Devoxx11: Android Jumpstart

Lars Vogel

Excellent introduction to the Android development experience.

• tutorials on Android: www.vogella.de
• java --> class -- through dx-tool --> dex
• development environment: ADT for eclipse.
  • emulator: QEMU
  • DDMS: very powerful device debug mode
• API Components:
  • View for single views & ViewGroup for combining
  • Activity: app lifecycle - onPause() is the guaranteed last call to persist data
  • Intent: transitions to other apps
    • Implicit: Android decides
    • explicit: hard coded coupling to called app
  • Toast class: display quick temporary message
  • Preferences
  • DIY Views:
    • onDraw() method
    • Path class
    • selective invalidate() call to improve performance
  • ListActivity & ListAdapter
  • Threading & Async behaviour:
    • Threads: use runOnUiThread for async updates of the UI
    • Services
    • Broadcast & Receiver