Why do you pass LayoutInflater to inflate()?

Question

Here's the code:

private lateinit var binding: ResultProfileBinding

override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
    binding = ResultProfileBinding.**inflate(layoutInflater)**
    val view = binding.root
    setContentView(view)
}

Why layoutInflater? Isn't inflate supposed to inflate an xml file?

Doing a Ctr+Q on inflate gives this public static @NonNull com.example.ActivityMainBinding inflate(@NonNull android.view.LayoutInflater inflater) I can't find this function on the android developer website. It's either in LayoutInflater or View. Where can you find this function?

Answer 1

Isn't inflate supposed to inflate an xml file?

Yes. A LayoutInflater inflates layout resources.

I can't find this function on the android developer website

It is code-generated in your project. That generated code is not significantly different than if you had typed it in yourself, which is why it uses a LayoutInflater to inflate the associated layout resource.

Where can you find this function?

On your computer. Specifically, it will be in one of the subdirectories off of your module's build/ directory.