The android:name attribute in the <fragment>

Question

Please explain ArticleListFragment and ArticleReaderFragmet as they are in this code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:orientation="horizontal"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">
    <fragment android:name="com.example.news.ArticleListFragment"
            android:id="@+id/list"
            android:layout_weight="1"
            android:layout_width="0dp"
            android:layout_height="match_parent" />
    <fragment android:name="com.example.news.ArticleReaderFragment"
            android:id="@+id/viewer"
            android:layout_weight="2"
            android:layout_width="0dp"
            android:layout_height="match_parent" />
</LinearLayout>

I don't know what they refer to? Is it either the Fragment class (or its subclass) that use in source code or XML files for layout?

If they are XML files where must they be located?

Answer 1

The ArticleListFragment and ArticleReaderFragment are names of classes that contain java code for these fragments.

As it was mentioned before you can have your fragment inside containing activity, but it is not a good practice to do so.

For a good example try to create "Blank Activity with Fragment" using Android Studio wizard. It will create an activity class and a fragment class along with 2 XML files for activity and fragment respectively.