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)

Exploring the file and folder structure of the Empty Activity project template

The simplest project type with an autogenerated UI is the Empty Activity project template. The UI is almost empty, but it is there ready to be added to. When we create a project even with an empty UI, Android Studio also autogenerates the Java code to display the UI. Therefore, when we add it to the empty UI, it is ready to be displayed.

Let's create an Empty Activity project. This is almost the same process as in Chapter 1, Beginning Android and Java, with one slight difference that I will point out.

If you have the project from Chapter 2, First Contact: Java, XML, and the UI Designer, open, select File | New | New Project…. Alternatively, if you are on the Android Studio welcome screen, select Start a new Android Studio project. Then, proceed as follows:

  1. On the Select a Project Template window, select Empty Activity. This is the bit that is different from what we did in Chapter...