Due to some people having issues getting the code to run, I have posted the complete example code on github. Just download the code and open it up in eclipse.

https://github.com/josephmate/AndroidAppendableList
If you don’t know how to use git, you can download a zip file of the sourcecode above, or run this command:
git clone git://github.com/josephmate/AndroidAppendableList.git

Cheers,
Joseph

Big Picture of What’s Going On:
I have a TableLayout that I add rows to when the “+” button is clicked. Each row has a “-” button that knows which table and row it belongs to. That way it has enough information to remove itself from the table.

Code:

public class AppendToAList extends Activity {
    
	TableLayout list;
	int rowsSoFar = 0;
	
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.main);
        
        Button addButton = (Button) findViewById( R.id.add );
        // Every time the "+" button is clicked,
        // add a new row to the table.
        addButton.setOnClickListener( new OnClickListener() {
			public void onClick(View view) { addButton(); }
		});
        
        list = (TableLayout) findViewById( R.id.list );
        
        // Start with one row.
        addButton();
    }
    
    /***
     * Gets all the information necessary to delete itself from the constructor.
     * Deletes itself when the button is pressed.
     */
    private static class RowRemover implements OnClickListener {
    	private TableLayout list;
    	private TableRow rowToBeRemoved;
    	
    	/***
    	 * @param list	The list that the button belongs to
    	 * @param row	The row that the button belongs to
    	 */
    	public RowRemover( TableLayout list, TableRow row ) {
    		this.list = list;
    		this.rowToBeRemoved = row;
    	}
    	
    	public void onClick( View view ) {
    		list.removeView( rowToBeRemoved );
    	}
    }
    
    public void addButton() {
    	TableRow newRow = new TableRow( list.getContext() );
    	Button actionButton = new Button( newRow.getContext() );
    	actionButton.setText( "Action: " + ++rowsSoFar );
    	Button removeSelfButton = new Button( newRow.getContext() );
    	removeSelfButton.setText( "-" );
    	// pass on all the information necessary for deletion
    	removeSelfButton.setOnClickListener( new RowRemover( list, newRow ));
    	newRow.addView( actionButton );
    	newRow.addView( removeSelfButton );
    	list.addView( newRow );
    }
}

Layout:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ScrollView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent" >
	<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
	    android:orientation="vertical"
	    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
	    android:layout_height="fill_parent" >
		<TableLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
		    android:orientation="vertical"
		    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
		    android:layout_height="fill_parent"
		    android:stretchColumns="0" >
		    <TableRow
		    	android:layout_width="fill_parent" >
		    	<TextView
		    		android:text="Heading" />
		    	<Button
		    		android:id="@+id/add"
		    		android:text="+" />
		    </TableRow>
		</TableLayout>
		<TableLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
			android:id="@+id/list"
		    android:orientation="vertical"
		    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
		    android:layout_height="fill_parent" 
    		android:stretchColumns="0" />

	</LinearLayout>
</ScrollView>

I’m off to apply this to my android application!
Cheers,
Joseph

First I started tinkering with a LinearLayout and dynamically added some buttons to it.

Here’s the code I came up with:

public class AppendToAList extends Activity {
    
	LinearLayout list;
	
	/** Called when the activity is first created. */
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.main);
        
        list = (LinearLayout) findViewById( R.id.list );
        
        Button b1 = new Button( list.getContext() );
        b1.setText( "This is the first textbox" );
        Button b2 = new Button( list.getContext() );
        b2.setText( "This is the second textbox" );
        list.addView(b1);
        list.addView(b2);
    }
}

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
	android:id="@+id/list"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent"
    >
</LinearLayout>

The result looked like this:

Sweet, it worked. Now I am going to add an OnclickListener to one of the buttons to add more buttons:

public class AppendToAList extends Activity {
    
	LinearLayout list;
	
	/** Called when the activity is first created. */
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.main);
        
        list = (LinearLayout) findViewById( R.id.list );
        
        Button addButtons = new Button( list.getContext() );
        addButtons.setText( "Add a button." );
        addButtons.setOnClickListener( new OnClickListener() {
			
        	int buttonsSoFar = 0;
        	
			public void onClick(View arg0) {
				Button newButton = new Button( list.getContext() );
				newButton.setText( "Button: " + ++buttonsSoFar );
				list.addView( newButton );
			}
		});
        list.addView(addButtons);
    }
}

The result:

There’s a a slight problem. You cannot see the new buttons if you try to add more than eight. Here’s what is looks like when I added 12 buttons:

However, we can just place the LinearLayout inside a ScrollView, to make it scrollable:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ScrollView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent"
	>
	<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
		android:id="@+id/list"
	    android:orientation="vertical"
	    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
	    android:layout_height="fill_parent"
	    >
	</LinearLayout>
</ScrollView>

The result:

Now I believe that I have all the tools necessary to mimic the google contact’s continuously appendable list.

java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to start activity ComponentInfo{com.tfc/com.tfc.ui.LearningScreen}: java.lang.RuntimeException: Your content must have a ListView whose id attribute is 'android.R.id.list'
     at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2401)
     at android.app.ActivityThread.handleLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2417)
     at android.app.ActivityThread.access$2100(ActivityThread.java:116)
     at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:1794)
     at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
     at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:123)
     at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:4203)
     at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
     at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:521)
     at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:791)
     at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:549)
     at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
 Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Your content must have a ListView whose id attribute is 'android.R.id.list'
     at android.app.ListActivity.onContentChanged(ListActivity.java:236)
     at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow.setContentView(PhoneWindow.java:316)
     at android.app.Activity.setContentView(Activity.java:1620)
     at com.tfc.ui.LearningScreen.onCreate(LearningScreen.java:29)
     at android.app.Instrumentation.callActivityOnCreate(Instrumentation.java:1123)
     at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2364)
     ... 11 more

However, there was nothing wrong with my layout XML:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent"
    >

   	<TextView  
	   android:layout_width="fill_parent" 
	   android:layout_height="wrap_content" 
	   android:layout_weight="1.0"
	   />

	<Button
	    android:layout_width="fill_parent" 
	    android:layout_height="wrap_content" 
		android:text="Flip"
		android:id="@+id/btnFlip"
		/>
    
	<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
	    android:orientation="horizontal"
	    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
	    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
	    >
		<Button
		    android:layout_width="wrap_content" 
		    android:layout_height="wrap_content" 
	    	android:layout_weight="0.5"
			android:text="Right"
			android:id="@+id/btnRight"
			/>
		<Button
		    android:layout_width="wrap_content" 
		    android:layout_height="wrap_content" 
	    	android:layout_weight="0.5"
			android:text="Wrong"
			android:id="@+id/btnWrong"
			/>
    </LinearLayout>

</LinearLayout>

The problem was I accidentally had my Activity extend from ListActivity instead of Activity:

public class LearningScreen extends ListActivity {
     @Override public void onCreate(Bundle icicle) {
          super.onCreate(icicle);
          setContentView(R.layout.learning_screen);
     }
}

Here is a link to a problem with the exact same symptom, but turned out to be a completely different cause:
“Your content must have a listview whose id attribute is ‘android.R.id.list’ “

http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers/browse_thread/thread/d4d1d09dea087a71

Hope this helps you if you’re stuck with a similar issue.

Cheers,
Joseph

Check out the following code that you can copy and paste into an html file and take for a test drive:

<html>
	<head>
		<title>Drop Down List Redirect</title>
	</head>

	<body>
		<select onchange="top.location.href = 'http://www.google.com/search?q='
				+ this.options[ this.selectedIndex ].value" >
			<option value="">None</option>
			<option value="cute+dogs">Cute Dogs</option>
			<option value="lasers+beams">Laser Beams</option>
			<option value="kitty+cat">Kitty Cat</option>
		</select>
	</body>
</html>

Breaking down the javascript code into more understandable chunks gives:

// 'this' points to the select object after change the item in the drop down list.
var drop_down = this;

// drop_down.selectedIndex contains the position of the item that was selected from the drop down
var selected_index = drop_down.selectedIndex;

// drop_down.options contains all of html option elements inside the html select
// we need to go to .value to get the 'value="something"' written in the HTML
var selected_value = drop_down.options[ selected_index ].value;

// changing top.location.href redirects ( unless you only append #blah )
top.location.href = 'http://www.google.com/search?q=' + selected_value

I hope you guys find this helpful!

Cheers,
Joseph

<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
   window.location.href = "/main/some_controller/some_action#some_anchor";
</script>

Thanks Severin!
I have extended this code into an example you can copy and paste into an html file and play around with:

<html>
<head><title>URL Updating</title></head>
<body>

<input    type="button" 
             name="cool"
             value="cool"
             onclick="window.location.href = window.location.href + '#value=param';" />

</body>
</html>

With Markus, this leaves lots of places for us to place the code. For a link_to_remote, we can place set the window.location.href in the :before or :complete variables. Example:
markus/app/views/ajax_paginate/_initial_paginate_links_alpha.html.erb

<%= link_to_remote "<< " + t('pagination.first'), :url => {
      :action => action,
      :id => assignment.id,
      :filter => filter,
      :page => 1,
      :per_page => per_page,
      :sort_by => sort_by,
      :alpha_category => alpha_pagination_options[0],
      :update_alpha_pagination_options => "false"
    },
    :before => "ap_thinking_start('#{table_name}');",
    :complete => "ap_thinking_stop(); window.location.href = window.location.href + '#value=param';" %>

Notice that I stuck it right after the :complete => “ap_thinking_stop(); Additionally, notice that we are no longer limited to a’s. We can not apply this to any html objects.

Cheers,
Joseph

My examples are only going to cover the implementation of the Next > button. However, this can apply to any AJAX link.

The part of code that generates the Next link is in:
_initial_paginate_links.html.erb:

   <%= link_to_remote "Next >", :url => {
         :action => 's_table_paginate',
         :id => assignment.id,
         :filter => filter,
         :page => current_page + 1,
         :per_page => per_page,
         :sort_by => sort_by
       },
       :before => "ap_thinking_start();",
       :complete => "ap_thinking_stop();" %>

When the page loads it generates:

<a onclick="ap_thinking_start();; new
Ajax.Request('/main/submissions/s_table_paginate/1?filter=none&amp;page=3&amp;per_page=30&amp;sort_by=group_name',
{asynchronous:true, evalScripts:true,
onComplete:function(request){ap_thinking_stop();},
parameters:'authenticity_token=' +
encodeURIComponent('hjLTZo+xwhfYVOjA6E6Cbt3mm0SoaJw3t+nQG9UF/iA=')});
return false;"
href="#">Next ></a>

However, we want the URL to update, so we need to get rid of the ” return false; ” at the end of onclick. I accomplished that by using link_to and the remote_function helpers that Rails provides.

_initial_paginate_links.html.erb:

   <%= link_to "Next >", "#value=param",
         : onclick =>
           remote_function(
             :url => {
               :action => 's_table_paginate',
               :id => assignment.id,
               :filter => filter,
               :page => current_page + 1,
               :per_page => per_page,
               :sort_by => sort_by
             },
             :before => "ap_thinking_start();",
             :complete => "ap_thinking_stop();"
           )
 %>

Which generates:

<a onclick="ap_thinking_start();; new
Ajax.Request('/main/submissions/s_table_paginate/1?filter=none&amp;page=3&amp;per_page=30&amp;sort_by=group_name',
{asynchronous:true, evalScripts:true,
onComplete:function(request){ap_thinking_stop();},
parameters:'authenticity_token=' +
encodeURIComponent('hjLTZo+xwhfYVOjA6E6Cbt3mm0SoaJw3t+nQG9UF/iA=')});"
href="#value=param">Next ></a>

Notice that the return false is no longer there! If you try to click the Next > button, then it will place #value=param at the end of the url without reloading the page.

Now all that remains is figuring out how to do this with an html form. For example drop downlists, with an onchange method that updates the page using AJAX but still appends #value=param to the end of the URL.

Cheers,
Joseph

<html>
<body>
	<a href="#test=test">testing</a>
</body>
</html>

So with Markus’s submission browse page, instead of having:

<span class="ap_next_link">
  <a href="#" onclick="ajax stuff">Next </a>
</span>

<span class="ap_next_link">
  <a href="#<PARAMS GO HERE>" onclick="ajax stuff">Next </a>
</span>

However, that means with every AJAX call that flips the page on the table, will will also have to update all the links on the page as well.

At first we thought it was something to do with will_paginate. However, if you take a look at: http://railscasts.com/episodes/51-will-paginate . You will notice that will_paginate successfully puts the parameters into the URL. It’s not will_paginate; it’s the way we’re using will_paginate.

So now I am looking at where the Rail’s params[] are used. Markus does something differently with params[] compared to the simple website from the railscast. Additionally, I’m looking through all the AJAX calls we make on the submissions page. Finally, I am trying to understand how s_table_paginate is participating in pagination.

On a side note:
Mike gave me a nice console script to populate the submissions page for markers.
Just run script/console and place paste the following code ( ctrl shift v to paste into a terminal ):

a = Assignment.first
Student.all.each do |student|
    student.create_group_for_working_alone_student(a.id)
end

ensure_config_helper.rb

def self.check_config()
  puts "Checking #{markus_config_logging_logfile}"
  puts "Checking #{markus_config_logging_errorlogfile}"
  puts "Checking #{markus_config_repository_storage}"
  puts "Checking #{markus_config_validate_file}"
  puts "Checking #{MarkusConfigurator.markus_config_logging_logfile}"
  puts "Checking #{MarkusConfigurator.markus_config_logging_errorlogfile}"
  puts "Checking #{MarkusConfigurator.markus_config_repository_storage}"
  puts "Checking #{MarkusConfigurator.markus_config_validate_file}"
  check_in_writable_dir(markus_config_logging_logfile, "MARKUS_LOGGING_LOGFILE")
  check_in_writable_dir(markus_config_logging_errorlogfile, "MARKUS_LOGGING_ERRORLOGFILE")
  check_writable(markus_config_repository_storage, "REPOSITORY_STORAGE")
  check_readable(markus_config_repository_storage, "REPOSITORY_STORAGE")
  if ! RUBY_PLATFORM =~ /(:?mswin|mingw)/ # should match for Windows only
    check_executable(markus_config_validate_file, "VALIDATE_FILE")
  end
end

Output from running rake test:units When loading everything up:

Checking log/info_development.log
Checking log/error_development.log
Checking /home/jmate/everything/workspaces/repos
Checking /home/jmate/everything/workspaces/markus/config/dummy_validate.sh
Checking log/info_development.log
Checking log/error_development.log
Checking /home/jmate/everything/workspaces/repos
Checking /home/jmate/everything/workspaces/markus/config/dummy_validate.sh

At this point, <blah> == MarkusConfigurator.<blah>

When running the test cases:

/tmp/ensure_config_helper_test_777699315/log/log_info_file.log
Checking log/info_test.log
Checking log/error_test.log
Checking /home/jmate/everything/workspaces/repos
Checking /home/jmate/everything/workspaces/markus/config/dummy_validate.sh
Checking /tmp/ensure_config_helper_test_777699315/log/log_info_file.log
Checking /tmp/ensure_config_helper_test_777699315/log/log_error_file.log
Checking /tmp/ensure_config_helper_test_777699315/source_repo_dir
Checking /tmp/ensure_config_helper_test_777699315/validate_script.sh
/tmp/ensure_config_helper_test_595310852/log/log_info_file.log
...
...
...
Checking log/info_test.log
Checking log/error_test.log
Checking /home/jmate/everything/workspaces/repos
Checking /home/jmate/everything/workspaces/markus/config/dummy_validate.sh
Checking /tmp/ensure_config_helper_test_473533902/log/log_info_file.log
Checking /tmp/ensure_config_helper_test_473533902/log/log_error_file.log
Checking /tmp/ensure_config_helper_test_473533902/source_repo_dir
Checking /tmp/ensure_config_helper_test_473533902/validate_script.sh

Now you can see that <blah> != MarkusConfigurator.<blah> . So the namespace for the method you are trying to call cannot be ambiguous. In the source code above you must use MarkusConfigurator.<blah>.