ConstraintLayout aspect ratio

Question

Consider the following layout file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <android.support.constraint.ConstraintLayout
        android:id="@+id/activity_main"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"
        android:background="#FF0000"
        android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
        android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
        android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
        android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin">

        <ImageView
            android:layout_width="0dp"
            android:layout_height="0dp"
            android:background="#0000FF"
            android:padding="16dp"
            app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintDimensionRatio="H,3:1"
            tools:layout_editor_absoluteX="16dp" />

    </android.support.constraint.ConstraintLayout>

</RelativeLayout>

I am not sure how the app:layout_constraintDimensionRatio works. My understanding is the ratio will always be width:height. So 3:1 will always make the ImageView appear 3 times wider than height. The prefix H or W tells ConstraintLayout which dimension should respect the ratio. If it is H then it means width will be first computed from other constraints and then height will be adjusted according to the aspect ratio. However this is the result of the layout:

The height is 3 times larger than width which is unexpected. Can anyone explain to me how the dimensions are computed with respect to app:layout_constraintDimensionRatio setting?

Answer 1

Your understanding for the way app:layout_constraintDimensionRatio works is correct. If you set app:layout_constraintDimensionRatio="H,3:1" then it means width will be first computed from other constraints and then height will be adjusted according to the aspect ratio. The only problem with your implementation is that you added app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent" to the ImageView, so that it caused app:layout_constraintDimensionRatio to be ignored.

Here's the layout to size your ImageView in 3:1 aspect ratio:

<android.support.constraint.ConstraintLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:background="#FF0000">

    <ImageView
        android:id="@+id/imageView"
        android:layout_width="0dp"
        android:layout_height="0dp"
        android:layout_marginStart="16dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="16dp"
        android:layout_marginEnd="16dp"
        android:background="#0000FF"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintDimensionRatio="H,3:1" />

</android.support.constraint.ConstraintLayout>

and here's the result view: