Is using absolute positioning for image positioning bad?

Question

I am working on an application that requires a lot images. I am currently positioning images by plugging numbers and debugging on my Nexus 3 to observe the positioning. Example:

g.drawString("START", 176, 550, paint);

Will this bite me in the future when I try to run the application on devices with different dimensions or will Android adjust for this. I am not looking to run this application on tablets, only phones. Is this bad practice? If so, how should I be programming positioning. Is it possible to return the dimensions of the device in order to adjust?

Answer 1

Yes, it will byte you. Those are pixels, how big the picture will be depends on the screen density. On a 160ppi screen, it will start 1 inch from the left. On a 320dp it will be 1/2 an inch. On a 480, 1/3. That may be ok, you'd have to answer that. But understand that on higher density screens you'll be closer to the left, unless you scale by density.