How can I initialize this int as a constant?

Question

My software involves changing images a lot. Rather than look up the resource number repeatedly, I would like to create some constants to represent each image reference. Here are my attempts so far:

This attempt produces a force close on start up.

private final int EMPTY = getResources().getIdentifier("dotted_circle", "resId", "en.deco.android.livehud");

    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) 
    {
        .....
    }

This Attempt returns an error "final variables may not be initialized". Removing final allows it to work.

private final int EMPTY

        @Override
        public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) 
        {
            EMPTY = getResources().getIdentifier("dotted_circle", "resId", "en.deco.android.livehud");
        }

Is using constants here a good idea in the first place?

Answer 1

Is using constants here a good idea in the first place?

No. It's better a routine that read the value from resources:

public class ImageUtils {

   private static int empty = -1;

   public static int getEmpty(Context context) {
        if(empty == -1)
          empty = context.getResources().getIdentifier("dotted_circle", "resId", "en.deco.android.livehud");

        return empty;
   }

}