Making tabs in Android

Question

Which is the best way to develop an Android application with tabs. I have read many web sites but I have not found a way that convinces me.

I want to develop an app which runs in all APIs.

• ActionBar: doesn't work in API 10 and previous.
• TabActivity: is deprecated.
• Fragments: I don't understand.

I want to make an app like Contacts App (Phone, Call log, Contacts, Favourites, etc). I need 3 tabs and in each tab I want a ListView. When you press an item of the ListView I want to show a second ListView depending on the item pressed.

I have an App which do that, but I don't know how can I do with tabs.

Thanks

Answer 1

ActionBar: doesn't work in API 10 and previous.

ActionBarSherlock offers a backport of the action bar to API Level 7. However, sometimes its tabs get converted into a drop-down navigation instead.

TabActivity: is deprecated.

You can still use TabHost and TabWidget from a regular Activity, as is shown in this sample project. However, TabHost looks dated from a UI aesthetics standpoint.

Fragments: I don't understand.

Since they have been around for nearly 2.5 years, you might consider learning how to use them.

I want to make an app like Contacts App (Phone, Call log, Contacts, Favourites, etc).

The Contacts app uses a ViewPager, with fragments as the pages. You do not have to use fragments for pages in a ViewPager, though it does tend to make things a bit easier IMHO.