Book Image

Learning Android Intents

By : Muhammad Usama bin Aftab, Wajahat Karim
Book Image

Learning Android Intents

By: Muhammad Usama bin Aftab, Wajahat Karim

Overview of this book

<p>Android is an emerging technology with loads of apps in the Google Play Market. Till date, it is the biggest marvel in Smartphone technology, propelling a larger number of developers into Android application development. Intent is an essential part of any Android Application and no Android application is complete without using them. Features such as listening broadcasts, sending messages, sharing via social networks, notifications, hardware components including camera, sensors, Wi-Fi, and more, can be used in your applications by using Intents.</p> <p>This practical guide focuses on using intents to make the best use of various features of Android platform. It is ideal for those developers who want to understand the backbone and the domain of Android Intents, its power, and the need for it inside an Android application. Practical, in-depth examples are used throughout the book, to help you understand the key concepts.</p> <p>The book starts with introducing the very basic concepts of Android, and its various facts and figures such as different Android versions, their release dates, evolution of Android phones and so on. While covering the basic technical concepts, it proceeds from the easiest route of introducing Android Intents towards the more practical view of Android Intents in terms of components and features.</p> <p>You will learn how to use different components and features such as transfer data between activities, invoke various features and components of Android, execute different in-built and custom-made services, use hardware and software components of Android device, and start Pending Intents &amp; notifications. You will gain better theoretical knowledge of what is running behind the concepts of Android Intents, and practical knowledge of the mobile-efficient ways to perform a certain task using Android Intents.</p> <p>Towards the end, you will have a clear vision and a practical grip on Android intents and its features. Learning Android Intents is a proper guide to give you the best knowledge of Intents.</p>
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
Learning Android Intents
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Official IDE from Google – the Android Studio


Before Google I/O 2013, Android was officially using Eclipse as an IDE for its development. Official Android Support clearly mentioned about the use of this IDE along with the Android Development Tools (ADT) and Android Software Development Kit (SDK) with its documentation.

Loading Screen for Android Studio (Windows 7)

In Google I/O 2013, Google came up with a new IDE that is specially designed for the development of Android Apps. The IDE is called Android Studio, which is an IntelliJ-based software that provides promising features to the developers.

Features of Android Studio

Android Studio gives various features on top of an IntelliJ-based IDE. The list of features that are introduced in Android Studio is as follows:

  • Android Studio comes with built-in Android Development Tools

  • Android Studio gives Gradle-based support for the build

  • Flexible controls for building an Android UI and simultaneous views on different screen sizes

  • Android refactoring, quick fixes, and tips and tricks

  • Advance UI maker for Android apps with drag-and-drop functionality

The following screenshot shows the Android Studio multi-screen viewer with UI maker:

Note

The current version of Android Studio is v0.1.1.

Apart from that, there are various other features that are offered by Android Studio. Google mentioned in the launch that the version (v0.1) is unstable and needs various fixes before it can be used with its 100 percent accuracy.

Limitations of Android Studio

Android Studio is in the early phase, which makes it an immature software with limitations. According to Google, they are working on the updates of the software and soon will rectify the issues. As per Version 0.1.1,the limitations faced by the developers are as follows:

  • Android Studio can only be compiled with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

  • The user interface can only be made with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean UIs and widgets

  • An Eclipse project cannot be directly imported on Android Studio (refer to http://developers.android.com/)

  • Bugs in importing library projects