Book Image

Android Studio 4.0 Development Essentials - Java Edition

By : Neil Smyth
Book Image

Android Studio 4.0 Development Essentials - Java Edition

By: Neil Smyth

Overview of this book

Android rolls out frequent updates to meet the demands of the dynamic mobile market and to enable its developer community to lead advancements in application development. This book focuses on the updated features of Android Studio (the fully integrated development environment launched by Google) to build reliable Android applications using Java. The book starts by outlining the steps necessary to set up an Android development and testing environment. You’ll then learn how to create user interfaces with the help of Android Studio Layout Editor, XML files, and by writing the code in Java. The book introduces you to Android architecture components and advanced topics such as intents, touchscreen handling, gesture recognition, multi-window support integration, and biometric authentication, and lets you explore key features of Android Studio 4.0, including the layout editor, direct reply notifications, and dynamic delivery. You’ll also cover Android Jetpack in detail and create a sample app project using the ViewModel component. Finally, you’ll upload your app to the Google Play Console and handle the build process with Gradle. By the end of this book, you’ll have gained the skills necessary to develop applications using Android Studio 4.0 and Java.

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Table of Contents (88 chapters)
1
1. Introduction
1. Introduction
1.1 Downloading the Code Samples
1.2 Feedback
1.3 Errata
Free Chapter
2
2. Setting up an Android Studio Development Environment
2. Setting up an Android Studio Development Environment
2.1 System Requirements
2.2 Downloading the Android Studio Package
2.3 Installing Android Studio
2.4 The Android Studio Setup Wizard
2.5 Installing Additional Android SDK Packages
2.6 Making the Android SDK Tools Command-line Accessible
2.7 Android Studio Memory Management
2.8 Updating Android Studio and the SDK
2.9 Summary
3
3. Creating an Example Android App in Android Studio
3. Creating an Example Android App in Android Studio
3.1 About the Project
3.2 Creating a New Android Project
3.3 Creating an Activity
3.4 Defining the Project and SDK Settings
3.5 Modifying the Example Application
3.6 Modifying the User Interface
3.7 Reviewing the Layout and Resource Files
3.8 Adding Interaction
3.9 Summary
4
4. Creating an Android Virtual Device (AVD) in Android Studio
4. Creating an Android Virtual Device (AVD) in Android Studio
4.1 About Android Virtual Devices
4.2 Creating a New AVD
4.3 Starting the Emulator
4.4 Running the Application in the AVD
4.5 Stopping a Running Application
4.6 Supporting Dark Theme
4.7 AVD Command-line Creation
4.8 Android Virtual Device Configuration Files
4.9 Moving and Renaming an Android Virtual Device
4.10 Summary
5
5. Using and Configuring the Android Studio AVD Emulator
5. Using and Configuring the Android Studio AVD Emulator
5.1 The Emulator Environment
5.2 The Emulator Toolbar Options
5.3 Working in Zoom Mode
5.4 Resizing the Emulator Window
5.5 Extended Control Options
5.6 Working with Snapshots
5.7 Configuring Fingerprint Emulation
5.8 Summary
6
6. A Tour of the Android Studio User Interface
6. A Tour of the Android Studio User Interface
6.1 The Welcome Screen
6.2 The Main Window
6.3 The Tool Windows
6.4 Android Studio Keyboard Shortcuts
6.5 Switcher and Recent Files Navigation
6.6 Changing the Android Studio Theme
6.7 Summary
7
7. Testing Android Studio Apps on a Physical Android Device
7. Testing Android Studio Apps on a Physical Android Device
7.1 An Overview of the Android Debug Bridge (ADB)
7.2 Enabling ADB on Android based Devices
7.3 Testing the adb Connection
7.4 Summary
8
8. The Basics of the Android Studio Code Editor
8. The Basics of the Android Studio Code Editor
8.1 The Android Studio Editor
8.2 Splitting the Editor Window
8.3 Code Completion
8.4 Statement Completion
8.5 Parameter Information
8.6 Parameter Name Hints
8.7 Code Generation
8.8 Code Folding
8.9 Quick Documentation Lookup
8.10 Code Reformatting
8.11 Finding Sample Code
8.12 Live Templates
8.13 Summary
9
9. An Overview of the Android Architecture
9. An Overview of the Android Architecture
9.1 The Android Software Stack
9.2 The Linux Kernel
9.3 Android Runtime – ART
9.4 Android Libraries
9.5 Application Framework
9.6 Applications
9.7 Summary
10
10. The Anatomy of an Android Application
10. The Anatomy of an Android Application
10.1 Android Activities
10.2 Android Fragments
10.3 Android Intents
10.4 Broadcast Intents
10.5 Broadcast Receivers
10.6 Android Services
10.7 Content Providers
10.8 The Application Manifest
10.9 Application Resources
10.10 Application Context
10.11 Summary
11
11. An Overview of Android View Binding
11. An Overview of Android View Binding
11.1 Find View by ID
11.2 View Bindings
11.3 Converting the AndroidSample Project
11.4 Enabling View Binding
11.5 Using View Bindings
11.6 Choosing an Option
11.7 Summary
12
12. Understanding Android Application and Activity Lifecycles
12. Understanding Android Application and Activity Lifecycles
12.1 Android Applications and Resource Management
12.2 Android Process States
12.3 Inter-Process Dependencies
12.4 The Activity Lifecycle
12.5 The Activity Stack
12.6 Activity States
12.7 Configuration Changes
12.8 Handling State Change
12.9 Summary
13
13. Handling Android Activity State Changes
13. Handling Android Activity State Changes
13.1 New vs. Old Lifecycle Techniques
13.2 The Activity and Fragment Classes
13.3 Dynamic State vs. Persistent State
13.4 The Android Lifecycle Methods
13.5 Lifetimes
13.6 Foldable Devices and Multi-Resume
13.7 Disabling Configuration Change Restarts
13.8 Lifecycle Method Limitations
13.9 Summary
14
14. Android Activity State Changes by Example
14. Android Activity State Changes by Example
14.1 Creating the State Change Example Project
14.2 Designing the User Interface
14.3 Overriding the Activity Lifecycle Methods
14.4 Filtering the Logcat Panel
14.5 Running the Application
14.6 Experimenting with the Activity
14.7 Summary
15
15. Saving and Restoring the State of an Android Activity
15. Saving and Restoring the State of an Android Activity
15.1 Saving Dynamic State
15.2 Default Saving of User Interface State
15.3 The Bundle Class
15.4 Saving the State
15.5 Restoring the State
15.6 Testing the Application
15.7 Summary
16
16. Understanding Android Views, View Groups and Layouts
16. Understanding Android Views, View Groups and Layouts
16.1 Designing for Different Android Devices
16.2 Views and View Groups
16.3 Android Layout Managers
16.4 The View Hierarchy
16.5 Creating User Interfaces
16.6 Summary
17
17. A Guide to the Android Studio Layout Editor Tool
17. A Guide to the Android Studio Layout Editor Tool
17.1 Basic vs. Empty Activity Templates
17.2 The Android Studio Layout Editor
17.3 Design Mode
17.4 The Palette
17.5 Design Mode and Layout Views
17.6 Code Mode
17.7 Split Mode
17.8 Setting Attributes
17.9 Converting Views
17.10 Displaying Sample Data
17.11 Creating a Custom Device Definition
17.12 Changing the Current Device
17.13 Layout Validation (Multi Preview)
17.14 Summary
18
18. A Guide to the Android ConstraintLayout
18. A Guide to the Android ConstraintLayout
18.1 How ConstraintLayout Works
18.2 Baseline Alignment
18.3 Working with Guidelines
18.4 Configuring Widget Dimensions
18.5 Working with Barriers
18.6 Ratios
18.7 ConstraintLayout Advantages
18.8 ConstraintLayout Availability
18.9 Summary
19
19. A Guide to using ConstraintLayout in Android Studio
19. A Guide to using ConstraintLayout in Android Studio
19.1 Design and Layout Views
19.2 Autoconnect Mode
19.3 Inference Mode
19.4 Manipulating Constraints Manually
19.5 Adding Constraints in the Inspector
19.6 Viewing Constraints in the Attributes Window
19.7 Deleting Constraints
19.8 Adjusting Constraint Bias
19.9 Understanding ConstraintLayout Margins
19.10 The Importance of Opposing Constraints and Bias
19.11 Configuring Widget Dimensions
19.12 Adding Guidelines
19.13 Adding Barriers
19.14 Widget Group Alignment and Distribution
19.15 Converting other Layouts to ConstraintLayout
19.16 Summary
20
20. Working with ConstraintLayout Chains and Ratios in Android Studio
20. Working with ConstraintLayout Chains and Ratios in Android Studio
20.1 Creating a Chain
20.2 Changing the Chain Style
20.3 Spread Inside Chain Style
20.4 Packed Chain Style
20.5 Packed Chain Style with Bias
20.6 Weighted Chain
20.7 Working with Ratios
20.8 Summary
21
21. An Android Studio Layout Editor ConstraintLayout Tutorial
21. An Android Studio Layout Editor ConstraintLayout Tutorial
21.1 An Android Studio Layout Editor Tool Example
21.2 Creating a New Activity
21.3 Preparing the Layout Editor Environment
21.4 Adding the Widgets to the User Interface
21.5 Adding the Constraints
21.6 Testing the Layout
21.7 Using the Layout Inspector
21.8 Summary
22
22. Manual XML Layout Design in Android Studio
22. Manual XML Layout Design in Android Studio
22.1 Manually Creating an XML Layout
22.2 Manual XML vs. Visual Layout Design
22.3 Summary
23
23. Managing Constraints using Constraint Sets
23. Managing Constraints using Constraint Sets
23.1 Java Code vs. XML Layout Files
23.2 Creating Views
23.3 View Attributes
23.4 Constraint Sets
23.5 Summary
24
24. An Android ConstraintSet Tutorial
24. An Android ConstraintSet Tutorial
24.1 Creating the Example Project in Android Studio
24.2 Adding Views to an Activity
24.3 Setting View Attributes
24.4 Creating View IDs
24.5 Configuring the Constraint Set
24.6 Adding the EditText View
24.7 Converting Density Independent Pixels (dp) to Pixels (px)
24.8 Summary
25
25. A Guide to using Apply Changes in Android Studio
25. A Guide to using Apply Changes in Android Studio
25.1 Introducing Apply Changes
25.2 Understanding Apply Changes Options
25.3 Using Apply Changes
25.4 Configuring Apply Changes Fallback Settings
25.5 An Apply Changes Tutorial
25.6 Using Apply Code Changes
25.7 Using Apply Changes and Restart Activity
25.8 Using Run App
25.9 Summary
26
26. An Overview and Example of Android Event Handling
26. An Overview and Example of Android Event Handling
26.1 Understanding Android Events
26.2 Using the android:onClick Resource
26.3 Event Listeners and Callback Methods
26.4 An Event Handling Example
26.5 Designing the User Interface
26.6 The Event Listener and Callback Method
26.7 Consuming Events
26.8 Summary
27
27. Android Touch and Multi-touch Event Handling
27. Android Touch and Multi-touch Event Handling
27.1 Intercepting Touch Events
27.2 The MotionEvent Object
27.3 Understanding Touch Actions
27.4 Handling Multiple Touches
27.5 An Example Multi-Touch Application
27.6 Designing the Activity User Interface
27.7 Implementing the Touch Event Listener
27.8 Running the Example Application
27.9 Summary
28
28. Detecting Common Gestures using the Android Gesture Detector Class
28. Detecting Common Gestures using the Android Gesture Detector Class
28.1 Implementing Common Gesture Detection
28.2 Creating an Example Gesture Detection Project
28.3 Implementing the Listener Class
28.4 Creating the GestureDetectorCompat Instance
28.5 Implementing the onTouchEvent() Method
28.6 Testing the Application
28.7 Summary
29
29. Implementing Custom Gesture and Pinch Recognition on Android
29. Implementing Custom Gesture and Pinch Recognition on Android
29.1 The Android Gesture Builder Application
29.2 The GestureOverlayView Class
29.3 Detecting Gestures
29.4 Identifying Specific Gestures
29.5 Installing and Running the Gesture Builder Application
29.6 Creating a Gestures File
29.7 Creating the Example Project
29.8 Extracting the Gestures File from the SD Card
29.9 Adding the Gestures File to the Project
29.10 Designing the User Interface
29.11 Loading the Gestures File
29.12 Registering the Event Listener
29.13 Implementing the onGesturePerformed Method
29.14 Testing the Application
29.15 Configuring the GestureOverlayView
29.16 Intercepting Gestures
29.17 Detecting Pinch Gestures
29.18 A Pinch Gesture Example Project
29.19 Summary
30
30. An Introduction to Android Fragments
30. An Introduction to Android Fragments
30.1 What is a Fragment?
30.2 Creating a Fragment
30.3 Adding a Fragment to an Activity using the Layout XML File
30.4 Adding and Managing Fragments in Code
30.5 Handling Fragment Events
30.6 Implementing Fragment Communication
30.7 Summary
31
31. Using Fragments in Android Studio - An Example
31. Using Fragments in Android Studio - An Example
31.1 About the Example Fragment Application
31.2 Creating the Example Project
31.3 Creating the First Fragment Layout
31.4 Adding the Second Fragment
31.5 Adding the Fragments to the Activity
31.6 Making the Toolbar Fragment Talk to the Activity
31.7 Making the Activity Talk to the Text Fragment
31.8 Testing the Application
31.9 Summary
32
32. Modern Android App Architecture with Jetpack
32. Modern Android App Architecture with Jetpack
32.1 What is Android Jetpack?
32.2 The “Old” Architecture
32.3 Modern Android Architecture
32.4 The ViewModel Component
32.5 The LiveData Component
32.6 ViewModel Saved State
32.7 LiveData and Data Binding
32.8 Android Lifecycles
32.9 Repository Modules
32.10 Summary
33
33. An Android Jetpack ViewModel Tutorial
33. An Android Jetpack ViewModel Tutorial
33.1 About the Project
33.2 Creating the ViewModel Example Project
33.3 Reviewing the Project
33.4 Designing the Fragment Layout
33.5 Implementing the View Model
33.6 Associating the Fragment with the View Model
33.7 Modifying the Fragment
33.8 Accessing the ViewModel Data
33.9 Testing the Project
33.10 Summary
34
34. An Android Jetpack LiveData Tutorial
34. An Android Jetpack LiveData Tutorial
34.1 LiveData - A Recap
34.2 Adding LiveData to the ViewModel
34.3 Implementing the Observer
34.4 Summary
35
35. An Overview of Android Jetpack Data Binding
35. An Overview of Android Jetpack Data Binding
35.1 An Overview of Data Binding
35.2 The Key Components of Data Binding
35.3 Summary
36
36. An Android Jetpack Data Binding Tutorial
36. An Android Jetpack Data Binding Tutorial
36.1 Removing the Redundant Code
36.2 Enabling Data Binding
36.3 Adding the Layout Element
36.4 Adding the Data Element to Layout File
36.5 Working with the Binding Class
36.6 Assigning the ViewModel Instance to the Data Binding Variable
36.7 Adding Binding Expressions
36.8 Adding the Conversion Method
36.9 Adding a Listener Binding
36.10 Testing the App
36.11 Summary
37
37. An Android ViewModel Saved State Tutorial
37. An Android ViewModel Saved State Tutorial
37.1 Understanding ViewModel State Saving
37.2 Implementing ViewModel State Saving
37.3 Saving and Restoring State
37.4 Adding Saved State Support to the ViewModelDemo Project
37.5 Summary
38
38. Working with Android Lifecycle-Aware Components
38. Working with Android Lifecycle-Aware Components
38.1 Lifecycle Awareness
38.2 Lifecycle Owners
38.3 Lifecycle Observers
38.4 Lifecycle States and Events
38.5 Summary
39
39. An Android Jetpack Lifecycle Awareness Tutorial
39. An Android Jetpack Lifecycle Awareness Tutorial
39.1 Creating the Example Lifecycle Project
39.2 Creating a Lifecycle Observer
39.3 Adding the Observer
39.4 Testing the Observer
39.5 Creating a Lifecycle Owner
39.6 Testing the Custom Lifecycle Owner
39.7 Summary
40
40. An Overview of the Navigation Architecture Component
40. An Overview of the Navigation Architecture Component
40.1 Understanding Navigation
40.2 Declaring a Navigation Host
40.3 The Navigation Graph
40.4 Accessing the Navigation Controller
40.5 Triggering a Navigation Action
40.6 Passing Arguments
40.7 Summary
41
41. An Android Jetpack Navigation Component Tutorial
41. An Android Jetpack Navigation Component Tutorial
41.1 Creating the NavigationDemo Project
41.2 Adding Navigation to the Build Configuration
41.3 Creating the Navigation Graph Resource File
41.4 Declaring a Navigation Host
41.5 Adding Navigation Destinations
41.6 Designing the Destination Fragment Layouts
41.7 Adding an Action to the Navigation Graph
41.8 Implement the OnFragmentInteractionListener
41.9 Triggering the Action
41.10 Passing Data Using Safeargs
41.11 Summary
42
42. Creating and Managing Overflow Menus on Android
42. Creating and Managing Overflow Menus on Android
42.1 The Overflow Menu
42.2 Creating an Overflow Menu
42.3 Displaying an Overflow Menu
42.4 Responding to Menu Item Selections
42.5 Creating Checkable Item Groups
42.6 Menus and the Android Studio Menu Editor
42.7 Creating the Example Project
42.8 Designing the Menu
42.9 Modifying the onOptionsItemSelected() Method
42.10 Testing the Application
42.11 Summary
43
43. An Introduction to MotionLayout
43. An Introduction to MotionLayout
43.1 An Overview of MotionLayout
43.2 MotionLayout
43.3 MotionScene
43.4 Configuring ConstraintSets
43.5 Custom Attributes
43.6 Triggering an Animation
43.7 Arc Motion
43.8 Keyframes
43.9 Time Linearity
43.10 KeyTrigger
43.11 Cycle and Time Cycle Keyframes
43.12 Starting an Animation from Code
43.13 Summary
44
44. An Android MotionLayout Editor Tutorial
44. An Android MotionLayout Editor Tutorial
44.1 Creating the MotionLayoutDemo Project
44.2 ConstraintLayout to MotionLayout Conversion
44.3 Configuring Start and End Constraints
44.4 Previewing the MotionLayout Animation
44.5 Adding an OnClick Gesture
44.6 Adding an Attribute Keyframe to the Transition
44.7 Adding a CustomAttribute to a Transition
44.8 Adding Position Keyframes
44.9 Summary
45
45. A MotionLayout KeyCycle Tutorial
45. A MotionLayout KeyCycle Tutorial
45.1 An Overview of Cycle Keyframes
45.2 Using the Cycle Editor
45.3 Creating the KeyCycleDemo Project
45.4 Configuring the Start and End Constraints
45.5 Creating the Cycles
45.6 Previewing the Animation
45.7 Adding the KeyFrameSet to the MotionScene
45.8 Summary
46
46. Working with the Floating Action Button and Snackbar
46. Working with the Floating Action Button and Snackbar
46.1 The Material Design
46.2 The Design Library
46.3 The Floating Action Button (FAB)
46.4 The Snackbar
46.5 Creating the Example Project
46.6 Reviewing the Project
46.7 Removing Navigation Features
46.8 Changing the Floating Action Button
46.9 Adding the ListView to the Content Layout
46.10 Adding Items to the ListView
46.11 Adding an Action to the Snackbar
46.12 Summary
47
47. Creating a Tabbed Interface using the TabLayout Component
47. Creating a Tabbed Interface using the TabLayout Component
47.1 An Introduction to the ViewPager
47.2 An Overview of the TabLayout Component
47.3 Creating the TabLayoutDemo Project
47.4 Creating the First Fragment
47.5 Duplicating the Fragments
47.6 Adding the TabLayout and ViewPager
47.7 Creating the Pager Adapter
47.8 Performing the Initialization Tasks
47.9 Testing the Application
47.10 Customizing the TabLayout
47.11 Displaying Icon Tab Items
47.12 Summary
48
48. Working with the RecyclerView and CardView Widgets
48. Working with the RecyclerView and CardView Widgets
48.1 An Overview of the RecyclerView
48.2 An Overview of the CardView
48.3 Summary
49
49. An Android RecyclerView and CardView Tutorial
49. An Android RecyclerView and CardView Tutorial
49.1 Creating the CardDemo Project
49.2 Modifying the Basic Activity Project
49.3 Designing the CardView Layout
49.4 Adding the RecyclerView
49.5 Creating the RecyclerView Adapter
49.6 Adding the Image Files
49.7 Initializing the RecyclerView Component
49.8 Testing the Application
49.9 Responding to Card Selections
49.10 Summary
50
50. A Layout Editor Sample Data Tutorial
50. A Layout Editor Sample Data Tutorial
50.1 Adding Sample Data to a Project
50.2 Using Custom Sample Data
50.3 Summary
51
51. Working with the AppBar and Collapsing Toolbar Layouts
51. Working with the AppBar and Collapsing Toolbar Layouts
51.1 The Anatomy of an AppBar
51.2 The Example Project
51.3 Coordinating the RecyclerView and Toolbar
51.4 Introducing the Collapsing Toolbar Layout
51.5 Changing the Title and Scrim Color
51.6 Summary
52
52. An Android Studio Master/Detail Flow Tutorial
52. An Android Studio Master/Detail Flow Tutorial
52.1 The Master/Detail Flow
52.2 Creating a Master/Detail Flow Activity
52.3 The Anatomy of the Master/Detail Flow Template
52.4 Modifying the Master/Detail Flow Template
52.5 Changing the Content Model
52.6 Changing the Detail Pane
52.7 Modifying the WebsiteDetailFragment Class
52.8 Modifying the WebsiteListActivity Class
52.9 Adding Manifest Permissions
52.10 Running the Application
52.11 Summary
53
53. An Overview of Android Intents
53. An Overview of Android Intents
53.1 An Overview of Intents
53.2 Explicit Intents
53.3 Returning Data from an Activity
53.4 Implicit Intents
53.5 Using Intent Filters
53.6 Checking Intent Availability
53.7 Summary
54
54. Android Explicit Intents – A Worked Example
54. Android Explicit Intents – A Worked Example
54.1 Creating the Explicit Intent Example Application
54.2 Designing the User Interface Layout for MainActivity
54.3 Creating the Second Activity Class
54.4 Designing the User Interface Layout for ActivityB
54.5 Reviewing the Application Manifest File
54.6 Creating the Intent
54.7 Extracting Intent Data
54.8 Launching ActivityB as a Sub-Activity
54.9 Returning Data from a Sub-Activity
54.10 Testing the Application
54.11 Summary
55
55. Android Implicit Intents – A Worked Example
55. Android Implicit Intents – A Worked Example
55.1 Creating the Android Studio Implicit Intent Example Project
55.2 Designing the User Interface
55.3 Creating the Implicit Intent
55.4 Adding a Second Matching Activity
55.5 Adding the Web View to the UI
55.6 Obtaining the Intent URL
55.7 Modifying the MyWebView Project Manifest File
55.8 Installing the MyWebView Package on a Device
55.9 Testing the Application
55.10 Summary
56
56. Android Broadcast Intents and Broadcast Receivers
56. Android Broadcast Intents and Broadcast Receivers
56.1 An Overview of Broadcast Intents
56.2 An Overview of Broadcast Receivers
56.3 Obtaining Results from a Broadcast
56.4 Sticky Broadcast Intents
56.5 The Broadcast Intent Example
56.6 Creating the Example Application
56.7 Creating and Sending the Broadcast Intent
56.8 Creating the Broadcast Receiver
56.9 Registering the Broadcast Receiver
56.10 Testing the Broadcast Example
56.11 Listening for System Broadcasts
56.12 Summary
57
57. A Basic Overview of Threads and AsyncTasks
57. A Basic Overview of Threads and AsyncTasks
57.1 An Overview of Threads
57.2 The Application Main Thread
57.3 Thread Handlers
57.4 A Basic AsyncTask Example
57.5 Subclassing AsyncTask
57.6 Testing the App
57.7 Canceling a Task
57.8 Summary
58
58. An Overview of Android Started and Bound Services
58. An Overview of Android Started and Bound Services
58.1 Started Services
58.2 Intent Service
58.3 Bound Service
58.4 The Anatomy of a Service
58.5 Controlling Destroyed Service Restart Options
58.6 Declaring a Service in the Manifest File
58.7 Starting a Service Running on System Startup
58.8 Summary
59
59. Implementing an Android Started Service – A Worked Example
59. Implementing an Android Started Service – A Worked Example
59.1 Creating the Example Project
59.2 Creating the Service Class
59.3 Adding the Service to the Manifest File
59.4 Starting the Service
59.5 Testing the IntentService Example
59.6 Using the Service Class
59.7 Creating the New Service
59.8 Modifying the User Interface
59.9 Running the Application
59.10 Creating an AsyncTask for Service Tasks
59.11 Summary
60
60. Android Local Bound Services – A Worked Example
60. Android Local Bound Services – A Worked Example
60.1 Understanding Bound Services
60.2 Bound Service Interaction Options
60.3 An Android Studio Local Bound Service Example
60.4 Adding a Bound Service to the Project
60.5 Implementing the Binder
60.6 Binding the Client to the Service
60.7 Completing the Example
60.8 Testing the Application
60.9 Summary
61
61. Android Remote Bound Services – A Worked Example
61. Android Remote Bound Services – A Worked Example
61.1 Client to Remote Service Communication
61.2 Creating the Example Application
61.3 Designing the User Interface
61.4 Implementing the Remote Bound Service
61.5 Configuring a Remote Service in the Manifest File
61.6 Launching and Binding to the Remote Service
61.7 Sending a Message to the Remote Service
61.8 Summary
62
62. An Android Notifications Tutorial
62. An Android Notifications Tutorial
62.1 An Overview of Notifications
62.2 Creating the NotifyDemo Project
62.3 Designing the User Interface
62.4 Creating the Second Activity
62.5 Creating a Notification Channel
62.6 Creating and Issuing a Basic Notification
62.7 Launching an Activity from a Notification
62.8 Adding Actions to a Notification
62.9 Bundled Notifications
62.10 Summary
63
63. An Android Direct Reply Notification Tutorial
63. An Android Direct Reply Notification Tutorial
63.1 Creating the DirectReply Project
63.2 Designing the User Interface
63.3 Creating the Notification Channel
63.4 Building the RemoteInput Object
63.5 Creating the PendingIntent
63.6 Creating the Reply Action
63.7 Receiving Direct Reply Input
63.8 Updating the Notification
63.9 Summary
64
64. Foldable Devices and Multi-Window Support
64. Foldable Devices and Multi-Window Support
64.1 Foldables and Multi-Window Support
64.2 Using a Foldable Emulator
64.3 Entering Multi-Window Mode
64.4 Enabling and using Freeform Support
64.5 Checking for Freeform Support
64.6 Enabling Multi-Window Support in an App
64.7 Specifying Multi-Window Attributes
64.8 Detecting Multi-Window Mode in an Activity
64.9 Receiving Multi-Window Notifications
64.10 Launching an Activity in Multi-Window Mode
64.11 Configuring Freeform Activity Size and Position
64.12 Summary
65
65. An Overview of Android SQLite Databases
65. An Overview of Android SQLite Databases
65.1 Understanding Database Tables
65.2 Introducing Database Schema
65.3 Columns and Data Types
65.4 Database Rows
65.5 Introducing Primary Keys
65.6 What is SQLite?
65.7 Structured Query Language (SQL)
65.8 Trying SQLite on an Android Virtual Device (AVD)
65.9 The Android Room Persistence Library
65.10 Summary
66
66. The Android Room Persistence Library
66. The Android Room Persistence Library
66.1 Revisiting Modern App Architecture
66.2 Key Elements of Room Database Persistence
66.3 Understanding Entities
66.4 Data Access Objects
66.5 The Room Database
66.6 The Repository
66.7 In-Memory Databases
66.8 Summary
67
67. An Android TableLayout and TableRow Tutorial
67. An Android TableLayout and TableRow Tutorial
67.1 The TableLayout and TableRow Layout Views
67.2 Creating the Room Database Project
67.3 Converting to a LinearLayout
67.4 Adding the TableLayout to the User Interface
67.5 Configuring the TableRows
67.6 Adding the Button Bar to the Layout
67.7 Adding the RecyclerView
67.8 Adjusting the Layout Margins
67.9 Summary
68
68. An Android Room Database and Repository Tutorial
68. An Android Room Database and Repository Tutorial
68.1 About the RoomDemo Project
68.2 Modifying the Build Configuration
68.3 Building the Entity
68.4 Creating the Data Access Object
68.5 Adding the Room Database
68.6 Adding the Repository
68.7 Modifying the ViewModel
68.8 Creating the Product Item Layout
68.9 Adding the RecyclerView Adapter
68.10 Preparing the Main Fragment
68.11 Adding the Button Listeners
68.12 Adding LiveData Observers
68.13 Initializing the RecyclerView
68.14 Testing the RoomDemo App
68.15 Summary
69
69. Accessing Cloud Storage using the Android Storage Access Framework
69. Accessing Cloud Storage using the Android Storage Access Framework
69.1 The Storage Access Framework
69.2 Working with the Storage Access Framework
69.3 Filtering Picker File Listings
69.4 Handling Intent Results
69.5 Reading the Content of a File
69.6 Writing Content to a File
69.7 Deleting a File
69.8 Gaining Persistent Access to a File
69.9 Summary
70
70. An Android Storage Access Framework Example
70. An Android Storage Access Framework Example
70.1 About the Storage Access Framework Example
70.2 Creating the Storage Access Framework Example
70.3 Designing the User Interface
70.4 Declaring Request Codes
70.5 Creating a New Storage File
70.6 The onActivityResult() Method
70.7 Saving to a Storage File
70.8 Opening and Reading a Storage File
70.9 Testing the Storage Access Application
70.10 Summary
71
71. Video Playback on Android using the VideoView and MediaController Classes
71. Video Playback on Android using the VideoView and MediaController Classes
71.1 Introducing the Android VideoView Class
71.2 Introducing the Android MediaController Class
71.3 Creating the Video Playback Example
71.4 Designing the VideoPlayer Layout
71.5 Downloading the Video File
71.6 Configuring the VideoView
71.7 Adding the MediaController to the Video View
71.8 Setting up the onPreparedListener
71.9 Summary
72
72. Android Picture-in-Picture Mode
72. Android Picture-in-Picture Mode
72.1 Picture-in-Picture Features
72.2 Enabling Picture-in-Picture Mode
72.3 Configuring Picture-in-Picture Parameters
72.4 Entering Picture-in-Picture Mode
72.5 Detecting Picture-in-Picture Mode Changes
72.6 Adding Picture-in-Picture Actions
72.7 Summary
73
73. An Android Picture-in-Picture Tutorial
73. An Android Picture-in-Picture Tutorial
73.1 Adding Picture-in-Picture Support to the Manifest
73.2 Adding a Picture-in-Picture Button
73.3 Entering Picture-in-Picture Mode
73.4 Detecting Picture-in-Picture Mode Changes
73.5 Adding a Broadcast Receiver
73.6 Adding the PiP Action
73.7 Testing the Picture-in-Picture Action
73.8 Summary
74
74. Making Runtime Permission Requests in Android
74. Making Runtime Permission Requests in Android
74.1 Understanding Normal and Dangerous Permissions
74.2 Creating the Permissions Example Project
74.3 Checking for a Permission
74.4 Requesting Permission at Runtime
74.5 Providing a Rationale for the Permission Request
74.6 Testing the Permissions App
74.7 Summary
75
75. Android Audio Recording and Playback using MediaPlayer and MediaRecorder
75. Android Audio Recording and Playback using MediaPlayer and MediaRecorder
75.1 Playing Audio
75.2 Recording Audio and Video using the MediaRecorder Class
75.3 About the Example Project
75.4 Creating the AudioApp Project
75.5 Designing the User Interface
75.6 Checking for Microphone Availability
75.7 Performing the Activity Initialization
75.8 Implementing the recordAudio() Method
75.9 Implementing the stopAudio() Method
75.10 Implementing the playAudio() method
75.11 Configuring and Requesting Permissions
75.12 Testing the Application
75.13 Summary
76
76. Working with the Google Maps Android API in Android Studio
76. Working with the Google Maps Android API in Android Studio
76.1 The Elements of the Google Maps Android API
76.2 Creating the Google Maps Project
76.3 Obtaining Your Developer Signature
76.4 Adding the Apache HTTP Legacy Library Requirement
76.5 Testing the Application
76.6 Understanding Geocoding and Reverse Geocoding
76.7 Adding a Map to an Application
76.8 Requesting Current Location Permission
76.9 Displaying the User’s Current Location
76.10 Changing the Map Type
76.11 Displaying Map Controls to the User
76.12 Handling Map Gesture Interaction
76.13 Creating Map Markers
76.14 Controlling the Map Camera
76.15 Summary
77
77. Printing with the Android Printing Framework
77. Printing with the Android Printing Framework
77.1 The Android Printing Architecture
77.2 The Print Service Plugins
77.3 Google Cloud Print
77.4 Printing to Google Drive
77.5 Save as PDF
77.6 Printing from Android Devices
77.7 Options for Building Print Support into Android Apps
77.8 Summary
78
78. An Android HTML and Web Content Printing Example
78. An Android HTML and Web Content Printing Example
78.1 Creating the HTML Printing Example Application
78.2 Printing Dynamic HTML Content
78.3 Creating the Web Page Printing Example
78.4 Removing the Floating Action Button
78.5 Removing Navigation Features
78.6 Designing the User Interface Layout
78.7 Loading the Web Page into the WebView
78.8 Adding the Print Menu Option
78.9 Summary
79
79. A Guide to Android Custom Document Printing
79. A Guide to Android Custom Document Printing
79.1 An Overview of Android Custom Document Printing
79.2 Preparing the Custom Document Printing Project
79.3 Creating the Custom Print Adapter
79.4 Implementing the onLayout() Callback Method
79.5 Implementing the onWrite() Callback Method
79.6 Checking a Page is in Range
79.7 Drawing the Content on the Page Canvas
79.8 Starting the Print Job
79.9 Testing the Application
79.10 Summary
80
80. An Introduction to Android App Links
80. An Introduction to Android App Links
80.1 An Overview of Android App Links
80.2 App Link Intent Filters
80.3 Handling App Link Intents
80.4 Associating the App with a Website
80.5 Summary
81
81. An Android Studio App Links Tutorial
81. An Android Studio App Links Tutorial
81.1 About the Example App
81.2 The Database Schema
81.3 Loading and Running the Project
81.4 Adding the URL Mapping
81.5 Adding the Intent Filter
81.6 Adding Intent Handling Code
81.7 Testing the App Link
81.8 Associating an App Link with a Web Site
81.9 Summary
82
82. A Guide to the Android Studio Profiler
82. A Guide to the Android Studio Profiler
82.1 Accessing the Android Profiler
82.2 Enabling Advanced Profiling
82.3 The Android Profiler Tool Window
82.4 The Sessions Panel
82.5 The CPU Profiler
82.6 Memory Profiler
82.7 Network Profiler
82.8 Energy Profiler
82.9 Summary
83
83. An Android Biometric Authentication Tutorial
83. An Android Biometric Authentication Tutorial
83.1 An Overview of Biometric Authentication
83.2 Creating the Biometric Authentication Project
83.3 Configuring Device Fingerprint Authentication
83.4 Adding the Biometric Permission to the Manifest File
83.5 Designing the User Interface
83.6 Adding a Toast Convenience Method
83.7 Checking the Security Settings
83.8 Configuring the Authentication Callbacks
83.9 Adding the CancellationSignal
83.10 Starting the Biometric Prompt
83.11 Testing the Project
83.12 Summary
84
84. Creating, Testing and Uploading an Android App Bundle
84. Creating, Testing and Uploading an Android App Bundle
84.1 The Release Preparation Process
84.2 Android App Bundles
84.3 Register for a Google Play Developer Console Account
84.4 Configuring the App in the Console
84.5 Enabling Google Play App Signing
84.6 Creating a Keystore File
84.7 Creating the Android App Bundle
84.8 Generating Test APK Files
84.9 Uploading the App Bundle to the Google Play Developer Console
84.10 Exploring the App Bundle
84.11 Managing Testers
84.12 Uploading New App Bundle Revisions
84.13 Analyzing the App Bundle File
84.14 Enabling Google Play Signing for an Existing App
84.15 Summary
85
85. An Overview of Android Dynamic Feature Modules
85. An Overview of Android Dynamic Feature Modules
85.1 An Overview of Dynamic Feature Modules
85.2 Dynamic Feature Module Architecture
85.3 Creating a Dynamic Feature Module
85.4 Converting an Existing Module for Dynamic Delivery
85.5 Working with Dynamic Feature Modules
85.6 Handling Large Dynamic Feature Modules
85.7 Summary
86
86. An Android Studio Dynamic Feature Tutorial
86. An Android Studio Dynamic Feature Tutorial
86.1 Creating the DynamicFeature Project
86.2 Adding Dynamic Feature Support to the Project
86.3 Designing the Base Activity User Interface
86.4 Adding the Dynamic Feature Module
86.5 Reviewing the Dynamic Feature Module
86.6 Adding the Dynamic Feature Activity
86.7 Implementing the launchIntent() Method
86.8 Uploading the App Bundle for Testing
86.9 Implementing the installFeature() Method
86.10 Adding the Update Listener
86.11 Handling Large Downloads
86.12 Using Deferred Installation
86.13 Removing a Dynamic Module
86.14 Summary
87
87. An Overview of Gradle in Android Studio
87. An Overview of Gradle in Android Studio
87.1 An Overview of Gradle
87.2 Gradle and Android Studio
87.3 The Top-level Gradle Build File
87.4 Module Level Gradle Build Files
87.5 Configuring Signing Settings in the Build File
87.6 Running Gradle Tasks from the Command-line
87.7 Summary
88
Index
Index

22.2 Manual XML vs. Visual Layout Design

When to write XML manually as opposed to using the Layout Editor tool in design mode is a matter of personal preference. There are, however, advantages to using design mode.

First, design mode will generally be quicker given that it avoids the necessity to type lines of XML. Additionally, design mode avoids the need to learn the intricacies of the various property values of the Android SDK view classes. Rather than continually refer to the Android documentation to find the correct keywords and values, most properties can be located by referring to the Attributes panel.

All the advantages of design mode aside, it is important to keep in mind that the two approaches to user interface design are in no way mutually exclusive. As an application developer, it is quite likely that you will end up creating user interfaces within design mode while performing fine-tuning and layout tweaks of the design by directly editing the generated XML resources...

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