eBook: Android 4 App Development Essentials

Android 4 App Development Essentials

The goal of this book is to teach the skills necessary to develop Android based applications using the Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and the Android 4.2 Software Development Kit (SDK).

Beginning with the basics, this book provides an outline of the steps necessary to set up an Android development and testing environment. An introduction to the architecture of Android is followed by an in-depth look at the design of Android applications and user interfaces. More advanced topics such as database management, content providers, intents and services are also covered, as are touch screen handling, gesture recognition, camera access and the playback and recording of both video and audio.

In addition to covering general Android development techniques, the book also includes Google Play specific topics such as using the Google Play In-App Billing API, implementing maps using the Google Maps Android API and submitting apps to the Google Play Developer Console.

Assuming you already have some Java programming experience, are ready to download Eclipse and the Android SDK, have access to a Windows, Mac or Linux system and ideas for some apps to develop, you are ready to get started.

Table of Contents

Setting up an Android Development Environment

Creating an Android Virtual Device (AVD)

Creating an Example Android Application

Testing Android Applications on a Physical Android Device with ADB

An Overview of the Android Architecture

The Anatomy of an Android Application

Understanding Android Application and Activity Lifecycles

Handling Android Activity State Changes

Android Activity State Changes – An Example Application

Saving and Restoring the User Interface State of an Android Activity

Understanding Android Views, View Groups and Layouts

Designing an Android User Interface using the Graphical Layout Tool

Creating an Android User Interface in Java Code

Using the Android GridLayout Manager in the Graphical Layout Tool

Working with the Android GridLayout in XML Layout Resources

An Overview and Example of Android Event Handling

Detecting Common Gestures using the Android Gesture Detector Class

Implementing Android Custom Gesture and Pinch Recognition

An Introduction to Android Fragments

Using Fragments in Android – A Worked Example

An Android Master/Detail Flow Tutorial

Creating and Managing Overflow Menus on Android

An Overview of Android Intents

Android Explicit Intents – A Worked Example

Android Implicit Intents – A Worked Example

Android Broadcast Intents and Broadcast Receivers

A Basic Overview of Android Threads and Thread handlers

An Overview of Android Started and Bound Services

Implementing an Android Started Service – A Worked Example

Android Local Bound Services – A Worked Example

Android Remote Bound Services – A Worked Example

An Overview of Android SQLite Databases

An Android TableLayout and TableRow Tutorial

An Android SQLite Database Tutorial

Understanding Android Content Providers

An Android Content Provider Tutorial

Implementing Video Playback on Android using the VideoView and MediaController Classes

Video Recording and Image Capture on Android using Camera Intents

Android Audio Recording and Playback using MediaPlayer and MediaRecorder

Working with the Google Maps Android API

Handling Different Android Devices and Displays

Signing and Preparing an Android Application for Release

Integrating Google Play In-app Billing into an Android Application . A Tutorial

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