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Android Developer's Cookbook, The: Building Applications with the Android SDK: Building Applications with the Android SDK

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Android Developer's Cookbook, The: Building Applications with the Android SDK: Building Applications with the Android SDK

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Description

  • Copyright 2011
  • Edition: 1st
  • Book
  • ISBN-10: 0-321-74123-4
  • ISBN-13: 978-0-321-74123-3

Want to get started building applications for Android, the world’s hottest, fast-growing mobile platform? Already building Android applications and want to get better at it? This book brings together all the expert guidance–and code–you’ll need!

Completely up-to-date to reflect the newest and most widely used Android SDKs, The Android Developer’s Cookbook is the essential resource for developers building apps for any Android device, from phones to tablets.

Proven, modular recipes take you from the absolute basics to advanced location-based services, security techniques, and performance optimization. You’ll learn how to write apps from scratch, ensure interoperability, choose the best solutions for common problems, and avoid development pitfalls. Coverage includes:

  • Implementing threads, services, receivers, and other background tasks
  • Providing user alerts
  • Organizing user interface layouts and views
  • Managing user-initiated events such as touches and gestures
  • Recording and playing audio and video
  • Using hardware APIs available on Android devices
  • Interacting with other devices via SMS, web browsing, and social networking
  • Storing data efficiently with SQLite and its alternatives
  • Accessing location data via GPS
  • Using location-related services such as the Google Maps API
  • Building faster applications with native code
  • Providing backup and restore with the Android Backup Manager
  • Testing and debugging apps throughout the development cycle

Turn to The Android Developer’s Cookbook for proven, expert answers–and the code you need to implement them. It’s all you need to jumpstart any Android project, and create high-value, feature-rich apps that sell!

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Android Application Basics: Activities and Intents

Table of Contents

1 Overview of Android 1

                The Evolution of Android 1

                The Dichotomy of Android 2

                Devices Running Android 2

                                HTC Models 6

                                Motorola Models 6

                                Samsung Models 6

                                Tablets 7

                                Other Devices 7

                Hardware Differences on Android Devices 8

                                Screens 8

                                User Input Methods 9

                                Sensors 9

                Features of Android 10

                                Multiprocess and App Widgets 11

                                Touch, Gestures, and Multitouch 11

                                Hard and Soft Keyboards 11

                Android Development 11

                                How to Use the Recipes in This Book 12

                                Designing Applications Well 12

                                Maintaining Forward Compatibility 13

                                Robustness 13

                Software Development Kit 14

                                Installing and Upgrading 14

                                Software Features and API Level 15

                                Emulator and Android Device Debug 16

                                Using the Android Debug Bridge 18

                                Signing and Publishing 18

                Android Market 19

                                End-User License Agreement 19

                                Improving App Visibility 19

                                Differentiating an App 20

                                Charging for an App 20

                                Managing Reviews and Updates 21

                                Alternatives to the Android Market 22

2 Application Basics: Activities and Intents 23

                Android Application Overview 23

                                Recipe: Creating a Project and an Activity 24

                                Directory Structure of Project and Autogenerated

                                Content 26

                                Android Package and Manifest File 28

                                Renaming Parts of an Application 30

                Activity Lifecycle 30

                                Recipe: Utilizing Other Lifecycle Functions 31

                                Recipe: Forcing Single Task Mode 33

                                Recipe: Forcing Screen Orientation 34

                                Recipe: Saving and Restoring Activity Information 34

                Multiple Activities 35

                                Recipe: Using Buttons and TextView 36

                                Recipe: Launching Another Activity from an Event 37

                                Recipe: Launching an Activity for a Result Using Speech to Text 41

                                Recipe: Implementing a List of Choices 43

                                Recipe: Using Implicit Intents for Creating an Activity 44

                                Recipe: Passing Primitive Data Types Between Activities 46

3 Threads, Services, Receivers, and Alerts 51

                Threads 51

                                Recipe: Launching a Secondary Thread 51

                                Recipe: Creating a Runnable Activity 55

                                Recipe: Setting a Thread’s Priority 57

                                Recipe: Canceling a Thread 57

                                Recipe: Sharing a Thread Between Two

                                Applications 58

                Messages Between Threads: Handlers 58

                                Recipe: Scheduling a Runnable Task from the Main Thread 59

                                Recipe: Using a Countdown Timer 61

                                Recipe: Handling a Time-Consuming Initialization 62

                Services 64

                                Recipe: Creating a Self-Contained Service 65

                Adding a Broadcast Receiver 69

                                Recipe: Starting a Service When the Camera Button Is

                                Pressed 70

                App Widgets 72

                                Recipe: Creating an App Widget 72

                Alerts 74

                                Recipe: Using Toast to Show a Brief Message on the

                                Screen 74

                                Recipe: Using an Alert Dialog Box 75

                                Recipe: Showing Notification in Status Bar 76

4 User Interface Layout 79

                Resource Directories and General Attributes 79

                                Recipe: Specifying Alternate Resources 81

                Views and ViewGroups 82

                                Recipe: Building Layouts in the Eclipse Editor 83

                                Recipe: Controlling the Width and Height of UI

                                Elements 86

                                Recipe: Setting Relative Layout and Layout ID 89

                                Recipe: Declaring a Layout Programmatically 90

                                Recipe: Updating a Layout from a Separate

                                Thread 92

                Text Manipulation 94

                                Recipe: Setting and Changing Text Attributes 95

                                Recipe: Providing Text Entry 98

                                Recipe: Creating a Form 100

                Other Widgets: From Buttons to Seek Bars 101

                                Recipe: Using Image Buttons in a Table Layout 102

                                Recipe: Using Check Boxes and Toggle Buttons 105

                                Recipe: Using Radio Buttons 108

                                Recipe: Creating a Drop-Down Menu 110

                                Recipe: Using a Progress Bar 112

                                Recipe: Using a SeekBar 114

5 User Interface Events 117

                Event Handlers and Event Listeners 117

                                Recipe: Intercepting a Physical Key Press 117

                                Recipe: Building Menus 121

                                Recipe: Defining Menus in XML 126

                                Recipe: Utilizing the SEARCH Key 127

                                Recipe: Reacting to Touch Events 128

                                Recipe: Listening for Fling Gestures 130

                                Recipe: Using Multitouch 133

                Advanced User Interface Libraries 136

                                Recipe: Using Gestures 136

                                Recipe: Drawing 3D Images 140

6 Multimedia Techniques 147

                Images 148

                                Recipe: Loading an Image for Manipulation 148

                Audio 154

                                Recipe: Choosing and Playing Back Audio Files 154

                                Recipe: Recording Audio Files 157

                                Recipe: Manipulating Raw Audio 158

                                Recipe: Using Sound Resources Efficiently 163

                                Recipe: Adding Media and Updating Paths 165

                Video 165

7 Hardware Interface 169

                Camera 169

                                Recipe: Customizing the Camera 170

                Other Sensors 175

                                Recipe: Getting a Device’s Rotational Attitude 176

                                Recipe: Using the Temperature and Light Sensor 179

                Telephony 180

                                Recipe: Utilizing the Telephony Manager 181

                                Recipe: Listening for Phone States 183

                                Recipe: Dialing a Phone Number 185

                Bluetooth 185

                                Recipe: Turning on Bluetooth 186

                                Recipe: Discovering Bluetooth Devices 187

                                Recipe: Pairing with Bonded Bluetooth Devices 188

                                Recipe: Opening a Bluetooth Socket 188

                                Recipe: Using Device Vibration 191

                                Recipe: Accessing the Wireless Network 191

8 Networking 195

                Using SMS 195

                                Recipe: Autosend an SMS Based on a Received

                                SMS 197

                Using Web Content 204

                                Recipe: Customizing a Web Browser 204

                                Recipe: Using an HTTP GET 204

                                Recipe: Using HTTP POST 209

                Social Networking 210

                                Recipe: Integrating with Twitter 210

9 Data Storage Methods 221

                Shared Preferences 221

                                Recipe: Creating and Retrieving Shared

                                Preferences 222

                                Recipe: Using the Preferences Framework 222

                                Recipe: Changing the UI Based on Stored Data 225

                                Recipe: Adding a EULA 228

                SQLite Database 232

                                Recipe: Creating a Separate Database Package 232

                                Recipe: Using a Separate Database Package 236

                                Recipe: Creating a Personal Diary 239

                Content Provider 243

                                Recipe: Creating a Custom Content Provider 244

                File Saving and Loading 249

10 Location-Based Services 251

                Location Basics 251

                                Recipe: Retrieving Last Location 253

                                Recipe: Updating Location Upon Change 254

                                Recipe: Listing All Enabled Providers 256

                                Recipe: Translating a Location to Address (Reverse Geocoding) 258

                                Recipe: Translating an Address to Location (Geocoding) 261

                Using Google Maps 263

                                Recipe: Adding Google Maps to an Application 265

                                Recipe: Adding Markers on a Map 267

                                Recipe: Adding Views to a Map 271

                                Recipe: Marking the Device’s Current Location on a

                                Map 274

                                Recipe: Setting up a Proximity Alert 274

11 Advanced Android Development 277

                Android Custom View 277

                                Recipe: Customizing a Button 277

                Android Native Components 283

                                Recipe: Developing a Native Component 284

                Android Security 287

                                Recipe: Declaring and Enforcing Permissions 288

                Android Inter-Process Communication 288

                                Recipe: Implementing a Remote Procedure Call 289

                Android Backup Manager 294

                                Recipe: Creating a Backup of Runtime Data 294

                                Recipe: Backing Up Files to the Cloud 296

                                Recipe: Triggering Backup and Restore 296

                Android Animation 298

                                Recipe: Creating an Animation 299

12 Debugging 303

                Eclipse Built-in Debug Tools 303

                                Recipe: Specifying a Run Configuration 303

                                Recipe: Using the DDMS 304

                                Recipe: Debugging Through Breakpoints 306

                Android SDK Debug Tools 307

                                Recipe: Using the Android Debug Bridge 307

                                Recipe: Using LogCat 307

                                Recipe: Using the Hierarchy Viewer 309

                                Recipe: Using TraceView 311

                Android System Debug Tools 313

                                Recipe: Setting up GDB Debugging 315

TOC, 9780321741233, 9/25/2010

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