Creating Android Apps in Java

This is a full-day tutorial in writing Android apps using the Eclipse IDE on Mac, PC, or Linux. An app is composed of objects written in Java, plus a screen layout in the Extensible Markup Language. See how the Java code manipulates the XML to present a user interface including buttons, sliders, and other controls. Draw text and graphics on the screen, respond to a touch or keystroke, recognize a swipe or a pinch, and perform simple animations.

We concentrate on three Android design patterns involving views, which are visible areas on the screen.

1. A listener is an object whose methods are called in response to a stimulus. We plug the listener into a view to make the view touch-sensitive.

2. A cursor is a source of data, possibly from a database. We plug the cursor into an adapter, which encases each item of data in a separate view.

3. An adapter view displays a series of views on the screen. We plug an adapter into the adapter view to provide the views to be displayed.

As our finale, we let a component of one app launch and communicate with a component of another app on the same device.

Tutorial level: Intermediate. Requires a reading knowledge of the Java language. The examples will be displayed and run on a Mac during the tutorial. If registrants would lke to run the examples on their own machine, they can bring a Mac, PC, or Linux equipped with Eclipse and the current Android Developer Tools (ADT) plugin.