The Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development Version 8.10 Released

Subscribers now have access to the latest release of The Busy Coder’s Guide to Android Development, known as Version 8.10, in all formats. Just log into your Warescription page and download away, or set up an account and subscribe!

This update:

• Adds a new chapter on authenticating the user against the device, including through fingerprints

• Adds a new chapter on working with the Android keystore, particularly for encrypting data with keys backed by device authentication, including through fingerprints

• Migrates some more material out of the Android 8.0 appendix into mainstream chapters; what remains will stick around as an appendix for the foreseeable future

• Begins a mass migration away from native fragments to the fragments backport, amid rumors that native fragments will be deprecated in Android P

• Drops the chapter on integrating a JVM-based scripting language, as the chapter was too old, and embedding a language interpreter raises security issues

• Drops the chapter on implementing a plugin-based system, as the chapter was too old (though this chapter may be revisited in the future)

• Fixes a variety of errata

If you’re wondering about the naming convention, this book will hit 9.0 sometime later this year, once Exploring Android hits 1.0. At that time, I will retire the EmPubLite series of tutorials and start the 9.x numbering series.

In terms of the next update to this book… the next 4 months should bring us the first couple of developer previews of Android P, if Google sticks with the approach that they have used for the past few years. My release schedule for this book is contingent upon Google’s release schedule for P, as I will aim to publish an update covering P shortly after the first developer preview. If Google elects to not do developer previews for P, then the next update to this book will be out in about two months, with updates to some of the other books in the interim.