Chapter 4. Introducing the Android Software Development Platform

The Android platform is a collection of software that includes an operating system and a number of higher-level libraries that simplify the task of communicating with the operating system. It also includes several applications that smartphone users have come to expect, such as a phone (obviously), e-mail client, contact manager, Google Maps, a web browser, a calendar, and so on.

Everything in the Android development environment, as well as all of the included applications, can be programmed with a combination of Java and XML thanks to the so-called runtime that is included with the Android SDK. The runtime translates the Java and XML code that you write into a language that the operating ...

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