book

Android Cookbook

Name: Android Cookbook
Author: Ian F. Darwin
ISBN: 9781449388416

by Ian F. Darwin

April 2012

Intermediate to advanced

770 pages

16h 48m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Dedication
Preface
PrefaceConventions Used in This BookGetting and Using the Code ExamplesSafari® Books OnlineHow to Contact UsAcknowledgments
1. Getting Started
1.1. Introduction: Getting Started1.2. Learning the Java Language1.3. Creating a “Hello, World” Application from the Command Line1.4. Creating a “Hello, World” Application in Eclipse1.5. Setting Up an IDE on Windows to Develop for Android1.6. Understanding the Android Life Cycle1.7. Installing .apk Files onto an Emulator via the ADB1.8. Installing Apps onto an Emulator via SlideME1.9. Sharing Java Classes from Another Eclipse Project1.10. Referencing Libraries to Implement External Functionality1.11. Using SDK Samples to Help Avoid Head Scratching1.12. Keeping the Android SDK Updated1.13. Taking a Screenshot from the Emulator/Android Device1.14. Program: A Simple CountDownTimer Example1.15. Program: Tipster, a Tip Calculator for the Android OS
2. Designing a Successful Application
2.1. Introduction: Designing a Successful Android Application2.2. Exception Handling2.3. Accessing Android’s Application Object as a “Singleton”2.4. Keeping Data When the User Rotates the Device2.5. Monitoring the Battery Level of an Android Device2.6. Creating Splash Screens in Android2.7. Designing a Conference/Camp/Hackathon/Institution App2.8. Using Google Analytics in an Android Application2.9. A Simple Torch/Flashlight2.10. Adapting an Android Phone Application to Be Used on a Tablet2.11. Setting First-Run Preferences2.12. Formatting the Time and Date for Display2.13. Controlling Input with KeyListeners2.14. Backing Up Android Application Data2.15. Using Hints Instead of Tool Tips
3. Testing
3.1. Introduction: Testing3.2. Doing Test-Driven Development (TDD) in Android3.3. Setting Up an Android Virtual Device (AVD) for App Testing3.4. Testing on a Huge Range of Devices with Cloud-based Testing3.5. Creating and Using a Test Project3.6. Troubleshooting Application Crashes3.7. Debugging Using Log.d and LogCat3.8. Getting Bug Reports from Users Automatically with BugSense3.9. Using a Local Runtime Application Log for Analysis of Field Errors or Situations3.10. Reproducing Activity Life-Cycle Scenarios for Testing3.11. Keeping Your App Snappy with StrictMode3.12. Running the Monkey Program3.13. Sending Text Messages and Placing Calls Between AVDs
4. Inter-/Intra-Process Communication
4.1. Introduction: Inter-/Intra-Process Communication4.2. Opening a Web Page, Phone Number, or Anything Else with an Intent4.3. Emailing Text from a View4.4. Sending an Email with Attachments4.5. Pushing String Values Using Intent.putExtra()4.6. Retrieving Data from a Subactivity Back to Your Main Activity4.7. Keeping a Service Running While Other Apps Are on Display4.8. Sending/Receiving a Broadcast Message4.9. Starting a Service After Device Reboot4.10. Creating a Responsive Application Using Threads4.11. Using AsyncTask to Do Background Processing4.12. Sending Messages Between Threads Using an Activity Thread Queue and Handler4.13. Creating an Android Epoch HTML/JavaScript Calendar
5. Content Providers
5.1. Introduction: Content Providers5.2. Retrieving Data from a Content Provider5.3. Writing a Content Provider5.4. Writing an Android Remote Service
6. Graphics
6.1. Introduction: Graphics6.2. Using a Custom Font6.3. Drawing a Spinning Cube with OpenGL ES6.4. Adding Controls to the OpenGL Spinning Cube6.5. Freehand Drawing Smooth Curves6.6. Taking a Picture Using an Intent6.7. Taking a Picture Using android.media.Camera6.8. Scanning a Barcode or QR Code with the Google ZXing Barcode Scanner6.9. Using AndroidPlot to Display Charts and Graphs6.10. Using Inkscape to Create an Android Launcher Icon6.11. Creating Easy Launcher Icons from OpenClipArt.org Using Paint.NET6.12. Using Nine Patch Files6.13. Creating HTML5 Charts with Android RGraph6.14. Adding a Simple Raster Animation6.15. Using Pinch to Zoom
7. Graphical User Interface
7.1. Introduction: GUI7.2. Understanding and Following User Interface Guidelines7.3. Handling Configuration Changes by Decoupling the View from the Model7.4. Creating a Button and Its Click Event Listener7.5. Wiring Up an Event Listener in Five Different Ways7.6. Using CheckBoxes and RadioButtons7.7. Enhancing UI Design Using Image Buttons7.8. Offering a Drop-Down Chooser via the Spinner Class7.9. Handling Long-Press/Long-Click Events7.10. Displaying Text Fields with TextView and EditText7.11. Constraining EditText Values with Attributes and the TextWatcher Interface7.12. Implementing AutoCompleteTextView7.13. Feeding AutoCompleteTextView Using an SQLite Database Query7.14. Turning Edit Fields into Password Fields7.15. Changing the Enter Key to “Next” on the Soft Keyboard7.16. Processing Key-Press Events in an Activity7.17. Let Them See Stars: Using RatingBar7.18. Making a View Shake7.19. Providing Haptic Feedback7.20. Navigating Different Activities Within a TabView7.21. Creating a Custom Title Bar7.22. Formatting Numbers7.23. Formatting with Correct Plurals7.24. Starting a Second Screen from the First7.25. Creating a Loading Screen That Will Appear Between Two Activities7.26. Using SlidingDrawer to Overlap Other Components7.27. Customizing the SlidingDrawer Component to Animate/Transition from the Top Down7.28. Adding a Border with Rounded Corners to a Layout7.29. Detecting Gestures in Android7.30. Building a UI Using Android 3.0 Fragments in Android 1.6 and Later7.31. Using the Android 3.0 Photo Gallery7.32. Creating a Simple App Widget
8. GUI Alerts: Menus, Dialogs, Toasts, and Notifications
8.1. Introduction: GUI Alerts8.2. Creating and Displaying a Menu8.3. Handling Choice Selection in a Menu8.4. Creating a Submenu8.5. Creating a Pop-up/Alert Dialog8.6. Using a Timepicker Widget8.7. Creating an iPhone-like Wheel Picker for Selection8.8. Creating a Tabbed Dialog8.9. Creating a ProgressDialog8.10. Creating a Custom Dialog with Buttons, Images, and Text8.11. Creating a Reusable About Box Class8.12. Customizing the Appearance of a Toast8.13. Creating a Notification in the Status Bar

9. GUI: ListView
9.1. Introduction: ListView9.2. Building List-Based Applications with ListView9.3. Creating a “No Data” View for ListViews9.4. Creating an Advanced ListView with Images and Text9.5. Using Section Headers in ListViews9.6. Keeping the ListView with the User’s Focus9.7. Writing a Custom List Adapter9.8. Handling Orientation Changes: From ListView Data Values to Landscape Charting
10. Multimedia
10.1. Introduction: Multimedia10.2. Playing a YouTube Video10.3. Using the Gallery with the ImageSwitcher View10.4. Capturing Video Using MediaRecorder10.5. Using Android’s Face Detection Capability10.6. Playing Audio from a File10.7. Playing Audio Without Interaction10.8. Using Speech to Text10.9. Making the Device Speak with Text-to-Speech
11. Data Persistence
11.1. Introduction: Data Persistence11.2. Getting File Information11.3. Reading a File Shipped with the App Rather Than in the Filesystem11.4. Listing a Directory11.5. Getting Total and Free Space Information About the SD Card11.6. Providing User Preference Activity with Minimal Effort11.7. Checking the Consistency of Default Shared Preferences11.8. Performing Advanced Text Searches11.9. Creating an SQLite Database in an Android Application11.10. Inserting Values into an SQLite Database11.11. Loading Values from an Existing SQLite Database11.12. Working with Dates in SQLite11.13. Parsing JSON Using JSONObject11.14. Parsing an XML Document Using the DOM API11.15. Parsing an XML Document Using an XmlPullParser11.16. Adding a Contact11.17. Reading Contact Data
12. Telephone Applications
12.1. Introduction: Telephone Applications12.2. Doing Something When the Phone Rings12.3. Processing Outgoing Phone Calls12.4. Dialing the Phone12.5. Sending Single-Part or Multipart SMS Messages12.6. Receiving an SMS Message in an Android Application12.7. Using Emulator Controls to Send SMS Messages to the Emulator12.8. Using Android’s TelephonyManager to Obtain Device Information
13. Networked Applications
13.1. Introduction: Networking13.2. Using a RESTful Web Service13.3. Extracting Information from Unstructured Text Using Regular Expressions13.4. Parsing RSS/Atom Feeds Using ROME13.5. Using MD5 to Digest Clear Text13.6. Converting Text into Hyperlinks13.7. Accessing a Web Page Using WebView13.8. Customizing a WebView
14. Gaming and Animation
14.1. Introduction: Gaming and Animation14.2. Building an Android Game Using flixel-android14.3. Building an Android Game Using AndEngine (Android-Engine)14.4. Processing Timed Keyboard Input
15. Social Networking
15.1. Introduction: Social Networking15.2. Integrating Social Networking Using HTTP15.3. Loading a User’s Twitter Timeline Using JSON
16. Location and Map Applications
16.1. Introduction: Location-Aware Applications16.2. Getting Location Information16.3. Accessing GPS Information in Your Application16.4. Mocking GPS Coordinates on a Device16.5. Using Geocoding and Reverse Geocoding16.6. Getting Ready for Google Maps Development16.7. Adding a Device’s Current Location to Google Maps16.8. Drawing a Location Marker on a Google MapView16.9. Drawing Multiple Location Markers on a MapView16.10. Creating Overlays for a Google MapView16.11. Changing Modes of a Google MapView16.12. Drawing an Overlay Icon Without Using a Drawable16.13. Implementing Location Search on Google Maps16.14. Placing a MapView Inside a TabView16.15. Handling a Long-Press in a MapView16.16. Using OpenStreetMap16.17. Creating Overlays in OpenStreetMap Maps16.18. Using a Scale on an OpenStreetMap Map16.19. Handling Touch Events on an OpenStreetMap Overlay16.20. Getting Location Updates with OpenStreetMap Maps
17. Accelerometer
17.1. Introduction: Sensors17.2. Checking for the Presence or Absence of a Sensor17.3. Using the Accelerometer to Detect Shaking of the Device17.4. Checking Whether a Device Is Facing Up or Facing Down Based on Screen Orientation Using an Accelerometer17.5. Finding the Orientation of an Android Device Using an Orientation Sensor17.6. Reading the Temperature Sensor
18. Bluetooth
18.1. Introduction: Bluetooth18.2. Enabling Bluetooth and Making the Device Discoverable18.3. Connecting to a Bluetooth-Enabled Device18.4. Listening for and Accepting Bluetooth Connection Requests18.5. Implementing Bluetooth Device Discovery
19. System and Device Control
19.1. Introduction: System and Device Control19.2. Accessing Phone Network/Connectivity Information19.3. Obtaining Information from the Manifest File19.4. Changing Incoming Call Notification to Silent, Vibrate, or Normal19.5. Copying Text and Getting Text from the Clipboard19.6. Using LED-Based Notifications19.7. Making the Device Vibrate19.8. Running Shell Commands from Your Application19.9. Determining Whether a Given Application Is Running
20. Other Programming Languages and Frameworks
20.1. Introduction: Other Programming Languages20.2. Running an External/Native Unix/Linux Command20.3. Running Native C/C++ Code with JNI on the NDK20.4. Getting Started with the Scripting Layer for Android (SL4A, Formerly Android Scripting Environment)20.5. Creating Alerts in SL4A20.6. Fetching Your Google Documents and Displaying Them in a ListView Using SL4A20.7. Sharing SL4A Scripts in QR Codes20.8. Using Native Handset Functionality from WebView via JavaScript20.9. Creating a Platform-Independent Application Using PhoneGap/Cordova
21. Strings and Internationalization
21.1. Introduction: Internationalization21.2. Internationalizing Application Text21.3. Finding and Translating Strings21.4. Handling the Nuances of strings.xml
22. Packaging, Deploying, and Distributing/Selling Your App
22.1. Introduction: Packaging, Deploying, and Distributing22.2. Creating a Signing Certificate22.3. Signing Your Application22.4. Distributing Your Application via Android Play (formerly the Android Market)22.5. Integrating AdMob into Your App22.6. Obfuscating and Optimizing with ProGuard22.7. Providing a Link to Other Published Apps in the Google Play Market
Index
About the Author
Colophon
Copyright

Overview

Jump in and build working Android apps with the help of more than 200 tested recipes. With this cookbook, you’ll find solutions for working with the user interfaces, multitouch gestures, location awareness, web services, and device features such as the phone, camera, and accelerometer. You also get useful steps on packaging your app for the Android Market.

Ideal for developers familiar with Java, Android basics, and the Java SE API, this book features recipes contributed by more than three dozen developers from the Android community. Each recipe provides a clear solution and sample code you can use in your project right away. Among numerous topics, this cookbook helps you:

Use guidelines for designing a successful Android app
Work with UI controls, effective layouts, and graphical elements
Learn how to take advantage of Android’s rich features in your app
Save and retrieve application data in files, SD cards, and embedded databases
Access RESTful web services, RSS/Atom feeds, and information from websites
Create location-aware services to find locations and landmarks, and situate them on Google Maps and OpenStreetMap
Test and troubleshoot individual components and your entire application

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