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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