Set RecyclerView itemTextView programmatically to BOLD based on Volley JSON response?

Question

I populate a RecyclerView from JSON data pulled from a webserver using Volley. I have two columns called user1Read and user2Read that is yes or no. I would like to know how I can modify my Adapter to set the TypeFace to bold if the message is considered "unread"? I am unsure of how to access the TextView from within my onResponse logic. Should I create a member variable in my Messages model class? Should I create it in my Adapter? Where would be the best place to put this? In my JSON onResponse, it would be great if I could just say

onResponseMethod {
    if(!hasRead) {
        //set TypeFace BOLD here
        //But how to access TextView???
    }
}

My custom Adapter:

import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.Filter;
import android.widget.Filterable;
import android.widget.TextView;
import androidx.annotation.NonNull;
import androidx.recyclerview.widget.RecyclerView;
import com.squareup.picasso.Picasso;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import de.hdodenhof.circleimageview.CircleImageView;

    public class MessageAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<MessageAdapter.ViewHolder> implements Filterable {
        private ArrayList<Message> messages;
        private OnItemClickListener mListener;
    
        @Override
        public Filter getFilter() {
            return null;
        }
    
        public interface OnItemClickListener {
            void onItemClick(int position);
        }
    
        public void setOnItemClickListener(OnItemClickListener listener) {
            mListener = listener;
        }
        public MessageAdapter(ArrayList<Message> messages) {
            this.messages = messages;
        }
        @NonNull
        @Override
        public ViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(@NonNull ViewGroup parent, int viewType) {
            View v = LayoutInflater.from(parent.getContext()).inflate(R.layout.message_list_item, parent, false);
            return new ViewHolder(v);
        }
        @Override
        public void onBindViewHolder(@NonNull ViewHolder holder, int position) {
            Message message = messages.get(position);
            holder.username.setText(message.getUsername());
            holder.messageSnippet.setText(message.getMessageSnippet());
            holder.singleMessageTimestamp.setText(message.getTimestamp());
            Picasso.get().load(message.getAvatarUrl()).into(holder.avatarCircleImageView);
        }
    
        @Override
        public int getItemCount() {
            if (messages != null) {
                return messages.size();
            } else {
                return 0;
            }
        }
    
        public class ViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {
            public final View view;
            public final TextView username;
            public final TextView messageSnippet;
            public final TextView singleMessageTimestamp;
            public final CircleImageView avatarCircleImageView;
    
            public ViewHolder(View view) {
                super(view);
                this.view = view;
                username = view.findViewById(R.id.message_item_username_textview);
                messageSnippet = view.findViewById(R.id.message_item_message_snippet_textview);
                singleMessageTimestamp = view.findViewById(R.id.message_item_timestamp);
                avatarCircleImageView = view.findViewById(R.id.message_item_circle_avatar);
    
                view.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
                    @Override
                    public void onClick(View v) {
                        if (mListener != null) {
                            int position = getAdapterPosition();
                            if (position != RecyclerView.NO_POSITION) {
                                mListener.onItemClick(position);
                            }
                        }
                    }
                });
            }
        }
    }

My Message Model:

import android.widget.ImageView;

public class Message {
    private String username;
    private String messageSnippet;
    private String avatarUrl;
    private String timestamp;
    private ImageView dot;

    public Message(String username, String message, String avatar, String timestamp) {
        this.username = username;
        this.messageSnippet = message;
        this.avatarUrl = avatar;
        this.timestamp = timestamp;
    }
    public Message(String username, String avatar) {
        this.username = username;
        this.avatarUrl = avatar;
    }
    public String getUsername() {
        return username;
    }

    public void setUsername(String username) {
        this.username = username;
    }

    public String getMessageSnippet() {
        return messageSnippet;
    }

    public void setMessageSnippet(String messageSnippet) {
        this.messageSnippet = messageSnippet;
    }

    public String getTimestamp() {
        return timestamp;
    }

    public void setTimestamp(String timestamp) {
        this.timestamp = timestamp;
    }

    public String getAvatarUrl() {
        return avatarUrl;
    }

    public void setAvatarUrl(String avatarUrl) {
        this.avatarUrl = avatarUrl;
    }

}

My main Activity (MessagesActivity).

public class MessagesActivity extends AppCompatActivity implements MessageAdapter.OnItemClickListener {

    private RecyclerView messages;
    private MessageAdapter adapter;
    private ImageView circle_avatar;
    private TextView header_username_text;
    private ImageView avatar;
    private TextView username_heading;
    private static JSONArray profile_array;

    private static final String TAG = "MessagesActivity";
    private static final String getMessagesUrl = "https://myURL.com/get_messages.php";
    private static String username;
    private static ProgressDialog messagesProgressDialog;
    private static ArrayList<Message> list = new ArrayList<>();
    private static JSONObject jsonObject;
    private static Timer updateTimer;
    private static String hasRead;
    private static RecyclerView.LayoutManager mLayoutManager;
    private DrawerLayout mDrawerLayout;
    private ImageButton composeImageButton;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_messages);
        configureNavigationDrawer();
        configureToolbar();
        if(list != null) {
            list.clear();
        }
        avatar = findViewById(R.id.profile_avatar);
        username_heading = findViewById(R.id.username_text);

        updateTimer = new Timer();
        TimerTask updateTimerTask = new TimerTask() {
            public void run() {
                refreshMessages();
            }
        };
        updateTimer.scheduleAtFixedRate(updateTimerTask, 3000, 3000);

        messagesProgressDialog = new ProgressDialog(MessagesActivity.this, R.style.Custom_Progress_Dialog);
        messagesProgressDialog.setIndeterminate(true);
        messagesProgressDialog.setMessage("Fetching Messages...");
        messagesProgressDialog.show();
        SharedPreferences sharedPreferences = this.getSharedPreferences("MyPref", MODE_PRIVATE);
        username = sharedPreferences.getString("username", null);
        getProfile(username);
        messages = findViewById(R.id.messages);
        messages.addItemDecoration(new DividerItemDecoration(this, LinearLayout.VERTICAL));
        ArrayList<Message> messages = initMessages();

        mLayoutManager = new LinearLayoutManager(this);
        this.messages.setLayoutManager(mLayoutManager);

        adapter = new MessageAdapter(messages);
        this.messages.setAdapter(adapter);
        adapter.setOnItemClickListener(this);
        getProfile(username);

        composeImageButton = findViewById(R.id.custom_toolbar_image_button);
        composeImageButton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                Log.d(TAG, "Clicked compose Image Button");
                Intent composeIntent = new Intent(MessagesActivity.this, ComposeActivity.class);
                startActivity(composeIntent);
                updateTimer.cancel();
                updateTimer.purge();
            }
        });
    }
    private ArrayList<Message> initMessages() {
        RequestQueue messagesQueue = Volley.newRequestQueue(this);
        StringRequest messagesRequest = new StringRequest(Request.Method.POST, getMessagesUrl, new Response.Listener<String>() {
            @Override
            public void onResponse(String response) {
                messagesProgressDialog.dismiss();
                try {
                    String baseUrl = "https://myURL.com";
                    String defaultbaseUrl = "https://myURL.com/css/images/user_default/default_avatar.png";
                    JSONObject responseObject = new JSONObject(response);
                    JSONArray responseArray = responseObject.getJSONArray("data");
                    for(int i = 0; i < responseArray.length(); i++) {
                        jsonObject = responseArray.getJSONObject(i);
                        hasRead = jsonObject.getString("has_read");
                        String avatar = jsonObject.getString("avatar");
                        String message = jsonObject.getString("message");
                        String sender = jsonObject.getString("sender");
                        String timestamp = jsonObject.getString("timestamp");
                        Log.d(TAG, "sender: "+sender+", hasRead: "+hasRead);

                        if(avatar.contains("../users")) {
                            String substring = avatar.substring(avatar.indexOf(".") + 2);
                            avatar = baseUrl+substring;
                            Log.d(TAG, "if(avatar.contains('../users'): "+avatar);
                        } else {
                            avatar = defaultbaseUrl;
                        }
                        list.add(new Message(sender, message, avatar, timestamp));
                    }
                    updateData();

                } catch(Exception e) {
                    Log.d(TAG, "EXCEPTION: "+e.getMessage());
                }
            }
        }, new Response.ErrorListener() {
            @Override
            public void onErrorResponse(VolleyError error) {
                Log.d(TAG, "VolleyError: "+error.getMessage());
                messagesProgressDialog.dismiss();
            }
        }) {
            @Override
            public Map<String, String> getParams() {
                Map<String, String> params = new HashMap<>();
                params.put("username", username);
                return params;
            }
        };
        messagesQueue.add(messagesRequest);
        return list;
    }
    /*
    Called with TimerTask
     */
    private void refreshMessages() {
        RequestQueue updateQueue = Volley.newRequestQueue(this);
        StringRequest updateRequest = new StringRequest(Request.Method.POST, getMessagesUrl, new Response.Listener<String>() {
            @Override
            public void onResponse(String response) {
                list.clear();
                try {
                    String baseUrl = "https://myURL.com";
                    String defaultbaseUrl = "https://myURL.com/css/images/user_default/default_avatar.png";
                    JSONObject updateObject = new JSONObject(response);
                    JSONArray updateResponseArray = updateObject.getJSONArray("data");
                    for (int i = 0; i < updateResponseArray.length(); i++) {
                        updateObject = updateResponseArray.getJSONObject(i);
                        hasRead = updateObject.getString("has_read");
                        String avatar = updateObject.getString("avatar");
                        String message = updateObject.getString("message");
                        String sender = updateObject.getString("sender");
                        String timestamp = updateObject.getString("timestamp");
                        if (avatar.contains("../users")) {
                            String substring = avatar.substring(avatar.indexOf(".") + 2);
                            avatar = baseUrl + substring;
                        } else {
                            avatar = defaultbaseUrl;
                        }
                        if(hasRead.equals("no")) {

                        }
                        list.add(new Message(sender, message, avatar, timestamp));
                    }
                    updateData();
                    adapter.notifyDataSetChanged();
                } catch(Exception e) {
                    Log.d(TAG, "EXCEPTION: "+e.getMessage());
                }
            }
        }, new Response.ErrorListener() {
            @Override
            public void onErrorResponse(VolleyError error) {
                Log.d(TAG, "VolleyError: "+error.getMessage());
            }
        }) {
            @Override
            public Map<String, String> getParams() {
                Map<String, String> params = new HashMap<>();
                params.put("username", username);
                return params;
            }
        };
        updateQueue.add(updateRequest);
    }
    @Override
    public void onBackPressed() {
        super.onBackPressed();
        list.clear();
        updateTimer.cancel();
        updateTimer.purge();
        SharedPreferences prefs = MessagesActivity.this.getSharedPreferences("MyPref", MODE_PRIVATE);
        prefs.edit().putBoolean("is_logged_in", false).apply();
        finish();
    }
    @Override
    protected void onResume() {

        super.onResume();
    }
    public void updateData() {
        ArrayList<Message> strs = new ArrayList<>();
        for(int i = 0; i < list.size(); i++) {

            strs.add(list.get(i));
            MessageAdapter updateAdapter = new MessageAdapter(list);
            messages = findViewById(R.id.messages);
            messages.setAdapter(updateAdapter);
            updateAdapter.setOnItemClickListener(this);
        }
    }
    @Override
    public void onItemClick(int position) {
        Log.d(TAG, "onItemClick Called");
        Intent conversationIntent = new Intent(MessagesActivity.this, ConversationActivity.class);
        String recipient = ((TextView) Objects.requireNonNull(messages.findViewHolderForAdapterPosition(position)).itemView.findViewById(R.id.message_item_username_textview)).getText().toString();
        conversationIntent.putExtra("recipient", recipient);
        conversationIntent.putExtra("username", username);
        updateTimer.cancel();
        updateTimer.purge();
        startActivity(conversationIntent);
        list.clear();
        finish();
    }

    public void getProfile(final String username) {
        final String username_url = "https://myURL.com/get_profile.php?username=" + username;
        RequestQueue queue = Volley.newRequestQueue(this);
        StringRequest postRequest = new StringRequest(Request.Method.GET, username_url,
                new com.android.volley.Response.Listener<String>() {
                    @Override
                    public void onResponse(String response) {

                        String baseUrl = "https://myURL.com";
                        String defaultbaseUrl = "https://myURL.com/css/images/user_default/default_avatar.png";

                        try {
                            profile_array = new JSONArray(response);
                            for(int i = 0; i < profile_array.length(); i++) {
                                Log.d(TAG, "getProfile inside for loop");
                                JSONObject jsonObject = profile_array.getJSONObject(i);
                                String name = jsonObject.getString("name");
                                String avatarString = jsonObject.getString("avatar");
                                Log.d(TAG, "getProfile avatarString: "+avatarString);

                                if(avatarString.contains("../users")) {
                                    String substring = avatarString.substring(avatarString.indexOf(".") + 2);
                                    Log.d(TAG, "substring: "+substring);
                                    String urlString = baseUrl +substring;
                                    Picasso.get().load(urlString).into(circle_avatar);
                                    Log.d(TAG, "urlString: "+urlString);
                                    //Log.d(TAG, "CircleImageView getDrawable(): "+avatar.getDrawable());
                                    header_username_text.setText(name);
                                } else {
                                    Picasso.get().load(defaultbaseUrl).into(circle_avatar);
                                    header_username_text.setText(name);
                                }
                            }
                        } catch (JSONException e) {
                            ToastMaker.createLongToast(getApplicationContext(), "JSONException getProfile: "+ e.getMessage());
                        }
                    }
                },
                new Response.ErrorListener() {
                    @Override
                    public void onErrorResponse(VolleyError error) {
                        // error
                        Log.d(TAG, "VolleyError: "+error.getMessage());
                        //Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), TAG + " " + error, Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
                    }
                }
        ) {
            @Override
            protected Map<String, String> getParams() {
                Map<String, String> params = new HashMap<>();
                return params;
            }
        };
        queue.add(postRequest);
    }
    public void showLogoutDialog() {
        AlertDialog.Builder logoutBuilder = new AlertDialog.Builder(this, R.style.Custom_Alert_Dialog);
        logoutBuilder.setIcon(R.mipmap.ic_launcher_foreground);
        logoutBuilder.setTitle("Confirm Logout");
        logoutBuilder.setMessage("You are about to logout.\nAre you sure?")
                .setCancelable(true)
                .setPositiveButton(R.string.ok, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
                    @Override
                    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
                        SharedPreferences prefs = MessagesActivity.this.getSharedPreferences("MyPref", MODE_PRIVATE);
                        prefs.edit().putBoolean("is_logged_in", false).apply();
                        Intent logoutIntent = new Intent(MessagesActivity.this, LoginActivity.class);
                        startActivity(logoutIntent);
                        finish();
                    }
                }).setNegativeButton(R.string.cancel, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
                dialog.cancel();
            }
        });
        AlertDialog alertDialog = logoutBuilder.create();
        alertDialog.show();
    }
    private void configureNavigationDrawer() {
        mDrawerLayout = findViewById(R.id.drawer_layout);
        NavigationView navigationView = findViewById(R.id.navigation_view);
        circle_avatar = navigationView.getHeaderView(0).findViewById(R.id.profile_circle_avatar);
        header_username_text = navigationView.getHeaderView(0).findViewById(R.id.header_username_text);
        navigationView.setNavigationItemSelectedListener(new NavigationView.OnNavigationItemSelectedListener() {
            @Override
            public boolean onNavigationItemSelected(@NonNull MenuItem menuItem) {
                switch (menuItem.getItemId()) {
                    case R.id.edit_profile:
                        //String name = username_heading.getText().toString();
                        //String pic = avatar.getDrawable().toString();
                        //String location = location_heading.getText().toString();
                        //String interests = interests_heading.getText().toString();
                        //editProfile(name, pic, location, interests);
                        Log.d(TAG, "Clicked Edit Profile");
                        break;
                    case R.id.messages:
                        Log.d(TAG, "Clicked Messages");
                        mDrawerLayout.closeDrawers();
                        break;
                    case R.id.privacy:
                        Intent privacyIntent = new Intent(MessagesActivity.this, PrivacyActivity.class);
                        startActivity(privacyIntent);
                        Log.d(TAG, "Clicked Privacy");
                        break;
                    case R.id.logout:
                        showLogoutDialog();
                        Log.d(TAG, "Clicked Logout Button");
                        break;
                }
                mDrawerLayout.closeDrawers();
                return false;
            }
        });
    }
    @Override
    public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
        int itemId = item.getItemId();
        switch(itemId) {
            case android.R.id.home:
                mDrawerLayout.openDrawer(GravityCompat.START);
                return true;
        }
        return true;
    }
    private void configureToolbar() {
        Toolbar toolbar = findViewById(R.id.custom_toolbar);
        setSupportActionBar(toolbar);
        ActionBar actionBar = getSupportActionBar();
        assert actionBar != null : Log.d(TAG, "actionBar is NULL");
        actionBar.setDisplayShowTitleEnabled(false);
        actionBar.setHomeAsUpIndicator(R.drawable.ic_action_menu_24dp);
        actionBar.setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
    }
    @Override
    protected void onRestart() {
        super.onRestart();
        updateTimer = new Timer();
        TimerTask updateTimerTask = new TimerTask() {
            public void run() {
                refreshMessages();
            }
        };
        updateTimer.scheduleAtFixedRate(updateTimerTask, 3000, 3000);

    }
}

Here is the array that is being sent from the webserver:

$data[] = array('has_read' => 'no', 'avatar' => $avatar, 'sender' => $sender, 'recipient' => $recipient, 'message' => $message, 'timestamp' => $time);

$response = array('data'=>$data, 'count'=>$count);
echo json_encode($response);

Answer 1

Update 2 Guess what? It was a typo in another php function not mentioned in my question called getConversation(). I stopped working on the file a while back to perfect my MessagesActivity. I logged any Exceptions on the Activity, and noticed Exception in getMessages(): No value for timestamp.

I had misspelled my timestamp variable. Lol. So, I have a fully functioning messaging system now! :-) Now to work on some notification bells and whistles. Have a great weekend.

Update: This is not completely solved. It's bold when it's initially received on the MessagesActivity screen, but it goes back to regular Typeface once they refresh (via the TimerTask). Will debug for a while and come back, unless one of you discovers it first. :)

I think I figured it out!

My table is like so:

user1, user1ID, user2, user2ID, message, timestamp, user1read, user2read

When I make my request for a message, I receive these items via the php script:

if($sender === $username) {
    $data[] = array('has_read'=>$user1read, 'avatar'=>$avatar, 'sender'=>$recipient, 'message'=>'You: '.$message, 'timestamp'=>$time);
} else {
      $data[] = array('has_read' => $user2read, 'avatar' => $avatar, 'sender' => $sender, 'recipient' => $recipient, 'message' => $message, 'timestamp' => $time);
} 

This was my original loop to get all the messages from my JSONObject:

for (int i = 0; i < updateResponseArray.length(); i++) {
    updateObject = updateResponseArray.getJSONObject(i);
    String hasRead = updateObject.getString("has_read");
    String avatar = updateObject.getString("avatar");
    String message = updateObject.getString("message");
    String sender = updateObject.getString("sender");
    String timestamp = updateObject.getString("timestamp");
    if (avatar.contains("../users")) {
       String substring = avatar.substring(avatar.indexOf(".") + 2);
       avatar = baseUrl + substring;
    } else {
        avatar = defaultbaseUrl;
    }
    list.add(new Message(sender, message, avatar, timestamp));

So, I thought, "why don't I just create another member variable for my Messages model, and call it "hasRead"? So I did just that:

public class Message {
    private String username;
    private String messageSnippet;
    private String avatarUrl;
    private String timestamp;
    private String hasRead; //<--- here we go

Then I make my getters and setters (leaving out for the sake of brevity).

@J7bits suggested I access the onBindViewHolder() in my custom Adapter class. So I did that, but I included logic to check the status of the new member variable "hasRead":

@Override
    public void onBindViewHolder(@NonNull ViewHolder holder, int position) {
        Message message = messages.get(position);
        holder.username.setText(message.getUsername());
        holder.messageSnippet.setText(message.getMessageSnippet());
        holder.singleMessageTimestamp.setText(message.getTimestamp());
        Picasso.get().load(message.getAvatarUrl()).into(holder.avatarCircleImageView);
        if(message.getHasRead().equals("no")) {
            holder.messageSnippet.setTypeface(null, Typeface.BOLD_ITALIC);
        }
    }

Then, finally, I changed my JSON onResponse method to include the has_read variable sent from php:

String hasRead = jsonObject.getString("has_read");

And I added it to my ArrayList<Message> list:

list.add(new Message(sender, message, avatar, timestamp, **hasRead**);

I entered a new message manually into the database, and set my status to "no" for user2read. And would you just look at it?!?! :D

Answer 2

If you need only one Boolean throughout your app, here is a way to access the Boolean value:

Create a separate file named ext for example and inside, make this interface:

public interface ext {
    Boolean hasRead = false;
}

This variable is made when the app runs and lives for as long as the app does. so you can change it whenever you want.

If you want to have 2 separate Booleans for the two users chatting you can use a Hashmap like so:

HashMap <String, Boolean> readStatus = new HashMap<>();