Beginning Android Tablet Programming

288 Pages·2012·4.87 MB·English

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Beginning Android Tablet
Programming
Starting with Android Honeycomb for Tablets
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Robbie Matthews

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Beginning Android Tablet Programming: Starting with Android Honeycomb for Tablets
Copyright © 2011 by Robbie Matthews
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
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ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4302-3783-9
ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4302-3784-6
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I dedicate this book to my family. Without your support and occasional nagging
this book would never have been finished.
Robbie Matthews
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Contents at a Glance
(cid:3) About the Author..................................................................................................xiv
(cid:3) About the Technical Reviewer..............................................................................xv
(cid:3) Acknowledgments...............................................................................................xvi
(cid:3) Some Notes on Using the Downloaded Code......................................................xvii
(cid:3) Chapter 1: Getting Started......................................................................................1
(cid:3) Chapter 2: How Android Works.............................................................................27
(cid:3) Chapter 3: What Can You Do with an Android Tablet?.........................................53
(cid:3) Chapter 4: Beyond Java: Programming in Python and Friends............................79
(cid:3) Chapter 5: Project 1: Media Player.....................................................................105
(cid:3) Chapter 6: Explorer.............................................................................................123
(cid:3) Chapter 7: Contact Manager...............................................................................151
(cid:3) Chapter 8: Dude, Where’s My Car?.....................................................................175
(cid:3) Chapter 10: Remind Me......................................................................................221
(cid:3) Chapter 11: Everything Else................................................................................243
(cid:3) Index...................................................................................................................269
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Contents
(cid:3) About the Author..................................................................................................xiv
(cid:3) About the Technical Reviewer..............................................................................xv
(cid:3) Acknowledgments...............................................................................................xvi
(cid:3) Some Notes on Using the Downloaded Code......................................................xvii
(cid:3) Chapter 1: Getting Started......................................................................................1
A Short, Personal History of Portable Programming..........................................................1
The Advent of Android.......................................................................................................3
Preparing Your Computer..................................................................................................4
Installing Your Development Environment................................................................................................4
Creating an Emulator Instance.................................................................................................................5
Setting Your Path......................................................................................................................................6
Your First Android Program...............................................................................................6
Oh, No! Java!.....................................................................................................................9
A Quick Guide to Java......................................................................................................10
Structure.................................................................................................................................................11
Primitives................................................................................................................................................12
Flow Control...........................................................................................................................................12
Objects....................................................................................................................................................13
Constructors, Initializers, and Overloading.............................................................................................17
Where’s “Free”?.....................................................................................................................................19
String Handling.......................................................................................................................................20
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Packages................................................................................................................................................21
Lists and Maps.......................................................................................................................................22
Generics..................................................................................................................................................23
Inheritance and Interfaces......................................................................................................................24
Annotations.............................................................................................................................................25
And Many More......................................................................................................................................26
Summary.........................................................................................................................26
(cid:3) Chapter 2: How Android Works.............................................................................27
Basic Structure of Android Programs..............................................................................27
Lifecycle.................................................................................................................................................38
Intents: What, Where, Why, and Are They Honorable?....................................................42
Intent Filters...........................................................................................................................................47
Common Intents.....................................................................................................................................48
Finally.....................................................................................................................................................48
Secretly Linux..................................................................................................................49
Summary.........................................................................................................................51
(cid:3) Chapter 3: What Can You Do with an Android Tablet?.........................................53
More Sensors Than the CIA.............................................................................................54
Lights, Camera, Action.....................................................................................................63
Browsing for Fun and Profit.............................................................................................64
Managing Your Assets............................................................................................................................66
Getting Fancy..........................................................................................................................................67
My Little Black Book—Managing Contacts.....................................................................69
Accessing Contacts................................................................................................................................69
A Quick Side Trip into Lists.....................................................................................................................72
Different Things to Access......................................................................................................................74
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(cid:3) CONTENTS
Share My Stuff (Sending and Receiving, Well, Everything).............................................75
Bonus Stuff—Menu Options...................................................................................................................75
Sending E-mail.......................................................................................................................................76
Sound and Fury (Managing Media Files).........................................................................77
Summary.........................................................................................................................78
(cid:3) Chapter 4: Beyond Java: Programming in Python and Friends............................79
Why Use Another Language?...........................................................................................80
Getting Started.................................................................................................................80
Script Management.........................................................................................................80
Help! I Need Somebody..........................................................................................................................82
Python Help............................................................................................................................................82
What’s a Facade?...................................................................................................................................82
Intents (Again)........................................................................................................................................83
Different Ways of Using the Intent Methods...........................................................................................84
User Interaction......................................................................................................................................86
Events.....................................................................................................................................................89
Media Files.............................................................................................................................................91
Controlling Your Phone...........................................................................................................................94
Where Am I?...........................................................................................................................................95
Battery....................................................................................................................................................97
Keeping the Device Awake.....................................................................................................................99
Editing Tips...........................................................................................................................................100
Contacts and Phone Numbers..............................................................................................................102
SQL.......................................................................................................................................................103
More Stuff.............................................................................................................................................104
Summary.......................................................................................................................104
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(cid:3) CONTENTS
(cid:3) Chapter 5: Project 1: Media Player.....................................................................105
Fragments......................................................................................................................105
What’s a Fragment?.............................................................................................................................105
Examining the Example........................................................................................................................106
The ActionBar.......................................................................................................................................109
FragmentManager................................................................................................................................111
Media Player Application...............................................................................................112
Displaying a List from a Cursor............................................................................................................114
Querying Media Files............................................................................................................................115
Responding to Clicks............................................................................................................................115
Some More on the ActionBar................................................................................................................115
Menu.....................................................................................................................................................116
Getting a Media URI..............................................................................................................................116
Playing Media.......................................................................................................................................117
Different Media Sources.......................................................................................................................118
Dialog Boxes.........................................................................................................................................118
Changing a List Cursor.........................................................................................................................120
Advanced Media Playing......................................................................................................................120
Displaying Our Progress.......................................................................................................................121
Controlling Our Progress......................................................................................................................122
Summary.......................................................................................................................122
(cid:3) Chapter 6: Explorer.............................................................................................123
Anatomy of a File Explorer.............................................................................................123
ListActivity for Fun and Profit...............................................................................................................124
A Note on Resources............................................................................................................................125
Build Your Own List Adapter.................................................................................................................126
Inflation.................................................................................................................................................128
Populating the List................................................................................................................................128
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Finding Out About Your File..................................................................................................................130
Learning to Mime..................................................................................................................................133
Dating Your File....................................................................................................................................133
Going Native.........................................................................................................................................133
State Your Preference..........................................................................................................................137
Reading Your Preferences....................................................................................................................139
Sorting Techniques...............................................................................................................................141
The Actual Activity................................................................................................................................141
Reacting to a List Selection..................................................................................................................142
Creation at Last....................................................................................................................................143
A Different Menu...................................................................................................................................144
Reacting to a Context Menu.................................................................................................................144
Dialogs..................................................................................................................................................145
A Few Last Bits.....................................................................................................................................148
Making It Better....................................................................................................................................149
Summary.......................................................................................................................149
(cid:3) Chapter 7: Contact Manager...............................................................................151
And Now for Something Completely Different...............................................................152
The Application.....................................................................................................................................152
Anatomy of a Signpost.........................................................................................................................152
Knowing When the View Is Available....................................................................................................156
Room for Improvement.........................................................................................................................156
Backward Compatibility........................................................................................................................157
List Handling.........................................................................................................................................158
Saving the List......................................................................................................................................158
Reusing Your Libraries.........................................................................................................................159
Import and Export.................................................................................................................................159
A Last Note on Dialogs.........................................................................................................................160
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