Development of Android Apps

Introduction to the Android OS and the Android SDK

Android and its history, the Open Handset Alliance and the Android Open Source Project.

Overview of Android OS architecture and internals, the Dalvik Virtual Machine.

Overview of required Java concepts and libraries and key concepts of mobile device development.

Overview of the Android platform components (the key classes and UI components).

The Android Software Developer Kit installation and developing your first application in Eclipse.

Exploring the Android SDK Tools

Using the Eclipse IDE with the Android SDK (other IDEs will also be referenced)

Using the command line to build applications: using

ant and the SDK command line tools.

An intro to Logging, debugging, and profiling with both Eclipse and DDMS (Dalvik Debug Monitor Server)

An intro to the application life cycle: activities and tasks

Using AppInventor and other rapid development tools.

Designing a Mobile Application in Android: The User Interface

From idea to code: from use cases to class diagrams with UML and related tools.

Designing layouts with views and components declaratively with XML (and visually with Eclipse)

When to design layouts programmatically, creating custom views and components.

Widgets, UI Events, UI Themes and Styles

All about the application manifest configuration file.

Resources and Assets, screen size compatibility, localization and OS compatibility.

Lists, Dialogs, Menus, Toasts and more

Advanced Layouts, optimizing layouts using tools

Lists and adapters, custom components

Menus and submenus

Using Toasts, Progress Bars, Spinners and more.

The Webkit View

Activities and Intents in Depth

Tips for a successful activity lifecycle: avoiding the FC (force close)

All about Intents and Intent Filters

Designing efficient UI navigation, inter-activity communication

Permissions, Maps and Persistence Part

Security and Permissions

An intro to the Google Maps API

Shared Preferences

File I/O and the SD Card

Background processing: Services, Alarms and Notifications

Writing and Using Services

Alarms

Concurrency in Android: proper use of Java Threads

Handlers, AsyncTasks and synchronizing with the UI thread

All about Notifications

Interprocess communication

Android UI Inputs, Accelerometer and sensors

User Input via touchscreen, keyboard, trackball and d-pad

Using the accelerometer effectively

Additional sensors: compass, proximity, orientation 

Effective synchronization with UI and sensors. 

Graphics with Canvas and Open GLES

Drawing with Canvas, all about Drawables

An OpenGL ES Primer: for both 2D and 3D

Case Study in writing a 3D OpenGL game

Location and Networking APIs

Using GPS Effectively

About HTTP and networking

Webservices and RSS: XML and JSON parsing examples

Advanced networking with Protocol Buffers

Persistence Part 2, Broadcast Receivers

Using the sqlLite database

Data binding

Content providers

Broadcast Receivers: example SMS message handling

Effective background processing

Media: playing, streaming and recording audio and video.

Basic MediaPlayer usage and its limitations.

Using SoundPool effectively.

Advanced examples using the AudioTrack class.

Audio and video streaming. using RTSP

Android 2.x and beyond: the latest APIs and Android Best Practices

App Widgets and Live Folders and Live Wallpapers

Using the Bluetooth API

Using the Contacts API

Gestures, Text-to-Speech and Speech Recognition

Best Practices: Unit Testing, UI consistency, accessibility

Best Practices: Profiling for performance, responsiveness and seamlessness

Optimizations, tips and tricks to make development easier, faster

Selling Your Application and Advanced Android Topics

Publishing your application on the Android Market and other markets.

About ads, app pricing, and alternative revenue streams and marketing.

Using AdWhirl the open source multi-network ad server and client

Intro to the Android NDK – when and not to use C/C++ code

Contributing back to the AOSP, how to build the Android OS from source.

Porting Android to new devices, interfacing with hardware