Pro Android

461 Pages·2010·3.25 MB·English

by  Sayed Y. Hashimi

Pro Android
Sayed Y. Hashimi and Satya Komatineni
Pro Android
Copyright © 2009 by Sayed Y. Hashimi and Satya Komatineni
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To my son: Sayed-Adieb
—Sayed Y. Hashimi
To my family: Narayan Komatineni, Kavitha Komatineni, Nikolas Perez,
Ashley Perez, and AnnMarie Komatineni
—Satya Komatineni
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Contents at a Glance
About the Authors ................................................................ xv
About the Technical Reviewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Acknowledgments ................................................................xix
Introduction .....................................................................xxi
CHAPTER 1 Introducing the Android Computing Platform ......................1
CHAPTER 2 Getting Your Feet Wet ..........................................21
CHAPTER 3 Using Resources, Content Providers, and Intents .................43
CHAPTER 4 Building User Interfaces and Using Controls ....................107
CHAPTER 5 Working with Menus and Dialogs ..............................151
CHAPTER 6 Unveiling 2D Animation .......................................197
CHAPTER 7 Exploring Security and Location-Based Services ................225
CHAPTER 8 Building and Consuming Services ..............................263
CHAPTER 9 Using the Media Framework and Telephony APIs ...............301
CHAPTER 10 Programming 3D Graphics with OpenGL ........................325
CHAPTER 11 Managing and Organizing Preferences .........................363
CHAPTER 12 Coming to Grips with 1.5 ......................................377
CHAPTER 13 Simplifying OpenGL and Exploring Live Folders .................395
INDEX .......................................................................425
v
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Contents
About the Authors ................................................................ xv
About the Technical Reviewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Acknowledgments ................................................................xix
Introduction .....................................................................xxi
CHAPTER 1 Introducing the Android Computing Platform ..............1
History of Android ................................................3
Delving into the Dalvik VM .........................................4
Comparing Android and Java ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Understanding the Android Software Stack ..........................8
Developing an End-User Application with the Android SDK .............9
The Android Emulator ........................................9
The Android UI .............................................10
The Android Foundational Components ........................11
Advanced UI Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Android Service Components .................................13
Android Media and Telephony Components ....................14
Android Java Packages ......................................15
Taking Advantage of Android Source Code ..........................18
Summary .......................................................19
CHAPTER 2 Getting Your Feet Wet .......................................21
Setting Up Your Environment ......................................21
Downloading JDK 6 and Eclipse 3.4 ...........................21
Downloading the Android SDK ................................22
Installing Android Development Tools (ADT) ....................22
Learning the Fundamental Components ............................24
View ......................................................24
Activity ....................................................24
Intent .....................................................24
Content Provider ............................................25
Service ....................................................25
AndroidManifest.xml ........................................25
vii
viii (cid:78)CONTENTS
Hello World! ....................................................25
Exploring the Structure of an Android Application ....................28
Analyzing the Notepad Application .................................30
Loading and Running the Notepad Application ..................31
Dissecting the Application ...................................31
Examining the Application Lifecycle ................................38
Debugging Your App .............................................41
Summary .......................................................42
CHAPTER 3 Using Resources, Content Providers, and Intents ........43
Understanding Resources ........................................43
String Resources ...........................................43
Layout Resources ...........................................45
Resource-Reference Syntax ..................................47
Defining Your Own Resource IDs for Later Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Compiled and Noncompiled Android Resources .................48
Enumerating Key Android Resources ..........................49
Working with Arbitrary XML Resource Files ....................57
Working with Raw Resources ................................58
Working with Assets ........................................59
Reviewing the Resources Directory Structure ...................60
Understanding Content Providers ..................................60
Exploring Android’s Built-in Providers .........................61
Architecture of Content Providers .............................67
Implementing Content Providers ..............................79
Understanding Intents ............................................91
Available Intents in Android ..................................92
Intents and Data URIs .......................................94
Generic Actions ............................................95
Using Extra Information ......................................96
Using Components to Directly Invoke an Activity ................97
Best Practice for Component Designers .......................99
Understanding Intent Categories ..............................99
The Rules for Resolving Intents to Their Components ...........102
Exercising the ACTION_PICK ................................102
Exercising the GET_CONTENT Action .........................104
Summary ......................................................106
(cid:78)CONTENTS ix
CHAPTER 4 Building User Interfaces and Using Controls .............107
UI Development in Android .......................................107
Understanding Android’s Common Controls ........................113
Text Controls ..............................................113
Button Controls ............................................117
List Controls ..............................................122
Grid Controls ..............................................126
Date and Time Controls ....................................128
Other Interesting Controls in Android ..............................130
The MapView Control ......................................130
The Gallery Control ........................................130
Understanding Layout Managers .................................131
The LinearLayout Layout Manager ...........................131
The TableLayout Layout Manager ............................134
The RelativeLayout Layout Manager ..........................139
The AbsoluteLayout Layout Manager .........................141
The FrameLayout Layout Manager ...........................143
Customizing Layout for Various Screen Configurations ..........145
Understanding Adapters .........................................146
Getting to Know SimpleCursorAdapter ........................146
Getting to Know ArrayAdapter ...............................147
Creating Custom Adapters ..................................148
Debugging and Optimizing Layouts with the Hierarchy Viewer ........149
Summary ......................................................150
CHAPTER 5 Working with Menus and Dialogs .........................151
Understanding Android Menus ...................................151
Creating a Menu ..........................................153
Responding to Menu Items ..................................154
Creating a Test Harness for Testing Menus ...................156
Working with Other Menu Types ..................................163
Expanded Menus ..........................................163
Working with Icon Menus ...................................163
Working with Submenus ....................................164
Provisioning for System Menus .............................165
Working with Context Menus ................................165
Working with Alternative Menus .............................168
Working with Menus in Response to Changing Data ............172