Android: Inflate Exception after trying to add another language to my application

Question

My Android application was working in English and I have to provide the users with an Arabic version too. I did the following,

Added a layout-ar folder and put my layout files there.
Added a drawable-ar folder and put my images there.
Added a values-ar folder and translated my string resources in strings.xml
Changed the language settings in my emulator to Arabic for testing

Although the English version of my app was working fine, my Arabic version now crashes with the following log trace

06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623): FATAL EXCEPTION: main
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623): java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to start activity ComponentInfo{org.digitalhealthagency.elaj.gui/org.digitalhealthagency.elaj.gui.SplashScreen}: android.view.InflateException: Binary XML file line #7: Error inflating class android.widget.ImageView
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1956)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.ActivityThread.handleLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1981)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.ActivityThread.access$600(ActivityThread.java:123)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:1147)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:137)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:4424)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:511)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:784)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:551)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623): Caused by: android.view.InflateException: Binary XML file line #7: Error inflating class android.widget.ImageView
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.createView(LayoutInflater.java:606)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneLayoutInflater.onCreateView(PhoneLayoutInflater.java:56)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.onCreateView(LayoutInflater.java:653)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.createViewFromTag(LayoutInflater.java:678)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.rInflate(LayoutInflater.java:739)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:489)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:396)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:352)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow.setContentView(PhoneWindow.java:251)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.Activity.setContentView(Activity.java:1835)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at org.digitalhealthagency.elaj.gui.SplashScreen.onCreate(SplashScreen.java:16)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.Activity.performCreate(Activity.java:4465)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.Instrumentation.callActivityOnCreate(Instrumentation.java:1049)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1920)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  ... 11 more
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623): Caused by: java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.constructNative(Native Method)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:417)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.createView(LayoutInflater.java:586)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  ... 24 more
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623): Caused by: java.lang.OutOfMemoryError
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.Bitmap.nativeCreate(Native Method)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.Bitmap.createBitmap(Bitmap.java:605)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.Bitmap.createBitmap(Bitmap.java:551)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.Bitmap.createScaledBitmap(Bitmap.java:437)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.finishDecode(BitmapFactory.java:524)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.decodeStream(BitmapFactory.java:499)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.decodeResourceStream(BitmapFactory.java:351)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.drawable.Drawable.createFromResourceStream(Drawable.java:773)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.content.res.Resources.loadDrawable(Resources.java:1935)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.content.res.TypedArray.getDrawable(TypedArray.java:601)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.widget.ImageView.<init>(ImageView.java:119)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.widget.ImageView.<init>(ImageView.java:109)
06-20 10:08:13.153: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  ... 27 more

The error log refers to line 16 in my SplashScreen java file which sets the content view setContentView(R.layout.splash_screen);

And my splash_screen.xml file is as follows

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent" >

    <ImageView
        android:id="@+id/splash_screen"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"
        android:layout_gravity="center"
        android:src="@drawable/splash_screen" />

</LinearLayout>

This question is quite similar to mine Android: How to track down the origin of a InflateException? but fixing the style is not solving the problem.

Thank you in advance!

EDIT

After reducing the size of the images as suggested by Aleks G, the image loaded normally, but now I am getting a similar error in a different place.

06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623): FATAL EXCEPTION: main
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623): java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to start activity ComponentInfo{org.digitalhealthagency.elaj.gui/org.digitalhealthagency.elaj.gui.AppointmentReservationActivity}: android.view.InflateException: Binary XML file line #99: Error inflating class <unknown>
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1956)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.ActivityThread.handleLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1981)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.ActivityThread.access$600(ActivityThread.java:123)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:1147)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:137)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:4424)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:511)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:784)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:551)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623): Caused by: android.view.InflateException: Binary XML file line #99: Error inflating class <unknown>
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.createView(LayoutInflater.java:606)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneLayoutInflater.onCreateView(PhoneLayoutInflater.java:56)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.onCreateView(LayoutInflater.java:653)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.createViewFromTag(LayoutInflater.java:678)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.rInflate(LayoutInflater.java:739)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:489)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:396)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:352)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow.setContentView(PhoneWindow.java:251)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.Activity.setContentView(Activity.java:1835)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at org.digitalhealthagency.elaj.gui.AppointmentReservationActivity.onCreate(AppointmentReservationActivity.java:88)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.Activity.performCreate(Activity.java:4465)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.Instrumentation.callActivityOnCreate(Instrumentation.java:1049)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1920)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  ... 11 more
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623): Caused by: java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.constructNative(Native Method)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:417)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.LayoutInflater.createView(LayoutInflater.java:586)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  ... 24 more
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623): Caused by: java.lang.OutOfMemoryError
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.Bitmap.nativeCreate(Native Method)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.Bitmap.createBitmap(Bitmap.java:605)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.Bitmap.createBitmap(Bitmap.java:551)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.Bitmap.createScaledBitmap(Bitmap.java:437)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.finishDecode(BitmapFactory.java:524)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.decodeStream(BitmapFactory.java:499)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.decodeResourceStream(BitmapFactory.java:351)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.drawable.Drawable.createFromResourceStream(Drawable.java:773)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.content.res.Resources.loadDrawable(Resources.java:1935)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.content.res.Resources.getDrawable(Resources.java:664)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.drawable.StateListDrawable.inflate(StateListDrawable.java:173)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.drawable.Drawable.createFromXmlInner(Drawable.java:867)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.graphics.drawable.Drawable.createFromXml(Drawable.java:804)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.content.res.Resources.loadDrawable(Resources.java:1920)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.content.res.TypedArray.getDrawable(TypedArray.java:601)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.view.View.<init>(View.java:2785)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.widget.TextView.<init>(TextView.java:449)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.widget.Button.<init>(Button.java:108)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  at android.widget.Button.<init>(Button.java:104)
06-20 14:27:22.157: E/AndroidRuntime(623):  ... 27 more

Line 88 that the log trace refers to is

setContentView(R.layout.appointment_reservation);

And line #99 in appointment_reservation.xml is

    <Button android:id="@+id/reserve_button"
        android:text="@string/reserve_button"
        android:layout_width="120dp"
        android:layout_height="40dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
        android:layout_marginLeft="20dp"
        android:paddingRight="15dp"
        android:layout_gravity="left"
        style="@style/buttonStyle"
        android:background="@drawable/button_selector" />

I give the button a button_selector xml file which is placed in my drawable folder. The selector switches between two images (total size 6kb).

Thank you in advance!

Aleks G · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-20T12:46:55.683

If you look through to the bottom of the log, you'll see that the root cause of the problem is:

Caused by: java.lang.OutOfMemoryError
 at android.graphics.Bitmap.nativeCreate(Native Method)
 at android.graphics.Bitmap.createBitmap(Bitmap.java:605)
 at android.graphics.Bitmap.createBitmap(Bitmap.java:551)
 at android.graphics.Bitmap.createScaledBitmap(Bitmap.java:437)
 at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.finishDecode(BitmapFactory.java:524)
 at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.decodeStream(BitmapFactory.java:499)
 at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.decodeResourceStream(BitmapFactory.java:351)
 at android.graphics.drawable.Drawable.createFromResourceStream(Drawable.java:773)
 at android.content.res.Resources.loadDrawable(Resources.java:1935)
 at android.content.res.TypedArray.getDrawable(TypedArray.java:601)
 at android.widget.ImageView.<init>(ImageView.java:119)
 at android.widget.ImageView.<init>(ImageView.java:109)
 ... 27 more

As this is happening on your splash screen, I'll make a guess that the Image you're loading is too large. Compare the image sizes in your English version and your Arabic version to see if the Arabic file is much larger than the English one. Try optimising the image, maybe, scale it down to reduce the size...

EDIT: On the second error:

Again, this is an OutOfMemory error. When you have errors like this, always look at the bottom-most Caused by part. In this case you have:

Caused by: java.lang.OutOfMemoryError
 at android.graphics.Bitmap.nativeCreate(Native Method)
 at android.graphics.Bitmap.createBitmap(Bitmap.java:605)
 at android.graphics.Bitmap.createBitmap(Bitmap.java:551)
 at android.graphics.Bitmap.createScaledBitmap(Bitmap.java:437)
 at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.finishDecode(BitmapFactory.java:524)
 at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.decodeStream(BitmapFactory.java:499)
 at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.decodeResourceStream(BitmapFactory.java:351)
 at android.graphics.drawable.Drawable.createFromResourceStream(Drawable.java:773)
 at android.content.res.Resources.loadDrawable(Resources.java:1935)
 at android.content.res.TypedArray.getDrawable(TypedArray.java:601)
 at android.widget.ImageView.<init>(ImageView.java:119)
 at android.widget.ImageView.<init>(ImageView.java:109)
 ... 27 more

If you have reduced the size of your image, as you indicated, then it means that there's another large image somewhere.

Note that it's not the file size of your JPG or PNG file that matters, it's how much memory is needed to decode that image file internally. One way to estimate approximately how much memory is required to internally decode an image file is to open that file in an image editor and save it as uncompressed TIFF file. The size of the TIFF file is approximately how much memory decoded image will take in a running Android app. As a test, I just saved a 750KB JPG as a TIFF - and it turned out to be 5.8 MB.

Thank you for your reply. Could you please clarify what you mean by an image is too large in terms of kb? My original image was 550 kb and when I reduced it to 175 kb the image finally appeared on the emulator. But I am still getting a very similar error log trace for the second xml layout that is supposed to appear. The image sizes in my English and Arabic version are exactly the same. — Nouran H, Jun 20 '12 at 10:30
Now it gives me a android.view.InflateException: Binary XML file line #2: Error inflating class instead of objecting to the imageView like it previously did. — Nouran H, Jun 20 '12 at 10:32
@NouranH "Image size" is not the size of the image file, but the size of the decoded bitmap. You can have a 175 KB png file, which will be over 5 MB when decoded into a RAW bitmap. — Aleks G, Jun 20 '12 at 11:10
@NouranH It's not possible to say exactly what the issue is from the one-line comment. Please edit your post and add the full stack trace of the error, just like with the first one. — Aleks G, Jun 20 '12 at 11:10
Thank you again for your answer. I edited the post above. Could you please elaborate on the 5MB when decoded into a RAW bitmap part? How can I trace this decoding to figure out where the problem is? — Nouran H, Jun 20 '12 at 12:38
thank you again for your edit and for clarifying matters further. After I went through a lot of posts regarding this matter I found out that its advisable to use BitMapFactory, but I am not sure how to go about doing that. Please check my new post http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11160612/android-images-from-xml-layout-to-bitmaps-in-code-to-solve-oom-error If there are any other approaches you recommend other then BitMapFactory, please let me know. Thank you in advance. — Nouran H, Jun 22 '12 at 17:01

Android: Inflate Exception after trying to add another language to my application

1 Answers1