 | Level: Intermediate Frank Ableson (fableson@msiservices.com), Software designer
26 Feb 2008 Android is Google's oft-discussed mobile, wireless, computer, and communications
platform. You can take advantage of the powerful Eclipse environment to build Android
applications using the Android Eclipse plug-in. This tutorial introduces Android
application development with the Eclipse plug-in, otherwise known as Android
Development Tools. The tutorial provides an introduction to Android development with a
quick introduction to the platform, a tour of Android Development Tools, and includes
the construction of two example applications. In this tutorial
This tutorial introduces Android application development within the Eclipse
environment, including the construction of two example applications. The first is a
basic starter application, complete with all phases of building and debugging. The
second application examines more complex features of Android, including contacts
searching and Google Maps address lookup. Why do we care about Android? Android is an important platform for two reasons. First,
the fact that Google is introducing it and the mind-share Android has garnered in such a
small amount of time. Google is flexing its muscles and attempting to make a play for
the crowded mobile market. Its first salvo into this market, Android and the Open
Handset Alliance, is an impressive starting point. The second reason Android is
important is because it isn't just another mobile platform with a phone, menus, and a
touchscreen. As you will learn in this tutorial, Android takes a different approach to
applications. The architecture of Android permits a highly customizable software
environment thanks to its runtime binding of requested actions and the code to satisfy
those requests. Whether it's market-driven considerations or the technical aspects of
Android, it is a platform worth examination.
Prerequisites
To get the most from this tutorial,
mobile-development experience is helpful, but not required. Java™ programming
skills are required for Android applications, but are not an explicit requirement for this tutorial.
System requirements
This tutorial requires several technologies that work together. You need all of them
for this tutorial.
-
Eclipse Platform
- Eclipse is the platform upon which the plug-in runs. Get the latest version of Eclipse
Classic (V3.3.1 was used in this tutorial).
-
Android Developer Tools
- The Android Developer Tools (the Eclipse plug-in) may be installed by following the
instructions found at Installing the Android SDK.
-
Source code
- Source code snippets in this tutorial include:
- AndroidManifest.xml snippet — This file is the application deployment descriptor for Android applications.
-
IntentReceiver
— This demonstrates the implementation of an
IntentReceiver, which is the class that processes intents as advertised by the
IntentFilter tag in the AndroidManifest.xml file.
- SaySomething.java — This implements an Android activity, the primary entry
point to the sample application of this tutorial.
- Main.xml — This contains the visual elements, or resources, for use by Android
activities.
- R.java — This file is automatically generated by Android Developer Tools and
"connects" the visual resources to the Java source code.
- AndroidManifest.xml complete — This lists a full AndroidManfest.xml file, along
with a description of each of the important elements.
- MobileServiceCallContacts.java — This contains the code necessary to display
contacts as well as react to user input to subsequently perform a Google Maps address lookup.
Formats html, pdf
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