Beginning Android

SUMMARY

In this chapter, you have learned how you can export your Android application as an APK file and then digitally sign it with a keystore you create yourself. You then learned about the various ways you can distribute your application, and the advantages of each method. Finally, you walked through the steps required to publish on the Android Market, which makes it possible for you to sell your application and reach out to a wider audience. Hopefully, this exposure enables you to sell a lot of copies and thereby make some decent money!

EXERCISES

1. How do you specify the minimum version of Android required by your application?

2. How do you generate a self-signed certificate for signing your Android application?

3. How do you configure your Android device to accept applications from non-Market sources?

Answers to the Exercises can be found in Appendix C.

WHAT YOU LEARNED IN THIS CHAPTER

TOPIC	KEY CONCEPTS
Checklist for publishing your apps	To publish an application on the Android Market, an application must have the four required attributes in the AndroidManifest.xml file:• android:versionCode• android:versionName• android:icon• android:label
Signing applications	All applications to be distributed must be signed with a self-signed certificate. The debug keystore is not valid for distribution.
Exporting an application and signing it	Use the Export feature of Eclipse to export the application as an APK file and then sign it with a self-signed certificate.