Android Resources Standards

Priority: P2

Implementation Guidelines

Strings & Localization

• Define in XML: All UI text must be in strings.xml. Use stringResource(R.string.*) in Compose.
• Formatting: Use format args (%s, %d) instead of concatenation. Use plurals (e.g., <item quantity="one">) for quantity-sensitive strings.
• Parity: Maintain Localizable.strings (iOS) parity where possible for shared features.
• Dynamic Access: Use context.getString(R.string.id, args) for dynamic lookups.

Assets / Drawables

• Formats: Prefer VectorDrawables (.xml) over RASTER images. Scale cleanly across density buckets (mdpi, hdpi, xhdpi, xxhdpi).
• Plurals: Use resources.getQuantityString(R.plurals.items, count, count) for quantity-sensitive strings.
• Dark Mode: Support Configuration.UI_MODE_NIGHT via the values-night/ qualifier or MaterialTheme tokens. Never use hardcoded hex colors in Layouts/Composables.
• Themes: Map all colors to Design Tokens (primary, surface, error) for consistent skinning.

Anti-Patterns

• No String Concatenation in UI: Use format args (%s, %d) in strings.xml instead.
• No Hardcoded UI Text: All visible strings must be defined in strings.xml.

References

• XML Structure