Sams Teach Yourself Android

Full Color! In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, learn how to build powerful applications for the world's first complete, open, and free mobile platform: Android. Using this book's straightforward, step-by-step approach, you'll build a fully-featured Android application from the ground up and master the skills you need to design, develop, test, and publish powerful applications. Each lesson builds on what you've already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success! Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common Android development tasks. Quizzes and Exercises at the end of each chapter help you test your knowledge. By the Way notes present interesting information related to the discussion. Did You Know? tips offer advice or show you easier ways to perform tasks. Watch Out! cautions alert you to possible problems and give you advice on how to avoid them. Learn how to! * Develop Android applications quickly and successfully with Java * Master Google's Android SDK and development tools * Leverage the Eclipse programming environment to develop Android projects * Understand the Android application lifecycle * Build effective, user-friendly user interfaces * Retrieve, store, and work with application data * Develop powerful network applications * Add popular social features and location-based services to your applications * Take advantage of Android device hardware like the camera * Internationalize, test, and publish your Android applications http://www.dropshippers.co.za/

• Title: Sams Teach Yourself Android Application Development in 24 Hours
• Illustrations note: illustrations
• Imprint name: Sams Publishing
• Table of contents: Introduction 1 Part I: Android Fundamentals HOUR 1: Getting Started with Android 7 Introducing Android 7 Familiarizing Yourself with Eclipse 9 Running and Debugging Applications 17 Summary 23 Q&A 23 Workshop 24 HOUR 2: Mastering the Android Development Tools 27 Using the Android Documentation 27 Debugging Applications with DDMS 29 Working with the Android Emulator 35 Using Other Android Tools 38 Summary 39 Q&A 40 Workshop 40 HOUR 3: Building Android Applications 43 Designing a Typical Android Application 43 Using the Application Context 46 Working with Activities 47 Working with Intents 51 Working with Dialogs 53 Logging Application Information 54 Summary 55 Q&A 55 Workshop 56 HOUR 4: Managing Application Resources 59 Using Application and System Resources 59 Working with Simple Resource Values 63 Working with Drawable Resources 66 Working with Layouts 67 Working with Files 71 Working with Other Types of Resources 73 Summary 73 Q&A 74 Workshop 75 HOUR 5: Configuring the Android Manifest File 77 Exploring the Android Manifest File 77 Configuring Basic Application Settings 81 Defining Activities 86 Managing Application Permissions 88 Managing Other Application Settings 91 Summary 91 Q&A 92 Workshop 93 HOUR 6: Designing an Application Framework 95 Designing an Android Trivia Game 95 Implementing an Application Prototype 102 Running the Game Prototype 107 Summary 109 Q&A 110 Workshop 110 Part II: Building an Application Framework HOUR 7: Implementing an Animated Splash Screen 113 Designing the Splash Screen 113 Implementing the Splash Screen Layout 114 Working with Animation 119 Summary 123 Q&A 124 Workshop 124 HOUR 8: Implementing the Main Menu Screen 127 Designing the Main Menu Screen 127 Implementing the Main Menu Screen Layout 131 Working with the ListView Control 134 Working with Other Menu Types 138 Summary 141 Q&A 141 Workshop 141 HOUR 9: Developing the Help and Scores Screens 143 Designing the Help Screen 144 Implementing the Help Screen Layout 145 Working with Files 147 Designing the Scores Screen 149 Implementing the Scores Screen Layout 151 Designing a Screen with Tabs 154 Working with XML 156 Summary 158 Q&A 158 Workshop 159 HOUR 10: Building Forms to Collect User Input 161 Designing the Settings Screen 161 Implementing the Settings Screen Layout 165 Using Common Form Controls 167 Saving Form Data with SharedPreferences 175 Summary 178 Q&A 178 Workshop 179 HOUR 11: Using Dialogs to Collect User Input 181 Working with Activity Dialogs 181 Using DatePickerDialog 184 Working with Custom Dialogs 187 Summary 194 Q&A 194 Workshop 194 HOUR 12: Adding Application Logic 197 Designing the Game Screen 197 Implementing the Game Screen Layout 200 Working with ViewSwitcher Controls 203 Wiring Up Game Logic 208 Summary 214 Q&A 215 Workshop 215 Part III: Enhancing Your Application with Powerful Android Features HOUR 13: Working with Images and the Camera 217 Designing the Avatar Feature 217 Adding an Avatar to the Settings Screen Layout 219 Working with ImageButton Controls 221 Working with Image Media 223 Working with Bitmaps 228 Summary 230 Q&A 230 Workshop 231 HOUR 14: Adding Support for Location-Based Services 233 Designing the Favorite Place Feature 233 Implementing the Framework for the Favorite Place Feature 237 Using Location-Based Services 240 Using Geocoding Services 246 Working with Maps 248 Summary 251 Q&A 251 Workshop 252 HOUR 15: Adding Network Support 255 Designing Network Applications 255 Developing Network Applications 257 Accessing Network Services 260 Indicating Network Activity with Progress Bars 262 Running Tasks Asynchronously 265 Downloading and Displaying Scores 267 Downloading and Parsing Question Batches 271 Summary 274 Q&A 274 Workshop 274 HOUR 16: Adding More Network Support 277 Determining Data to Send to the Server 277 Accessing Phone Status Information 278 Uploading Data to a Remote Application Server 281 Summary 289 Q&A 289 Workshop 289 HOUR 17: Adding Social Features 291 Enhancing Your Application with Social Features 291 Adding Friend Support to Your Application 292 Integrating with Social Networking Services 300 Summary 302 Q&A 302 Workshop 303 HOUR 18: Creating a Home Screen App Widget 305 Designing an App Widget 305 Handling App Widget User Events 313 Working with Widget Background Operations 314 Summary 318 Q&A 318 Workshop 319 Part IV: Adding Polish to Your Android Application HOUR 19: Internationalizing Your Application 321 General Internationalization Principles 321 How Android Localization Works 322 Android Internationalization Strategies 327 Using Localization Utilities 329 Summary 330 Q&A 331 Workshop 332 HOUR 20: Developing for Different Devices 333 Configuration Management for Android 333 Summary 343 Q&A 343 Workshop 344 HOUR 21: Diving Deeper into Android 347 Exploring More Core Android Features 347 Designing Advanced User Interfaces 349 Working with Multimedia 353 Working with 2D and 3D Graphics 354 Personalizing Android Devices 356 Managing and Sharing Data 358 Accessing Underlying Device Hardware 362 Summary 364 Q&A 364 Workshop 365 HOUR 22: Testing Android Applications 367 Testing Best Practices 367 Maximizing Test Coverage 371 Summary 380 Q&A 380 Workshop 381 Part V: Publishing Your Application HOUR 23: Getting Ready to Publish 383 Understanding the Release Process 383 Preparing the Release Candidate Build 385 Testing the Application Release Candidate 386 Packaging and Signing an Application 387 Testing the Signed Application Package 390 Summary 392 Q&A 392 Workshop 393 HOUR 24: Publishing on the Android Market 395 Selling on the Android Market 395 Exploring Other Android Publishing Options 402 Summary 405 Q&A 405 Workshop 406 Part VI: Appendixes APPENDIX A: Configuring Your Android Development Environment 409 Development Machine Prerequisites 409 Installing the Java Development Kit 410 Installing the Eclipse IDE 410 Installing the Android SDK 411 Installing and Configuring the Android Plug-in for Eclipse (ADT) 412 Upgrading the Android SDK 413 Configuring Development Hardware for Device Debugging 413 APPENDIX B: Eclipse IDE Tips and Tricks 415 Creating New Classes and Methods 415 Organizing Imports 415 Documenting Code 416 Using Auto-Complete 416 Editing Code Efficiently 416 Renaming Almost Anything 417 Formatting Code 418 Organizing Code 418 Fun with Refactoring 418 Resolving Mysterious Build Errors 420 Creating Custom Log Filters 420 Moving Tabs Around 421 Integrating Source Control 421 APPENDIX C: Supplementary Materials 423 Accessing the Publisher's Website 423 Accessing the Authors' Website 424 Contacting the Authors 425 Leveraging Online Android Resources 425 Index 427
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