title: What does the context parameter do in Android and what should it be defined as?
body: <p>I'm very new to Android development and I'm trying to create a view, which can be easily done by <code>alloc</code> then <code>initWithFrame ...</code> in Obj-C with Cocoa Touch, but in Java it uses the <code>new ..()</code> method and I'm stuck with defining the variable <code>context</code>, the parameter for <code>LinearLayout()</code>.</p>
  
  <p>I see some people use <code>this</code> as argument, namely  <code>new LinearLayout(this)</code>, but I don't understand what this argument actually does and I would appreciate if someone can give me a little bit guidance regarding what to put into as the argument.</p>
  
  <pre><code>LinearLayout layout = new LinearLayout(context);
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>What should <code>context</code> be? How should I define it? What does it do? What value should I assign it to?</p>