Beginning Android 2

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Mark L. Murphy

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First, welcome to the world of Android! As you have probably noticed,

Android is rapidly growing; with the release of Android 2, many devices

from various manufacturers are dotting the landscape. With millions of de￾vices in the wild, and millions more on the way, those who get into the

latest version of Android early will reap the benefits as the ecosystem con￾tinues to grow.

Second, welcome to the new edition of this book, which now covers Android

2! Its purpose is to start you on your way to building compelling Android 2 ap￾plications, and to help you master the learning curve. Android 2 is a rich frame￾work, which means that there is a lot of cool stuff for you to pick up along your

journey in order to create the slickest, most useful apps you can imagine.

Android 2 is an important release of the framework, so it’s important to get

off to the best possible start when learning the ins and outs of Android 2

development. This book guides you on your journey to learning Android 2,

pointing out what is possible and showing you how to turn those concepts

into reality. From there, building practical and popular apps is a matter of

time and creativity.

Android 2

ISBN 978-1-4302-2629-1

9 781430 226291

5 44 9 9

i

Beginning Android 2

■ ■ ■

Mark L. Murphy

ii

Beginning Android 2

Copyright © 2010 by Mark L. Murphy

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iii

iv

Contents at a Glance

■Contents at a Glance................................................................................................................................. iv

■Contents..................................................................................................................................................... v

■About the Author..................................................................................................................................... xiii

■Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................................xiv

■Preface......................................................................................................................................................xv

■Chapter 1: The Big Picture......................................................................................................................... 1

■Chapter 2: Projects and Targets ................................................................................................................ 5

■Chapter 3: Creating a Skeleton Application............................................................................................. 17

■Chapter 4: Using XML-Based Layouts...................................................................................................... 23

■Chapter 5: Employing Basic Widgets....................................................................................................... 29

■Chapter 6: Working with Containers........................................................................................................ 39

■Chapter 7: Using Selection Widgets......................................................................................................... 59

■Chapter 8: Getting Fancy with Lists......................................................................................................... 75

■Chapter 9: Employing Fancy Widgets and Containers ............................................................................. 95

■Chapter 10: The Input Method Framework ............................................................................................ 117

■Chapter 11: Applying Menus.................................................................................................................. 125

■Chapter 12: Fonts................................................................................................................................... 137

■Chapter 13: Embedding the WebKit Browser......................................................................................... 141

■Chapter 14: Showing Pop-Up Messages................................................................................................ 149

■Chapter 15: Dealing with Threads ......................................................................................................... 155

■Chapter 16: Handling Activity Life Cycle Events .................................................................................... 167

■Chapter 17: Creating Intent Filters ........................................................................................................ 171

■Chapter 18: Launching Activities and Subactivities .............................................................................. 177

■Chapter 19: Handling Rotation............................................................................................................... 185

■Chapter 20: Working with Resources .................................................................................................... 197

■Chapter 21: Using Preferences .............................................................................................................. 213

■Chapter 22: Managing and Accessing Local Databases ........................................................................ 225

■Chapter 23: Accessing Files................................................................................................................... 237

■Chapter 24: Leveraging Java Libraries.................................................................................................. 245

■Chapter 25: Communicating via the Internet......................................................................................... 253

■Chapter 26: Using a Content Provider.................................................................................................... 259

■Chapter 27: Building a Content Provider ............................................................................................... 265

■Chapter 28: Requesting and Requiring Permissions ............................................................................. 275

■Chapter 29: Creating a Service .............................................................................................................. 279

■Chapter 30: Invoking a Service.............................................................................................................. 285

■Chapter 31: Alerting Users via Notifications.......................................................................................... 289

■Chapter 32: Accessing Location-Based Services................................................................................... 295

■Chapter 33: Mapping with MapView and MapActivity........................................................................... 301

■Chapter 34: Handling Telephone Calls ................................................................................................... 311

■Chapter 35: Development Tools ............................................................................................................. 315

■Chapter 36: Handling Multiple Screen Sizes.......................................................................................... 331

■Chapter 37: Dealing with Devices.......................................................................................................... 353

■Chapter 38: Handling Platform Changes................................................................................................ 359

■Chapter 39: Where Do We Go from Here? .............................................................................................. 367

■Index ...................................................................................................................................................... 369

v

Contents

■Contents at a Glance....................................................................................... iv

■Contents .......................................................................................................... v

■About the Author .......................................................................................... xiii

■Acknowledgments.........................................................................................xiv

■Preface ...........................................................................................................xv

■Chapter 1: The Big Picture............................................................................... 1

Challenges of Smartphone Programming...............................................................................................................1

What Androids Are Made Of....................................................................................................................................2

Stuff at Your Disposal .............................................................................................................................................3

■Chapter 2: Projects and Targets...................................................................... 5

Pieces and Parts .....................................................................................................................................................5

Creating a Project ...................................................................................................................................................6

Project Structure.....................................................................................................................................................6

Root Contents ....................................................................................................................................................6

The Sweat Off Your Brow...................................................................................................................................7

And Now, the Rest of the Story..........................................................................................................................7

What You Get Out of It........................................................................................................................................8

Inside the Manifest .................................................................................................................................................8

In the Beginning, There Was the Root, And It Was Good ...................................................................................9

Permissions, Instrumentations, and Applications (Oh My!) ...............................................................................9

Your Application Does Something, Right? .......................................................................................................10

Achieving the Minimum ...................................................................................................................................11

Version=Control ...............................................................................................................................................12

Emulators and Targets..........................................................................................................................................12

Virtually There..................................................................................................................................................12

Aiming at a Target ...........................................................................................................................................14

■ CONTENTS

vi

■Chapter 3: Creating a Skeleton Application................................................... 17

Begin at the Beginning..........................................................................................................................................17

Dissecting the Activity ..........................................................................................................................................18

Building and Running the Activity.........................................................................................................................20

■Chapter 4: Using XML-Based Layouts ........................................................... 23

What Is an XML-Based Layout? ............................................................................................................................23

Why Use XML-Based Layouts? .............................................................................................................................24

OK, So What Does It Look Like?............................................................................................................................24

What’s with the @ Signs?.....................................................................................................................................25

And How Do We Attach These to the Java?..........................................................................................................25

The Rest of the Story ............................................................................................................................................26

■Chapter 5: Employing Basic Widgets............................................................. 29

Assigning Labels...................................................................................................................................................29

Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button? .................................................................................................................30

Fleeting Images ....................................................................................................................................................31

Fields of Green. Or Other Colors. ..........................................................................................................................32

Just Another Box to Check....................................................................................................................................33

Turn the Radio Up .................................................................................................................................................35

It’s Quite a View....................................................................................................................................................37

Useful Properties .............................................................................................................................................37

Useful Methods................................................................................................................................................38

Colors...............................................................................................................................................................38

■Chapter 6: Working with Containers ............................................................. 39

Thinking Linearly ..................................................................................................................................................39

LinearLayout Concepts and Properties ............................................................................................................40

LinearLayout Example......................................................................................................................................42

All Things Are Relative..........................................................................................................................................46

RelativeLayout Concepts and Properties .........................................................................................................47

RelativeLayout Example...................................................................................................................................49

Tabula Rasa ..........................................................................................................................................................51

TableLayout Concepts and Properties .............................................................................................................52

TableLayout Example.......................................................................................................................................53

Scrollwork.............................................................................................................................................................54

■Chapter 7: Using Selection Widgets .............................................................. 59

Adapting to the Circumstances.............................................................................................................................59

Lists of Naughty and Nice.....................................................................................................................................60

Spin Control ..........................................................................................................................................................63

Grid Your Lions (or Something Like That...) ..........................................................................................................66

Fields: Now with 35% Less Typing!......................................................................................................................69

Galleries, Give or Take the Art ..............................................................................................................................72

■Chapter 8: Getting Fancy with Lists .............................................................. 75

Getting to First Base .............................................................................................................................................75

A Dynamic Presentation........................................................................................................................................77

Better. Stronger. Faster. .......................................................................................................................................80

Using convertView ...........................................................................................................................................80

Using the Holder Pattern..................................................................................................................................81

■ CONTENTS

vii

Making a List... .....................................................................................................................................................84

...And Checking It Twice .......................................................................................................................................89

Adapting Other Adapters.......................................................................................................................................94

■Chapter 9: Employing Fancy Widgets and Containers................................... 95

Pick and Choose ...................................................................................................................................................95

Time Keeps Flowing Like a River..........................................................................................................................99

Making Progress.................................................................................................................................................101

Seeking Resolution .............................................................................................................................................101

Put It on My Tab..................................................................................................................................................102

The Pieces .....................................................................................................................................................103

The Idiosyncrasies .........................................................................................................................................103

Wiring It Together ..........................................................................................................................................104

Adding Them Up.............................................................................................................................................106

Intents and Views ..........................................................................................................................................109

Flipping Them Off................................................................................................................................................109

Manual Flipping .............................................................................................................................................110

Adding Contents on the Fly............................................................................................................................112

Automatic Flipping.........................................................................................................................................113

Getting in Someone’s Drawer .............................................................................................................................114

Other Good Stuff .................................................................................................................................................116

■Chapter 10: The Input Method Framework.................................................. 117

Keyboards, Hard and Soft ...................................................................................................................................117

Tailored to Your Needs........................................................................................................................................118

Tell Android Where It Can Go ..............................................................................................................................121

Fitting In..............................................................................................................................................................123

Unleash Your Inner Dvorak .................................................................................................................................124

■Chapter 11: Applying Menus ....................................................................... 125

Menus of Options................................................................................................................................................125

Creating an Options Menu .............................................................................................................................125

Adding Menu Choices and Submenus ...........................................................................................................126

Menus in Context ................................................................................................................................................127

Taking a Peek .....................................................................................................................................................128

Yet More Inflation................................................................................................................................................133

Menu XML Structure ......................................................................................................................................133

Menu Options and XML..................................................................................................................................134

Inflating the Menu..........................................................................................................................................135

■Chapter 12: Fonts ........................................................................................ 137

Love the One You’re With....................................................................................................................................137

More Fonts..........................................................................................................................................................138

Here a Glyph, There a Glyph ...............................................................................................................................140

■Chapter 13: Embedding the WebKit Browser .............................................. 141

A Browser, Writ Small.........................................................................................................................................141

Loading It Up.......................................................................................................................................................143

Navigating the Waters.........................................................................................................................................144

Entertaining the Client ........................................................................................................................................145

Settings, Preferences, and Options (Oh My!) ......................................................................................................147

■ CONTENTS

viii

■Chapter 14: Showing Pop-Up Messages...................................................... 149

Raising Toasts.....................................................................................................................................................149

Alert! Alert!..........................................................................................................................................................150

Checking Them Out.............................................................................................................................................151

■Chapter 15: Dealing with Threads ............................................................... 155

Getting Through the Handlers.............................................................................................................................155

Messages.......................................................................................................................................................156

Runnables ......................................................................................................................................................158

Running in Place .................................................................................................................................................159

Where Oh Where Has My UI Thread Gone?.........................................................................................................159

Asyncing Feeling.................................................................................................................................................159

The Theory .....................................................................................................................................................159

AsyncTask, Generics, and Varargs.................................................................................................................160

The Stages of AsyncTask...............................................................................................................................160

A Sample Task ...............................................................................................................................................161

And Now, the Caveats.........................................................................................................................................164

■Chapter 16: Handling Activity Life Cycle Events.......................................... 167

Schroedinger’s Activity.......................................................................................................................................167

Life, Death, and Your Activity..............................................................................................................................168

onCreate() and onDestroy() ............................................................................................................................168

onStart(), onRestart(), and onStop() ...............................................................................................................169

onPause() and onResume() ............................................................................................................................169

The Grace of State ..............................................................................................................................................169

■Chapter 17: Creating Intent Filters .............................................................. 171

What’s Your Intent?.............................................................................................................................................171

Pieces of Intents ............................................................................................................................................172

Intent Routing ................................................................................................................................................172

Stating Your Intent(ions) .....................................................................................................................................173

Narrow Receivers ...............................................................................................................................................174

The Pause Caveat ...............................................................................................................................................175

■Chapter 18: Launching Activities and Subactivities.................................... 177

Peers and Subs...................................................................................................................................................177

Start ’Em Up........................................................................................................................................................178

Make an Intent...............................................................................................................................................178

Make the Call .................................................................................................................................................178

Tabbed Browsing, Sort Of...................................................................................................................................182

■Chapter 19: Handling Rotation .................................................................... 185

A Philosophy of Destruction................................................................................................................................185

It’s All the Same, Just Different ..........................................................................................................................185

Now with More Savings!.....................................................................................................................................189

DIY Rotation ........................................................................................................................................................191

Forcing the Issue ................................................................................................................................................193

Making Sense of It All .........................................................................................................................................195

■Chapter 20: Working with Resources.......................................................... 197

The Resource Lineup ..........................................................................................................................................197

String Theory ......................................................................................................................................................198

■ CONTENTS

ix

Plain Strings...................................................................................................................................................198

String Formats ...............................................................................................................................................198

Styled Text .....................................................................................................................................................199

Styled String Formats ....................................................................................................................................199

Got the Picture? ..................................................................................................................................................202

XML: The Resource Way .....................................................................................................................................204

Miscellaneous Values .........................................................................................................................................206

Dimensions ....................................................................................................................................................207

Colors.............................................................................................................................................................207

Arrays.............................................................................................................................................................208

Different Strokes for Different Folks...................................................................................................................208

■Chapter 21: Using Preferences.................................................................... 213

Getting What You Want .......................................................................................................................................213

Stating Your Preference......................................................................................................................................214

And Now, a Word from Our Framework..............................................................................................................214

Letting Users Have Their Say..............................................................................................................................215

Adding a Wee Bit o' Structure.............................................................................................................................219

The Kind of Pop-Ups You Like.............................................................................................................................221

■Chapter 22: Managing and Accessing Local Databases.............................. 225

The Database Example .......................................................................................................................................225

A Quick SQLite Primer.........................................................................................................................................227

Start at the Beginning.........................................................................................................................................227

Setting the Table.................................................................................................................................................230

Makin’ Data.........................................................................................................................................................230

What Goes Around Comes Around ......................................................................................................................232

Raw Queries...................................................................................................................................................232

Regular Queries .............................................................................................................................................232

Building with Builders....................................................................................................................................233

Using Cursors.................................................................................................................................................234

Data, Data, Everywhere ......................................................................................................................................235

■Chapter 23: Accessing Files ........................................................................ 237

You and the Horse You Rode in On .....................................................................................................................237

Readin’ ’n Writin’ ................................................................................................................................................240

■Chapter 24: Leveraging Java Libraries ....................................................... 245

The Outer Limits..................................................................................................................................................245

Ants and JARs.....................................................................................................................................................246

Following the Script............................................................................................................................................246

...And Not a Drop to Drink ...................................................................................................................................250

Reviewing the Script...........................................................................................................................................251

■Chapter 25: Communicating via the Internet .............................................. 253

REST and Relaxation...........................................................................................................................................253

HTTP Operations via Apache HttpClient ..............................................................................................................254

Parsing Responses .............................................................................................................................................255

Stuff to Consider .................................................................................................................................................257

■Chapter 26: Using a Content Provider ......................................................... 259

Pieces of Me .......................................................................................................................................................259

■ CONTENTS

x

Getting a Handle .................................................................................................................................................260

Makin’ Queries....................................................................................................................................................260

Adapting to the Circumstances...........................................................................................................................261

Give and Take .....................................................................................................................................................263

Beware of the BLOB!...........................................................................................................................................264

■Chapter 27: Building a Content Provider..................................................... 265

First, Some Dissection ........................................................................................................................................265

Next, Some Typing..............................................................................................................................................266

Creating Your Content Provider...........................................................................................................................267

Step 1: Create a Provider Class .....................................................................................................................267

Step 2: Supply a Uri .......................................................................................................................................272

Step 3: Declare the Properties.......................................................................................................................272

Step 4: Update the Manifest ..........................................................................................................................273

Notify-on-Change Support ..................................................................................................................................273

■Chapter 28: Requesting and Requiring Permissions................................... 275

Mother, May I?....................................................................................................................................................275

Halt! Who Goes There? .......................................................................................................................................276

Enforcing Permissions via the Manifest.........................................................................................................277

Enforcing Permissions Elsewhere .................................................................................................................278

May I See Your Documents?...............................................................................................................................278

■Chapter 29: Creating a Service.................................................................... 279

Service with Class ..............................................................................................................................................279

There Can Only Be One .......................................................................................................................................280

Manifest Destiny .................................................................................................................................................281

Lobbing One Over the Fence...............................................................................................................................282

Callbacks .......................................................................................................................................................283

Broadcast Intents...........................................................................................................................................283

Where’s the Remote? And the Rest of the Code? ...............................................................................................284

■Chapter 30: Invoking a Service ................................................................... 285

The Ties That Bind ..............................................................................................................................................286

Catching the Lob.................................................................................................................................................287

■Chapter 31: Alerting Users via Notifications ............................................... 289

Types of Pestering ..............................................................................................................................................289

Hardware Notifications ..................................................................................................................................290

Icons ..............................................................................................................................................................290

Seeing Pestering in Action..................................................................................................................................290

■Chapter 32: Accessing Location-Based Services ........................................ 295

Location Providers: They Know Where You’re Hiding.........................................................................................295

Finding Yourself..................................................................................................................................................296

On the Move........................................................................................................................................................297

Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet? .................................................................................298

Testing...Testing... ..............................................................................................................................................299

■Chapter 33: Mapping with MapView and MapActivity ................................ 301

Terms, Not of Endearment..................................................................................................................................301

Piling On..............................................................................................................................................................302

The Bare Bones...................................................................................................................................................302

■ CONTENTS

xi

Exercising Your Control.......................................................................................................................................303

Zoom..............................................................................................................................................................304

Center ............................................................................................................................................................304

Rugged Terrain ...................................................................................................................................................304

Layers upon Layers.............................................................................................................................................305

Overlay Classes..............................................................................................................................................305

Drawing the ItemizedOverlay.........................................................................................................................305

Handling Screen Taps....................................................................................................................................307

My, Myself, and MyLocationOverlay ...................................................................................................................307

The Key to It All...................................................................................................................................................308

■Chapter 34: Handling Telephone Calls......................................................... 311

Report to the Manager........................................................................................................................................311

You Make the Call!..............................................................................................................................................312

■Chapter 35: Development Tools................................................................... 315

Hierarchical Management...................................................................................................................................315

Delightful Dalvik Debugging Detailed, Demoed ..................................................................................................321

Logging ..........................................................................................................................................................322

File Push and Pull ..........................................................................................................................................323

Screenshots ...................................................................................................................................................324

Location Updates ...........................................................................................................................................325

Placing Calls and Messages ..........................................................................................................................326

Put It on My Card ................................................................................................................................................328

Creating a Card Image ...................................................................................................................................328

Inserting the Card ..........................................................................................................................................329

■Chapter 36: Handling Multiple Screen Sizes ............................................... 331

Taking the Default...............................................................................................................................................331

Whole in One.......................................................................................................................................................332

Think About Rules, Rather Than Positions.....................................................................................................332

Consider Physical Dimensions.......................................................................................................................333

Avoid Real Pixels............................................................................................................................................333

Choose Scalable Drawables ..........................................................................................................................334

Tailor-Made, Just for You (and You, and You, and...)..........................................................................................334

Add <supports-screens>...............................................................................................................................334

Resources and Resource Sets .......................................................................................................................335

Finding Your Size ...........................................................................................................................................336

Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing........................................................................................................................337

Density Differs ...............................................................................................................................................337

Adjusting the Density.....................................................................................................................................337

Accessing Actual Devices ..............................................................................................................................338

Ruthlessly Exploiting the Situation .....................................................................................................................339

Replace Menus with Buttons .........................................................................................................................339

Replace Tabs with a Simple Activity..............................................................................................................340

Consolidate Multiple Activities.......................................................................................................................340

Example: EU4You ................................................................................................................................................340

The First Cut...................................................................................................................................................340

Fixing the Fonts .............................................................................................................................................346

Fixing the Icons..............................................................................................................................................348

■ CONTENTS

xii

Using the Space.............................................................................................................................................348

What If It’s Not a Browser? ............................................................................................................................350

What Are a Few Bugs Among Friends?...............................................................................................................351

■Chapter 37: Dealing with Devices................................................................ 353

This App Contains Explicit Instructions...............................................................................................................353

Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button? ...............................................................................................................354

A Guaranteed Market..........................................................................................................................................355

The Down and Dirty Details ................................................................................................................................355

Archos 5 Android Internet Tablet ...................................................................................................................355

Motorola CLIQ/DEXT.......................................................................................................................................356

Motorola DROID/Milestone.............................................................................................................................356

Google/HTC Nexus One ..................................................................................................................................357

Motorola BACKFLIP ........................................................................................................................................357

■Chapter 38: Handling Platform Changes ..................................................... 359

Brand Management ............................................................................................................................................359

More Things That Make You Go Boom................................................................................................................360

View Hierarchy...............................................................................................................................................360

Changing Resources ......................................................................................................................................361

Handling API Changes.........................................................................................................................................362

Detecting the Version.....................................................................................................................................362

Wrapping the API ...........................................................................................................................................362

■Chapter 39: Where Do We Go from Here?.................................................... 367

Questions—Sometimes with Answers ...............................................................................................................367

Heading to the Source ........................................................................................................................................368

Getting Your News Fix.........................................................................................................................................368

■Index............................................................................................................ 369

xiii

About the Author

Mark Murphy is the founder of CommonsWare and the author of the Busy

Coder’s Guide to Android Development. A three-time entrepreneur, his

experience ranges from consulting on open source and collaborative

development for the Fortune 500 to application development on just about

anything smaller than a mainframe. He has been a software developer for

more than 25 years, from the TRS-80 to the latest crop of mobile devices. A

polished speaker, Mark has delivered conference presentations and training

sessions on a wide array of topics internationally.

Mark writes the Building ‘Droids column for AndroidGuys and the Android

Angle column for NetworkWorld.

Outside of CommonsWare, Mark has an avid interest in how the Internet will

play a role in citizen involvement with politics and government. He is also a contributor to the

Rebooting America essay collection.