Connected Arabic Characters for Android Apps

Another Android tutorial, driven by insomnia of having overdosed HPA Radix coffee.

Thank you Bro Ahmad Essam Naim, and Amr Gawish for providing the Arabic Reshaper class. The Java class is actually a library to reshape Arabic characters into connected forms. As we all know that Android 2.1 below do not support Arabic natively.

I’m assuming that you have the knowledge of Android apps development using Eclipse and already have the ADT installed.

STEP 1: Download the library at http://bar.amr-gawish.com/ .

After you have download and extract the file, you will have two files; ArabicReshaper.java, and ArabicUtilities.java . Copy both files in the src folder of your Android project.

More after the break… I’ll share on how to make use of the library.

STEP 2: Download the Arabic supporting font.

In order to do this tutorial in the Android environment, please download Arabic font such as dejavu font available at http://dejavu-fonts.org/wiki/Main_Page .

Extraxt the file and put the font inside assets folder of your Android project.

You should have your files inside the Project Explorer as shown in the Figure 1.

Figure 1: The position of the ArabicReshaper class and the DejaVu font in the project folder.

STEP 3: And this is the output.

These are the codes…

Code 1: arabicfont.java (just to display simple Unicode text in connected Arabic).

package com.kerul.arabicfont;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.res.AssetManager;
import android.graphics.Typeface;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.widget.TextView;
import com.kerul.arabicfont.ArabicUtilities;

public class arabicfont extends Activity{
AssetManager arabi_font;
TextView tx;

/** Called when the activity is first created. */
@Override

public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
tx=(TextView)this.findViewById(R.id.tt);
try{
//DejaVuSans.ttf font file
tx.setTypeface(Typeface.createFromAsset(getAssets(),"dejavusans.ttf"));
//tx.setText("\uFEB3\uFE92\uFE98\uFE94");
//tx.setText("\u0641\u0631\u0633");
tx.setText(ArabicUtilities.reshape("\u0641\u0631\u0633"));//
//tx.setText("hello");
}
catch(Exception ex){
tx.setText("font cannot load: "+ ex.toString() );
}
}
}

Code 2: ArabicReshaper.java

package com.kerul.arabicfont;

/*
 *    Date : 25th of March 2008
 *    the class is Arabic string reshaper, this class is targeting Android platform
 *
 *     By        : Ahmed Essam Naiem
 *  E-Mail     : ahmed-essam@live.com
 *  Web        : www.ahmed-essam.com
 *  
 *  Updated Date : 20 of March 2009
 *  The class has been updated to include the Lam Alef Reshaping techniques
 *  
 *  By        : Amr Ismail gawish
 *  Email   : amr.gawish@gmail.com
 *  Web        : www.amr-gawish.com
 *  
 *  Updated : 8th of June 2009
 *  Adding comments and Announcing Open Source
 *  
 *  
 *  By        : Ahmed Essam Naiem
 *  E-Mail    : ahmed-essam@live.com
 *  Web        : www.ahmed-essam.com
 *  
 *  Update    : Sunday 7th of February 2010 
 *  Fixing the Harakat (Fatha, Dama, etc ...), still has bug in the 2nd character and last character correct character shape
 * */
import java.lang.String;
/**
 * This class is the main class that is responsible for Reshaping Arabic Word
 * The Reshaping Engine
 * It's role is to provide the right form of the word.
 * @author Ahmed Essam Naiem, Amr Ismail Gawish
 */
public class ArabicReshaper{
/**
     * The reshaped Word String
     */
private String _returnString;
/**
     * The Reshaped Word
     * @return reshaped Word
     */
public String getReshapedWord(){
return _returnString;
}
/**
     * Alef with Madd like "Ã¿ÃŸÅ¸Ã«Å¸Ã–Å¸Ãœ"
     */
public static char DEFINED_CHARACTERS_ORGINAL_ALF_UPPER_MDD = 0x0622;
/**
     * Alef with Hamza on the Upper like "Ã¿Â£Ã¿â‰ Å¸Ã–Ã¿Ã˜"
     */
public static char DEFINED_CHARACTERS_ORGINAL_ALF_UPPER_HAMAZA = 0x0623;
/**
     * Alef with Hamza on the Lower Like "Ã¿â€¢Ã¿Â®Ã¿Â±Ã¿ÃŸÅ¸Ã¡Å¸Ã¤Å¸Ã–"
     */
public static char DEFINED_CHARACTERS_ORGINAL_ALF_LOWER_HAMAZA = 0x0625;
/**
     * The Alef Character "Ã¿ÃŸ"
     */
public static char DEFINED_CHARACTERS_ORGINAL_ALF = 0x0627;
/**
     * The Lam Character "Å¸Ã‘"
     */
public static char DEFINED_CHARACTERS_ORGINAL_LAM    =0x0644;
/**
     * The All Lam Forms in the [0] element
     * With all its forms either at the end of the word, or in the middle of the word in [1][2] respectively
     */
public static char[][] LAM_ALEF_GLPHIES=
{{15270,65270,65269},
{15271,65272,65271},
{1575, 65276,65275},
{1573, 65274,65273}
};

/**
     * All Arabic Letters with It's different Forms
     * [0] Element is the letter Alone
     * [1][2][3][4] are all the forms of the Letter
     * [5] is the number of Forms the Letter has
     * 
     * If "Ã¿ÃŸ" It has only two forms : "Å¸Ã„Ã¿ÃŸ" and "Ã¿ÃŸ"
     * If "Ã¿Â®" It has only four forms : "Ã¿Â®Å¸Ã„", "Å¸Ã„Ã¿Â®Å¸Ã„", "Å¸Ã„Ã¿Â®" and "Ã¿Â®"
     * and so on
     */
// The Array is sorted to be able to use the binary search, please don't miss with it.
public static char[][] ARABIC_GLPHIES=
{{ 1569,65152,65163,65164,65152,3 } ,
{ 1570,65153,65153,65154,65154,2 } ,
{ 1571,65155,65155,65156,65156,2 } ,
{ 1572,65157,65157,65158,65158,2 } ,
{ 1573,65159,65159,65160,65160,2 } ,
{ 1574,65161,65161,65162,65162,2 } ,
{ 1575,65165,65165,65166,65166,2 } ,
{ 1576,65167,65169,65170,65168,4 } ,
{ 1577,65171,65171,65172,65172,2 } ,
{ 1578,65173,65175,65176,65174,4 } ,
{ 1579,65177,65179,65180,65178,4 } ,
{ 1580,65181,65183,65184,65182,4 } ,
{ 1581,65185,65187,65188,65186,4 } ,
{ 1582,65189,65191,65192,65190,4 } ,
{ 1583,65193,65193,65194,65194,2 } ,
{ 1584,65195,65195,65196,65196,2 } ,
{ 1585,65197,65197,65198,65198,2 } ,
{ 1586,65199,65199,65200,65200,2 } ,
{ 1587,65201,65203,65204,65202,4 } ,
{ 1588,65205,65207,65208,65206,4 } ,
{ 1589,65209,65211,65212,65210,4 } ,
{ 1590,65213,65215,65216,65214,4 } ,
{ 1591,65217,65219,65218,65220,4 } ,
{ 1592,65221,65223,65222,65222,4 } ,
{ 1593,65225,65227,65228,65226,4 } ,
{ 1594,65229,65231,65232,65230,4 } ,
{ 1601,65233,65235,65236,65234,4 } ,
{ 1602,65237,65239,65240,65238,4 } ,
{ 1603,65241,65243,65244,65242,4 } ,
{ 1604,65245,65247,65248,65246,4 } ,
{ 1605,65249,65251,65252,65250,4 } ,
{ 1606,65253,65255,65256,65254,4 } ,
{ 1607,65257,65259,65260,65258,4 } ,
{ 1608,65261,65261,65262,65262,2 } ,
{ 1609,65263,65263,65264,65264,2 } ,
{ 1610,65265,65267,65268,65266,4 } };
/**
     * Binary search for the character, it returns the index of the character in the array. 
     * @param start,     the start point for the binary search
     * @param end,         the end point for the binary search
     * @param target,     the character that is function looking for
     * @return The index of the found character.
     */
private int findGlphy(int start,int end,char target){
if(start&lt;0)
return -1;
if(end&gt;35)
return -1;
int middle = start + ((end - start)/2);
if(middle&lt;end)
if(ARABIC_GLPHIES[middle+1][0]==target)
return middle+1;
if (ARABIC_GLPHIES[middle][0]==target)
return middle;
if(end-middle==1)
return -1;
if(ARABIC_GLPHIES[middle][0]&lt;target)
return findGlphy(middle, end, target);
if(ARABIC_GLPHIES[middle][0]&gt;target)
return findGlphy(start, middle, target);
return -1;
}
/**
     * Searching for the letter and Get the right shape for the character depends on the location specified 
     * @param target The character that needs to get its form
     * @param location The location of the Form letter
     * @return The letter with its right shape
     */
private char getReshapedGlphy(char target,int location){
int found = findGlphy(0, 35, target);
if(found==-1)
return target;
return ARABIC_GLPHIES[found][location];
}
/**
     * The function should return the correct Glphy type for the caller, the function Escape any character like "7arakat"
     * @param target     The character, that needed 
     * @param location     The location of the character to be return its type
     * @return the integer number indicated the Number of forms the Character has, return 2 otherwise
     */
private int getGlphyTypeBefore(String wholeTarget,int location){
if(location==0)
return 2;
char target = wholeTarget.charAt(location);
int foundGlphy = findGlphy(0,35,target);
if(foundGlphy==-1){
location--;
return getGlphyTypeBefore(wholeTarget, location);
}
return ARABIC_GLPHIES[foundGlphy][5];
}
/**
     * Define which Character Type is This, that has 2,3 or 4 Forms variation?
     * @param target The character, that needed 
     * @return the integer number indicated the Number of forms the Character has, return 2 otherwise
     */
private int getGlphyType(String wholeTarget,int location){
char target = wholeTarget.charAt(location);
// Something Magical should happen here
int n = findGlphy(0, 35, target);
if(n==-1)
return 2;
return ARABIC_GLPHIES[n][5];
}
/**
     * Get LamAlef right Character Presentation of the character
     * @param candidateAlef The letter that is supposed to Alef
     * @param candidateLam The letter that is supposed to Lam
     * @param isEndOfWord Is those characters at the end of the Word, to get its right form 
     * @return Reshaped character of the LamAlef
     */
private char getLamAlef(char candidateAlef,char candidateLam,boolean isEndOfWord){
//The shift rate, depends if the the end of the word or not!
int shiftRate = 1;
//The reshaped Lam Alef
char reshapedLamAlef=0;
//Check if at the end of the word
if(isEndOfWord)
shiftRate++;
//check if the Lam is matching the candidate Lam
if((int)DEFINED_CHARACTERS_ORGINAL_LAM ==(int)candidateLam){
//Check which Alef is matching after the Lam and get Its form
if((int)candidateAlef ==(int)DEFINED_CHARACTERS_ORGINAL_ALF_UPPER_MDD){
reshapedLamAlef = LAM_ALEF_GLPHIES[0][shiftRate];
}
if((int)candidateAlef ==(int)DEFINED_CHARACTERS_ORGINAL_ALF_UPPER_HAMAZA){
reshapedLamAlef = LAM_ALEF_GLPHIES[1][shiftRate];
}
if((int)candidateAlef ==(int)DEFINED_CHARACTERS_ORGINAL_ALF_LOWER_HAMAZA){
reshapedLamAlef = LAM_ALEF_GLPHIES[3][shiftRate];
}
if((int)candidateAlef ==(int)DEFINED_CHARACTERS_ORGINAL_ALF){
reshapedLamAlef = LAM_ALEF_GLPHIES[2][shiftRate];
}
}
//return the ReshapedLamAlef
return reshapedLamAlef;
}
/**
     * Constructor of the Class
     * It doesn't support Alef Lam by Default
     * @param unshapedWord The unShaped Word
     */
public ArabicReshaper(String unshapedWord){
_returnString=reshapeIt(unshapedWord);
}
/**
     * The Enhanced Arabic Reshaper Constructor with Lam Alef Support
     * @param unshapedWord The unShaped Word
     * @param supportAlefLam To check If to support AlefLam or Not
     */
public ArabicReshaper(String unshapedWord,boolean supportAlefLam){
if(!supportAlefLam) {
_returnString=reshapeIt(unshapedWord);
}else {
_returnString=reshapeItWithLamAlef(unshapedWord);
}
}
/**
     * Main Reshaping function, Doesn't Support LamAlef
     * @param unshapedWord The unReshaped Word to Reshape
     * @return The Reshaped Word without the LamAlef Support
     */
public String reshapeIt(String unshapedWord){
//The reshaped Word to Return
StringBuffer reshapedWord=new StringBuffer("");
//The Word length
int wordLength = unshapedWord.length();
//The Word Letters
char [] wordLetters = new char[wordLength];
//Copy the unreshapedWord to the WordLetters Character Array
unshapedWord.getChars(0, wordLength, wordLetters,0 );
//for the first letter
reshapedWord.append(getReshapedGlphy(wordLetters[0], 2));//2 is the Form when the Letter is at the start of the word
//iteration from the second till the second to last
for(int i=1;i&lt;wordLength-1;i++){
int beforeLast=i-1;
//Check if the Letter Before Last has only 2 Forms, for the current Letter to be as a start for a new Word!
if(getGlphyTypeBefore(unshapedWord,beforeLast)==2){ //checking if it's only has 2 shapes
//If the letter has only 2 shapes, then it doesnt matter which position it is, It'll be always the second form
reshapedWord.append(getReshapedGlphy(wordLetters[i], 2));
}else {
//Then it should be in the middle which should be placed in its right form [3]
reshapedWord.append(getReshapedGlphy(wordLetters[i], 3));
}
}
//check for the last letter Before last has 2 forms, that means that the last Letter will be alone.
if(getGlphyTypeBefore(unshapedWord,wordLength-2)==2){
//If the letter has only 2 shapes, then it doesnt matter which position it is, It'll be always the second form
reshapedWord.append(getReshapedGlphy(wordLetters[wordLength-1], 1));
}else {
//Put the right form of the character, 4 for the last letter in the word
reshapedWord.append(getReshapedGlphy(wordLetters[wordLength-1], 4));
}
//Return the ReshapedWord
return reshapedWord.toString();
}
/**
     * Main Reshaping Function, With LamAlef Support
     * @param unshapedWord The UnReshaped Word
     * @return The Shaped Word with Lam Alef Support
     */
public String reshapeItWithLamAlef(String unshapedWord){
//The reshaped Word to Return
StringBuffer reshapedWord=new StringBuffer("");
//The Word length
int wordLength = unshapedWord.length();
//The Word Letters
char [] wordLetters = new char[wordLength];
//The reshaped Letters
char [] reshapedLetters=new char[wordLength];
//Indicator Character, to Tell that lam is exist
char lamIndicator=43;//The '+' 
//Copy the unreshapedWord to the WordLetters Character Array
unshapedWord.getChars(0, wordLength, wordLetters,0 );
//Check if the Word Length is 0, then return empty String
if(wordLength==0){
return "";
}
//Check if the Word length is 1, then return the Reshaped One letter, which is the same character of input
if(wordLength==1){
return getReshapedGlphy(wordLetters[0],1)+"";
}
//Check if the word length is 2, Check if the Word is LamAlef 
if(wordLength==2){
//Assign Candidate Lam
char lam=wordLetters[0];
//Assign Candidate Alef
char alef=wordLetters[1];
//Check if The word is Lam Alef.
if(getLamAlef(alef, lam, true)&gt;0){
return (char)getLamAlef(alef,lam,true)+" ";
}
}
//For the First Letter
reshapedLetters[0]=getReshapedGlphy(wordLetters[0], 2);
//The current Letter
char currentLetter=wordLetters[0];
/**
         * The Main Iterator
         */
//Iterate over the word from the second character till the second to the last
for(int i=1;i&lt;wordLength-1;i++){
//Check if the Letters are Lam Alef
if(getLamAlef(wordLetters[i], currentLetter, true)&gt;0){
//Check if the Letter before the Lam is 2 Forms Letter, to Make the Lam Alef as its the end of the Word
if(getGlphyTypeBefore(unshapedWord, i-2)==2){
//Mark the letter of Lam as Lam Indicator
reshapedLetters[i-1]=lamIndicator;
//Assign Lam Alef to the Letter of Alef
reshapedLetters[i]=(char)getLamAlef(wordLetters[i], currentLetter, true);
}else{ //The Letter before the Lam is more than 2 Forms Letter
//Mark the letter of Lam as Lam Indicator
reshapedLetters[i-1]=lamIndicator;
//Assign Lam Alef to the Letter of Alef
reshapedLetters[i]=(char)getLamAlef(wordLetters[i], currentLetter, false);
}
}else{ //The Word doesn't have LamAlef
int beforeLast=i-1;
//Check if the Letter Before Last has only 2 Forms, for the current Letter to be as a start for a new Word!
if(getGlphyTypeBefore(unshapedWord, beforeLast)==2){
//If the letter has only 2 shapes, then it doesnt matter which position it is, It'll be always the second form
reshapedLetters[i]=getReshapedGlphy(wordLetters[i], 2);
}else{
//Then it should be in the middle which should be placed in its right form [3]
reshapedLetters[i]=getReshapedGlphy(wordLetters[i], 3);
}
}
//Assign the CurrentLetter as the Word Letter
currentLetter=wordLetters[i];
}
/**
         * The Last Letters Check
         */
//Check if the Letters are Lam Alef
if(getLamAlef(wordLetters[wordLength-1], wordLetters[wordLength-2], true)&gt;0){
//Check if the Letter before the Lam is 2 Forms Letter, to Make the Lam Alef as its the end of the Word
if(getGlphyType(unshapedWord,wordLength-3)==2){ //check for the last letter
//Mark the letter of Lam as Lam Indicator
reshapedLetters[wordLength-2]=lamIndicator;
//Assign Lam Alef to the Letter of Alef
reshapedLetters[wordLength-1]=(char)getLamAlef(wordLetters[wordLength-1], wordLetters[wordLength-2], true);
}else {
//Mark the letter of Lam as Lam Indicator
reshapedLetters[wordLength-2]=lamIndicator;
//Assign Lam Alef to the Letter of Alef
reshapedLetters[wordLength-1]=(char)getLamAlef(wordLetters[wordLength-1], wordLetters[wordLength-2], false);
}
}else {
//check for the last letter Before last has 2 forms, that means that the last Letter will be alone.
if(getGlphyType(unshapedWord,wordLength-2)==2){
//If the letter has only 2 shapes, then it doesn't matter which position it is, It'll be always the second form
reshapedLetters[wordLength-1]=getReshapedGlphy(wordLetters[wordLength-1], 1);
}else {
//Put the right form of the character, 4 for the last letter in the word
reshapedLetters[wordLength-1]=getReshapedGlphy(wordLetters[wordLength-1], 4);
}
}
/**
         * Assign the Final Results of Shaped Word
         */
//Iterate over the Reshaped Letters and remove the Lam Indicators
for(int i=0;i&lt;reshapedLetters.length;i++){
//Check if the Letter is Lam Indicator
if(reshapedLetters[i]!=lamIndicator)
reshapedWord.append(reshapedLetters[i]);
}
//Return the Reshaped Word
return reshapedWord.toString();
}
}

Code 3: ArabicUtilities.java

package com.kerul.arabicfont;

/*
 *    Date : 8th of June 2009
 *    the class is Arabic string reshaper Utilities, this class is targeting Android platform
 *
 *     By        : Amr Ismail Gawish
 *  E-Mail     : amr.gawish@gmail.com
 *  Web        : http://www.amr-gawish.com
 *  
 *  Updated : 8th of June 2009
 *  Adding comments and Announcing Open Source
 *  
 * Updated: 6th of May 2010
 * Enahancing Functionality by Amine : bakhtout@gmail.com
 *
 * */
import java.util.ArrayList;

import android.content.Context;
import android.graphics.Typeface;
import android.view.Gravity;
import android.widget.TextView;

/**
 * This class is the main class that is responsible for Reshaping Arabic Sentences and Text
 * Utilities Class to make it easier to deal with Arabic Reshaper Class
 * Wrapper for Arabic Reshaper Class
 * @author Amr Gawish
 */
public class ArabicUtilities {

/**
     * the path of teh fonts file must be under assets folder
     */
private static final String FONTS_LOCATION_PATH = "fonts/DejaVuSans.ttf";

/**
     * Helper function is to check if the character passed, is Arabic
     * @param target The Character to check Against
     * @return true if the Character is Arabic letter, otherwise returns false
     */
private static boolean isArabicCharacter(char target){

//Iterate over the 36 Characters in ARABIC_GLPHIES Matrix
for(int i = 0; i &lt; ArabicReshaper.ARABIC_GLPHIES.length;i++){
//Check if the target Character exist in ARABIC_GLPHIES Matrix
if(ArabicReshaper.ARABIC_GLPHIES[i][0]==target)
return true;
}

return false;
}

/**
     * Helper function to split Sentence By Space
     * @param sentence the Sentence to Split into Array of Words
     * @return Array Of words
     */
private static String[] getWords(String sentence){
if (sentence != null) {
return sentence.split("\\s");
} else {
return new String[0];
}
}

/**
     * Helper function to check if the word has Arabic Letters
     * @param word The to check Against
     * @return true if the word has Arabic letters, false otherwise
     */
public static boolean hasArabicLetters(String word){

//Iterate over the word to check all the word's letters
for(int i=0;i&lt;word.length();i++){

if(isArabicCharacter(word.charAt(i)))
return true;
}
return false;
}

/**
     * Helper function to check if the word is all Arabic Word
     * @param word The word to check against
     * @return true if the word is Arabic Word, false otherwise
     */
public static boolean isArabicWord(String word){
//Iterate over the Word
for(int i=0;i&lt;word.length();i++){
if(!isArabicCharacter(word.charAt(i)))
return false;
}
return true;
}

/**
     * Helper function to split the Mixed Word into words with only Arabic, and English Words
     * @param word The Mixed Word
     * @return The Array of the Words of each Word may exist inside that word
     */
private static String[] getWordsFromMixedWord(String word){

//The return result of words
ArrayList&lt;String&gt; finalWords=new ArrayList&lt;String&gt;();

//Temp word to hold the current word
String tempWord="";

//Iterate over the Word Length
for(int i=0;i&lt;word.length();i++){

//Check if the Character is Arabic Character
if(isArabicCharacter(word.charAt(i))){

//Check if the tempWord is not empty, and what left in tempWord is not Arabic Word
if(!tempWord.equals("") &amp;&amp; !isArabicWord(tempWord)) {

//add the Word into the Array
finalWords.add(tempWord);

//initiate the tempWord again
tempWord=""+word.charAt(i);

}else{

//Not to add the tempWord, but to add the character to the rest of the characters
tempWord+=word.charAt(i);
}

}else{

//Check if the tempWord is not empty, and what left in tempWord is Arabic Word
if(!tempWord.equals("") &amp;&amp; isArabicWord(tempWord)){

//add the Word into the Array
finalWords.add(tempWord);

//initiate the tempWord again
tempWord=""+word.charAt(i);

}else{

//Not to add the tempWord, but to add the character to the rest of the characters
tempWord+=word.charAt(i);
}
}
}

String[] theWords=new String[finalWords.size()];
theWords=(String[])finalWords.toArray(theWords);

return theWords;
}

public static String reshape(String allText) {
if (allText != null) {
StringBuffer result = new StringBuffer();
String[] sentences = allText.split("\n");
for (int i = 0; i &lt; sentences.length; i++) {
result.append(reshapeSentence(sentences[i]));
result.append("\n");
}
return result.toString();
} else {
return null;
}
}
/**
     * The Main Reshaping Function to be Used in Android Program
     * @param allText The text to be Reshaped
     * @return the Reshaped Text
     */
public static String reshapeSentence(String sentence){
//get the Words from the Text
String[] words=getWords(sentence);

//prepare the Reshaped Text
StringBuffer reshapedText=new StringBuffer("");

//Iterate over the Words
for(int i=0;i&lt;words.length;i++){

//Check if the Word has Arabic Letters
if(hasArabicLetters(words[i])){

//Check if the Whole word is Arabic
if(isArabicWord(words[i])){

//Initiate the ArabicReshaper functionality
ArabicReshaper arabicReshaper=new ArabicReshaper(words[i],true);

//Append the Reshaped Arabic Word to the Reshaped Whole Text
reshapedText.append(arabicReshaper.getReshapedWord());
}else{ //The word has Arabic Letters, but its not an Arabic Word, its a mixed word

//Extract words from the words (split Arabic, and English)
String [] mixedWords=getWordsFromMixedWord(words[i]);

//iterate over mixed Words
for(int j=0;j&lt;mixedWords.length;j++){

//Initiate the ArabicReshaper functionality
ArabicReshaper arabicReshaper=new ArabicReshaper(mixedWords[j],true);

//Append the Reshaped Arabic Word to the Reshaped Whole Text
reshapedText.append(arabicReshaper.getReshapedWord());
}
}
}else{//The word doesn't have any Arabic Letters

//Just append the word to the whole reshaped Text
reshapedText.append(words[i]);
}

//Append the space to separate between words
reshapedText.append(" ");
}

//return the final reshaped whole text
return reshapedText.toString();
}
public static TextView getArabicEnabledTextView(Context context, TextView targetTextView) {
//this is a static for testing!
Typeface face = Typeface.createFromAsset(context.getAssets(), FONTS_LOCATION_PATH);
targetTextView.setTypeface(face);
targetTextView.setGravity(Gravity.RIGHT);
return targetTextView;
}
}

Or you could download the whole project here…

All the best…

Android Developer in the Making…

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26 thoughts on “Connected Arabic Characters for Android Apps”

rose on March 20, 2011 at 3:38 pm said:

hi kerul
thanx for ur help i would like to ask u after downloading the project how do we install it on the phone and dose it work for samsung galaxy s

thanx

Reply ↓
Kerul on March 20, 2011 at 6:45 pm said:

This is actually a code libarary. You need the Eclipse + Android SDK to compile and generate the APK. After that, than u can install to your phone. It was tested on Galaxy S, and it’s working…

If you’re asking about the mDictionaryApp, than it is not a complete dictionary yet. That’s why it’s not available in the Google Market yet.

TQvm for ur interest.

Reply ↓
- Monty on September 7, 2011 at 3:51 am said:
  
  So How do we compile the code library and generate the APK ?
  
  Reply ↓
  - Khirulnizam Abd Rahman on September 7, 2011 at 5:26 am said:
    
    a tutorial is available here for u to generate APK file-> http://blog.kerul.net/2011/05/preparing-apk-for-android-app.html. It’s a technical job though, if u’re interested in Android development u might wanna install Eclipse and the Android Toolkits -> http://blog.kerul.net/2011/06/eclipse-helios-android-development.html …
Zul'Qurnain on March 26, 2011 at 5:01 am said:

So after going over this tutorial, will I be able to have english based text, and arabic based text inside androids ListViews? I’m basically trying to have a ListView with information inside displayed in arabic, and below it in english like in the iQuran application for android. Will implementing this inshallah, make it display in both text within one listview?

Reply ↓
Yasin on April 24, 2011 at 4:46 pm said:

How do you put this into a listview?

Reply ↓
Saeed Amir on May 10, 2011 at 12:45 pm said:

Hi Kerul

my Desire S already has the arabic fonts but they are not connected when recieving an sms. What should i do. I have alreadydownloaded ur arabicfont link. Could u pls just sen me an apk file?

Tnx in advance

Reply ↓
Khirulnizam Abd Rahman on May 10, 2011 at 3:55 pm said:

Dear Saeed,

Pls refer to this apps in the android market to solve your problem. https://market.android.com/details?id=org.k

Reply ↓
Khirulnizam Abd Rahman on May 10, 2011 at 3:57 pm said:

Dear Yasin,

I haven’t done that yet. Once I manage to do it, I’ll share in this blog.

Reply ↓
Yacoub on July 5, 2011 at 7:15 am said:

Thanks for making this, I have a Galaxy Ace with Android 2.2.1, I downloaded a font as an app, and now instead of squares there are Arabic characters but they’re disconnected, can you make an apk of your project so we can use it to show Arabic in all apps..

Reply ↓
mohamed on August 4, 2011 at 3:50 pm said:

Hy
I have a problem with the numbers in the Arabic script
for example, to write: 3 children in Arabic, it becomes child 3
3 أطفال

Reply ↓
- sbj on November 29, 2011 at 9:33 pm said:
  
  Hy!
  Have you found a solution??
  Please I have the same problem with the numbers…
  
  Reply ↓
Khalid Mohamed on October 26, 2011 at 10:00 am said:

al salam alikom,

i need to know the arabic word that you had used in this tutorial you converted it to unicode, So how did you do that??

Reply ↓
Imran on October 31, 2011 at 8:00 pm said:

what is “lt” and “gt” in reshaper class

Reply ↓
Khaled AlQatami on November 13, 2011 at 4:13 am said:

thank you so much about this posting because it helped me for my problem with arabic fonts.

Reply ↓
sbj on November 29, 2011 at 10:06 pm said:

Please I really need help !!!!
When a sentence contains numbers, the order of words in the sentence is wrong…

for example, to write: “3 children” in Arabic, it becomes “child 3″
=> 3 أطفال

How to solve this problem ???

Reply ↓
- Mohammad Abu Hmead on December 13, 2011 at 10:02 pm said:
  
  I have the same problem, any body solved it?
  
  Reply ↓
  - Khirulnizam Abd Rahman on December 13, 2011 at 10:16 pm said:
    
    pls refer to the original developer http://bar.amr-gawish.com
Asifali Dosani on January 7, 2012 at 10:18 am said:

Hi Zul’Qurnain
I have same requirement as your…. have you got the solution

Reply ↓
doktor on January 18, 2012 at 2:06 am said:

any ideas of do the same for urdu?

Reply ↓
abuhaneen on January 22, 2012 at 1:47 am said:

Dear Khirulnizam Abd Rahman
I have bought HTC s710e, but It doesn’t support Arabic letters connection, and I have tried to do the above as u said but we can not, so please can give us easy way or app to do that
thx and regrads

Reply ↓
Ahmed Elshaer on January 28, 2012 at 2:00 am said:

Thanks a lot for your efforts.

This is really helpful … I tried many others things but they didn’t work.

Only this way worked for me … It is like magic

Reply ↓
- khalid on February 6, 2012 at 6:42 am said:
  
  @Ahmed Elshaer… where you able to get a apk file out of this (can you please send me a copy of it my email khalidalassal@hotmail.com).. or how did it work for you?
  
  Reply ↓
Tofeeq on February 7, 2012 at 7:23 pm said:

what a amazing post..thank a lot. Although some word, i think mis spell like < that should be . and &amp &amp should be &&

Thank again

Reply ↓
Moussa on February 22, 2012 at 1:43 am said:

Dear bothers
PLease Help me
i downladed your project
i went into main xml and typed something in arabic and it shows up as 000000000and boxes
am id doing soemthing wrong?
my email is moussadastgheib@gmail.com

Reply ↓
- Khirulnizam Abd Rahman on February 22, 2012 at 8:14 pm said:
  
  Eclipse by default does not support Unicode / UTF-8. Arabic is Unicode characters.
  Turning it on, goto: Window > Preferences > Workbench > Editors
  
  At the bottom of that screen you can see ‘Text file encoding’. Just choose the relevent one (choices range from US-ASCII to UTF-8), click the one you want (I suggest utf-8), and it should solve ur problem…
  
  Reply ↓

Multimedia m-Dictionary

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Connected Arabic Characters for Android Apps

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