Understanding `TextField` and `BasicTextField` in Jetpack Compose

When and How to Use Them

Dobri Kostadinov

Published in

ProAndroidDev

3 min readJun 11, 2024

This image was generated with the assistance of AI

Introduction

Jetpack Compose, Google’s modern toolkit for building native Android UI, offers a powerful and intuitive way to create user interfaces. Among its many components, TextField and BasicTextField are essential for handling text input. However, these two components serve different purposes and are suited for different use cases. In this article, we'll explore the differences between TextField and BasicTextField, understand their unique features, and discuss when and how to use each.

What is `TextField`?

TextField is a high-level composable that provides a complete and feature-rich text input field designed to comply with Material Design guidelines. It offers a wide range of built-in functionalities, making it a go-to choice for most text input scenarios.

Key Features of `TextField`

Material Design Compliance: TextField adheres to Material Design principles, ensuring a consistent look and feel across your app.
Built-in Features: Includes label, placeholder, error message display, and various styling options.
Ease of Use: Provides a straightforward API for implementing common text input functionalities without much boilerplate code.

Example Usage

TextField(
    value = text,
    onValueChange = { text = it },
    label = { Text("Label") },
    placeholder = { Text("Placeholder") },
    isError = isError,
    modifier = Modifier.fillMaxWidth()
)

What is `BasicTextField`?

BasicTextField, on the other hand, is a lower-level composable that provides the core functionality for text input without any additional decorations or features. It offers a high degree of customization, allowing developers to build highly tailored text input components.

Key Features of `BasicTextField`

Customizability: Provides a blank canvas for developers to create custom text input fields with specific styling and behavior.
Core Functionality: Focuses on the essential aspects of text input, leaving the rest to be handled by the developer.
Flexibility: Suitable for creating non-standard text input fields that do not conform to typical design guidelines.

Example Usage

BasicTextField(
    value = text,
    onValueChange = { text = it },
    modifier = Modifier
        .border(1.dp, Color.Gray)
        .padding(8.dp)
        .fillMaxWidth()
)

When to Use `TextField`

Ideal Use Cases

Standard Text Inputs: When you need a standard text input field with all the typical features and styling.
Rapid Development: When you want to quickly implement a text input field without worrying about custom styling or behavior.
Material Design Compliance: When your application needs to adhere strictly to Material Design guidelines.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Easy to use and quick to implement.
Comes with built-in features that cover most common use cases.
Ensures consistency with Material Design.

Cons:

Limited customizability compared to BasicTextField.
May include features that are unnecessary for highly specialized use cases.

When to Use `BasicTextField`

Ideal Use Cases

Custom Designs: When you need to create a text input field with a unique design that deviates from standard guidelines.
Complex Behavior: When your text input requires specific behaviors that are not supported by TextField.
Minimalist Requirements: When you want to implement a minimalistic text input field without extra features.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Highly customizable to fit any design or behavior requirements.
Provides a lightweight option for cases where TextField's additional features are not needed.
Ideal for building complex, non-standard text input components.

Cons:

Requires more code and effort to implement.
Lacks built-in features, so developers must manually handle common functionalities.

Conclusion

Both TextField and BasicTextField are powerful tools in Jetpack Compose, each suited for different scenarios. TextField is perfect for most standard text input needs, offering ease of use and compliance with Material Design. BasicTextField, meanwhile, shines in situations where custom designs and behaviors are required. Understanding the strengths and limitations of each will help you choose the right component for your specific needs, enabling you to create more effective and appealing Android applications.