Introduction to Android Application Development, 4th Edition

What Every Android™ App Developer Should Know Today: Android Tools, App/UI Design, Testing, Publishing, And More

Introduction to Android Application Development, 4th Edition

This fully reworked edition of a proven title is the most useful real-world guide to building robust, commercial-grade Android™ apps. The content is revised and updated for the latest Android 4.3 SDK and the newest development best practices. Introduction to Android™ Application Development: Android Essentials covers all you need to quickly start developing professional apps for today’s Android devices. Three expert developers guide you through setting up your development environment, designing user interfaces, developing for diverse devices, and optimizing your entire app-development process—from design through publication. Updated throughout, this title includes extensive coverage of the most useful new Android tools and utilities. It adds an all-new chapter on planning an amazing Android app user experience, plus extensive new coverage of unit testing, dialogs, preferences, and app publishing. Throughout, key concepts are taught through clear, up-to-date example code.

This edition offers

• Fully updated introductions to the latest Android 4.3 APIs, tools, utilities, and best practices
• Up-to-date strategies for leveraging new Android capabilities while preserving compatibility
• Navigation patterns and code samples for delivering more intuitive user experiences
• Example-based explanations of ActionBars, DialogFragments, and other key concepts
• Expert automated testing techniques to quickly improve code quality
• New Google Play Developer Console app publishing techniques that also offer more control

For Android developers at all levels of experience, this reference is now more valuable than ever. Students, instructors, and self-learners will especially appreciate new chapter-ending questions and exercises, carefully designed to test knowledge and deepen mastery.

Note: This revamped, newly titled edition is a complete update of Android™ Wireless Application Development, Volume I: Android Essentials, Third Edition, Bonus KitKat material is available for download at www.informit.com/title/9780321940261

Table of Contents

Part I: An Overview of the Android Platform
Chapter 1. Introducing Android
Chapter 2. Setting Up Your Android Development Environment
Chapter 3. Writing Your First Android Application

Part II: Android Application Basics
Chapter 4. Understanding the Anatomy of an Android Application
Chapter 5. Defining Your Application Using the Android Manifest File
Chapter 6. Managing Application Resources

Part III: Android User Interface Design Essentials
Chapter 7. Exploring User Interface Building Blocks
Chapter 8. Designing with Layouts
Chapter 9. Partitioning the User Interface with Fragments
Chapter 10. Displaying Dialogs

Part IV: Android Application Design Essentials
Chapter 11. Using Android Preferences
Chapter 12. Working with Files and Directories
Chapter 13. Leveraging Content Providers
Chapter 14. Designing Compatible Applications

Part V: Publishing and Distributing Android Applications
Chapter 15. Learning the Android Software Development Process
Chapter 16. Designing and Developing Bulletproof Android Applications
Chapter 17. Planning the Android Application Experience
Chapter 18. Testing Android Applications
Chapter 19. Publishing Your Android Application

Part VI: Appendixes
Appendix A. Mastering the Android Development Tools
Appendix B. Quick-Start Guide: The Android Emulator
Appendix C. Quick-Start Guide: Android DDMS
Appendix D. Android IDE and Eclipse Tips and Tricks
Appendix E. Answers to Quiz Questions