Android Programming Unleashed

B.M. Harwani is founder and owner of Microchip Computer Education (MCE), based in Ajmer, India, that provides computer education in all programming and web developing platforms. He graduated with a BE in computer engineering from the University of Pune, and also has a C Level (master’s diploma in computer technology) from DOEACC, Government of India. Being involved in the teaching field for more than 18 years, he has developed the art of explaining even the most complicated topics in a straightforward and easily understandable fashion. To know more, visit his blog http://bmharwani.com/blog.

Introduction   1
Key Topics That This Book Covers   1
Key Benefits That This Book Provides   2
How This Book Is Organized   2
Code Examples for This Book   5

I: Fundamentals of Android Development

1  Introduction to Android   9
The Android 4.1 Jelly Bean SDK   9
Understanding the Android Software Stack   11
Installing the Android SDK   12
  Adding Platforms and Other Components   16
  Installing Eclipse   20
  Installing the Android Development Tools (ADT) Plug-in   22
  Making the ADT Plug-in Functional   24
Creating Android Virtual Devices   24
Creating the First Android Project   27
  Laying Out the Application   31
  Defining Action Code Through Java   34
  Running the Application   36
Using the TextView Control   39
  Assigning the Text Directly in the Layout File   39
  Assigning Text Through the Activity File   40
  Applying Dimensions to Controls   42
  Aligning Content with the Gravity Attribute   43
  Commonly Used Attributes   43
Using the Android Emulator   47
  Limitations of the Android Emulator   47
The Android Debug Bridge (ADB)   48
Launching Android Applications on a Handset   50
Summary   51

2  Basic Widgets   53
Understanding the Role of Android Application Components   53
Understanding the Utility of Android API   55
Overview of the Android Project Files   57
Understanding Activities   59
  Understanding the Android Activity Life Cycle   60
Role of the Android Manifest File   61
  Using the Manifest Editor   64
Creating the User Interface   64
Commonly Used Layouts and Controls 66
Event Handling   67
  Creating an Anonymous Inner Class   68
  Activity Implementing the OnClickListener Interface   71
  Declaring the Event Handler in the XML Control Definition   72
Displaying Messages Through Toast   75
Creating and Starting an Activity   76
  Describing Operations Through Intent   77
  Method Used to Start an Activity   77
  Creating Your Own Layout File   78
  Creating a New Activity   79
  Registering the New Activity   80
  Starting the Activity   81
Using the EditText Control   82
  Attributes Used to Configure the EditText Control   82
  Adding an Event Listener to the EditText Control 84
Choosing Options with CheckBox   87
Choosing Mutually Exclusive Items Using RadioButtons   91
Summary   98

II:  Building Blocks for Android Application Design

3  Laying Out Controls in Containers   101
Introduction to Layouts   101
LinearLayout   102
  Applying the orientation Attribute   102
  Applying the height and width Attributes   103
  Applying the padding Attribute   103
  Applying the weight Attribute   106
  Applying the Gravity Attribute   108
  Using the android:layout_gravity Attribute   109
RelativeLayout   111
  Layout Control Attributes   113
AbsoluteLayout   121
Using ImageView   124
FrameLayout   125
TableLayout   129
  Operations Applicable to TableLayout   129
GridLayout Layout   133
  Specifying Row and Column Position   134
  Spanning Rows and Columns   134
  Inserting Spaces in the GridLayout   134
Adapting to Screen Orientation   138
  Anchoring Controls   138
  Defining Layout for Each Mode   140
Summary   145

4  Utilizing Resources and Media   147
Resources   147
  Types of Resources   148
Creating Values Resources   150
  Dimension Resources    153
  Color Resources   156
  Styles and Themes   159
  Applying Themes   162
  Arrays   165
Using Drawable Resources   170
Switching States with Toggle Buttons   174
Creating an Image Switcher Application   179
Scrolling Through ScrollView   183
  Use of the android:fillViewport Attribute   185
Playing Audio   186
  Adding Audio to the Application   187
Playing Video   195
  Loading Video onto an SD Card   195
Displaying Progress with ProgressBar   199
Using Assets   204
Summary   207

5  Using Selection Widgets and Debugging   209
Using ListView    209
  Creating a ListView with an Activity Base Class   211
  Creating ListView by Extending ListActivity   217
Using the Spinner Control   220
  Populating a Spinner Through Resources   220
  Populating a Spinner Through ArrayAdapter   223
  AutoCompleteTextView   225
Using the GridView Control   227
  GridView Attributes   228
  Displaying Images in GridView   231
Creating an Image Gallery Using the ViewPager Control   235
Using the Debugging Tool: Dalvik Debug Monitor Service (DDMS)   239
Debugging Applications   245
  Placing Breakpoints in an Application   245
Using the Debug Perspective   247
  Debug Pane   248
  Expressions Pane   249
  Breakpoints Pane   250
  Variables Pane   254
  Adding Logging Support to Android Applications   255
Summary   256

6  Displaying and Fetching Information Using Dialogs and Fragments   259
What Are Dialogs?   259
  AlertDialog   261
  Methods of the AlertDialog.Builder Subclass   261
  Getting Input via the Dialog Box   264
  DatePickerDialog   267
  TimePickerDialog   271
Selecting the Date and Time in One Application   275
Fragments   282
  The Structure of a Fragment   282
  The Life Cycle of a Fragment   282
Creating Fragments with Java Code   294
  FragmentManager   294
  Communicating Between Fragments   296
  Navigating to Previous Fragments   296
  Retrieving Content Passed Through Bundle   297
  Saving and Restoring the State of Fragments   297
Creating Special Fragments   301
  Creating a ListFragment   301
  Using a DialogFragment   305
  Using PreferenceFragment   311
Summary   319

III:  Building Menus and Storing Data

7  Creating Interactive Menus and ActionBars   323
Menus and Their Types   323
Creating Menus Through XML   324
  Creating an Options Menu   325
  Adding Submenus   332
  Creating a Context Menu   336
Creating Menus Through Coding   345
  Defining Options Menus   345
  Creating Submenus   346
  Trying It Out   349
Applying a Context Menu to a ListView   354
Using the ActionBar   358
  Enabling the ActionBar   360
  Using an Application’s Icon for Navigation   361
  Displaying Action Items   362
Replacing a Menu with the ActionBar   370
Creating a Tabbed ActionBar   377
Creating a Drop-Down List ActionBar   380
Summary   384

8  Using Databases   385
Using the SQLiteOpenHelper Class   385
  Building an SQLite Project   386
  Fetching the Desired Rows from Tables   391
  Using Cursors   392
Accessing Databases with the ADB   394
  Accessing the Database Through Menus   398
Creating a Data Entry Form   401
  Displaying Table Rows Via ListView   410
Summary   417

IV:  Advanced Android Programming: Internet, Entertainment, and Services

9  Implementing Drawing and Animation   421
Drawing on the Screen   421
  Using Canvas and Paint   421
  Using Gradients   436
Animations   445
  Understanding Frame-by-Frame Animation   446
  Understanding Tweening Animation   453
Applying Interpolators   471
Summary   472

10  Displaying Web Pages and Maps   473
Displaying Web Pages   473
  Enabling JavaScript   477
  Handling Page Navigation   477
  Adding Permission for Internet Access   478
Using the WebViewClient Class   480
Using Google Maps   483
  Obtaining a Google Maps API Key   483
  Installing the Google API   484
  AVDs for Map-Based Applications   485
  Creating a Google Maps-Based Application   486
  Using Location-Based Services   490
  Supplying Latitude and Longitude Values Through DDMS   494
  Sending GPS Locations Manually   495
  Passing Locations in GPX/KML Format   496
  Displaying Map Locations   496
  Printing the GPS Location Address   502
  Displaying Map Markers   507
  Using ItemizedOverlay 511
Summary   516

11  Communicating with SMS and Emails   517
Understanding Broadcast Receivers   517
  Broadcasting an Intent   518
  Receiving the Broadcast Intent   519
Using the Notification System   523
  Notification via the Status Bar   523
Sending SMS Messages with Java Code   531
  Getting Permission to Send SMS Messages   534
  Writing Java Code   534
Receiving SMS Messages   541
Sending Email   546
Working with the Telephony Manager 553
  Making the Outgoing Call   553
  Listening for Phone State Changes   554
Summary   558

12  Creating and Using Content Providers   559
What Is a Content Provider   559
Understanding the Android Content URI   560
Using Content Providers   561
Creating a Custom Content Provider   566
  Defining a Content Provider   566
  Defining a Database   568
  Defining the Content URI   569
  Defining MIME Types   570
  Implementing the getType, query, insert, update, and delete Methods   571
  Registering Content Providers   587
Summary   589

13  Creating and Consuming Services   591
Moving Tasks to Background Threads   591
  Using the Handler Class   592
  Using the AsyncTask Class   594
Accessing Data from the Internet   598
  Consuming SOAP Services   602
Creating a Service   607
  Interacting with the Service   611
Creating a Bound Service   614
Setting Up Alarms   619
  Setting Repeating Alarms   620
  Setting Up the Time for the Alarm   620
Using Sensors   626
Summary   631

14  Publishing Android Applications   633
Setting Versioning Information of an Application   633
Generating a Certificate, Digitally Signing the Android Applications, and Generating the APK   636
  Signing Applications Using the Export Android Application Wizard   637
Distributing Applications with Google Play   638
  Getting Started with Google Play   639
  Localizing Android Applications   641
  Monetizing Our Applications   642
Summary   642

Index   643