Learning Mobile App Development

Jakob Iversen, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Information Systems, Chair of the Interactive Web Management Program, and Director of Information Technology Services at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh College of Business. His current research interests include software process improvement, agile software development, e-collaboration, and mobile development. Dr. Iversen teaches and consults on web development, mobile development, technology innovation, information systems management, strategy, and software development processes.   Michael Eierman, Ph.D is a Professor of Information Systems and Chair of the Information Systems Department at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh College of Business. Dr. Eierman has worked in the information systems field for nearly 30 years as a programmer, analyst, and consultant, but primarily as a teacher. From the very first class taken in college at the suggestion of an advisor, information systems have been his passion. His research has taken many directions over his years as a professor but is currently focused on the impact of collaborative and mobile technology. Dr. Eierman is also co-owner and manager of Ei-Sor Development, LLC—a provider of Android and iOS apps designed for the outdoorsman.

Preface xiv

Part I  Overview of Mobile App Development 1

1  Why Mobile Apps? 3

Transformative Devices 3

Reaching Customers 4

Changing Business Process 6

Making Money 9

Summary 10

Exercises 10

2  App Design Issues and Considerations 13

App Design 13

Operating System Design Issues 13

Screen Size and Orientation Issues 17

Connectivity Issues 18

Battery Issues 19

Hardware Issues 19

Device Differences 21

Android 21

iOS 23

Introducing Your First App 23

Contact Screen 24

Contact List Screen 24

Map Screen 25

Settings Screen 26

Summary 26

Exercises 27

Part II  Developing the Android App 29

3  Using Eclipse for Android Development 31

Starting a New Project 31

Setting Up the Workspace 32

Creating the Project 32

Components of the IDE 35

The Android Manifest 37

Configuring the Emulator 39

Coding the Interface 42

Coding App Behavior 50

Adding Code 52

Summary 54

Exercises 54

4  Android Navigation and Interface Design 55

Activities, Layouts, and Intents 55

The Activity Class 56

Layout 56

Intents 57

Creating the Interface 57

Create the Project 58

Create the Navigation Bar 59

Create the Contact Layout 64

Activating the Interface 78

Code the Navigation Bar 78

Code the Toggle Button 80

Code the DatePicker Dialog 82

Summary 86

Exercises 87

5  Persistent Data in Android 89

Preferences, Files, and Database 89

Preferences 89

Files 90

Database 90

Creating the Database 91

Create the Database Helper Class 91

Create the Data Source Class 93

Using the Database 98

Capture User-Entered Data    99

Save User-Entered Data 101

Use the Debugger 105

Using Preferences 107

Create the Settings Layout 107

Code the Page’s Behavior 109

Summary 113

Exercises 114

6  Lists in Android: Navigation and Information

Display 115

Lists and Adapters 115

Lists 115

Adapters 116

Simple Lists 116

Create the Data Source Method 116

Create the Layout 118

Code the Activity 118

Complex Lists 121

Create the Data Source Method 121

Create the Layout 123

Create the Custom Adapter 125

Code the Activity 127

Add Delete Functionality 128

Completing the ContactList Activity 135

Populating the ContactActivity Screen 135

Coding the Add Button 138

Sort the Contacts List 139

Set ContactListActivity as the Default Activity 141

Set ContactActivity as Default Activity with no

Contacts in Database 142

Summary 143

Exercises 143

7  Maps and Location in Android 145

Location Sensors, Maps, and Fragments 145

Location Sensors 145

Maps 146

Fragments 146

Setting Up for Maps 146

Passing Data Between Controllers 151

Finding Your Location 152

Geocoding: Get Coordinates from an Address 152

Get Coordinates from the GPS Sensor 155

Get Coordinates from Network Sensor 159

Get Coordinates from the Map 161

Displaying Your Contacts’ Locations 164

Summary 170

Exercises 171

8  Access to Hardware and Sensors in Android 173

Sensors, Managers, and Other Hardware 173

Sensors 173

Managers 174

Other Hardware 174

Monitoring the Battery 174

Using Sensors to Create a Compass 177

Using the Phone 181

Using the Camera 183

Summary 189

Exercise 190

Part III  Developing the iOS App 191

9  Using Xcode for iOS Development 193

Creating the Xcode Project 193

Project Settings 196

Creating the User Interface 199

Running the App in the Simulator 200

Adding App Behavior 202

Dismissing the Keyboard 205

App Icons and Launch Images    208

Summary 211

Exercises 211

10  iOS Navigation and Interface Design 213

Views and Controllers 213

View Controller 213

Tab Bar Controller 214

Navigation Controller 215

Creating the Interface 215

Creating the Project 215

Creating the Views 216

Design the Contacts Screen 222

Add Navigation Controller for the Date Screen 226

Activating the Interface 230

Summary 233

Exercises 233

11  Persistent Data in iOS 235

File Data Storage 235

User Defaults 236

Core Data 236

Setting Up Core Data 237

Creating the Project 237

Designing Data Structure 241

Passing Data Between Controllers 243

Saving Data to Core Data 248

Storing the Settings 251

Creating the Settings Interface 252

Working with NSUserDefaults Object 256

Activating the Settings Interface 257

Global Constants 259

Summary 262

Exercises 262

12  Tables in iOS: Navigation and Information

Display 263

Overview of Tables 263

Setting Up Tables 265

Populate the Table with Data 265

Retrieve Data from Core Data 269

Adding Contact Data 272

Display Detailed Data 273

Save Changes to Records 276

Deleting Records 277

Accessory Buttons 280

Alert View 281

Show Subtitles in the Table 285

Sort the Table 285

Summary 288

Exercises 288

13  Maps and Location in iOS 289

Overview of Location and Mapping 289

Hardware and Sensors 289

Core Location 290

MapKit 290

Adding Location Information to the App 291

Finding Location 291

Adding a Map 300

Summary 309

Exercises 309

14  Access to Hardware and Sensors in iOS 311

Getting Device Information 311

Monitoring Battery Status 314

Controlling the Camera 317

Calling a Phone Number 324

Long Press Gesture 324

Adding Long Press to Enabled Text Field 326

Using Core Motion for Accelerometer Data 328

Summary 333

Exercises 333

Part IV  Business Issues 335

15  Monetizing Apps 337

App Monetization Strategies 337

Paid Apps 337

Ad Supported Apps 338

In-App Purchases 340

Understanding the Economics of App Stores 341

Owning Your Own Business 342

Create an LLC 342

Plan Your Business 342

Other Income Possibilities 343

Choosing a Platform 343

Summary 345

Exercises 345

16  Publishing Apps 347

App Distribution Through the App/Play Stores 347

Android Play Store Distribution 348

iOS App Store Distribution 351

App Distribution for the Enterprise 353

Android Enterprise Distribution 353

iOS Enterprise Distribution 354

Testing and Fragmentation 354

Keeping Up with the Platform 356

Summary 356

Exercises 357

Part V  Appendixes 359

A  Installing Eclipse and Setup for Android

Development 361

Setting up Java and Eclipse 361

Download and Install Java SE SDK 362

Downloading Eclipse 363

Installing Eclipse on Windows 363

Installing Eclipse on Mac 365

Installing Android 366

Setting Up the Classroom 369

B  Installing Xcode and Registering Physical

Devices 371

Download and Install Xcode 371

Apple Developer Programs 372

Setting Up the Classroom 373

Deploying Apps to Real Devices 373

Creating Developer Accounts 375

Backing Up the Development Certificate 376

Registering Devices 378

Checking the Development Environment 379

C  Introduction to Objective-C 383

A Brief History of Objective-C 383

Two Languages in One 384

Objects and Classes 385

Properties in Detail 394

Declaring and Calling Methods 396

Inheritance and Protocols 397

Memory Management 398

Index 399