Sams Teach Yourself Android Application Development in 24 Hours, Portable Documents

&>   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

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