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Build dynamic user interfaces with Android and XML

Collect data using an Android forms engine

Frank Ableson, Entrepreneur, MSI Services, Inc.

W. Frank Ableson is an entrepreneur living in northern New Jersey with his wife Nikki and their children. His professional interests include mobile software and embedded design. He is the author of Unlocking Android (Manning Publications, 2010), and he is the mobile editor for Linux Magazine.

Summary: A number of websites cater to non-profits that provide easily set-up and used forms for taking polls and collecting data. This tutorial introduces a simple architecture for designing similar applications for Android—dynamic user interfaces that allow non-programmers to collect data from mobile users. You will create an example forms engine in this tutorial with both server and mobile sides.

Date: 07 Sep 2010
Level: Intermediate
PDF: A4 and Letter (1212 KB | 42 pages)Get Adobe® Reader®

Activity: 106264 views
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Resources

Learn

Develop Android applications with Eclipse (Frank Ableson, developerWorks, February 2008): The easiest way to develop Android applications is to use Eclipse. Learn all about this in this developerWorks tutorial.
Networking with Android (Frank Ableson, developerWorks, June 2009): Explore the networking capabilities of Android.
Working with XML on Android (Michael Galpin, developerWorks, June 2009): Learn about the different options for working with XML on Android and how to use them to build your own Android applications.
Unlocking Android, 2nd Edition (Frank Ableson, Robi Sen, and Chris King; Manning Publications; December 2010): Cover all aspects of Android development with concise, hands-on instruction for the Android operating system and development tools.
Mobile Design and Development (Brian Fling, O'Reilly Media, 2009): Read about practical guidelines, standards, techniques, and best practices for building mobile products in this book.
Android SDK documentation: Get the latest information in the Android API reference.
The Open Handset Alliance: Visit Android's sponsor.
Introduction to Android Development (Frank Ableson, developerWorks, May 2009): Get an introduction to the Android platform and learn how to code a basic Android application.
Under the Hood of Native Web Apps for Android: Learn about hybrid applications in Android.
More articles and tutorials by this author (Frank Ableson, developerWorks, April 2002-current): Read articles about Android, XML, Eclipse, GPS, BlackBerry applications, and other technologies.
XML area on developerWorks: Get the resources you need to advance your skills in the XML arena.
My developerWorks: Personalize your developerWorks experience.
IBM XML certification: Find out how you can become an IBM-Certified Developer in XML and related technologies.
XML technical library: See the developerWorks XML Zone for a wide range of technical articles and tips, tutorials, standards, and IBM Redbooks. Also, read more XML tips.
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Android SDK: Download the Android SDK, access the API reference, and get the latest news on Android from the official Android developers' site. Version 1.5 and later will work for this article's exercise.
Eclipse: Obtain the latest Eclipse IDE.
Android Open Source Project: Android is open source, which means that you can get the source code here.
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