Jason Ostrander - Android UI Fundamentals: Develop & Design

Develop and Design

Jason Ostrander

Android UI Fundamentals: Develop and Design
Jason Ostrander

Peachpit Press

1249 Eighth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
510/524-2178
510/524-2221 (fax)

Find us on the Web at www.peachpit.com
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Peachpit Press is a division of Pearson Education.
Copyright 2012 by Jason Ostrander

Editor: Clifford Colby
Development editor: Robyn Thomas
Production editor: Myrna Vladic
Copyeditor: Scout Festa
Technical editor: Jason LeBrun
Cover design: Aren Howell Straiger
Interior design: Mimi Heft
Compositor: Danielle Foster
Indexer: Valerie Haynes Perry

Notice of Rights
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact .

Notice of Liability
The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.

Trademarks
Android is a trademark of Google Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

ISBN 13: 978-0-321-81458-6
ISBN 10: 0-321-81458-4

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed and bound in the United States of America

To my lovely wife, Susan,
who tirelessly supports me in all of my adventures.

I could write an entire book thanking people for their help along the way. Instead, Ill have to settle for this short paragraph:

Thanks to Chris H. for pushing me to consider writing a book and giving me endless encouragement and support. To Cliff C. for giving me the chance to write this book. To Robyn T. for keeping me on schedule despite my best efforts. To JBL for fixing my code and rocking a mean bass guitar. To Scout F. and Myrna V. for working tirelessly when I was late getting chapters to them. To Lucas D. and Rob S. for reading early chapters and giving me valuable feedback. To the entire team at doubleTwist for their dedication to making great Android software. To the Android team at Google for creating a great platform. To my family for their continuing support despite my dropping off the face of the earth. To Peachpit for giving me the opportunity to write this for you. And to you, the reader, for giving me the chance to teach you in whatever small way I can.

Jason Ostrander is a web and mobile software developer working at Silicon Valley startup doubleTwist, where he makes syncing media to Android phones simple. Prior to that, he solved networking problems at energy management startup Sentilla and defense company Northrop Grumman. Jason holds an MS in electrical engineering from UCLA. He lives with his wife in San Franciscos Mission District, where he spends his time searching for the perfect chile relleno.

There is a revolution happening in the technology industry. Touchscreen interfaces, combined with low-cost and ubiquitous smartphones, have created a perfect storm for disruptive innovation. Android is at the forefront of this change, bringing a free and open-source platform on which developers can create the next generation of applications. With free development tools and an open market, anyone can develop applications that reach a worldwide market. But why choose to develop for Android?

Android now runs on the majority of smartphones in the United States. And its quickly expanding into new markets and device types. The last year has seen the introduction of hundreds of Android-based tablets, including the hit Kindle Fire. Google has ported Android to TVs with its Google TV platform, and many manufacturers are beginning to ship TVs with Android built in. Boeing has selected Android as the entertainment platform for its new Dreamliner jet. Ford is integrating Android into its in-dash SYNC entertainment system. And Android is quickly gaining traction in the developing world, especially in Africa, where the need for low-cost handsets is greatest.

Yet for all of the platforms promise, the majority of Android applications still lack the visual polish of their iOS counterparts. This book aims to address that issue by providing developers with a solid foundation for building app UIs. It will cover the basics of UI development on Android, teach best practices for creating flexible layouts, and give you tips on how to optimize your UI for smooth, fluid performance. I created this book in the hope that it will help developers to create beautiful applications.

Who am I? Ive been developing software professionally for almost ten years, and Ive focused on embedded and mobile software for the last five. In my day job, I work for one of the top Android development companies and write code that millions of people use every day.

Android development can be difficult at times, and the challenges of supporting such a diversity of devices can be daunting. But with a good idea, a solid understanding of the framework, and a little persistence, anyone can create a great app that is used by millions of people.

I hope youll enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it for you.

This book is aimed at beginning Android developers who are interested in creating great user interfaces. You are expected to know basic Java programming and XML syntax. The focus of this book is on UI. While you dont need to have experience writing Android software, many basic Android concepts are only described in passing. It will help you to have a rudimentary knowledge of Android development.

This book is not a general introduction to programming for Android. While it is intended for beginning Android developers, the focus is on user interface tools and programming. In particular, this book will not cover basic Android concepts such as intents, services, or content providers. Further, this book will not be an introduction to the Java programming language or to XML. You should know how to program and how to read XML.

Throughout this book, youll learn by creating an actual app, a simple time tracker. Each chapter includes detailed examples of real Android code that you will compile and run. All code for the book can be found at the books website: www.peachpit.com/androiduifundamentals.

Youll learn how to create user interfaces for Android applications. From the most basic concepts, like activities and views, all the way to advanced graphics using RenderScript, this book covers everything you will use to build the user interface of your apps.