Android Working with Retrofit HTTP Library

We have used Volley as networking library in lot of my articles. Today we are going to look at another awesome library Retrofit to make the http calls. Retrofit is denitely the better alternative to volley in terms of ease of use, performance, extensibility and other things. It is a type-­safe REST client for Android built by Square. Using this tool android developer can make all network stuff much more easier. As an example, we are going to download some json and show it in RecyclerView as a list.

Here is the final app we are about to build.

Getting TMDB API Key / Sample JSON

For this tutorial we will use The TMDb API. In order to use this API it is necessary to obtain the API key. Here you can take a look how to obtain the API key. In short, you need to register and login in order to obtain the key.

After this it should looks like this

1. Creating New Project

1. Create a new project in Android Studio from File ⇒ New Project. When it prompts you to select the default activity, select Empty Activity and proceed.

2. Open build.gradle and add Retrofit, Gson dependencies.

dependencies {
    compile fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
    testCompile 'junit:junit:4.12'
    compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:23.3.0'

    // retrofit, gson
    compile 'com.google.code.gson:gson:2.6.2'
    compile 'com.squareup.retrofit2:retrofit:2.0.2'
    compile 'com.squareup.retrofit2:converter-gson:2.0.2'
}

3. Since we are working with network operations we need to add INTERNET permissions in AndroidManifest.xml file

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="info.androidhive.retrofit">

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

    <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:supportsRtl="true"
        android:theme="@style/AppTheme">
        <activity android:name=".activity.MainActivity">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
    </application>
</manifest>

4. Create four sub packages named activity, adapter, rest and model in your main package. Move your MainActivity under activity package.

2. Creating Model Class

5. First, we need to know what type of JSON response we will be receiving. The following example uses The TMDb API as an example and show how to create Java objects that will be able to parse the latest movies. Based on the JSON response returned for this API call, let’s first define how a basic movie representation should look like:

Using this route (http://api.themoviedb.org/3/movie/top_rated?api_key=INSERT_YOUR_API_KEY) we can get the last 50 movies. Let’s insert it into browser and see. Using JsonViewer you can see JSON in more structured way. Copy the response from browser to this JsonViewer and this online tool show JSON like here:

6. Create a class named Movie.java under model package.

package info.androidhive.retrofit.model;

import com.google.gson.annotations.SerializedName;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;


public class Movie {
    @SerializedName("poster_path")
    private String posterPath;
    @SerializedName("adult")
    private boolean adult;
    @SerializedName("overview")
    private String overview;
    @SerializedName("release_date")
    private String releaseDate;
    @SerializedName("genre_ids")
    private List<Integer> genreIds = new ArrayList<Integer>();
    @SerializedName("id")
    private Integer id;
    @SerializedName("original_title")
    private String originalTitle;
    @SerializedName("original_language")
    private String originalLanguage;
    @SerializedName("title")
    private String title;
    @SerializedName("backdrop_path")
    private String backdropPath;
    @SerializedName("popularity")
    private Double popularity;
    @SerializedName("vote_count")
    private Integer voteCount;
    @SerializedName("video")
    private Boolean video;
    @SerializedName("vote_average")
    private Double voteAverage;

    public Movie(String posterPath, boolean adult, String overview, String releaseDate, List<Integer> genreIds, Integer id,
                 String originalTitle, String originalLanguage, String title, String backdropPath, Double popularity,
                 Integer voteCount, Boolean video, Double voteAverage) {
        this.posterPath = posterPath;
        this.adult = adult;
        this.overview = overview;
        this.releaseDate = releaseDate;
        this.genreIds = genreIds;
        this.id = id;
        this.originalTitle = originalTitle;
        this.originalLanguage = originalLanguage;
        this.title = title;
        this.backdropPath = backdropPath;
        this.popularity = popularity;
        this.voteCount = voteCount;
        this.video = video;
        this.voteAverage = voteAverage;
    }

    public String getPosterPath() {
        return posterPath;
    }

    public void setPosterPath(String posterPath) {
        this.posterPath = posterPath;
    }

    public boolean isAdult() {
        return adult;
    }

    public void setAdult(boolean adult) {
        this.adult = adult;
    }

    public String getOverview() {
        return overview;
    }

    public void setOverview(String overview) {
        this.overview = overview;
    }

    public String getReleaseDate() {
        return releaseDate;
    }

    public void setReleaseDate(String releaseDate) {
        this.releaseDate = releaseDate;
    }

    public List<Integer> getGenreIds() {
        return genreIds;
    }

    public void setGenreIds(List<Integer> genreIds) {
        this.genreIds = genreIds;
    }

    public Integer getId() {
        return id;
    }

    public void setId(Integer id) {
        this.id = id;
    }

    public String getOriginalTitle() {
        return originalTitle;
    }

    public void setOriginalTitle(String originalTitle) {
        this.originalTitle = originalTitle;
    }

    public String getOriginalLanguage() {
        return originalLanguage;
    }

    public void setOriginalLanguage(String originalLanguage) {
        this.originalLanguage = originalLanguage;
    }

    public String getTitle() {
        return title;
    }

    public void setTitle(String title) {
        this.title = title;
    }

    public String getBackdropPath() {
        return backdropPath;
    }

    public void setBackdropPath(String backdropPath) {
        this.backdropPath = backdropPath;
    }

    public Double getPopularity() {
        return popularity;
    }

    public void setPopularity(Double popularity) {
        this.popularity = popularity;
    }

    public Integer getVoteCount() {
        return voteCount;
    }

    public void setVoteCount(Integer voteCount) {
        this.voteCount = voteCount;
    }

    public Boolean getVideo() {
        return video;
    }

    public void setVideo(Boolean video) {
        this.video = video;
    }

    public Double getVoteAverage() {
        return voteAverage;
    }

    public void setVoteAverage(Double voteAverage) {
        this.voteAverage = voteAverage;
    }
}

7. Also we need to create MovieResponse.java class, since we have some extra fields like page number. This class contains all fetched movies and extra information. Create MovieResponse.java under model package.

package info.androidhive.retrofit.model;

import com.google.gson.annotations.SerializedName;

import java.util.List;


public class MoviesResponse {
    @SerializedName("page")
    private int page;
    @SerializedName("results")
    private List<Movie> results;
    @SerializedName("total_results")
    private int totalResults;
    @SerializedName("total_pages")
    private int totalPages;

    public int getPage() {
        return page;
    }

    public void setPage(int page) {
        this.page = page;
    }

    public List<Movie> getResults() {
        return results;
    }

    public void setResults(List<Movie> results) {
        this.results = results;
    }

    public int getTotalResults() {
        return totalResults;
    }

    public void setTotalResults(int totalResults) {
        this.totalResults = totalResults;
    }

    public int getTotalPages() {
        return totalPages;
    }

    public void setTotalPages(int totalPages) {
        this.totalPages = totalPages;
    }
}

3. Creating the Retrofit instance

8. To send network requests to an API, we need to use the Retrofit Builder class and specify the base URL for the service. So, create a class named ApiClient.java under rest package.

Here BASE_URL – it is basic URL of our API. We will use this URL for all requests later.

package info.androidhive.retrofit.rest;

import retrofit2.Retrofit;
import retrofit2.converter.gson.GsonConverterFactory;


public class ApiClient {

    public static final String BASE_URL = "http://api.themoviedb.org/3/";
    private static Retrofit retrofit = null;


    public static Retrofit getClient() {
        if (retrofit==null) {
            retrofit = new Retrofit.Builder()
                    .baseUrl(BASE_URL)
                    .addConverterFactory(GsonConverterFactory.create())
                    .build();
        }
        return retrofit;
    }
}

4. Define the Endpoints

The endpoints are defined inside of an interface using special retrofit annotations to encode details about the parameters and request method. In addition, the return value is always a parameterized Call<T> object such as Call<MovieResponse>. For instance, the interface defines each endpoint in the following way.

9. Create ApiInterface.java under rest package.

package info.androidhive.retrofit.rest;

import info.androidhive.retrofit.model.MoviesResponse;
import retrofit2.Call;
import retrofit2.http.GET;
import retrofit2.http.Path;
import retrofit2.http.Query;


public interface ApiInterface {
    @GET("movie/top_rated")
    Call<MoviesResponse> getTopRatedMovies(@Query("api_key") String apiKey);

    @GET("movie/{id}")
    Call<MoviesResponse> getMovieDetails(@Path("id") int id, @Query("api_key") String apiKey);
}

So, using this route the retrofit will generate the following URL:
http://api.themoviedb.org/3/movie/top_rated?api_key=12345678910111213

Each endpoint specifies an annotation of the HTTP method (GET, POST, etc.) and the parameters of this method can also have special annotations (@Query, @Path, @Body etc.)

Take a look to other annotations:

@Path – variable substitution for the API endpoint. For example movie id will be swapped for{id} in the URL endpoint.

@Query – specifies the query key name with the value of the annotated parameter.

@Body – payload for the POST call

@Header – specifies the header with the value of the annotated parameter

5. Making the First Request

10. Let’s make the first request from our MainActivity. If we want to consume the API asynchronously, we call the service as follows. Open the MainActivity.java and do the below changes.

Make sure that you replaced API_KEY with yours.

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
    private static final String TAG = MainActivity.class.getSimpleName();

    // TODO - insert your themoviedb.org API KEY here
    private final static String API_KEY = "";


    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        if (API_KEY.isEmpty()) {
            Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Please obtain your API KEY first from themoviedb.org", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
            return;
        }

        ApiInterface apiService =
                ApiClient.getClient().create(ApiInterface.class);

        Call<MoviesResponse> call = apiService.getTopRatedMovies(API_KEY);
        call.enqueue(new Callback<MoviesResponse>() {
            @Override
            public void onResponse(Call<MoviesResponse>call, Response<MoviesResponse> response) {
                List<Movie> movies = response.body().getResults();
                Log.d(TAG, "Number of movies received: " + movies.size());
            }

            @Override
            public void onFailure(Call<MoviesResponse>call, Throwable t) {
                // Log error here since request failed
                Log.e(TAG, t.toString());
            }
        });
    }
}

Retrofit will download and parse the API data on a background thread, and then return the results back to the UI thread via the onResponse or onFailure method.

Congratulations! We have created our first rest client. Let’s create some UI in order to see our results.

6. Displaying the Results in RecyclerView

11. Let’s create ListView for fetched results. We will use RecyclerView for it. First of all, add it to the gradle.gradle

dependencies {
    .
    .

    // recycler view
    compile 'com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:23.3.0'
}

In order to show fetched items we need to create layout, which will show all data. We need 4 TextView and 1 ImageView for star image.

12. Open colors.xml and add the below color values.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
    <color name="colorPrimary">#3F51B5</color>
    <color name="colorPrimaryDark">#303F9F</color>
    <color name="colorAccent">#FF4081</color>

    <color name="orange">#FF3909</color>
    <color name="colorAccentDark">#00B482</color>

    <color name="colorBlack">#555555</color>
    <color name="colorWhite">#FFFFFF</color>
    <color name="colorGrey">#707070</color>
    <color name="colorGreyLight">#8A8A8A</color>
</resources>

13. Create a layout named star.xml under res drawable with the below content.

<!-- drawable/star.xml -->
<vector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:width="24dp"
    android:height="24dp"
    android:viewportHeight="24"
    android:viewportWidth="24">
    <path
        android:fillColor="#000"
        android:pathData="M12,17.27L18.18,21L16.54,13.97L22,9.24L14.81,8.62L12,2L9.19,8.62L2,9.24L7.45,13.97L5.82,21L12,17.27Z" />
</vector>

14. Create a layout named list_item_movie.java under res layout.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:id="@+id/movies_layout"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:gravity="center_vertical"
    android:minHeight="72dp"
    android:orientation="horizontal"
    android:padding="16dp">

    <LinearLayout
        android:layout_width="0dp"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_weight="1"
        android:orientation="vertical">

        <TextView
            android:id="@+id/title"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:layout_gravity="top"
            android:paddingRight="16dp"
            android:textStyle="bold"
            android:textColor="@color/colorBlack"
            android:textSize="16sp" />


        <TextView
            android:id="@+id/subtitle"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:paddingRight="16dp"
            android:textColor="@color/colorGreyLight" />

        <TextView
            android:id="@+id/description"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:maxLines="3"
            android:paddingRight="16dp"
            android:textColor="@color/colorGreyLight" />

    </LinearLayout>

    <LinearLayout
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="35dp"
        android:orientation="horizontal">

        <ImageView
            android:id="@+id/rating_image"
            android:layout_width="15dp"
            android:layout_height="15dp"
            android:layout_centerInParent="true"
            android:scaleType="centerCrop"
            android:src="@drawable/star"
            android:tint="@color/colorAccent" />


        <TextView
            android:id="@+id/rating"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:layout_marginLeft="8dp"
            android:text="5.0" />
    </LinearLayout>

</LinearLayout>

15. Adapter is a common pattern which helps to bind view and data, so let’s implement adapter for this. Create a class named MoviesAdapter.java under adapter package.

package info.androidhive.retrofit.adapter;

import android.content.Context;
import android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.LinearLayout;
import android.widget.TextView;

import java.util.List;

import info.androidhive.retrofit.R;
import info.androidhive.retrofit.model.Movie;

public class MoviesAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<MoviesAdapter.MovieViewHolder> {

    private List<Movie> movies;
    private int rowLayout;
    private Context context;


    public static class MovieViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {
        LinearLayout moviesLayout;
        TextView movieTitle;
        TextView data;
        TextView movieDescription;
        TextView rating;


        public MovieViewHolder(View v) {
            super(v);
            moviesLayout = (LinearLayout) v.findViewById(R.id.movies_layout);
            movieTitle = (TextView) v.findViewById(R.id.title);
            data = (TextView) v.findViewById(R.id.subtitle);
            movieDescription = (TextView) v.findViewById(R.id.description);
            rating = (TextView) v.findViewById(R.id.rating);
        }
    }

    public MoviesAdapter(List<Movie> movies, int rowLayout, Context context) {
        this.movies = movies;
        this.rowLayout = rowLayout;
        this.context = context;
    }

    @Override
    public MoviesAdapter.MovieViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(ViewGroup parent,
                                                            int viewType) {
        View view = LayoutInflater.from(parent.getContext()).inflate(rowLayout, parent, false);
        return new MovieViewHolder(view);
    }


    @Override
    public void onBindViewHolder(MovieViewHolder holder, final int position) {
        holder.movieTitle.setText(movies.get(position).getTitle());
        holder.data.setText(movies.get(position).getReleaseDate());
        holder.movieDescription.setText(movies.get(position).getOverview());
        holder.rating.setText(movies.get(position).getVoteAverage().toString());
    }

    @Override
    public int getItemCount() {
        return movies.size();
    }
}

16. Open MainActivity.java and modify the code as below.

package info.androidhive.retrofit.activity;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.support.v7.widget.LinearLayoutManager;
import android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView;
import android.util.Log;
import android.widget.Toast;

import java.util.List;

import info.androidhive.retrofit.R;
import info.androidhive.retrofit.adapter.MoviesAdapter;
import info.androidhive.retrofit.model.Movie;
import info.androidhive.retrofit.model.MoviesResponse;
import info.androidhive.retrofit.rest.ApiClient;
import info.androidhive.retrofit.rest.ApiInterface;
import retrofit2.Call;
import retrofit2.Callback;
import retrofit2.Response;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    private static final String TAG = MainActivity.class.getSimpleName();


    // TODO - insert your themoviedb.org API KEY here
    private final static String API_KEY = "";


    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        if (API_KEY.isEmpty()) {
            Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Please obtain your API KEY from themoviedb.org first!", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
            return;
        }

        final RecyclerView recyclerView = (RecyclerView) findViewById(R.id.movies_recycler_view);
        recyclerView.setLayoutManager(new LinearLayoutManager(this));

        ApiInterface apiService =
                ApiClient.getClient().create(ApiInterface.class);

        Call<MoviesResponse> call = apiService.getTopRatedMovies(API_KEY);
        call.enqueue(new Callback<MoviesResponse>() {
            @Override
            public void onResponse(Call<MoviesResponse> call, Response<MoviesResponse> response) {
                int statusCode = response.code();
                List<Movie> movies = response.body().getResults();
                recyclerView.setAdapter(new MoviesAdapter(movies, R.layout.list_item_movie, getApplicationContext()));
            }

            @Override
            public void onFailure(Call<MoviesResponse> call, Throwable t) {
                // Log error here since request failed
                Log.e(TAG, t.toString());
            }
        });
    }
}

Run the app and we get this nice list

To sum it up, Retrofit is one of the best tool for working with network requests. I have considered most common cases which can be helpful in your projects. Happy coding!

Ravi Tamada

Hi there! I am Founder at androidhive and programming enthusiast. My skills includes Android, iOS, PHP, Ruby on Rails and lot more. If you have any idea that you would want me to develop? Let’s talk: ravi@androidhive.info