Why is data binding preferred over other conventional ways? Data binding is one of the most trending and hottest topics in the android development sector. Data binding library is a support library in android that can be used to bind the UI components in your layouts to data sources in your app using a declarative format rather than programmatically.

It is an android jetpack library.

Usage of data binding

1. It is available through android support repository.

To check whether support lib installed or not go to android sdk->sdk tools->support repo->install android support repo.

1. Add data binding library to android studio project.

To do that open build.gradle(module-app)->in android element add  dataBinding {enabled = true}->sync project.

3. Create data class called contact and add parameters with constructor.No need to add getter and setter because this data class will be used with data binding lib.
4. Configure a data binding layout.To make any layout as a databinding layout the root view must be <layout></layout>.The immediate child of the layout must be <data></data>.Child of data is <variable> which is used to specify the variable used in this layout.2 properties must be specified in variable name and type.

<variable

name=”contact”

type=”com.example.vibhu.databindingexample.contact”    //class which is used for databinding

/>

The next child of layout after data is your actual layout i.e linearlayout or something.

For eg. In textview we can use databinding properties created in class contract . Suppose while setting text for textview we can use them as “@{contract.first}”  //first is one of the propties created in class.{} is used for using databinding variables.

5. Now in main activity we can create databinding object in any activity whose layout has been configured as databinding layout for example in mainactivity.We can create the object while inflating the layout. Hence in onCreate() we remove the setContentView statement and here we will create our data binding object.What happens is that whenever you compile a databindinglayout it creates a class (for eg here it will be AcitivityMainBinding) in background with the same name as of layout and we can access this created class from mainActivityclass .We do

ActivityMainBinding activitymainbinding=DataBindingUtil.setContentView(this,R.layout.activity_main);

Now we can set data for the databinding object .For this we do

Contact contact=new Contact(“abc”,”efg”);

Activitymainbinding.setContact(contact);

6. Everything is done and now you can run.

Why is data binding preferred over conventional method?

1.It is used to directly bind ui components to its data sources from layout itself.

2.To prevent repeated calls to findviewbyid and to improve performance of the app

3.Memory leaks and null pointer are prevented.

4. If layout is converted into data binding layout ,all the expensive findViewbyid calls will be prevented.Suppose if in a normal layout a calculator has to be made then all the findviewbyid calls will be made corresponding to each button .Those can be prevented using declarative layout.
5. Declarative layout also makes layout more flexible.

6.Stronger readability – depends if you are a new developer then you may find it easy to learn it but if you previously worked on android you will need extra time to learn it.

7.Powerful – the code has more power, you can implement whatever you like in code. Think about it like this, everything you implement using data binding has a code equivalent (it might be longer and more code to write), but the revers is not valid.

8.Testing the UI — with data-binding it’s much more easy to test the UI, but data-binding it’s not enough for that, you also need a good architecture and using the Google suggested architecture will show the actual power of data-binding.

Data Binding in included layouts

1.In included layouts,the parents and the child both must be databindinglayout.

2.We must pass object of contact from parent layout to child layout.For this in includes statement we write

<include

Id=”+@id/content”

Layout=”//the layout to be included”

bind:contact=”{@contact}”

/>

How to handle click events using data binding library

1.Make a class inside main only which will be used to handle the clicking of button.

Name it as ClickHandler .Make a property context and its constructor in it .Also add a method called as SimipleButtonclick in it which takes parameter as View and in this we write whatever we want to do while clicking.

In both parent and child we have to make variable corresponding to it.

In on click of the button in layout we write as “@{clickHandler:: SimipleButtonclick}”

2.Now in the class of those activities we can make clickhandler object.

ClickHandler clickHandler=new ClickHandler(this);

activitymainbinding.content.setClickHandler(clickHandler); //content is the id of included layout

3.Similarly we can do for longclick

For long click we have to create a method in class and this method should have a Boolean return type and not void.Then similar procedure.

How to use clicklistener with parameters

1.Create a simple method which takes parameters as View object and Content object.

2.In xml now in onclick do “@{(v)→onclickhandler.setclickhandledwithparams(v,contact)}”

3.same procedure as conventional method

Recycler View using data binding library

1.Follow the basic steps for recycler view as in normal.Also make the layout for single item using data binding library only.Add data and variable only in single item layout because for this example we dont need any kind of data in mainLayout.

2.Checkout the dataBindingExample from the projects.

How To Make eCommerce Website Like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Flipkart, Best Buy, Home Depot For Free: Nowadays eCommerce stores are one of the best ways to earn an income online. The best part about starting an e-commerce website like Amazon is that you don’t have to own the products to sell on it. All you have to do is ask businesses to upload their products on your website and you earn a part of their profit. In the beginning, you can keep a lower market share but as the businesses increase, you can raise it.

What’s Amazon?

Amazon is an American transnational technology company that specializes in e-commerce, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. Today, they’re considered the world’s largest online retailer. Amazon has more than 300 million monthly active users, and more than 2 million sellers work via the Amazon website all over the world. In 2018, Amazon’s net revenue reached $230 billion.

These numbers are astonishing. They show the popularity and success of the company. But Amazon didn’t achieve all of this in a day. Let’s remember how it all started.

Amazon has an extensive history of ups and downs, but it has managed to not only survive but prosper. There must be some tricks they used to succeed. Let’s find out what they are.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR MARKETPLACES LIKE AMAZON

1. PRICING

The ‘everything’ stores sell goods that can be bought everywhere, so the lower price creates one of the competitive advantages for marketplaces like Amazon. The issue here is how to keep prices attractive for users but still stay profitable?

The prices on Amazon depend on many factors, like competitors’ prices, seasonality, supply, and demand. Taking into account these and many other factors, the analytical systems of the website may change prices several times per day. And the goods on Amazon don’t always cost less than at other marketplaces. Amazon keeps secret its algorithms of dynamic pricing.

2. DRIVING THE AUDIENCE

At the time when Amazon started, they already had several powerful competitors, like Barnes and Noble and Books.com. It was like crazy to try surpassing them. But nothing was impossible for Jeff Bezos. His young company had a simple website with few features, no inventory, little budget, and a small team. Jeff did many routine tasks, like packaging the orders, by himself.

The main goal was to by all means drive more and more customers. That’s why Amazon gave huge discounts on books and delivery and almost did not get revenue for the first few years. The Everything Store by Brad Stone describes many extraordinary solutions used by Amazon for trying their best to acquire and retain customers on the platform in its early days:

3. DIVERSITY OF TARGETS

One of the biggest difficulties of horizontal marketplaces that sell everything is how to create targeted value propositions and marketing campaigns for all the variety of customer groups.

To solve this issue, identify the largest group and focus your attention primarily on them. This group, however, can be subdivided into smaller segments with more precise needs.

4. TREATING BUYERS AND SELLERS EQUALLY

With their ‘customer-centric’ model, one of Amazon’s issues is that they praise buyers more than sellers.

Recently Amazon was under investigation by Germany’s antitrust authority, which resulted in forcing the company to lessen the restrictions for European merchants. The changes included 30-day notification of termination of the partnership with business, simplifying the explanation of Amazon’s terms of services, and fairer presentation of customer reviews.

How to create an eCommerce site like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Flipkart, Best Buy, Home Depot

To create your website like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Flipkart, Best Buy, Home Depot you can follow these steps:

1. Purchase a domain
2. Get web hosting
3. Install WordPress
4. Install a WordPress theme
5. Configure the theme
6. Launch & Promotion

The only money you have to spend on making the website is the cost of the domain and web hosting.

What you need

Creating a website doesn’t require a ton of software or products. You just need a few things.

WordPress

WordPress is the world’s most popular CMS (content management system). You’ll use the WordPress interface to do everything from publishing articles, managing your products, and customizing your site.

The crazy part is that it only takes a few minutes to get your site online once you’ve chosen a domain name. It seems like a big deal, but it’s really pretty fast and easy.

After you get your site online, you can move onto converting it to a full-fledged eCommerce store like Amazon.

AllStore

The next thing you need is an eCommerce WordPress theme. I recommend the AllStore theme above all others.

The theme you choose doesn’t just change how your site looks – it can also add lots of functionality. AllStore gets my recommendation because it’s highly customizable, attractive, and well-designed.

If you look at other eCommerce themes, you’ll quickly get frustrated with the same bad design decisions. They have huge images and sliders and animations – all of it distracting the visitor from simply browsing products and purchasing them.

WooCommerce

For the actual eCommerce functionality – the cart, checkout, payment processing – you’ll use the free WooCommerce WordPress plugin.

WooCommerce is by far the most popular and reliable eCommerce solution for WordPress, and in fact, it’s used on more eCommerce sites than any other solution. It will allow you to add products in your WP dashboard, set prices, review payments and customers, and everything else you need for your shop.

AllStore also integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce.

Why use WordPress?

As I mentioned earlier, WordPress is the most popular CMS. It’s not a perfect product, but it has one major edge over competitors.

Alternatives like Squarespace are easier to pick up and learn, but they’re way less flexible. Squarespace’s eCommerce capabilities can’t compare to WooCommerce and the many WooCommerce extensions built by other developers. And that brings us to why WordPress is so great.

There are thousands of “plugins” for adding new functionality to your site. There is a plugin for any feature you can possibly imagine, and oftentimes, there are many plugins to choose from.

Perhaps most important is the amount of information online. Whenever you have a question, you can Google it and find tons of resolved support threads and blog posts with answers.

Setup WooCommerce

The next step is to get familiar with the eCommerce plugin, WooCommerce. There are lots of detailed tutorials on using WooCommerce, and this one by Torque is especially helpful.

Customize your site

With your new understanding of WooCommerce and your site ready to go, the only step left is to begin adding products and customizing your site.

In your admin dashboard menu, you’ll find all the tools you need for customization provided by AllStore. The page builder will help you create new templates and the “Customizer” can be used for small design changes like fonts and colors, and you can watch those updates take place live.

Good Alternatives to AllStore

If you’d like to see some alternatives with great design and features, there are a few other themes I’d recommend.

Shopkeeper

The Shopkeeper theme is amazingly flexible and packed with cool features. It also has tons of 5-star reviews from its customers to vouch for its quality.

Flatsome

Flatsome has a simple design not too different from AllStore, but it is a more popular theme on Themeforest. Like Shopkeeper, this WP theme has lots of great reviews from customers (over 3,000!).

Launching & Promotion of eCommerce Website like Amazon

Before launching the website, you need to find sellers who are ready to upload their products on your website. Your second target group is buyers.

The easiest you to attract both of these groups is by online advertising. You can start collecting sellers by showing them a prototype of your website and what they should expect from it.

Create hype among probable buyers by promoting your website a few days before the launch. You can have a special discount and membership benefits for the first 1,000 or something followers.

Find your own ways to generate curiosity among the people. If your budget permits, you can click photos for your vendors. You can charge them a minimal cost.

Here are some ways you can increase your reach:

SEO optimization

Optimizing your website is the cheapest way to generate traffic on your website.

Google Adwords

Using Google Adwords, put ads of our websites on blogs and web applications. You will have to pay fees, but it is quite affordable.

Facebook Ads

The same thing goes for Facebook Ads. You reach a large population in a limited duration. Make you customize the settings and search results correctly or else all you invested money will go to waste.

Time and Cost of Building an Ecommerce Website

Depending on big your ecommerce website is, it will take anywhere between two to four months to launch it, which includes testing.

Promotion is an ongoing process, so you can choose to begin with it when you are 50 percent done with the website.