Enterprise Android: Programming Android Database Applications for the Enterprise

INTRODUCTION

Many Enterprise-oriented applications fit a broad template: They access data using one or more RESTful APIs. They present the data to the user. They may enable the user to modify the data, and update the data on servers. Enterprise Android is a book about those applications.

WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR

If you are an experienced Java or JavaScript coder, you may have some ideas about how RESTful apps should work. You can correctly think of Android as a Java OS: You write apps in Java and deploy them to an environment that, in some ways, very closely resembles a Java VM. These apps communicate with RESTful APIs to fetch data to present to the user.

But, as with many aspects of Android software development, it pays to look at how Android is designed before wading in. This book was created to give you a substantial head start at applying your experience with RESTful applications and APIs to creating Android apps that are efficient, versatile, and responsive. You will avoid the pitfalls of assuming Android programming is like web programming or client Java programming using Oracle’s class libraries, and be able to do it using Android APIs effectively on the first try.

If you are a beginning Android programmer, and do not have significant experience with iOS or Java, or if you are unsure that RESTful applications are what you need to learn about, you should start with a general introduction to Android. Beginners will appreciate a book like Reto Meier’s excellent Professional Android ...