Android Application Development All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 5

Interacting with the Users

IN THIS CHAPTER

Working with layout elements

Using color in a layout

Adding action to the user interface

Switching elements in and out

Ultimately, apps perform two tasks: manage data and make it accessible to the user. Even with all the odd sound effects, visual eye candy, and interesting features, the bottom line is that the user is depending on the app to manage and present some sort of data. Just think about all the ways in which an app stores data and then presents it to the user. A personal contact can appear as part of an email, text, phone call, data destination, data sender, meeting participant, photo annotation, and much more. The same can be said of almost every other sort of data you can imagine. Even playing games involves the manipulation of data and presenting it in ways that the user will understand.

This chapter helps you consider the user end of the data pipeline. You discover various techniques of creating engaging user interfaces that will make the user’s app experience a lot more pleasant.

Creating a Great Layout

The layout ...