Android Studio 3.5 Development Essentials - Kotlin Edition

Neil Smyth

• Publisher: Packt Publishing
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781951442026
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Programming in Java
• Index: Computer Science

Learn how Kotlin reduces the code verbosity and simplifies Android application developmentKey Features• Set up Android development and testing environment• Gain basic knowledge of Kotlin programming language• Master advanced topics such as Google Maps integrationBook DescriptionPopularity of Kotlin as an Android-compatible language keeps growing every day. This book will help you to build your own Android applications using Kotlin.Android Studio 3.5 Development Essentials - Kotlin Edition first teaches you to install Android development and test environment on different operating systems. Next, you will create an Android app and a virtual device in Android studio, and install an Android application on emulators. You will test apps on physical android devices, then study Android Studio code editor, Android architecture, and the anatomy of an Android app. The focus then shifts to Kotlin language. You'll get an overview of Kotlin language and practice converting code from Java to Kotlin. You'll also explore Kotlin data types, operators, expressions, loops, functions, and the basics of OOP concept in Kotlin. This book will then cover Android Jetpack and how to create an example app project using ViewModel component, as well as advanced topics such as views and widgets implementation, multi-window support integration, and biometric authentication. Finally, you will learn to upload your app to the Google Play Console and handle the build process with Gradle.By the end of this book, you will have gained enough knowledge to develop powerful Android applications using Kotlin.What you will learn• Create an Android app in Android Studio environment• Reduce the amount of code using Android Studio Editor• Use Java-based Android libraries in Kotlin• Write less error-prone code with Kotlin• Implement gesture and pinch recognition system• Publish your application on Google Play ConsoleWho This Book Is ForIf you are interested in developing powerful Android Applications using Kotlin, this is an ideal book for you. Basic understanding of programming languages such as C or Java is recommended.

1. Introduction

In 2018 Google introduced Android Jetpack to the developer community. Designed to make it quicker and easier to develop modern and reliable Android apps, Jetpack consists of a set of tools, libraries and architectural guidelines. The main elements of Android Jetpack consist of the Android Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE), the Android Architecture Components and the Modern App Architecture Guidelines, all of which are covered in this latest edition of Android Studio Development Essentials.

Fully updated for Android Studio 3.5 and Android 10 (Q), the goal of this book is to teach the skills necessary to develop Android based applications using the Kotlin programming language.

Beginning with the basics, this book provides an outline of the steps necessary to set up an Android development and testing environment followed by an introduction to programming in Kotlin including data types, flow control, functions, lambdas and object-oriented programming.

An overview of Android Studio is included covering areas such as tool windows, the code editor and the Layout Editor tool. An introduction to the architecture of Android is followed by an in-depth look at the design of Android applications and user interfaces using the Android Studio environment.

Chapters are also included covering the Android Architecture Components including view models, lifecycle management, Room database access, app navigation, live data and data binding.

More advanced topics such as intents are also covered, as are touch screen handling, gesture recognition, and the recording and playback of audio. This edition of the book also covers printing, transitions, cloud-based file storage and foldable device support.

The concepts of material design are also covered in detail, including the use of floating action buttons, Snackbars, tabbed interfaces, card views, navigation drawers and collapsing toolbars.

In addition to covering general Android development techniques, the book also includes Google Play specific topics such as implementing maps using the Google Maps Android API, and submitting apps to the Google Play Developer Console.

Other key features of Android Studio 3.5 and Android 10 are also covered in detail including the Layout Editor, the ConstraintLayout and ConstraintSet classes, constraint chains and barriers, direct reply notifications and foldable device support.

Chapters also cover advanced features of Android Studio such as App Links, Dynamic Delivery, the Android Studio Profiler and Gradle build configuration.

Assuming you already have some programming experience, are ready to download Android Studio and the Android SDK, have access to a Windows, Mac or Linux system and ideas for some apps to develop, you are ready to get started.

1.1 Downloading the Code Samples

The source code and Android Studio project files for the examples contained in this book are available for download at:

https://www.ebookfrenzy.com/retail/as35kotlin/index.php

The steps to load a project from the code samples into Android Studio are as follows:

1. From the Welcome to Android Studio dialog, select the Open an existing Android Studio project option.

2. In the project selection dialog, navigate to and select the folder containing the project to be imported and click on OK.

1.2 Feedback

We want you to be satisfied with your purchase of this book. If you find any errors in the book, or have any comments, questions or concerns please contact us at [email protected].

1.3 Errata

While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the content of this book, it is inevitable that a book covering a subject area of this size and complexity may include some errors and oversights. Any known issues with the book will be outlined, together with solutions, at the following URL:

https://www.ebookfrenzy.com/errata/as35kotlin.html

In the event that you find an error not listed in the errata, please let us know by emailing our technical support team at [email protected]. They are there to help you and will work to resolve any problems you may encounter.

2. Setting up an Android Studio Development Environment

Before any work can begin on the development of an Android application, the first step is to configure a computer system to act as the development platform. This involves a number of steps consisting of installing the Android Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE) which also includes the Android Software Development Kit (SDK), the Kotlin plug-in and OpenJDK Java development environment.

This chapter will cover the steps necessary to install the requisite components for Android application development on Windows, macOS and Linux based systems.

2.1 System Requirements

Android application development may be performed on any of the following system types:

•Windows 7/8/10 (32-bit or 64-bit though the Android emulator will only run on 64-bit systems)

•macOS 10.10 or later (Intel based systems only)

•ChromeOS device with Intel i5 or higher and minimum 8GB of RAM

•Linux systems with version 2.19 or later ...

Table of contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Setting up an Android Studio Development Environment
• 3. Creating an Example Android App in Android Studio
• 4. Creating an Android Virtual Device (AVD) in Android Studio
• 5. Using and Configuring the Android Studio AVD Emulator
• 6. A Tour of the Android Studio User Interface
• 7. Testing Android Studio Apps on a Physical Android Device
• 8. The Basics of the Android Studio Code Editor
• 9. An Overview of the Android Architecture
• 10. The Anatomy of an Android Application
• 11. An Introduction to Kotlin
• 12. Kotlin Data Types,Variables and Nullability
• 13. Kotlin Operators and Expressions
• 14. Kotlin Flow Control
• 15. An Overview of Kotlin Functions and Lambdas
• 16. The Basics of Object Oriented Programming in Kotlin
• 17. An Introduction to Kotlin Inheritance and Subclassing
• 18. Understanding Android Application and Activity Lifecycles
• 19. Handling Android Activity State Changes
• 20. Android Activity State Changes by Example
• 21. Saving and Restoring the State of an Android Activity
• 22. Understanding Android Views, View Groups and Layouts
• 23. A Guide to the Android Studio Layout Editor Tool
• 24. A Guide to the Android ConstraintLayout
• 25. A Guide to using ConstraintLayout in Android Studio
• 26. Working with ConstraintLayout Chains and Ratios in Android Studio
• 27. An Android Studio Layout Editor ConstraintLayout Tutorial
• 28. Manual XML Layout Design in Android Studio
• 29. Managing Constraints using Constraint Sets
• 30. An Android ConstraintSet Tutorial
• 31. A Guide to using Apply Changes in Android Studio
• 32. An Overview and Example of Android Event Handling
• 33. Android Touch and Multi-touch Event Handling
• 34. Detecting Common Gestures using the Android Gesture Detector Class
• 35. Implementing Custom Gesture and Pinch Recognition on Android
• 36. An Introduction to Android Fragments
• 37. Using Fragments in Android Studio - An Example
• 38. Modern Android App Architecture with Jetpack
• 39. An Android Jetpack ViewModel Tutorial
• 40. An Android Jetpack LiveData Tutorial
• 41. An Overview of Android Jetpack Data Binding
• 42. An Android Jetpack Data Binding Tutorial
• 43. Working with Android Lifecycle-Aware Components
• 44. An Android Jetpack Lifecycle Awareness Tutorial
• 45. An Overview of the Navigation Architecture Component
• 46. An Android Jetpack Navigation Component Tutorial
• 47. Creating and Managing Overflow Menus on Android
• 48. Animating User Interfaces with the Android Transitions Framework
• 49. An Android Transition Tutorial using beginDelayedTransition
• 50. Implementing Android Scene Transitions – A Tutorial
• 51. Working with the Floating Action Button and Snackbar
• 52. Creating a Tabbed Interface using the TabLayout Component
• 53. Working with the RecyclerView and CardView Widgets
• 54. An Android RecyclerView and CardView Tutorial
• 55. A Layout Editor Sample Data Tutorial
• 56. Working with the AppBar and Collapsing Toolbar Layouts
• 57. An Android Studio Master/Detail Flow Tutorial
• 58. An Overview of Android Intents
• 59. Android Explicit Intents – A Worked Example
• 60. Android Implicit Intents – A Worked Example
• 61. Android Broadcast Intents and Broadcast Receivers
• 62. A Basic Overview of Threads and AsyncTasks
• 63. An Overview of Android Started and Bound Services
• 64. Implementing an Android Started Service – A Worked Example
• 65. Android Local Bound Services – A Worked Example
• 66. Android Remote Bound Services – A Worked Example
• 67. An Android Notifications Tutorial
• 68. An Android Direct Reply Notification Tutorial
• 69. Foldable Devices and Multi-Window Support
• 70. An Overview of Android SQLite Databases
• 71. The Android Room Persistence Library
• 72. An Android TableLayout and TableRow Tutorial
• 73. An Android Room Database and Repository Tutorial
• 74. Accessing Cloud Storage using the Android Storage Access Framework
• 75. An Android Storage Access Framework Example
• 76. Implementing Video Playback on Android using the VideoView and MediaController Classes
• 77. Android Picture-in-Picture Mode
• 78. An Android Picture-in-Picture Tutorial
• 79. Making Runtime Permission Requests in Android
• 80. Android Audio Recording and Playback using MediaPlayer and MediaRecorder
• 81. Working with the Google Maps Android API in Android Studio
• 82. Printing with the Android Printing Framework
• 83. An Android HTML and Web Content Printing Example
• 84. A Guide to Android Custom Document Printing
• 85. An Introduction to Android App Links
• 86. An Android Studio App Links Tutorial
• 87. A Guide to the Android Studio Profiler
• 88. An Android Biometric Authentication Tutorial
• 89. Creating, Testing and Uploading an Android App Bundle
• 90. An Overview of Android Dynamic Feature Modules
• 91. An Android Studio Dynamic Feature Tutorial
• 92. An Overview of Gradle in Android Studio
• Index