Book Image

Android Programming for Beginners - Third Edition

By : John Horton
Book Image

Android Programming for Beginners - Third Edition

By: John Horton

Overview of this book

Do you want to make a career in programming but don’t know where to start? Do you have a great idea for an app but don't know how to make it a reality? Or are you worried that you’ll have to learn Java programming to become an Android developer? Look no further! This new and expanded third edition of Android Programming for Beginners will be your guide to creating Android applications from scratch. The book starts by introducing you to all the fundamental concepts of programming in an Android context, from the basics of Java to working with the Android API. You’ll learn with the help of examples that use up-to-date API classes and are created within Android Studio, the official Android development environment that helps supercharge your mobile application development process. After a crash course on the key programming concepts, you’ll explore Android programming and get to grips with creating applications with a professional-standard UI using fragments and storing user data with SQLite. This Android Java book also shows you how you can make your apps multilingual, draw on the screen with a finger, and work with graphics, sound, and animations. By the end of this Android programming book, you'll be ready to start building your own custom applications in Android and Java.
Table of Contents (30 chapters)

The Widget Exploration app

So far, we have discussed seven widgets: EditText, ImageView, RadioButton (and RadioGroup), Switch, CheckBox, TextClock, and WebView. Let's make a working app and do something real with each of them. We will also use a Button widget and a TextView widget again.

Remember that you can refer to the completed code in the download bundle. This app can be found in Chapter 13/Widget Exploration.

Setting up the Widget Exploration project and UI

First, we will set up a new project and prepare the UI layout. These steps will arrange all the widgets on the screen and set the id properties, ready to grab a reference to them. It is useful to look at the target layout – while it is up and running – before we get started. Take a look at the following screenshot:

Figure 13.5 – Widget exploration layout

Here is how this app will demonstrate these widgets:

  • The radio buttons allow the user to change the time...