Chapter 1, Installing and Configuring Android Studio, describes the installation and basic configuration of Android Studio.

Chapter 2, Starting a Project, shows how to create a new project and the type of activities we can select.

Chapter 3, Navigating a Project, explores the basic structure of a project in Android Studio.

Chapter 4, Using the Code Editor, exposes the basic features of the code editor in order to get the best out of it.

Chapter 5, Creating User Interfaces, focuses on the creation of user interfaces, using both the graphical view and the text-based view.

Chapter 6, Tools, exposes some additional tools, such as the Android SDK tools, Javadoc, and the version control integration.

Chapter 7, Google Play Services, introduces the current existing Google Play Services and how to integrate them into a project in Android Studio.

Chapter 8, Debugging, shows in detail how to debug an application in Android Studio and the provided information when debugging.

Chapter 9, Preparing for Release, describes how to prepare your application for release.

Appendix, Getting Help, introduces how to get help using Android Studio and provides a list of online sites to learn more about the topics covered in this book.

For this book, you need a computer with a Windows, Mac OS, or Linux system. You will also need to have Java installed in your system.

This book is not only a getting started book, but also a guide for advanced developers who have not used Android Studio to build their Android apps before. This book is great for developers who want to learn the key features of Android Studio and for developers who want to create their first app. It's assumed that you are familiar with the object-oriented programming paradigm and the Java programming language. It is also recommended that you understand the main characteristics of the Android mobile system.

In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.

Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "The AppData directory is usually a hidden directory."

A block of code is set as follows:

package ${PACKAGE_NAME};

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;

#parse("File Header.java")
public class ${NAME} extends Activity {
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    }
}

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:

if (savedInstanceState != null) {
    
}

New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, for example, in menus or dialog boxes, appear in the text like this: "You can also open it by clicking on the Project button on the left edge of the screen."

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