Beginning Android 4

Beginning Android 4 is your first step on the path to creating marketable apps for the burgeoning Android Market, Amazon's Android Appstore, and more. Google’s Android operating-system has taken the industry by storm, going from its humble beginnings as a smartphone operating system to its current status as a platform for apps that run across a gamut of devices from phones to tablets to netbooks to televisions, and the list is sure to grow.

Smart developers are not sitting idly by in the stands, but are jumping into the game of creating innovative and salable applications for this fast-growing, mobile- and consumer-device platform. If you’re not in the game yet, now is your chance!

Beginning Android 4 is fresh with details on the latest iteration of the Android platform. Begin at the beginning by installing the tools and compiling a skeleton app. Move through creating layouts, employing widgets, taking user input, and giving back results. Soon you’ll be creating innovative applications involving multi-touch, multi-tasking, location-based feature sets using GPS.

You’ll be drawing data live from the Internet using web services and delighting your customers with life-enhancing apps. Not since the PC era first began has there been this much opportunity for the common developer. What are you waiting for? Grab your copy of Beginning Android 4and get started!

What you’ll learn

• Develop Java-based mobile applications and games for a wide range of phones and devices.
• Create user interfaces using WebKit and the Android widget framework.
• Build location- and map-based applications drawing on live feeds over the Internet.
• Incorporate activities, services, content providers, and broadcast receivers into your applications.
• Support multiple Android versions, multiple screen sizes, and other device-specific characteristics.
• Build and experience the array of new WebM video and other multimedia APIs for Android and more.

Who this book is for

Beginning Android 4 is aimed at programmers new to Android application development who desire to create marketable applications for the burgeoning market of smartphone, tablet, and other Android device users.

Table of Contents

1. The Big Picture
2. How to Get Started
3. Your First Android Project
4. Examining Your First Project
5. A Bit About Eclipse
6. Enhancing Your First Project
7. Rewriting Your First Project
8. Using XML-Based Layouts
9. Employing Basic Widgets
10. Working with Containers
11. The Input Method Framework
12. Using Selection Widgets
13. Getting Fancy with Lists
14. Still More Widgets and Containers
15. Embedding the WebKit Browser
16. Applying Menus
17. Showing Pop-up Messages
18. Handling Activity Lifecycle Events
19. Handling Rotation
20. Dealing with Threads
21. Creating Intent Filters
22. Launching Activities and Sub-Activities
23. Working with Resources
24. Defining and Using Styles
25. Handling Multiple Screen Sizes
26. Introducing the Honeycomb UI
27. Using the Action Bar
28. Fragments
29. Handling Platform Changes
30. Accessing Files
31. Using Preferences
32. Managing and Accessing Local Databases
33. Leveraging Java Libraries
34. Communicating via the Internet
35. Services: The Theory
36. Basic Service Patterns
37. Alerting Users via Notifications
38. Requesting and Requiring Permissions
39. Accessing Location-Based Services <...

About the Author

Grant Allen has worked in the IT field for over 20 years, as a CTO, enterprise architect, and database administrator. Grant's roles have covered private enterprise, academia and the government sector around the world, specialising in global-scale systems design, development, and performance. He is a frequent speaker at industry and academic conferences, on topics ranging from data mining to compliance, and technologies such as databases (DB2, Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL), content management, collaboration, disruptive innovation, and mobile ecosystems like Android. His first Android application was a task list to remind him to finish all his other unfinished Android projects. Grant works for Google, and in his spare time is completing a Ph.D on building innovative high-technology environments. Grant is the author of Beginning DB2, and lead author of Oracle SQL Recipes and The Definitive Guide to SQLite.