Beginning Android Tablet Programming : Starting with Android Honeycomb for Tablets

Beginning Android Tablet Programming starts off by showing how to get your system ready for Android tablet programming. You won't need any previous Android experience, because you'll learn all about the basic structure of an Android program and how the Android operating system works—and then you'll learn how to write your first Android tablet application from scratch! Beginning Android Tablet Programming then equips you to build a set of interesting and fully-working Android tablet applications. These projects will give you the inspiration and insights to build your own Android programs in the future. You'll be introduced to 2D programming, and you'll see what you can do with a touch screen interface and the Honeycomb SDK. Of course, 3D programming is even more alluring for many programmers. If that includes you, you'll learn about how Honeycomb has changed the game for Android graphics programming, and get your first taste of 3D programming on an Android tablet. Lights, camera, action! You'll learn along the way how Android Honeycomb gives you access, through your programming, to all those interesting sensors that tablet computers are equipped with today—beyond the touch screen itself. You'll learn, for example, how you to use a tablet GPS sensor to locate your car! You'll also discover how you can access files on your tablet—or on the web—through programming, and then build on that insight to create your own file browser application. This Android project contains many useful coding techniques appropriate for many situations you might encounter in your future programming Android tablet applications; you'll be glad to have them under your belt. So do you want to write programs that can receive and send reminder messages via SMS? Do you want to write your first 2D or 3D game on Android? Perhaps you'd like to write an application that sorts out all your contacts for you! Beginning Android Tablet Programming introduces you to Android tablet programming, and shows how you can program your Android tablet from scratch to do what you want! What you’ll learn Programming for a touch screen environment Learn about the new facilities available from Android 3.0 Honeycomb Take advantage of sensors and data feeds while writing entirely new applications Code a game for an Android tablet How to write Android tablet programs code in programming languages other than Java Transition from an Android smart phone environment to an Android tablet Who this book is for Beginning and intermediate Android programmers Intermediate Java programmers Intermediate programmers in open-source programming languages, especially Python Table of Contents Getting Started How Android Works What You Can Do with an Android Tablet Beyond Java: Programming in Python and Friends Project 1: Media Player Explorer:An Android File Explorer Contact Manager:and other potentially useful applications Dude, Where’s My Car?:Adventures in GPS Let the games begin!: Some 2d and 3d graphical game techniques Remind Me:Playing with Alarms and SMS Everything Else: Advanced Techniques and other stuff GetFullPageImage......Page 1 front-matter......Page 2 Index......Page 0 A Short, Personal History of Portable Programming......Page 20 The Advent of Android......Page 22 Installing Your Development Environment......Page 23 Creating an Emulator Instance......Page 24 Your First Android Program......Page 25 Oh, No! Java!......Page 28 A Quick Guide to Java......Page 29 Structure......Page 30 Flow Control......Page 31 Objects......Page 32 Constructors, Initializers, and Overloading......Page 36 Where’s “Free”?......Page 38 String Handling......Page 39 Packages......Page 40 Lists and Maps......Page 41 Generics......Page 42 Inheritance and Interfaces......Page 43 Annotations......Page 44 Summary......Page 45 Basic Structure of Android Programs......Page 46 Intents: What, Where, Why, and Are They Honorable?......Page 61 Intent Filters......Page 66 Finally......Page 67 Secretly Linux......Page 68 Summary......Page 70 CHAPTER 3 What Can You Do with an Android Tablet?......Page 71 More Sensors Than the CIA......Page 72 Lights, Camera, Action......Page 81 Browsing for Fun and Profit......Page 82 Managing Your Assets......Page 84 Getting Fancy......Page 85 Accessing Contacts......Page 87 A Quick Side Trip into Lists......Page 90 Different Things to Access......Page 92 Bonus Stuff—Menu Options......Page 93 Sending E-mail......Page 94 Sound and Fury (Managing Media Files)......Page 95 Summary......Page 96 CHAPTER 4 Beyond Java: Programming in Python and Friends......Page 97 Script Management......Page 98 What’s a Facade?......Page 100 Intents (Again)......Page 101 Different Ways of Using the Intent Methods......Page 102 User Interaction......Page 104 Events......Page 107 Media Files......Page 109 Controlling Your Phone......Page 112 Where Am I?......Page 113 Battery......Page 115 Keeping the Device Awake......Page 117 Editing Tips......Page 118 Contacts and Phone Numbers......Page 120 SQL......Page 121 Summary......Page 122 What’s a Fragment?......Page 123 Examining the Example......Page 124 The ActionBar......Page 127 FragmentManager......Page 129 Media Player Application......Page 130 Displaying a List from a Cursor......Page 132 Some More on the ActionBar......Page 133 Getting a Media URI......Page 134 Playing Media......Page 135 Dialog Boxes......Page 136 Advanced Media Playing......Page 138 Displaying Our Progress......Page 139 Summary......Page 140 Anatomy of a File Explorer......Page 141 ListActivity for Fun and Profit......Page 142 A Note on Resources......Page 143 Build Your Own List Adapter......Page 144 Populating the List......Page 146 Finding Out About Your File......Page 148 Going Native......Page 151 State Your Preference......Page 155 Sorting Techniques......Page 158 The Actual Activity......Page 159 Reacting to a List Selection......Page 160 Creation at Last......Page 161 Reacting to a Context Menu......Page 162 Dialogs......Page 163 A Few Last Bits......Page 166 Summary......Page 167 CHAPTER 7 Contact Manager......Page 168 Anatomy of a Signpost......Page 169 Room for Improvement......Page 173 Backward Compatibility......Page 174 Saving the List......Page 175 Import and Export......Page 176 A Last Note on Dialogs......Page 177 Managing Contacts......Page 178 Loaders......Page 179 Why a Loader?......Page 180 The Search Bar......Page 181 Contact Details......Page 183 Editing Data......Page 186 Adding a Phone Number......Page 187 Changing Types......Page 188 And Deleting......Page 189 Summary......Page 190 Location Manager......Page 191 BAT3PGps......Page 192 A Class to Handle the Location Manager......Page 193 Location......Page 197 The Compass......Page 199 Bearing and Distance......Page 201 Wakeup Calls......Page 202 Services......Page 203 Notifications......Page 204 Proximity Alerts......Page 206 Proximity Alert Pros and Cons......Page 208 Lists of Targets......Page 209 Where Was That Again?......Page 213 Summary......Page 214 Threads......Page 215 Java Threads......Page 216 Synchronizing Your Threads......Page 218 Floater......Page 219 SurfaceView......Page 220 Handlers......Page 223 Handling Input......Page 224 Custom Fonts......Page 225 So What’s an Asset?......Page 226 Menus: A Different Approach......Page 228 It’s a Box......Page 230 More Interprocess Communication Options......Page 235 Summary......Page 236 Alarms......Page 237 Matching PendingIntent......Page 238 Sending SMS......Page 239 Receiving SMS......Page 240 Text To Speech......Page 241 SQLite......Page 243 Creating a SQLite Database......Page 244 Using Your Database......Page 245 The Application......Page 246 Contacts......Page 249 Set Alarm......Page 250 Alarms List......Page 253 Testing TTS......Page 256 Summary......Page 257 Timers......Page 258 Stopping Gracefully......Page 261 Doing Things in Background......Page 262 Asking for Directions......Page 266 The Download Manager......Page 269 Querying Your Downloads......Page 272 Animations......Page 274 Defining an Animation......Page 275 Loading Your Animation......Page 276 Programming Your USB......Page 277 Responding to USB Events......Page 280 And Finally......Page 282 back-matter......Page 283

Beginning Android Tablet Programming starts off by showing how to get your system ready for Android tablet programming. You won't need any previous Android experience, because you'll learn all about the basic structure of an Android program and how the Android operating system works-and then you'll learn how to write your first Android tablet application from scratch!

Beginning Android Tablet Programming then equips you to build a set of interesting and fully-working Android tablet applications. These projects will give you the inspiration and insights to build your own Android programs in the future.

You'll be introduced to 2D programming, and you'll see what you can do with a touch screen interface and the Honeycomb SDK. Of course, 3D programming is even more alluring for many programmers. If that includes you, you'll learn about how Honeycomb has changed the game for Android graphics programming, and get your first taste of 3D programming on an Android tablet.

Lights, camera, action! You'll learn along the way how Android Honeycomb gives you access, through your programming, to all those interesting sensors that tablet computers are equipped with today-beyond the touch screen itself. You'll learn, for example, how you to use a tablet GPS sensor to locate your car!

You'll also discover how you can access files on your tablet-or on the web-through programming, and then build on that insight to create your own file browser application. This Android project contains many useful coding techniques appropriate for many situations you might encounter in your future programming Android tablet applications; you'll be glad to have them under your belt.

So do you want to write programs that can receive and send reminder messages via SMS? Do you want to write your first 2D or 3D game on Android? Perhaps you'd like to write an application that sorts out all your contacts for you! Beginning Android Tablet Programming introduces you to Android tablet programming, and shows how you can program your Android tablet from scratch to do what you want!

What you’ll learn

• Programming for a touch screen environment
• Learn about the new facilities available from Android 3.0 Honeycomb
• Take advantage of sensors and data feeds while writing entirely new applications
• Code a game for an Android tablet
• How to write Android tablet programs code in programming languages other than Java
• Transition from an Android smart phone environment to an Android tablet

Who this book is for

• Beginning and intermediate Android programmers
• Intermediate Java programmers
• Intermediate programmers in open-source programming languages, especially Python

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started
2. How Android Works
3. What You Can Do with an Android Tablet
4. Beyond Java: Programming in Python and Friends
5. Project 1: Media Player
6. Explorer:An Android File Explorer
7. Contact Manager:and other potentially useful applications
8. Dude, Where’s My Car?:Adventures in GPS
9. Let the games begin!: Some 2d and 3d graphical game techniques
10. Remind Me:Playing with Alarms and SMS
11. Everything Else: Advanced Techniques and other stuff

Annotation Beginning Android Tablet Programmingstarts off by showing how to get your system ready for Android tablet programming. You won't need any previous Android experience, because you'll learn all about the basic structure of an Android program and how the Android operating system worksand then you'll learn how to write your first Android tablet application from scratch!Beginning Android Tablet Programmingthen equips youto build a set of interesting and fully-working Android tablet applications. These projects will give you the inspiration and insights to build your own Android programs in the future. You'll be introduced to 2D programming, and you'll see what you can do with a touch screen interface and the Honeycomb SDK. Of course, 3D programming is even more alluring for many programmers. If that includes you, you'll learn about how Honeycomb has changed the game for Android graphics programming, and get your first taste of 3D programming on an Android tablet. Lights, camera, action! You'll learn along the way how Android Honeycomb gives you access, through your programming, to all those interesting sensors that tablet computers are equipped with todaybeyond the touch screen itself. You'll learn, for example, how you to use a tablet GPS sensor to locate your car!You'll also discover how you can access files on your tabletor on the webthrough programming, and then build on that insight to create your own file browser application. This Android project contains many useful coding techniques appropriatefor many situations you might encounter in your future programmingAndroid tablet applications;you'll be glad to have them under your belt. So do you want to write programs that can receive and send reminder messages via SMS? Do you want to write your first 2D or 3D game on Android? Perhaps you'd like to write an application that sorts out all your contacts for you!Beginning Android Tablet Programmingintroduces you to Android tablet programming, and showshow you can program your Android tablet from scratchto do what you want!What youll learnProgramming for a touch screen environmentLearn about the new facilities available from Android 3.0 HoneycombTake advantage of sensors and data feeds while writing entirely new applicationsCode a game for an Android tabletHow to write Android tablet programs code in programming languages other than JavaTransition from an Android smart phone environment to an Android tabletWho this book is forBeginning and intermediate Android programmersIntermediate Java programmersIntermediate programmers in open-source programming languages, especially PythonTable of ContentsGetting StartedHow Android WorksWhat You Can Do with an Android TabletBeyond Java: Programming in Python and FriendsProject 1: Media PlayerExplorer:An Android File ExplorerContact Manager:and other potentially useful applicationsDude, Wheres My Car?:Adventures in GPSLet the games begin!: Some 2d and 3d graphical game techniquesRemind Me:Playing with Alarms and SMSEverything Else: Advanced Techniques and other stuff Beginning Android Tablet Programming starts off by showing how to get your system ready for Android tablet programming. You won't need any previous Android experience, because you'll learn all about the basic structure of an Android program and how the Android operating system works - and then you'll learn how to write your first Android tablet application from scratch!. Beginning Android Tablet Programming then equips you to build a set of interesting and fully-working Android tablet applications. These projects will give you the inspiration and insights to build your own Android programs in