Overview

Suduxu themes define the visual and interaction layer of a connected device using XML or HTML-based layouts.

Suduxu supports a theme system that defines how connected device interfaces are rendered and how user interactions are structured, with themes being translated into runtime-native UI representations based on their format rather than acting as purely visual templates.

Theme types

Suduxu supports two theme formats:

XML Themes

Structured declarative layout format
Converted into native UI components
Used for performance-optimized rendering

At runtime, XML themes are transformed into native Jetpack Compose components.

HTML Themes

Web-based layout format
Supports full HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Loaded and rendered inside a WebView

HTML themes are used when flexible or web-like UI behavior is required.

Runtime Behavior

XML themes are parsed and compiled into native UI structures.

Runtime pipeline:

XML File
   ↓
Parser
   ↓
Layout Validation
   ↓
Native Widget Mapping
   ↓
Jetpack Compose Tree
   ↓
Native UI Rendering

Advantages:

Feature	Description
Performance	Native rendering with low overhead
Input handling	Tight integration with the input system
Rendering	Low latency UI updates

HTML themes are executed inside an embedded WebView.

Runtime pipeline:

HTML File
   ↓
Asset & Script Resolution
   ↓
WebView Rendering
   ↓
JavaScript Runtime
   ↓
Suduxu Bridge Integration
   ↓
Custom Controller UI

Advantages:

Feature	Description
Flexibility	Full web rendering capabilities
Design	Advanced UI customization
Integration	JavaScript access through the Suduxu bridge
Trade-off	Slightly higher runtime overhead than XML

Selection criteria

Choose theme type based on requirements:

Use XML when performance and native integration are required
Use HTML when UI flexibility and web tooling are preferred

Lifecycle integration

Themes are loaded after runtime initialization and are bound to a connected client session. Changes can be pushed dynamically during runtime depending on server configuration.

Key constraint

Themes are not static assets. They are runtime-driven UI definitions tied to active client sessions.