Professional Android^TM Application Development

by Reto Meier

• ISBN13: 9780470344712
• ISBN10: 0470344717
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-11-01
• Publisher: Wrox

Summary

Professional Android Development is a developer's guide to building mobile applications using the Android SDK. This hands-on approach takes readers through a series of projects, each introducing a new Android platform feature and highlighting the techniques and best practices to get the most out of Android. Providing concise and compelling examples, Professional Android Development shows how to quickly construct real-world mobile applications for Android phones. While most readers will have experience using mobile phones and developing software, many will not have written applications specifically for mobiles. Professional Android Development begins by offering an introduction to the Android software stack and examining the philosophy behind creating robust, consistent, and appealing applications for mobile phones. From this common base readers progress to increasingly complex examples that illustrate the features available for constructing their mobile phone projects. Readers create full Android applications in a series of exercises designed to introduce new concepts, APIs, and Android functionality. The exercises begin as simple tasks that introduce readers to the anatomy, lifecycle, and UI metaphor of an Android application. Each step adds a particular piece of functionality to construct increasingly feature rich Android applications. Readers can use the exercises and the completed projects as a basis for developing their own Android applications. The projects are written in Java using Eclipse with the Android plugin. While Android uses Java syntax, the power of the platform lies in the Android APIs. Many readers will already be familiar with Java and it's easy to learn, so readers with different development backgrounds should find the transition straightforward. Readers more comfortable with an alternative Java development environment should also find it easy to use their preferred tools.

Author Biography

Originally from Perth, Western Australia, Reto Meier now lives in London.
Reto is an experienced software developer with more than 10 years of experience in GUI application architecture, design, and development. He’s worked in various industries, including offshore oil and gas, before moving to London and into fi nance.
Always interested in emerging technologies, Reto has been involved in Android since the initial release in 2007. In his spare time, he tinkers with a wide range of development platforms including WPF and Google’s plethora of developer tools.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Hello, Android

A Little Background

What It Isn't

An Open Platform for Mobile Development

Native Android Applications

Android SDK Features

Introducing the Open Handset Alliance

What Does Android Run On?

Why Develop for Android?

Introducing the Development Framework

What Comes in the Box

Summary

Getting Started

Developing for Android

Developing for Mobile Devices

To-Do List Example

Android Development Tools

Summary

Creating Applications and Activities

What Makes an Android Application?

Introducing the Application Manifest

Using the Manifest Editor

The Android Application Life Cycle

Understanding Application Priority and Process States

Externalizing Resources

A Closer Look at Android Activities

Summary

Creating User Interfaces

Fundamental Android UI Design

Introducing Views

Introducing Layouts

Creating New Views

Creating and Using Menus

Summary

Intents, Broadcast R eceivers, Adapters, and the Internet

Introducing Intents

Introducing Adapters

Using Internet Resources

Introducing Dialogs

Creating an Earthquake Viewer

Summary

Data Storage, Retrieval, and Sharing

Android Techniques for Saving Data

Saving Simple Application Data

Saving and Loading Files

Databases in Android

Introducing Content Providers

Summary

Maps, Geocoding,: and Location-Based Services

Using Location-Based Services

Setting up the Emulator with Test Providers

Selecting a Location Provider

Finding Your Location

Using Proximity Alerts

Using the Geocoder

Creating Map-Based Activities

Mapping Earthquakes Example

Summary

Working in the Background

Introducing Services

Using Background Worker Threads

Let's Make a Toast

Introducing Notifications

Using Alarms

Using Alarms to Update Earthquakes

Summary

Peer-to-Peer Communication

Introducing Android Instant Messaging

Introducing SMS

Summary

Accessing Android Hardware

Using the Media APIs

Using the Camera

Introducing the Sensor Manager

Using the Accelerometer and Compass

Android Telephony

Using Bluetooth

Managing Network and Wi-Fi Connections

Controlling Device Vibration

Summary

Advanced Android Development

Paranoid Android

Using AIDL to Support IPC for Services

Using Internet Services

Building Rich User Interfaces

Summary

Index

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