Книга: Beginning Android

Introduction

Introduction

Thanks for your interest in developing applications for Android! Increasingly, people will access Internet-based services using so-called “non-traditional” means, such as mobile devices. The more we do in that space now, the more that people will help invest in that space to make it easier to build more powerful mobile applications in the future. Android is new — Android-powered devices appeared on the scene first in late 2008 — but it likely will rapidly grow in importance due to the size and scope of the Open Handset Alliance.

Most of all, thanks for your interest in this book! I sincerely hope you find it useful and at least occasionally entertaining.

If you are interested in programming for Android, you will need at least basic understanding of how to program in Java. Android programming is done using Java syntax, plus a class library that resembles a subset of the Java SE library (plus Android-specific extensions). If you have not programmed in Java before, you probably should learn how that works before attempting to dive into programming for Android.

The book does not cover in any detail how to download or install the Android development tools, either the Eclipse IDE flavor or the standalone flavor. The Android Web site[2] covers this quite nicely. The material in the book should be relevant whether you use the IDE or not. You should download, install, and test out the Android development tools from the Android Web site before trying any of the examples listed in this book.

This book is being produced via a partnership between Apress and CommonsWare. You are reading the Apress edition, which is available in print and in digital form from various digital book services.

CommonsWare continually updates the original material and makes it available to members of its Warescription program, under the title The Busy Coder’s Guide to Android Development.

CommonsWare maintains a FAQ about this partnership at http://commonsware.com/apress.

The source code samples shown in this book are available for download from the Apress Web site.[3] All of the Android projects are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License[4], in case you have the desire to reuse any of it.

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