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)

Chapter 2: First Contact: Java, XML, and the UI Designer

At this stage, we have a working Android development environment and we have built and deployed our first app. It is obvious, however, that the auto-generated code from Android Studio is not going to make the next top-selling app on Google Play. We need to explore this auto-generated code so we can begin to understand Android and then learn how to build upon this useful template. With this aim in mind, in this chapter, we will do the following:

  • See how to get technical feedback from our apps
  • Examine the Java code and UI XML code from our first app
  • Get our first taste of using the Android Studio User Interface (UI) designer
  • Learn some core Java fundamentals and how they relate to Android
  • Write our first Java code

First, let's see how to get feedback from our apps.