Android

What is Android?

Android is a open source and linux based operating system.

Its seen primary in tablets and smart phones.

Based on a Linux kernel. Applications are Java Based

Developed by the open handset Alliance, led by Google & other

companies.

Features Of Android

Beautiful UI.

Connectivity.

Storage.

Media Support.

Multi tasking.

Multi touch.

Resizable widgets.

Web browser.

Environment Setup

Need either of the following operating system:

Microsoft windows XP or later version.

Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later version.

Linux

Following is list of software , we need for Android

Application programming:

JDK5 or JDK6

Android SDK

Eclipse

ADT Plug-in

Android Architecture

Linux kernel:

Its the bottom layer. This provides basic

functionality
like
process
management,
memory management, device management
like camera, keypad, display etc.
Libraries:

On top of Linux kernel there is a set of

libraries including open-source Web browser
engine WebKit, well known library libc, SQLite
database which is a useful repository for
storage and sharing of application data,
libraries to play and record audio and video,
SSL libraries responsible for Internet security
etc.

Application Framework:

The Application Framework layer provides

many higher-level services to applications in
the form of Java classes. Application
developers are allowed to make use of these
services in their applications. .
Applications:

We will find all the Android application at

the top layer. We will write the application to
be installed on this layer only. Examples of
such applications are Contacts Books,
Browser, Games etc.

Application Components

Activities.

Services.

Broadcast Receivers.

Content providers.

Activities : Dictate the UI and handle the user

interaction to the Smartphone screen
Services: Handle background
associated with an application.

processing

Broadcast
Receivers
:
Handle
communication between Android OS and
applications.
Content Providers : Handle data and database
management issues.

Creating a Project

Need
the
items
circled
Then
click
Finish

Project Components

src your source code

gen auto-generated code (usually just R.java)

Included libraries

Resources

Drawables

Layouts

Values (like strings)

Manifest file

XML

Used to define some of the resources:

Layouts (UI),Strings

Manifest file
Shouldnt usually have to edit it
directly, Eclipse can do that.
Preferred
way
of
creating
UIs.Separates the description of the
layout from any actual code that
controls it.Can easily take a UI from
one platform to another

R Class

Auto-generated: We shouldnt edit it

Contains IDs of the project resources

Enforces good software engineering

Use findViewById and Resources

object to get access to the resources

Ex. Button b = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button1)

Ex. getResources().getString(R.string.hello));

Layouts

Eclipse has a great UI creator. It

generates the XML.

Composed of View objects

Can be specified for portrait and

landscape mode

Use same file name, so can make completely different

UIs for the orientations without modifying any code

Google fees

To sell an application, one must have a

Google Checkout account.
Google charges 20 dollars for the account.
Google also charges 3% to withdraw your
profits. This is in addition to the 30% cut for
selling an app.
In the end, Google consumes 33% of your
sale price.

Android Market Share is growing

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/01/android-beats-nokia-apple-rim-in-2010-but-firm-warns-about-2011.ars

Issues with Android Development

The strength of Google Android platform is its

flexibility. Anyone can put their version of
Android. This is a pain for developers.
Random amount of RAM, different CPUs,
screen sized and manufacture changes to the
phone make it almost impossible to make
completely compatible applications.