NullPointerException in inflating layout

[Astha Sharma]

Hello,

I'm getting NullPointerException in my code when I'm inflating layout.

This is my java code-

LayoutInflater layoutInflater = (LayoutInflater) context.getSystemService(Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
View convertView = layoutInflater.inflate(R.layout.grouped_text_view, this);
itemsContainer = (LinearLayout) convertView.findViewById(R.id.items_container);
itemsContainer.setVisibility(View.GONE);           //line 1

grouped_text_view.xml-

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    style="@style/GroupedTextViewContainer">

 <LinearLayout
        android:id="@+id/items_container"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:background="@drawable/item_background"
        android:orientation="vertical">
    </LinearLayout>
    
</LinearLayout>

This throws NullPointerException in line 1. Please tell me what can be the reason.