Android

What Readers Are Saying About Hello, Android

Learn to develop Android apps with this complete yet gentle introduction to the Android platform. Out of all the books on Android, Hello, Android has the best flow and coverage for developers new to this platform. You’ll be writing Android apps in no time! Marko Gargenta CEO, , Marakana.com The third edition of Hello, Android gets you on the fasttrack of Android application development, from the basic concepts to publishing to the Android Market. Ed shows his vast experience on the subject and even covers hard-to-find topics such as multi-touch and OpenGL. This is a must-read for everyone starting on the fascinating journey of Android development. Diego Torres Milano Android expert and blogger, I thoroughly enjoyed the Hello, Android book,and it helped me get on the right track to releasing my first two apps to the Market. Nathan Rapp Founder, , KMBurrito Designs More than a greeting, Hello, Android welcomes both beginners and pros to Android development. Michael Martin PMP Founder, , GoogleAndBlog and Mobile Martin

Introducing Google’s Mobile Development Platform, 3rd Edition
Ed Burnette

Hello, Android

The PragmaticBookshelf
Raleigh, North Carolina Dallas, Texas

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 The Pragmatic Programmers, LLC was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial capital letters or in all capitals. The Pragmatic Starter Kit, The PragmaticProgrammer, Pragmatic Programming, Pragmatic Bookshelf and the linking g device are trademarks of The Pragmatic Programmers, LLC.
Portions of the book’s cover are reproduced from work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution License. See http://code.google.com/policies.html#restrictions for details. Gesture icons in Chapter 11courtesy of GestureWorks (www.gestureworks.com).

Every precaution was taken in the preparation of this book. However, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages that may result from the use of information (including program listings) contained herein. Our Pragmatic courses, workshops, and other products can help you and your team create better software and havemore fun. For more information, as well as the latest Pragmatic titles, please visit us at http://www.pragprog.com. The team that produced this book includes: Editor: Indexing: Copy edit: Layout: Production: Customer support: International: Susannah Davidson Pfalzer Seth Maislin Kim Wimpsett Steve Peter Janet Furlow Ellie Callahan Juliet Benda

Copyright © 2010 Pragmatic Programmers, LLC. Allrights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior consent of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. ISBN-10: 1-934356-56-5 ISBN-13: 978-1-934356-56-2 Printed on acid-free paper. P1.0 printing, July 2010 Version:2010-7-16

Contents
Acknowledgments Preface What Makes Android Special? . . Who Should Read This Book? . . . What’s in This Book? . . . . . . . . What’s New in the Third Edition? . Online Resources . . . . . . . . . . Fast-Forward >> . . . . . . . . . . 9 10 10 11 12 12 14 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I
1

Introducing Android
Quick Start 1.1 Installing the Tools . . . . . 1.2 Creating Your First Program 1.3 Running on the Emulator . 1.4 Running on a Real Phone . 1.5 Fast-Forward >> . . . . . . . Key Concepts 2.1 The Big Picture . . . . 2.2 It’s Alive! . . . . . . . . 2.3 Building Blocks . . . . 2.4 Using Resources ....