android custom toasts

Question

I was able to make custom toast using this code

    LayoutInflater inflater = getLayoutInflater();

    View layout = inflater.inflate(R.layout.custom_toast_layout, (ViewGroup)findViewById(R.id.custom_toast));

    TextView text = (TextView) layout.findViewById(R.id.toast_tv);
    text.setText("Hello! This is a custom toast!");

    Toast toast = new Toast(getApplicationContext());       
    toast.setDuration(Toast.LENGTH_LONG);
    toast.setView(layout);
    toast.show();

However, since I do not understand the purpose of LayoutInflater, I modified the code to this...

Toast toast = new Toast(getApplicationContext());
    toast.setView(findViewById(R.id.custom_toast));
    toast.setDuration(Toast.LENGTH_SHORT);
    toast.show();

And I get RuntimeException saying "setView must have been called"..

• Why can't I just assign the view to toast without using LayoutInflater?

• What is the purpose of LayoutInflater in general so that I can apply this experience to other custom views?

Edit: I am using these codes in onListItemClick() interface method.. after the content is set..

Answer 1

Your question have your answer, every custom view should inflate first, that's the reason you got an error with your modified code.