Murach's Android Programming

Android is arguably the world’s most widely used operating system for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Millions of Android devices have been activated, and billions of apps have been installed from Google Play.

Since Android is open-source with a large community of developers, it is able to evolve according to the needs of the developers who use it. Now, you can be one of those developers with our book, Murach’s Android Programming. All you need to get started is a basic understanding of the Java programming language, roughly equivalent to chapters 1 through 14 of Murach’s Java Programming.
What you can do with this book

Get set up right: Setting up an environment for Android development can be a roadblock to getting started. That’s why this book shows you the easiest way to install and configure all of the software that’s necessary to get started with Android development.

Get started fast with the Tip Calculator app: Learn how to code a complete Tip Calculator app by the end of chapter 3! This app teaches you how to get input from the user, perform a calculation based on that input, and display the result on the user interface.

Master the essential skills: Enhance the Tip Calculator app to master the skills that are critical to developing attractive and professional apps. For example, learn how to work with layouts, widgets, events, themes, styles, menus, preferences, and fragments.

Build your skills with the News Reader app: Learn how to develop a News Reader app that reads data from the Internet without blocking the user interface. Then, learn how to use files, adapters, and intents to work with this data. In addition, learn how to create services that run in the background and how to use receivers to respond to actions that are broadcast by the system or by other apps.

Build your skills with the Task List app: Learn how to develop a Task List app that uses a SQLite database. Then, learn how to use custom adapters, content providers, and app widgets to work with that database.

Use the next generation of Google Maps: Version 2 of the Google Maps Android API is giving birth to a new generation of location-aware apps. This book gets you started with this powerful API and positions you to learn more on your own.

Deploy your finished apps: When you’re ready to share your app with potential users, this book shows you how to sign it with a release key and publish it to the world’s most popular marketplace for Android apps, Google Play.
3 features to help you

    Complete apps: To help you develop applications at a professional level, this book presents complete, non-trivial apps. Studying these apps is a great way to master Android development.
    Exercises: The exercises at the end of each chapter let you practice what you’ve been learning. This builds your skills and your confidence. You can download the starting code and solutions for the exercises to save time and to check your work.
    Paired-pages format: Look at a sample chapter to see our unique paired-pages format, with the essential syntax, guidelines, and examples on the right page and perspective and extra explanation on the left page. Developers praise this format because it works so well for learning and reference.