Ebook: Pro Android 5

Pro Android 5 shows you how to build real-world and fun mobile apps using the Android 5 SDK. This book updates the best-selling Pro Android and covers everything from the fundamentals of building apps for smartphones, tablets, and embedded devices to advanced concepts such as custom components, multi-tasking, sensors/augmented reality, better accessories support and much more.

• Using the tutorials and expert advice, you'll quickly be able to build cool mobile apps and run them on dozens of Android-based smartphones.
• You'll explore and use the Android APIs, including those for media and sensors.
• And you'll check out what's new in Android, including the improved user interface across all Android platforms, integration with services, and more.

By reading this definitive tutorial and reference, you'll gain the knowledge and experience to create stunning, cutting-edge Android apps that can make you money, while keeping you agile enough to respond to changes in the future.

What you’ll learn

• How to use Android to build Java-based mobile apps for Android smartphones and tablets
• How to build irresistible user interfaces (UIs) and user experiences (UXs) across Android devices
• How to populate your application with data from data sources, using Content Providers
• How to build multimedia and game apps using Android's media APIs
• How to use Android's location-based services, network-based services, and security
• How to use key Android features, such as Fragments and the ActionBar

Who this book is for

This book is for professional software engineers and programmers looking to move their ideas and applications into the mobile space with Android. It assumes a passable understanding of Java, including how to write classes and handle basic inheritance structures.

Table of Contents

1 Hello, World

2 Introduction to Android Applications

3 Basic User Interface Controls

4 Adapters and List Controls

5 Making Advanced UI Layouts

6 Adding Menus and ActionBar

7 Styles and Themes

8 Fragments

9 Responding to Configuration Changes

10 Dialogs: Regular and Fragment

11 Working with Preferences and Saving State

12 Compatibility Library

13 Exploring Packages, Processes, Components, Threads and Handlers

14 Working with Services

15 Advanced Async Task & Progress Dialogs

16 Exploring Broadcast Receivers and Long Running Services

17 Exploring the Alarm Manager

18 Unveiling 2D Animation

19 Exploring Maps and Location Services

20 Understanding the Media Frameworks

21 Home Screen Widgets

22 Touchscreens

23 Drag and Drop

24 Using Sensors

25 Understanding Content Providers

26 Understanding the Contacts API

27 Loaders

28 Security and Permissions

29 Google Cloud messaging and services

30 Deploying Your Application: Google Play Store and Beyond