MaxLength attribute on EditText not working as expected across xml and java

This may have been answered already, but I cannot find it on SO.

I have a very simple requirement: Limit the length of characters in the EditText.

I am using tag maxLength

in xml for this. The weird thing is that if the length of the entered text exceeds the specified limit, the text cannot be deleted by pressing the backspace with the soft keyboard. The entered text remains in the EditText field. After closing and reopening the softkey, the text becomes "deleteable".

<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <EditText
        android:id="@+id/edit"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:maxLength="5"
        android:hint="text"/>
</RelativeLayout>

      

        
        
        
      

    

Adding this layout is enough to get the described behavior.

I added an InputFilter to see what's going on here. The result, as described, will be the same without the InputFilter!

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
    EditText et = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.edit);

    InputFilter filter = new InputFilter() {
        @Override
        public CharSequence filter(CharSequence source,
                int start,
                int end,
                Spanned dest,
                int dstart,
                int dend) {

            if (source != null) {
                Log.v("edit","source = " + source.toString());
                Log.v("edit","start = " + start);
                Log.v("edit","end = " + end);
            }
            if (dest != null) { 
                Log.v("edit","dest= " + dest.toString());
                Log.v("edit","dstart = " + dstart);
                Log.v("edit","dend = " + dend);
            }
            return null;
        }
    };

    InputFilter[] oldFilters = et.getFilters();
    InputFilter[] newFilters = new InputFilter[oldFilters.length + 1];
    System.arraycopy(oldFilters, 0, newFilters, 0, oldFilters.length);
    newFilters[oldFilters.length] = filter;
    et.setFilters(newFilters);
}

      

        
        
        
      

    

During check-in, I see it source

will remain the same if the value is maxLength

exceeded, but Spanned dest

will change the way it should, by removing the text characters by pressing backspace.

Now what's going on here? This is a bug or indeed the default behavior. Because if the user enters their text and the limit is exceeded, they have no chance of being corrected.

Edit:

Sandeep Kumar's suggested method using Java code to set maxLength produces the same result.

 et.setFilters(new InputFilter[]{new InputFilter.LengthFilter(5)});

      

        
        
        
      

    

By the way, I am using Android API 4.4.2 and SDK 23.0.2.