by Ehrenstein video2brain | Publisher: Peachpit Press | Release Date: July 2011 | ISBN: 9780132808781

This innovative product uses interactive video to give developer/designers a solid understanding of how to design apps that can run on many different Android-based devices, under Android versions up to 2.3. Users will learn to set up an Android development environment, define device emulators, and connect to actual Android devices. The video also explains the fundamentals of Android layouts and user interfaces. It introduces the process of programming an app's interaction with Activities and Services and explains how to access existing Android system components. It also looks at how to ensure that an app runs on as many Android devices, screen sizes, and form factors as possible. It also explains how to package an app and publish it to the Android Marketplace. Experienced instructor Constantin Ehrenstein presents five hours of exceptional quality video tutorials, complete with lesson files, assessment quizzes, and review materials. The video is wrapped in a unique interface that allows the viewer to jump to any topic and also bookmark individual sections for later review. The unique Watch-and-Work mode shrinks the video into a small window to allow the student to work alongside the video. Project files used in the lessons are included on the disc so viewers can practice what they've learned, and interactive review questions help reinforce freshly gained knowledge.

1. Setting Up Eclipse and the Tools You'll Need
   • Downloading Eclipse, Java, and the Android SDK 00:02:36
   • Installing Eclipse, Java, the Android SDK, and ADT 00:05:08
   • Updating the SDK Manager with the Latest Packages and Third-Party Tools 00:02:43
2. Defining Emulators
   • Creating a Generic Emulator 00:04:34
   • Creating an Emulator That Looks Like a Device 00:02:46
3. Connecting to a Device
   • Installing USB Drivers 00:02:36
   • Preparing Your Device for Debugging 00:01:26
   • Exploring Your Device in the IDE 00:02:04
4. Creating an App
   • Defining an Android Project 00:10:31
   • A Quick Look at an App in the Emulator 00:03:51
   • Android UI 101: Principles and Paradigms 00:04:31
   • The Structure of an Android Project 00:05:14
5. Views and Layouts
   • Defining a Simple Layout with ADT 00:10:16
   • A Closer Look at Layout Markup 00:05:38
   • Reusable Layout Components 00:02:36
6. Resources, Styles and Themes
   • Pulling Text and Definitions out of Your Layout 00:06:25
   • Collecting Properties in Styles 00:07:55
   • Defining a Theme 00:04:18
   • Defining Button States 00:04:53
7. Drawables, Densities, and DPI
   • Inserting Drawables 00:02:29
   • Creating Scalable Drawables 00:05:54
   • The Meaning of Android's Densities 00:04:36
   • Creating Drawables for Each Density 00:04:19
   • Using a Custom Font 00:06:59
8. Activities 101
   • Understanding the Activity Lifecycle 00:07:45
   • Creating and Registering New Activities 00:06:24
   • Calling Subactivities with Intents 00:06:07
9. Permissions and Access to Hardware and Other Components
   • Understanding Android's Permissions 00:03:36
   • Reading Sensor Data 00:10:29
   • Invoking the Contacts Application 00:05:15
   • Lists and Adapters 00:05:41
   • Accessing Contacts Data 00:11:21
10. Menus
    • Creating Option Menus 00:07:51
    • Creating Context Menus 00:04:33
    • SQLite Databases in Android 00:09:53
    • Reading from a Database Table 00:06:48
    • Writing to a Database Table 00:07:36
    • Putting It All Together: Finalizing the Star Log 00:07:42
    • Aiming at the Right Devices 00:04:41
    • Form Factors and Screen Sizes 00:04:02
    • Packaging a Release Build 00:02:53
    • Publishing Your App 00:05:52