[android] How can I make sticky headers in RecyclerView? (Without external lib)

Another solution, based on scroll listener. Initial conditions are the same as in Sevastyan answer

RecyclerView recyclerView;
TextView tvTitle; //sticky header view

//... onCreate, initialize, etc...

public void bindList(List<Item> items) { //All data in adapter. Item - just interface for different item types
    adapter = new YourAdapter(items);
    recyclerView.setAdapter(adapter);
    StickyHeaderViewManager<HeaderItem> stickyHeaderViewManager = new StickyHeaderViewManager<>(
            tvTitle,
            recyclerView,
            HeaderItem.class, //HeaderItem - subclass of Item, used to detect headers in list
            data -> { // bind function for sticky header view
                tvTitle.setText(data.getTitle());
            });
    stickyHeaderViewManager.attach(items);
}

Layout for ViewHolder and sticky header.

item_header.xml

<TextView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:id="@+id/tv_title"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>

Layout for RecyclerView

<FrameLayout
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView
        android:id="@+id/recycler_view"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"/>

    <!--it can be any view, but order important, draw over recyclerView-->
    <include
        layout="@layout/item_header"/>

</FrameLayout>

Class for HeaderItem.

public class HeaderItem implements Item {

    private String title;

    public HeaderItem(String title) {
        this.title = title;
    }

    public String getTitle() {
        return title;
    }

}

It's all use. The implementation of the adapter, ViewHolder and other things, is not interesting for us.

public class StickyHeaderViewManager<T> {

    @Nonnull
    private View headerView;

    @Nonnull
    private RecyclerView recyclerView;

    @Nonnull
    private StickyHeaderViewWrapper<T> viewWrapper;

    @Nonnull
    private Class<T> headerDataClass;

    private List<?> items;

    public StickyHeaderViewManager(@Nonnull View headerView,
                                   @Nonnull RecyclerView recyclerView,
                                   @Nonnull Class<T> headerDataClass,
                                   @Nonnull StickyHeaderViewWrapper<T> viewWrapper) {
        this.headerView = headerView;
        this.viewWrapper = viewWrapper;
        this.recyclerView = recyclerView;
        this.headerDataClass = headerDataClass;
    }

    public void attach(@Nonnull List<?> items) {
        this.items = items;
        if (ViewCompat.isLaidOut(headerView)) {
            bindHeader(recyclerView);
        } else {
            headerView.post(() -> bindHeader(recyclerView));
        }

        recyclerView.addOnScrollListener(new RecyclerView.OnScrollListener() {

            @Override
            public void onScrolled(RecyclerView recyclerView, int dx, int dy) {
                super.onScrolled(recyclerView, dx, dy);
                bindHeader(recyclerView);
            }
        });
    }

    private void bindHeader(RecyclerView recyclerView) {
        if (items.isEmpty()) {
            headerView.setVisibility(View.GONE);
            return;
        } else {
            headerView.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
        }

        View topView = recyclerView.getChildAt(0);
        if (topView == null) {
            return;
        }
        int topPosition = recyclerView.getChildAdapterPosition(topView);
        if (!isValidPosition(topPosition)) {
            return;
        }
        if (topPosition == 0 && topView.getTop() == recyclerView.getTop()) {
            headerView.setVisibility(View.GONE);
            return;
        } else {
            headerView.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
        }

        T stickyItem;
        Object firstItem = items.get(topPosition);
        if (headerDataClass.isInstance(firstItem)) {
            stickyItem = headerDataClass.cast(firstItem);
            headerView.setTranslationY(0);
        } else {
            stickyItem = findNearestHeader(topPosition);
            int secondPosition = topPosition + 1;
            if (isValidPosition(secondPosition)) {
                Object secondItem = items.get(secondPosition);
                if (headerDataClass.isInstance(secondItem)) {
                    View secondView = recyclerView.getChildAt(1);
                    if (secondView != null) {
                        moveViewFor(secondView);
                    }
                } else {
                    headerView.setTranslationY(0);
                }
            }
        }

        if (stickyItem != null) {
            viewWrapper.bindView(stickyItem);
        }
    }

    private void moveViewFor(View secondView) {
        if (secondView.getTop() <= headerView.getBottom()) {
            headerView.setTranslationY(secondView.getTop() - headerView.getHeight());
        } else {
            headerView.setTranslationY(0);
        }
    }

    private T findNearestHeader(int position) {
        for (int i = position; position >= 0; i--) {
            Object item = items.get(i);
            if (headerDataClass.isInstance(item)) {
                return headerDataClass.cast(item);
            }
        }
        return null;
    }

    private boolean isValidPosition(int position) {
        return !(position == RecyclerView.NO_POSITION || position >= items.size());
    }
}

Interface for bind header view.

public interface StickyHeaderViewWrapper<T> {

    void bindView(T data);
}