Should I Embed CSS Inline or Reference a CSS File from Assets for Styling HTML in a WebView?

Styling HTML in a WebView with Custom CSS Assets

Question:

In an app using JSoup to parse HTML for a mobile WebView, it's desirable to strip unwanted elements and apply custom styling via CSS. The question is, is it better to embed CSS inline within the HTML or reference a CSS file from assets?

Answer:

Referencing a CSS file from assets is the preferred method for styling HTML in a WebView.

Solution:

To use a CSS file from assets:

1. Create a CSS file and place it in the "assets" directory of your app.
2. Use WebView.loadDataWithBaseURL to load the HTML with the CSS file referenced. For example:

// Assume "/assets/style.css" is the CSS file in the assets directory
String htmlData = "<link rel='\"stylesheet\"' type='\"text/css\"' href="%5C%22style.css%5C%22">";
webView.loadDataWithBaseURL("file:///android_asset/", htmlData, "text/html", "UTF-8", null);

This approach allows you to easily update the CSS without modifying the HTML, and ensures that the CSS is loaded and applied after the HTML has been parsed.

Alternative (Inlining CSS):

While it's possible to inject CSS into the HTML as you process it, this method is less desirable as it requires additional processing logic and can be prone to errors.

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