RecyclerView is a powerful and flexible Android widget used to display large sets of data efficiently. Unlike ListView, it reuses views using the ViewHolder pattern and allows advanced features like animations and custom layouts.

Step 1: Add RecyclerView Dependency

Open your build.gradle (Module: app) and add the RecyclerView library:

dependencies {
    implementation 'androidx.recyclerview:recyclerview:1.4.0'
}

Sync the project.

Step 2: Create the RecyclerView in XML Layout

In your activity or fragment layout XML file:

<androidx.recyclerview.widget.RecyclerView
    android:id="@+id/recyclerView"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:padding="8dp"
    android:clipToPadding="false"
    tools:listitem="@layout/item_row" />

Step 3: Create Item Layout (item_row.xml)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout 
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:padding="12dp">

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/textViewItem"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="List Item"
        android:textSize="18sp" />
</LinearLayout>

Step 4: Create a Model Class (e.g., ItemModel.java)

public class ItemModel {
    private String itemText;

    public ItemModel(String itemText) {
        this.itemText = itemText;
    }

    public String getItemText() {
        return itemText;
    }
}

Step 5: Create Adapter Class (ItemAdapter.java)

import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.TextView;

import androidx.recyclerview.widget.RecyclerView;

import java.util.List;

public class ItemAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<ItemAdapter.ViewHolder> {

    private List<ItemModel> itemList;

    public ItemAdapter(List<ItemModel> itemList) {
        this.itemList = itemList;
    }

    public static class ViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {
        public TextView textViewItem;

        public ViewHolder(View view) {
            super(view);
            textViewItem = view.findViewById(R.id.textViewItem);
        }
    }

    @Override
    public ItemAdapter.ViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(ViewGroup parent, int viewType) {
        View view = LayoutInflater.from(parent.getContext())
                     .inflate(R.layout.item_row, parent, false);
        return new ViewHolder(view);
    }

    @Override
    public void onBindViewHolder(ViewHolder holder, int position) {
        ItemModel item = itemList.get(position);
        holder.textViewItem.setText(item.getItemText());
    }

    @Override
    public int getItemCount() {
        return itemList.size();
    }
}

Step 6: Set Up RecyclerView in Your Activity

import android.os.Bundle;
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;
import androidx.recyclerview.widget.LinearLayoutManager;
import androidx.recyclerview.widget.RecyclerView;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    private RecyclerView recyclerView;
    private ItemAdapter adapter;
    private List<ItemModel> itemList;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        recyclerView = findViewById(R.id.recyclerView);
        recyclerView.setLayoutManager(new LinearLayoutManager(this));

        itemList = new ArrayList<>();
        itemList.add(new ItemModel("Apple"));
        itemList.add(new ItemModel("Banana"));
        itemList.add(new ItemModel("Cherry"));

        adapter = new ItemAdapter(itemList);
        recyclerView.setAdapter(adapter);
    }
}

Optional: Add Click Listener (in ItemAdapter.java)

use Context

You can enhance user interaction by adding an interface for item clicks.

import android.content.Context;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.TextView;

import androidx.annotation.NonNull;
import androidx.appcompat.app.AlertDialog;
import androidx.recyclerview.widget.RecyclerView;

import java.util.List;

public class ItemAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<ItemAdapter.ViewHolder> {
    Context context;
    private List<ItemModel> itemList;

    public ItemAdapter(Context context, List<ItemModel> itemList) {
        this.itemList = itemList;
        this.context = context;
    }

    public static class ViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {
        public TextView textViewItem;

        public ViewHolder(View view) {
            super(view);
            textViewItem = view.findViewById(R.id.textViewItem);
        }
    }

    @NonNull
    @Override
    public ItemAdapter.ViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(ViewGroup parent, int viewType) {
        View view = LayoutInflater.from(parent.getContext())
                .inflate(R.layout.item_row, parent, false);
        return new ViewHolder(view);
    }

    @Override
    public void onBindViewHolder(ViewHolder holder, int position) {
        ItemModel item = itemList.get(position);
        holder.textViewItem.setText(item.getItemText());
        holder.textViewItem.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                new AlertDialog.Builder(context)
                        .setTitle(item.getItemText())
                        .setMessage("You have chosen "+item.getItemText())
                        .setNegativeButton("OK", null)
                        .show();
            }
        });
    }

    @Override
    public int getItemCount() {
        return itemList.size();
    }
}

import android.os.Bundle;
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;
import androidx.recyclerview.widget.LinearLayoutManager;
import androidx.recyclerview.widget.RecyclerView;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    private RecyclerView recyclerView;
    private ItemAdapter adapter;
    private List<ItemModel> itemList;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        recyclerView = findViewById(R.id.recyclerView);
        recyclerView.setLayoutManager(new LinearLayoutManager(this));

        itemList = new ArrayList<>();
        itemList.add(new ItemModel("Apple"));
        itemList.add(new ItemModel("Banana"));
        itemList.add(new ItemModel("Cherry"));

        adapter = new ItemAdapter(this, itemList);
        recyclerView.setAdapter(adapter);
    }
}

Conclusion

You’ve now successfully implemented a basic RecyclerView for displaying a list in Java using Android Studio. You can further improve it by adding features like item click events, animations, pagination, or integrating data from APIs or databases.