Can I use the same id in different layout in Android?

Issue

I am new to Android development. Is it fine to use the same ID for images and TextViews in different Layout XML files?

When eclipse auto-list them for me, it lists all the layout variables from the project, so will it collide? Till now I have not noticed any problems using the same ID in different layouts, but I am concerned in long run.

Solution

It is recommended that you use different ids for different layouts. On the long run, when you will have a lot of layouts and therefor a lot of ids it will get very complicated to differentiate them.

I usually name my ids like this: layoutName_elementId.

It works for me to easily find the id I'm looking for, especially when using autocomplete (I know on what layout I'm working, but I don't really know the id; in this case, with my naming strategy, I only type the layout name and it brings on all the ids of that layout).

More information on layouts and ids can be found here.

Happy coding,

Answered By - Chupamobile Evangelist