Mastering Android Application Development

Book excerpt: Learn how to do more with the Android SDK with this advanced Android Application guide which shows you how to make even better Android apps that users will love About This Book Learn how to design and build better Android apps to reach new users Explore the latest features and tools in the Android SDK that will help you become a better developer From concurrency to testing – through to adding adverts and billing, this book ties together every element to help you deliver a high-quality Android application on Google Play Who This Book Is For Mastering Android Application Development is intended for Android developers that want insight on and guidance through the steps they need to take to give their creations the edge in a competitive market. What You Will Learn Create an Android project with Android M features Design the basic navigation for our app using the UI components Set up a cloud-based platform and store data on it Implement programming patterns such as Singleton and Observer to maintain your project code for future use Display lists and grids using Android RecyclerView Implement user interface components and make your app look professional Handle, download, and store images along with memory management Create the database and content providers to perform read-write operations Add notifications to the app and analytics to track the user's usage Show a Google map view on your app Configure minify to obfuscate the code Add adverts and create products for purchase in your app In Detail There are millions of Android apps out there for people to download – how do you make sure yours has the edge? It's not always about innovation and ideas – the most successful apps are those that are able to satisfy customer demands – they're the ones that look the best, the fastest, and the easiest and most intuitive to use. This book shows you how to create Android applications that do precisely that – it has been designed help you consider and answer those questions throughout the development process, so you can create applications that stand out against the crowd. Learn how to create exemplary UIs that contribute to a satisfying user experience through the lens of Material Design, and explore how to harness the range of features within the Android SDK to help you. Dive deeper into complex programming concepts and discover how to leverage concurrency and navigate memory management and image handling. You'll also find further guidance on testing and debugging so you can guarantee that your application is reliable and robust for users. Beyond this you'll find out how to extend your app and add greater functionality, including notifications, location services, adverts and app billing (essential if you want to properly monetize your creation!). To make sure you have confidence at every stage in the process, the book also shows you how to release your app to the Play store – to make sure your maximising your efforts to create a popular Android application! Style and approach This is a step-by-step guide where theory and practice are merged in a way that helps you to put a new concept into practice with ease. By helping to focus on the end result, and showing all the technical steps you need to get there, you will be poised for development success!