Book Image

Android Programming for Beginners - Second Edition

By : John Horton
Book Image

Android Programming for Beginners - Second Edition

By: John Horton

Overview of this book

Are you trying to start a career in programming, but haven't found the right way in? Do you have a great idea for an app, but don't know how to make it a reality? Or maybe you're just frustrated that in order to learn Android, you must know Java. If so, then this book is for you. This new and expanded second edition of Android Programming for Beginners will be your companion to create Android Pie applications from scratch. We will introduce you to all the fundamental concepts of programming in an Android context, from the basics of Java to working with the Android API. All examples use the up-to-date API classes, and are created from within Android Studio, the official Android development environment that helps supercharge your application development process. After this crash course, we'll dive deeper into Android programming and you'll learn how to create applications with a professional-standard UI through fragments and store your user's data with SQLite. In addition, you'll see how to make your apps multilingual, draw to the screen with a finger, and work with graphics, sound, and animations too. By the end of this book, you'll be ready to start building your own custom applications in Android and Java.
Table of Contents (35 chapters)
Android Programming for Beginners - Second Edition
Contributors
Preface
Other Books You May Enjoy
Index

Object-oriented programming


In Chapter 1, Beginning Android and Java, we mentioned that Java was an object-oriented language. An object-oriented language requires us to use object-oriented programming (OOP). It isn't an optional extra like a racing spoiler on a car or pulsating LEDs in a gaming PC. It's part of Java and, therefore, Android as well.

Let's find out a little bit more.

What is OOP exactly

OOP is a way of programming that involves breaking our requirements down into chunks that are more manageable than the whole.

Each chunk is self-contained, yet potentially reusable, by other programs, while working together as a whole with the other chunks.

These chunks are what we have been referring to as objects. When we plan/code an object, we do so with a class. A class can be thought of as the blueprint of an object.

We implement an object of a class. This is called an instance of a class. Think about a house blueprint. You can't live in it, but you can build a house from it; you build an instance...