Android Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide

Android Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (Big Nerd Ranch Guides) is an introductory Android book for programmers with Java experience. Based on Big Nerd Ranch’s popular Android Bootcamp course, this guide will lead you through the wilderness using hands-on example apps combined with clear explanations of key concepts and APIs. This book focuses on practical techniques for developing apps compatible with all versions of Android widely used today. Write and run code every step of the way — creating apps that catalog crime scenes, browse photos, track your jogging route, and more. Each chapter and app has been designed and tested to provide the knowledge and experience you need to get started in Android development.

“Big Nerd Ranch provided the training we needed to get hundreds of engineers building skillfully on Android. This book is a great distillation of that training and will be a huge help to anyone looking to ramp up as well.” – Mike Shaver, Director of Mobile Engineering, Facebook

“…a must-have for the developer just starting in Android or ready for more advanced techniques. I was impressed with this book’s content and clarity of presentation. The authors explain simple and complex Android topics with equal ease.” – James Steele, author of The Android Developer’s Cookbook

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Your First Android Application
Chapter 2 Android and Model-View-Controller
Chapter 3 The Activity Lifecycle
Chapter 4 Debugging Android Apps
Chapter 5 Your Second Activity
Chapter 6 Android SDK Versions and Compatibility
Chapter 7 UI Fragments and the Fragment Manager
Chapter 8 Creating User Interfaces with Layouts and Widgets
Chapter 9 Displaying Lists with ListFragment
Chapter 10 Using Fragment Arguments
Chapter 11 Using ViewPager
Chapter 12 Dialogs
Chapter 13 Audio Playback Using MediaPlayer
Chapter 14 Retained Fragments
Chapter 15 Localization
Chapter 16 The Action Bar
Chapter 17 Saving and Loading Local Files
Chapter 18 Context Menus and Contextual Action Mode
Chapter 19 Camera I: Viewfinder
Chapter 20 Camera II: Taking Pictures and Handling Images
Chapter 21 Implicit Intents
Chapter 22 Two-Pane Master-Detail Interfaces
Chapter 23 More About Intents and Tasks
Chapter 24 Styles And Includes
Chapter 25 XML Drawables And 9-Patches
Chapter 26 HTTP & Background Tasks
Chapter 27 Loopers, Handlers, and HandlerThread
Chapter 28 Search
Chapter 29 Background Services
Chapter 30 Broadcast Intents
Chapter 31 Browsing The Web & WebView
Chapter 32 Custom Views and Touch Events
Chapter 33 Tracking the Device’s Location
Chapter 34 Local Databases with SQLite
Chapter 35 Loading Asynchronous Data With Loaders
Chapter 36 Using Maps
Chapter 37 Afterword