Chapter 1: Voilà! Meet the Android

Meet the Android

• Smartphones – Can browse the Web– Allow you to play games– Use business applications– Check e-mail – Play music– Record video– Map locations with GPS– Oh yes, make phone calls and send text messages

2Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

Meet the Android (continued)

– Android phone platform runs a free, open-source operating system from Google

– Open Handset Alliance • 80 companies that develop standards for mobile

devices• Android Phone Device

– Most popular are EVO, Droid, Galaxy, Echo, etc.– OS also powers tablets, netbooks, e-readers, MP4

players and Internet TVs

3Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

Meet the Android (continued)

• Features of the Android– Flash support - Flash video plays within the Android

Web browser. (The iPhone does not support Flash capabilities.)

– Power management - Android identifies programs running in the background using memory and processor resources.

– Optimized gaming - Android supports the use of gyroscope, gravity, barometric sensors, linear acceleration, and rotation vector.

4Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

Meet the Android (continued)

• Features of the Android (continued)

– Onscreen keyboard - Spell-check, predictive text, voice-input mode.

– Wi-Fi Internet tethering - Allows a phone to be used as a wireless or wired hot spot.

– Multiple language support - Android supports multiple human languages.

– Front- and rear-facing cameras – Voice-based recognition for calling, texting, and

navigating with the phone.

5Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

Meet the Android (continued)

• Features of the Android (continued)

– 3D graphics - The interface can support 3D graphics for a 3D interactive game experience or 3D image rendering.

– Facial recognition - Android provides this high-level feature for automatically identifying or verifying a person’s face from a digital image or a video frame.

6Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

Meet the Android (continued)

• Writing Android Apps– Java is the language of choice for Android Apps– Object-oriented programming languages allow for

good software engineering practices• Eclipse

– The most popular tool (IDE) for writing Java programs– Can also be used to develop applications in other

languages– XML is used to assist in the layout of the Android

emulator

7Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

Meet the Android (continued)

• Android Emulator– Design, develop, prototype, and test Android apps

without using a physical device– Mimics almost every feature of a real Android

handset, except placing phone calls– Current version is Ice Cream Sandwich – all versions

named after dessert items (in alphabetical order)– Previous versions include Cupcake, Donut, Éclair,

Froyo (frozen yogurt), Gingerbread, and Honeycomb

8Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

Meet the Android (continued)

• Getting Oriented with Market Deployment– Platform consists of the Android OS, application

development tools, and a marketplace Apps are compiled into package files with an .apk extension

– Android Market (http://market.android.com) sells and deploys all apps

– Programs must meet minimum standards– Apps are free or paid (70/30 split between developer

and wireless carrier)– Also sold through Amazon (amazon.com/appstore)

and iTunes (both charge a $99 registration fee)9Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

• Building the User Interface– Must be intuitive– Interface must not distract from functionality– Java code or XML layout files are needed

• XML method is preferred• Can design interface without writing large amounts of

code

10Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

First Venture into the Android World (cont’d)

• Taking a Tour of the Package Explorer– Src folder – contains Java source code– Gen folder – contains automatically generated Java

files– Android 4.0 library – contains all class libraries– Assets folder – contains asset files– Res folder – contains images, music, and video– Android Manifest.xml – contains information about

the application that Android needs to run

11Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

First Venture into the Android World (cont’d)

• Designing the user Interface Layout– Layout – a container that holds as many widgets as

needed– Widget– a single element on the screen (Button,

Text Box, etc.)• Also called an object

12Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

First Venture into the Android World (cont’d)

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Figure 1-10 Layout Displayed in Eclipse Window

Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

First Venture into the Android World (cont’d)

• Adding a Form Widget to the User Interface Layout

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Figure 1-12 TextView form widget in the emulator

Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

First Venture into the Android World (cont’d)

• Adding a Form Widget to the User Interface Layout

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Figure 1-14 Changing the TextView control text Figure 1-15 Displaying the revised text in the emulator

Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

First Venture into the Android World (cont’d)

• Testing the Application in the Emulator

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Figure 1-16 Run As Dialog Box

Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

First Venture into the Android World (cont’d)

• Testing the Application in the Emulator

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Figure 1-17 Android main screen and lock icon Figure 1-18 Message in the Android Emulator

Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

First Venture into the Android World (cont’d)

• Opening a Saved App in Eclipse

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Figure 1-19 Import dialog box Figure 1-20 Project and directory selected

Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

First Venture into the Android World (cont’d)

Summary

• Android OS is released under Apache license allowing anyone to get the full open-source for free

• Android OS powers all types of mobile devices• To write apps, you can use Eclipse, an IDE used

for building applications• The Android emulator lets you design, develop

prototype, and test Android applications• The Android platform consists of the Android OS,

the Android application development platform, and the Android marketplace

19Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java

Summary (continued)

• Android supports both Java code and XML layout files, although XML is preferred

• The Package Explorer contains folders for an Android project

• To design a user interface for an Android app, you can create a layout containing widgets (objects)

• The Android emulator allows you to test an application and make sure it runs correctly

20Android Boot Camp for Developers using Java