Android in Practice

Android in Practice......Page 1
brief contents......Page 6
contents......Page 8
preface......Page 14
acknowledgments......Page 16
Who should read this book?......Page 19
Roadmap......Page 20
Code conventions and downloads......Page 21
About the authors......Page 22
about the cover illustration......Page 23
Background and fundamentals......Page 24
Introducing Android......Page 26
1.1 Android in a nutshell......Page 28
1.1.2 What sets Android apart......Page 29
1.1.3 Key platform components......Page 30
1.2 Hello Android!......Page 32
1.2.1 Getting the SDK and Eclipse......Page 33
1.2.2 Creating an Android project with Eclipse......Page 34
1.2.3 Project structure......Page 36
1.2.5 Setting the Activity layout......Page 37
1.2.6 Referring to resources......Page 39
1.2.7 Project wiring: the manifest......Page 41
1.3.1 Built on Harmony......Page 42
1.3.2 Packages and libraries included......Page 43
1.3.3 The Dalvik virtual machine......Page 45
1.4.1 Is Android Linux?......Page 47
1.4.2 Storage devices and the file system......Page 48
1.4.3 User accounts and file permissions......Page 50
1.4.4 Processes and multitasking......Page 51
1.5.2 Storage engine......Page 52
1.5.4 Sensors, camera, and more......Page 53
1.6.1 Android-specific APIs......Page 55
1.6.2 SDK tools and components......Page 56
1.7 Summary......Page 61
Android application fundamentals......Page 63
2.1 The DealDroid application......Page 64
2.2 Core building blocks......Page 66
2.3 Application manifest......Page 67
2.3.1 Permissions......Page 68
2.4.1 Defining resources......Page 69
2.4.2 Accessing resources......Page 71
2.5.1 Declaring layouts......Page 72
2.6 Activities......Page 74
2.6.1 Activity basics......Page 75
2.6.2 List-based activities......Page 76
2.7.1 Adapter basics......Page 82
2.7.2 Custom adapters......Page 83
2.8 Intents and IntentFilters......Page 86
2.8.1 Using intents......Page 87
2.8.2 Intent types......Page 90
2.8.3 Intent resolution......Page 91
2.9 The Application object......Page 92
2.10 Summary......Page 94
Managing lifecycle and state......Page 96
3.1 Defining an Android application......Page 97
3.1.1 Application lifecycle......Page 98
3.1.2 Application user ID, process, and threads......Page 99
3.2.1 Lifecycle phases and methods......Page 102
3.2.2 The lifecycle in action......Page 105
3.2.3 Configuration changes......Page 112
3.3 Controlling Activity instance state......Page 113
3.3.1 Saving and restoring instance state......Page 114
3.3.2 Using nonconfiguration instance state......Page 116
3.4.1 Defining a task......Page 118
3.4.3 Understanding activity task affinity......Page 119
3.5 Summary......Page 120
Real world recipes......Page 122
Getting the pixels perfect......Page 124
4.1 The MyMovies application......Page 125
4.2.1 View hierarchies......Page 126
4.2.2 View rendering......Page 128
4.3 Arranging views in layouts......Page 129
4.3.1 Layout anatomy......Page 130
4.3.2 Layout managers......Page 132
Technique 1: The merge and include directives......Page 137
4.4 Expanding on ListView and Adapter......Page 140
Technique 2: Managing a stateful list......Page 141
Technique 3: Header and footer views......Page 145
Technique 4: Applying and writing styles......Page 148
Technique 5: Applying and writing themes......Page 150
Technique 6: Styling ListView backgrounds......Page 152
4.5.2 Useful styling tidbits......Page 154
4.6 Working with drawables......Page 156
Technique 7: Working with shape drawables......Page 157
Technique 8: Working with selector drawables......Page 161
Technique 9: Scaling views with nine-patch drawables......Page 164
Technique 10: Automatically scaling to different screens......Page 167
Technique 11: Loading configuration dependent resources......Page 172
Technique 12: Programming pixel-independently......Page 175
4.8 Summary......Page 177
Managing background tasks with Services......Page 178
5.1 It’s all about the multitasking......Page 179
5.2 Why services and how to use them......Page 180
Technique 13: Creating a Service......Page 181
Technique 14: Starting a Service automatically......Page 184
Technique 15: Communicating with a Service......Page 186
Technique 16: Using a Service for caching data......Page 192
Technique 17: Creating notifications......Page 194
5.3 Scheduling and Services......Page 199
Technique 18: Using the AlarmManager......Page 200
Technique 19: Keeping Services awake......Page 203
Technique 20: Using Cloud to Device Messaging......Page 206
5.4 Summary......Page 210
Threads and concurrency......Page 212
6.1 Concurrency in Android......Page 213
Technique 21: Basic threading......Page 214
Technique 22: Communicating change between threads......Page 218
Technique 23: Managing threads in thread pools......Page 223
6.2 Working with AsyncTask......Page 228
Technique 24: Implementing jobs with AsyncTask......Page 229
Technique 25: Preparing for configuration changes......Page 233
Technique 26: Displaying splash screens with timers......Page 239
Technique 27: Implementing custom message loops......Page 242
6.4 Summary......Page 246
Storing data locally......Page 247
7.1.1 Internal versus external storage......Page 248
Technique 28: Using internal storage......Page 249
Technique 29: Using external storage......Page 253
Technique 30: Using cache directories......Page 258
Technique 31: Making sure files are saved with sync......Page 259
Technique 32: Reading and writing preference data......Page 260
Technique 33: Using a PreferenceActivity......Page 261
7.3 Working with a database......Page 264
7.3.1 Android data packages......Page 265
7.3.2 Designing a data access layer......Page 266
Technique 34: Creating a database and model objects......Page 267
Technique 35: Creating DAOs and a data manager......Page 275
7.4 Inspecting SQLite databases......Page 285
7.5 Summary......Page 288
Sharing data between apps......Page 289
8.1 Process-to-process sharing......Page 290
Technique 36: Using Intents......Page 291
Technique 37: Making remote procedure calls......Page 297
Technique 38: Share data (and more) by sharing Context......Page 303
Technique 39: Using standard ContentProviders......Page 308
Technique 40: Working with a custom ContentProvider......Page 313
8.3 Summary......Page 316
HTTP networking and web services......Page 318
9.1 Basic HTTP networking......Page 319
Technique 41: HTTP with HttpURLConnection......Page 320
Technique 42: HTTP with Apache HttpClient......Page 326
Technique 43: Configuring a thread-safe HttpClient......Page 329
9.2 Consuming XML and JSON web services......Page 334
Technique 44: Parsing XML with SAX......Page 337
Technique 45: Parsing XML with XmlPull......Page 342
Technique 46: Parsing JSON......Page 345
Technique 47: Retrying requests using request-retry handlers......Page 349
Technique 48: Handling network configuration changes......Page 353
9.4 Summary......Page 355
Location is everything......Page 357
10.1.1 Latitude and longitude......Page 358
10.1.2 Potential issues to look for......Page 359
10.2 Location managers, providers, and listeners......Page 360
10.2.1 Checking in with the LocationManager......Page 362
10.2.2 Using a LocationProvider......Page 364
10.2.3 Using a LocationListener......Page 366
Technique 49: Checking the status of a LocationProvider......Page 367
Technique 50: Determining current location with a LocationListener......Page 368
10.3 Building a map-based application......Page 374
10.3.2 Setting up BrewMap......Page 375
Technique 51: Converting an address to geographical coordinates......Page 376
Technique 52: Creating a MapActivity with associated MapView......Page 379
Technique 53: Displaying OverlayItems on a MapView......Page 381
10.4 Summary......Page 385
Appeal to the senses using multimedia......Page 386
Technique 54: Detecting capabilities......Page 387
Technique 55: Working with resources and files......Page 390
Technique 56: Using media ContentProviders......Page 397
Technique 57: Using Intents and Activities......Page 400
Technique 58: Images and simple animations......Page 403
Technique 59: Controlling audio......Page 407
Technique 60: Watching video......Page 411
Technique 61: Taking pictures......Page 414
Technique 62: Recording audio and video......Page 418
11.5 Summary......Page 423
2D and 3D drawing......Page 425
12.1.1 Introducing the Canvas......Page 426
Technique 63: Going full screen......Page 428
Technique 64: Drawing simple shapes......Page 429
Technique 66: Drawing text to the screen......Page 431
Technique 67: Using a typeface when drawing text......Page 434
Technique 68: Displaying bitmaps......Page 435
Technique 69: Applying 2D effects......Page 436
12.2.1 What is OpenGL?......Page 439
12.2.2 How OpenGL ES works......Page 441
12.2.3 Creating an OpenGL project......Page 442
Technique 70: Drawing the first triangle......Page 444
Technique 71: Creating a pyramid......Page 448
Technique 72: Coloring the pyramid......Page 454
Technique 73: Adding texture to the pyramid......Page 456
12.3 Summary......Page 461
Beyond standard development......Page 464
Testing and instrumentation......Page 466
13.1.1 Ways to test in Android......Page 468
13.1.2 Organizing tests......Page 472
13.1.3 Writing and running tests......Page 474
Technique 74: A simple Android unit test......Page 475
13.2 Pulling strings: Android instrumentation......Page 480
Technique 75: Unit testing Activities......Page 481
Technique 76: User stories as functional tests......Page 485
Technique 77: Beautiful tests with Robotium......Page 490
Technique 78: Mock objects and how to use them......Page 494
Technique 79: Accelerating unit tests with Robolectric......Page 500
Technique 80: Stressing out with the Monkey......Page 505
13.4 Summary......Page 511
Build management......Page 512
14.1.1 The Android build process......Page 514
14.1.2 Moving toward automated builds......Page 518
Technique 81: Building with Ant......Page 519
14.2 Managing builds with Maven......Page 527
Technique 82: Building with Maven......Page 530
Technique 83: The Maven Eclipse plugin......Page 540
Technique 84: The Maven/Android SDK deployer......Page 544
14.3 Build servers and continuous builds......Page 548
Technique 85: Continuous builds with Hudson......Page 550
Technique 86: Matrix builds......Page 557
14.4 Summary......Page 562
Developing for Android tablets......Page 563
Technique 87: Leveraging existing code using library projects......Page 565
Technique 88: Targeting only tablets......Page 567
Technique 89: Fragments......Page 570
Technique 90: The Action Bar......Page 579
Technique 91: Drag and Drop......Page 583
15.3 Summary......Page 590
appendix A: Debugging tools of the trade......Page 592
A.1.1 Interacting with devices......Page 593
A.1.2 Using the device shell......Page 594
A.1.3 Controlling Android’s execution environment......Page 595
A.1.4 Accessing the system logs......Page 598
A.2 StrictMode......Page 600
A.3 Summary......Page 602
appendix B: Extending Android development......Page 603
B.1 Using WebViews and JavaScript......Page 604
B.2 Alternative programming languages......Page 608
C.1 Overview......Page 612
C.2 Enabling ProGuard......Page 613
C.3 Writing ProGuard rules......Page 616
C.4 Useful rules and options......Page 620
C.4.1 Useful rules......Page 621
C.4.2 Useful options......Page 622
C.5 Processing error reports......Page 623
C.6 Summary......Page 624
D.1 Overview......Page 625
D.2.3 MonkeyImage......Page 626
D.3 Scripting monkeyrunner......Page 627
D.4 Writing plugins......Page 629
D.5 Summary......Page 633
A......Page 634
B......Page 636
D......Page 637
F......Page 638
H......Page 639
L......Page 640
M......Page 641
O......Page 642
R......Page 643
S......Page 644
T......Page 645
Z......Page 646