The Busy Coders Guide to Android Development

The Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development

This book covers what you need to know to get started programming Android applications for mobile devices — everything from crafting GUIs to using GPS and accessing Web services, and more!

Android Programming, Taught Gently

Android is truly a platform, encompassing hundreds of classes beyond the traditional Java classes and open source components that ship with the SDK. Some Android books race through the material, trying to cover as much ground as possible in as few pages as possible.

The Busy Coder’s Guide to Android Development is different.

We have tried to cover the same material, but aimed more for people new to mobile development. The book includes dozens of sample projects, ready to run with your copy of the SDK — not just one huge project where you have difficulty finding the specific examples of the technique you are looking for. You can even get these sample programs now, via the Source Code links later on this page. We also have a support Google Group for readers, to help answer questions about the book materials and examples.

Further Reading

Many of the techniques described in this book are included in earlier chapters of Android Programming Tutorials.

I’ve found this book invaluable in writing my first Android application...

ambiguiti.es

I didn't start by reading the book The Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development, but I wish I had.

Shazon

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PDF, 28 Pages, 600KB

About this Edition

Digital: Version 3.1
Four-to-Free Guarantee
What's New Over Version 3.0
  • Updated to support the Android 2.2 SDK
  • New material on handling screen rotations and background threads
  • New material on database write performance on flash
Table of Contents
  1. The Big Picture
  2. Project Structure
  3. Inside the Manifest
  4. Getting Going
  5. Creating a Skeleton Application
  6. Using XML-Based Layouts
  7. Employing Basic Widgets
  8. Working with Containers
  9. Using Selection Widgets
  10. Getting Fancy with Lists
  11. Employing Fancy Widgets and Containers
  12. The Input Method Framework
  13. Applying Menus
  14. Fonts
  15. Embedding the WebKit Browser
  16. Showing Pop-Up Messages
  17. Dealing with Threads
  18. Handling Activity Lifecycle Events
  19. Creating Intent Filters
  20. Launching Activities and Sub-Activities
  21. Handling Rotation
  22. Working with Resources
  23. Using Preferences
  24. Managing and Accessing Local Databases
  25. Accessing Files
  26. Leveraging Java Libraries
  27. Communicating via the Internet
  28. Using a Content Provider
  29. Building a Content Provider
  30. Requesting and Requiring Permissions
  31. Creating a Service
  32. Invoking a Service
  33. Alerting Users Via Notifications
  34. Accessing Location-Based Services
  35. Mapping with MapView and MapActivity
  36. Handling Telephone Calls
  37. Development Tools
  38. Handling Multiple Screen Sizes
  39. Dealing with Devices
  40. Handling Platform Changes
  41. Where Do We Go From Here?
Details