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

Adding buttons to the main layout file


Here, we will add a couple of buttons to the screen, and we will then see a fast way to make them actually do something. We will add a button in two different ways: first, using the visual designer, and second, by adding to and editing XML code directly.

Adding a button via the visual designer

To get started adding our first button, switch back to the design view by clicking the Design tab underneath the XML code we have just been discussing, as shown next:

Notice that to the left-hand side of the layout, we have a window that is called the Palette, and this is shown next:

The palette is divided into two parts. The left-hand list has the categories of UI elements and allows you to select a category, while the right-hand side shows you all the available UI elements from the currently selected category.

Make sure that the Common category is selected as shown in the previous screenshot. Now, left-click and hold on the Button widget and then drag it onto the...