ShadowLayout is a customizable shadow layout wrapper for Android views that provides drop shadow effects with extensive configuration options.
The tool solves the problem of adding flexible shadow effects to Android UI elements without relying on CardView or creating multiple drawable XML files. It wraps any view and applies shadows with control over offset on the x and y axes, shadow blur spread, corner radius, and selective edge visibility. The layout also provides dynamic shape and selector functionality, eliminating the need to manually create shape drawable files for common UI patterns. Colors can be adjusted at runtime without recompilation.
Developers should choose this tool if they need fine-grained control over shadow appearance across many views in their application. It suits projects where shadow effects are a significant part of the design system and where reducing boilerplate drawable XML files is valuable. The tool is particularly useful for applications that require dynamic color changes or complex shadow configurations that would be tedious to manage through traditional Android shape resources.
The project maintains active development with regular feature additions and refinements. The codebase has evolved through multiple major versions with significant API changes and naming standardization. The tool has been updated to support modern Android development practices through AndroidX compatibility. Additional functionality has been integrated, including loading view components that extend the core shadow layout capabilities.
