Android App Development Training

You will learn how to:

• Design, implement and ship a broad range of Android App
• Develop and debug applications using the JDK, ADB, the Android Emulator and the Eclipse environment
• Use Android’s SDK for creating, building and shipping Android packages (.apk)
• Master the use of core components such as Activities, Services, Content Providers and Broadcast Receivers
• Generate the required Manifest files for your applications, including Intent filters and Permissions
• Build user interfaces using Views, Menus and Notifications
• Handle the multiple form-factors and geometries available on Android devices
• Store and retrieve data both from the local filesystem and SQLite database
• Communicate with REST-based services

Requirements, the full story:

• Google has anchored Android’s development environment around Java. You must therefore at the very least have a functional understanding of Java. As others have said, that doesn’t mean that you need to be an expert Java developer. Google has in fact gone to great lengths to make Android development easy to approach. Nevertheless, you should be comfortable enough with Java to follow explanations and code exercises without requiring assistance with the language’s basics.
• Even if you do know Java, note that:
  • While Android is based on Java, Google has created an entirely new framework for developing Android applications. Hence, while your existing knowledge of Java class libraries (java.*) is a good asset, you will need to immerse yourself in Android’s framework (android.*) to fully benefit from Android’s capabilities. This is one of the goals of this class.
  • Android is a very deep software stack and the lower layers are mostly C and C++ based. If you intend to push the limits of what can be done with Android, by using the Native Development Kit, for example, you will need to look beyond Java to achieve your goals.

Q: What if I don’t know Java?
A: We strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with the language before registering for this class. If you are a C# developer, for example, you should be able to pick up Java relatively easily; a lot of both languages’ concepts overlap. If you are familiar with another object-oriented language such as C++, for example, you shouldn’t be too far off either. No matter your background, you can pick up one of the slew of titles on learning Java. You should try to get yourself into a position where you can painlessly follow others’ Java projects and can easily code on your own. Have a look on your favorite online bookstore for Java titles. We’ve seen good reviews of O’Reilly’s Head First Java for example.