Bundle in Android with Example
It is known that Intents are used in Android to pass to the data from one
activity to another. But there is one another way, that can be used to pass
the data from one activity to another in a better way and less code space
ie by using Bundles in Android. Android Bundles are generally used for
passing data from one activity to another. Basically here concept of key-
value pair is used where the data that one wants to pass is the value of
the map, which can be later retrieved by using the key. Bundles are used
with intent and values are sent and retrieved in the same fashion, as it is
done in the case of Intent. It depends on the user what type of values the
user wants to pass, but bundles can hold all types of values (int, String,
boolean, char) and pass them to the new activity.
The following are the major types that are passed/retrieved to/from a
Bundle:
putInt(String key, int value), getInt(String key, int value)
putString(String key, String value), getString(String key, String value)
putStringArray(String key, String[] value), getStringArray(String key,
String[] value)
putChar(String key, char value), getChar(String key, char value)
putBoolean(String key, boolean value), getBoolean(String key, boolean
value)
Using the Bundle in the Android App
The bundle is always used with Intent in Android. Now to use Bundle
writes the below code in the MainActivity.
Java
// creating a intent
Intent intent = new Intent(this, [Link]);
// creating a bundle object
Bundle bundle = new Bundle();
// storing the string value in the bundle
// which is mapped to key
[Link]("key1", "GFG :- Main Activity");
// passing the bundle into the intent
[Link](bundle);
// starting the intent
startActivity(intent);
Now create another empty activity named SecondActivity. Now to
retrieve the data stored in the Bundle, write the following code in
SecondActivity.
Java
// getting the bundle back from the android
Bundle bundle = getIntent().getExtras();
// getting the string back
String title = [Link]("key1", "Default");
Alternatively, if one does not want to use the default value too, one can
do this but remember it gives an exception.
For eg: boolean b = [Link](“pass the key here”);
If there exists no mapping corresponding to the key, it may lead to
NullPointerException. Hence it’s recommended to add default values for
the Bundle.
Example:
Step 1: Create a new project
1. Click on File, then New => New Project.
2. Choose Empty activity
3. Select language as Java/Kotlin
4. Select the minimum SDK as per your need.
Step 2: Working with the activity_main.xml file
Now add two Buttons into the app, one button will pass the data which
is stored into the bundle, and another button will pass the empty bundle,
ie clearing the bundle with [Link]() and then passing the Bundle
to Intent. The complete code for the activity_main.xml file is given
below. Here one can see that the first button is used to pass the non-
empty bundle, while the second button is used to pass the empty bundle.
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<[Link]
xmlns:android="[Link] "
xmlns:app="[Link]
xmlns:tools="[Link] "
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:padding="10dp"
tools:context=".MainActivity">
<Button
android:id="@+id/btnPassBundles"
android:layout_width="275dp"
android:layout_height="101dp"
android:layout_marginTop="250dp"
android:text="Pass Data Into Bundle"
android:textSize="24sp"
app:layout_constraintHorizontal_bias="0.498"
app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"
app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />
<Button
android:id="@+id/btnNoPassBundle"
android:layout_width="277dp"
android:layout_height="92dp"
android:layout_marginBottom="220dp"
android:layout_marginTop="75dp"
android:text="Pass No Data/Empty BUNDLE"
android:textSize="24sp"
app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"
app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/btnPassBundles" />
</[Link]>
Step 3: Create another activity and named it as SecondActivity
Now create another empty activity names SecondActivity. Follow the
procedure illustrated in the image given below to create another activity.
Step 4: Working with the activity_second.xml file
In this file add a TextView to display the text in the SecondActivity.
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<[Link]
xmlns:android="[Link] "
xmlns:app="[Link]
xmlns:tools="[Link] "
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
tools:context=".SecondActivity">
<TextView
android:id="@+id/txtString"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginTop="348dp"
android:text="String from MainActivity"
android:textSize="40sp"
android:textStyle="bold"
android:gravity="center"
android:textColor="#008000"
app:layout_constraintHorizontal_bias="0.428"
app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"
app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />
</[Link]>
Step 5: Working with the MainActivity file
The complete code for the MainActivity is given below. Comments are
added to understand the code easily.
Java
import [Link];
import [Link];
import [Link];
import [Link];
import [Link];
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity implements
[Link] {
Button btnPassBundles, btnNoPassBundle;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
[Link](savedInstanceState);
setContentView([Link].activity_main);
btnPassBundles = findViewById([Link]);
btnNoPassBundle = findViewById([Link]);
// one button will pass the bundle and other button
// will not pass the bundle
[Link](this);
[Link](this);
@Override
public void onClick(View view) {
switch ([Link]()) {
case [Link]:
// creating a bundle instance
Bundle bundle = new Bundle();
// passing the data into the bundle
[Link](
"key1",
"Passing Bundle From Main Activity to 2nd
Activity");
Intent intent = new Intent([Link],
[Link]);
// passing the bundle to the intent
[Link](bundle);
// starting the activity by passing the intent
// to it.
startActivity(intent);
break;
case [Link]:
bundle = new Bundle();
[Link](
"key1",
"Not passing Bundle From Main Activity");
// clearing the data stored into the bundle
[Link]();
// passing the intent to the second activity
intent = new Intent([Link],
[Link]);
[Link](bundle);
startActivity(intent);
break;
Kotlin
Step 6: Working with the SecondActivity file
The complete code for the SecondActivity is given below. Comments are
added to understand the code easily.
Java
import [Link];
import [Link];
import [Link];
public class SecondActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
TextView txtString;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
[Link](savedInstanceState);
setContentView([Link].activity_second);
txtString = findViewById([Link]);
// getting the bundle from the intent
Bundle bundle = getIntent().getExtras();
// setting the text in the textview
[Link]([Link]("key1", "No value from the
MainActivity"));