Table Of ContentBegin the journey toward your own
successful tablet apps
Beginning
Android Tablet
Programming
Robbie Matthews
ApreSS
Beginning Android Tablet
Programming
Starting with Android Honeycomb for Tablets
Robbie Matthews
Apress
Beginning Android Tablet Programming: Starting with Android Honeycomb for Tablets
Copyright © 2011 by Robbie Matthews
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Robbie Matthews
Contents at a Glance
■ About the Author..........................................................................................................xiv
■ About the Technical Reviewer....................................................................................xv
■ Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................xvi
■ Some Notes on Using the Downloaded Code..........................................................xvii
■ Chapter 1: Getting Started.............................................................................................1
■ Chapter 2: How Android Works...................................................................................27
■ Chapter 3: What Can You Do with an Android Tablet?............................................53
■ Chapter 4: Beyond Java: Programming in Python and Friends..............................79
■ Chapter 5: Project 1: Media Player...........................................................................105
■ Chapter 6: Explorer.....................................................................................................123
■ Chapter 7: Contact Manager......................................................................................151
■ Chapter 8: Dude, Where’s My Car?...........................................................................175
■ Chapter 10: Remind Me.............................................................................................221
■ Chapter 11: Everything Else.......................................................................................243
■ Index.............................................................................................................................269
iv
Contents
■ About the Author..........................................................................................................xiv
■ About the Technical Reviewer....................................................................................xv
■ Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................xvi
■ Some Notes on Using the Downloaded Code..........................................................xvii
■ Chapter 1: Getting Started.............................................................................................1
A Short, Personal History of Portable Programming................................................................................1
The Advent of Android...............................................................................................................................................3
Preparing Your Computer........................................................................................................................................4
Installing Your Development Environment...............................................................................................................4
Creating an Emulator Instance...................................................................................................................................5
Setting Your Path............................................................................................................................................................6
Your First Android Program....................................................................................................................................6
Oh, No! Java!...................................................................................................................................................................9
A Quick Guide to Java..............................................................................................................................................10
Structure........................................................................................................................................................................11
Primitives.......................................................................................................................................................................12
Flow Control.................................................................................................................................................................12
Objects............................................................................................................................................................................13
Constructors, Initializers, and Overloading............................................................................................................17
Where’s “Free”?..........................................................................................................................................................19
String Handling.............................................................................................................................................................20
v
■ CONTENTS
Packages.......................................................................................................................................................................21
Lists and Maps.............................................................................................................................................................22
Generics.........................................................................................................................................................................23
Inheritance and Interfaces.........................................................................................................................................24
Annotations....................................................................................................................................................................25
And Many More............................................................................................................................................................26
Summary...................................................................................................................................................26
■ Chapter 2: How Android Works...................................................................................27
Basic Structure of Android Programs..............................................................................................27
Lifecycle........................................................................................................................................................................38
Intents: What, Where, Why, and Are They Honorable?...............................................................42
Intent Filters..................................................................................................................................................................47
Common Intents..........................................................................................................................................................48
Finally.............................................................................................................................................................................48
Secretly Linux...........................................................................................................................................49
Summary...................................................................................................................................................51
■ Chapter 3: What Can You Do with an Android Tablet?............................................53
More Sensors Than the CIA.................................................................................................................54
Lights, Camera, Action...........................................................................................................................63
Browsing for Fun and Profit.................................................................................................................64
Managing Your Assets................................................................................................................................................66
Getting Fancy................................................................................................................................................................67
My Little Black Book— Managing Contacts...................................................................................69
Accessing Contacts.....................................................................................................................................................69
A Quick Side Trip into Lists........................................................................................................................................72
Different Things to Access.........................................................................................................................................74
vi
■ CONTENTS
Share My Stuff (Sending and Receiving, Well, Everything)......................................................75
Bonus Stuff—Menu Options.....................................................................................................................................75
Sending E-mail.............................................................................................................................................................76
Sound and Fury (Managing Media Files)........................................................................................77
Summary...................................................................................................................................................78
■ Chapter 4: Beyond Java: Programming in Python and Friends..............................79
Why Use Another Language?..............................................................................................................80
Getting Started.........................................................................................................................................80
Script Management...............................................................................................................................80
Help! I Need Somebody..............................................................................................................................................82
Python Help..................................................................................................................................................................82
What’s a Facade?........................................................................................................................................................82
Intents (Again)..............................................................................................................................................................83
Different Ways of Using the Intent Methods.........................................................................................................84
User Interaction...........................................................................................................................................................86
Events.............................................................................................................................................................................89
Media Files....................................................................................................................................................................91
Controlling Your Phone...............................................................................................................................................94
Where Am I?.................................................................................................................................................................95
Battery............................................................................................................................................................................97
Keeping the Device Awake........................................................................................................................................99
Editing Tips..................................................................................................................................................................100
Contacts and Phone Numbers................................................................................................................................102
SQL................................................................................................................................................................................103
More Stuff....................................................................................................................................................................104
Summary.................................................................................................................................................104
vii
■ CONTENTS
■ Chapter 5: Project 1: Media Player...........................................................................105
Fragments...............................................................................................................................................105
What’s a Fragment?.................................................................................................................................................105
Examining the Example...........................................................................................................................................106
The ActionBar.............................................................................................................................................................109
FragmentManager.....................................................................................................................................................111
Media Player Application...................................................................................................................112
Displaying a List from a Cursor.............................................................................................................................114
Querying Media Files................................................................................................................................................115
Responding to Clicks................................................................................................................................................115
Some More on the ActionBar..................................................................................................................................115
Menu.............................................................................................................................................................................116
Getting a Media URI...................................................................................................................................................116
Playing Media.............................................................................................................................................................117
Different Media Sources..........................................................................................................................................118
Dialog Boxes...............................................................................................................................................................118
Changing a List Cursor.............................................................................................................................................120
Advanced Media Playing.........................................................................................................................................120
Displaying Our Progress..........................................................................................................................................121
Controlling Our Progress.........................................................................................................................................122
Summary.................................................................................................................................................122
■ Chapter 6: Explorer.....................................................................................................123
Anatomy of a File Explorer.................................................................................................................123
ListActivity for Fun and Profit.................................................................................................................................124
A Note on Resources................................................................................................................................................125
Build Your Own List Adapter...................................................................................................................................126
Inflation........................................................................................................................................................................128
Populating the List.....................................................................................................................................................128
viii
■ CONTENTS
Finding Out About Your File....................................................................................................................................130
Learning to Mime.......................................................................................................................................................133
Dating Your File.........................................................................................................................................................133
Going Native...............................................................................................................................................................133
State Your Preference..............................................................................................................................................137
Reading Your Preferences.......................................................................................................................................139
Sorting Techniques....................................................................................................................................................141
The Actual Activity.....................................................................................................................................................141
Reacting to a List Selection....................................................................................................................................142
Creation at Last.........................................................................................................................................................143
A Different Menu........................................................................................................................................................144
Reacting to a Context Menu...................................................................................................................................144
Dialogs..........................................................................................................................................................................145
A Few Last Bits...........................................................................................................................................................148
Making It Better.........................................................................................................................................................149
Summary.................................................................................................................................................149
■ Chapter 7: Contact Manager......................................................................................151
And Now for Something Completely Different............................................................................152
The Application...........................................................................................................................................................152
Anatomy of a Signpost.............................................................................................................................................152
Knowing When the View Is Available....................................................................................................................156
Room for Improvement.............................................................................................................................................156
Backward Compatibility...........................................................................................................................................157
List Handling...............................................................................................................................................................158
Saving the List............................................................................................................................................................158
Reusing Your Libraries.............................................................................................................................................159
Import and Export......................................................................................................................................................159
A Last Note on Dialogs.............................................................................................................................................160
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