipse allows auto-formatting of code, but what about XML files? AHA!

It turns out that auto-formatting works for XML files too! Simply select all the contents of the XML file (CTRL-A) and then press the ultra magical shortcut CTRL-I and your XML file is clean and orderly as can be! YAY!