Book Image

Android Programming for Beginners

By : John Horton, Paresh Mayani
Book Image

Android Programming for Beginners

By: John Horton, Paresh Mayani

Overview of this book

Android is the most popular OS in the world. There are millions of devices accessing tens of thousands of applications. It is many people's entry point into the world of technology; it is an operating system for everyone. Despite this, the entry-fee to actually make Android applications is usually a computer science degree, or five years’ worth of Java experience. Android Programming for Beginners will be your companion to create Android applications from scratch—whether you’re looking to start your programming career, make an application for work, be reintroduced to mobile development, or are just looking to program for fun. We will introduce you to all the fundamental concepts of programming in an Android context, from the Java basics to working with the Android API. All examples 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, make location-aware apps with Google Maps integration, and store your user’s data with SQLite. In addition, you’ll see how to make your apps multilingual, capture images from a device’s camera, 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 (37 chapters)
Android Programming for Beginners
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

The dual-Fragment address book mini app


The app will show a list of names and allow the user to tap on a name so that it displays the address. What is new about this app is that when we compare it to the Note To Self app, it will behave differently depending upon whether it is in the portrait or landscape orientation.

When in the portrait orientation, tapping on a name will cause a new Activity to open and display the address. When in the landscape mode, tapping on a name will cause the address to be shown on the right-hand side of the screen in the same Activity. This next image clarifies this visually:

This is the kind of behavior a user might expect from a mobile app. The best part is that it doesn't matter whether the user is in the portrait or landscape orientation, the exact same Java code and XML layout will be used for both the list and the detail parts. We will, of course, achieve this feat by using Fragments.

Getting started

Create a new blank project called Dual Fragment. This mini...