In Android, what is the difference between getAction() and getActionMasked() in MotionEvent?

Question

I am confused by the two methods in Android. It seems that both methods tell you what kind of event it is, i.e., whether it is a down or up event.

When will I use which?

public void onTouchEvent(MotionEvent e) 

Don't quote the documentation please, because I read it, and I don't see any parameter I can supply to either of the methods to get something different.

public final int getAction () 

and

public final int getActionMasked() 

Answer 1

getAction() returns a pointer id and an event (i.e., up, down, move) information.

getActionMasked() returns just an event (i.e., up, down, move) information. Other info is masked out.

For example:

getAction() returns 0x0105.
getActionMasked() will return 0x0005, which is 0x0105 && ACTION_MASK.

1. The value of ACTION_MASK is 0xFF. It masks the following actions.
   • ACTION_DOWN 0, UP 1, MOVE 2
   • ACTION_POINTER_DOWN 5, UP 6
2. The value of ACTION_POINTER_ID_MASK is 0xFF00. It masked the pointer ID from following deprecated constants.
   • ACTION_POINTER_1_DOWN 0x0005
   • ACTION_POINTER_2_DOWN 0x0105
   • ACTION_POINTER_3_DOWN 0x0205
   • ...