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

Why Java and Android?


When Android first arrived in 2008, it was a bit drab compared to the much more stylish iOS on the Apple iPhone. But quite quickly, through a variety of handset offers that struck a chord with both the practical and price-conscious and the fashion-conscious and tech-savvy, Android user numbers exploded.

For many, myself included, developing for Android is the most rewarding pastime and business bar none.

Quickly putting together a prototype of an idea, refining it, and then deciding to run with it and wire it up into a fully-fledged app is such an exciting and rewarding process. Any programming can be fun, and I have been programming all my life, but creating for Android is somehow extraordinarily rewarding.

Defining exactly why this is the case is quite difficult. Perhaps it is the fact that the platform is free and open. You can distribute your apps without needing the permission of a big controlling corporation—nobody can stop you. And, at the same time, you have the well-established, corporate controlled mass markets, such as Amazon App Store and Google Play Store.

More likely, the reason developing for Android gives such a good feeling is the nature of the devices themselves. They are deeply personal. You can develop apps that interact with people's lives to educate, entertain, tell a story, and so on, but it is there in their pocket ready to go—in the home, in the workplace, or on holiday.

You can certainly build something bigger for the desktop, but knowing that thousands (or millions) of people are carrying your work in their pockets and sharing it with friends is more than just a buzz.

No longer is developing apps considered geeky, nerdy, or reclusive. In fact, developing for Android is considered highly skillful and the most successful developers are hugely admired, or even revered.

If all this fluffy and spiritual stuff doesn't mean anything to you, then that's fine too; developing for Android can make you a living, or even make you wealthy. With the continued growth of device ownership, the ongoing increase in CPU and GPU power, and the non-stop evolution of the Android operating system itself, the need for professional app developers is only going to grow.

In short, the best Android developers—and, more importantly, the Android developers with the best ideas and most determination—are in greater demand than ever. Nobody knows who these future Android app developers are, and they might not even have written their first line of Java yet.

So why isn't everybody an Android developer? Obviously, not everybody will share my enthusiasm for the thrill of creating software that can help people make their lives better, but I am guessing that because you are reading this, you might do?