Synopses & Reviews
Google's Android is shaking up the mobile market in a big way. With Android, you can write programs that run on any compatible cell phone or tablet in the world. It's a mobile platform you can't afford not to learn, and this book gets you started. Hello, Android has been updated to Android 2.3.3, with revised code throughout to reflect this updated version. That means that the book is now up-to-date for tablets such as the Kindle Fire. All examples were tested for forwards and backwards compatibility on a variety of devices and versions of Android from 1.5 to 4.0. (Note: the Kindle Fire does not support home screen widgets or wallpaper, so those samples couldn't be tested on the Fire.)
Android is an operating system for mobile phones and tablets. It's inside millions of cell phones and other devices, including the hugely popular Amazon Kindle Fire, making Android the foremost platform for mobile application developers. That could be your own program running on all those devices.
Within minutes, Hello, Android will get you started creating your first working application: Android's version of "Hello, World." From there, you'll build up a more substantial example: an Android Sudoku game. By gradually adding features to the game, you'll learn the basics of Android programming. You'll also see how to build in audio and video support, add graphics using 2D and 3D OpenGL, network with web pages and web services, and store data with SQLite. You'll also learn how to publish your applications to the Android Market.
The #1 book for learning Android is now in its third edition. Every page and example was reviewed and updated for compatibility with the latest versions. Freshly added material covers installing applications to the SD card, supporting multi-touch, and creating live wallpaper. You'll also find plenty of real-world advice on how to support all major Android versions in use today.
If you'd rather be coding than reading about coding, this book is for you.
Review
"I thoroughly enjoyed the “Hello, Android” book, and it helped me get on the right track to releasing my first two apps to the Market."—Nathan Rapp, Founder, KMBurrito Designs
"Ive read several books on Android from cover to cover, and skimmed several others, and “Hello, Android” is hands-down the best introduction to Android development."—Steve Oliver
Synopsis
Create mobile services and applications regardless of your computer programming knowledge. This extraordinary book introduces you to App Inventor for Android, a powerful tool that exposes you to the world of computer programming, so you can create technology rather than merely consume it.
You don't need years of training to build your own Android apps. This book teaches you how to quickly design and code apps for anything from texting to location awareness to data storage on the Web, using App Inventor's unique visual interface. Ideal for beginning and intermediate Android developers, hobbyists and makers, and students of any age, App Inventor will help you turn your great idea into a full-functioning app in no time.
- Take advantage of App Inventor's GPS-location sensor: Build an app shows the location of friends or colleagues at a concert or conference, or one that gives you a custom tour of your school, workplace, or a museum.
- Use an Android device's phone features: Write an app that periodically texts "missing you" to loved ones, an app that responds to texts automatically when you're driving, and an app that reads incoming texts aloud.
- Communicate with the Web: Create Android apps that talk to your favorite web sites, such as Amazon and Twitter.
Synopsis
Android devices are stealing market share from the iPhone with dramatic speed, and you have a killer app idea. Where to begin? Head First Android Development will help you get your first application up and running in no time with the Android SDK and Eclipse plug-in. You'll learn how to design for devices with a variety of different screen sizes and resolutions, along with mastering core programming and design principles that will make your app stand out.
Whether you're a seasoned iPhone developer who wants to jump into the the Android Market, or someone with previous programming skills but no mobile apps in your resume, this book offers a complete learning experience for creating eye-catching, top-selling Android applications.
You'll learn how to:
- Install the Android SDK and Eclipse plug-in and get started building apps
- Add buttons, edit text fields, and build your own navigation options in the Android menu
- Customize the look of your app with theming and adding image resources
- Use Android's content provider mechanism to add images and contact information to an app, and establish permissions for their use
- Work with the Android devices' camera, GPS, and accelerometer
- Experiment with different Android emulator configurations to simulate different devices with a variety of screen sizes
- Optimize, test, and distribute your application in the Android Market
We think your time is too valuable to waste struggling with new concepts. Using the latest research in cognitive science and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory learning experience, Head First Android Development uses a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works, not a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep.
About the Author
David Wolber is the Chair of Computer Science at the University of San Francisco, and teaches App Inventor in a course at USF. He worked with the App Inventor team, and authored the advanced tutorials found on the App Inventor site. The apps created by his students– mostly humanities and business majors with no prior programming experience–have been chronicled in articles of The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Tech Crunch, Fortune.CNN.com, and Yahoo News.
Harold (Hal) Abelson, a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, has a longstanding interest in using computation as a conceptual framework in teaching. He has played a key role in fostering MIT institutional educational technology initiativeI, and is a founding director of Creative Commons and Public Knowledge. Hals book, Turtle Geometry, written with Andrea diSessa in 1981, presented a computational approach to geometry that has been cited as "the first step in a revolutionary change in the entire teaching/learning process."