Android Studio Development Essentials

Android Studio Development Essentials is currently under development. New chapters are added regularly so check back for the latest updates.

1. Creating an Example Android App in Android Studio
   • Creating a New Android Project
   • Defining the Project and SDK Settings
   • Understanding the Support Mode Settings
   • Configuring the Launcher Icon
   • Creating an Activity
   • Modifying the Example Application
   • Reviewing the Layout and Resource Files
   • Previewing the Layout
     
     
2. A Tour of the Android Studio User Interface
   • The Welcome Screen
   • The Main Window
   • The Tool Windows
   • Android Studio Keyboard Shortcuts
   • Switcher and Recent Files Navigation
   • Changing the Android Studio Theme
     
     
3. Creating an Android Virtual Device (AVD) in Android Studio
   • About Android Virtual Devices
   • Creating a New AVD
   • Starting the Emulator
   • Running the Application in the AVD
   • Run/Debug Configurations
   • Stopping a Running Application
   • AVD Command-line Creation
   • Android Virtual Device Configuration Files
   • Moving and Renaming an Android Virtual Device
     
     
4. Testing Android Studio Apps on a Physical Android Device
   • An Overview of the Android Debug Bridge (ADB)
   • Enabling ADB on Android 4.4 based Devices
   • Mac OS X ADB Configuration
   • Windows ADB Configuration
   • Testing the adb Connection
     
     
5. The Basics of the Android Studio Code Editor
   • The Android Studio Editor
   • Splitting the Editor Window
   • Code Completion
   • Statement Completion
   • Parameter Information
   • Code Generation
   • Code Folding
   • Quick Documentation Lookup
   • Code Reformatting
     
     
6. An Overview of the Android Architecture
   • The Android Software Stack
   • The Linux Kernel
   • Android Runtime - Dalvik Virtual Machine
   • Android Runtime – Core Libraries
   • Dalvik VM Specific Libraries
   • Java Interoperability Libraries
   • Android Libraries
   • C/C++ Libraries
   • Application Framework
   • Applications
     
     
7. The Anatomy of an Android Studio Android Application
   • Android Activities
   • Android Intents
   • Broadcast Intents
   • Broadcast Receivers
   • Android Services
   • Content Providers
   • The Application Manifest
   • Application Resources
   • Application Context
     
     
8. Understanding Android Application and Activity Lifecycles
   • Android Applications and Resource Management
   • Android Process States
   • Foreground Process
   • Visible Process
   • Service Process
   • Background Process
   • Empty Process
   • Inter-Process Dependencies
   • The Activity Lifecycle
   • The Activity Stack
   • Activity States
   • Configuration Changes
   • Handling State Change
     
     
9. Handling Android Activity State Changes in Android Studio
   • The Activity Class
   • Dynamic State vs. Persistent State
   • The Android Activity Lifecycle Methods
   • Activity Lifetimes
     
     
10. Android Activity State Changes - An Android Studio Example
    • Creating the State Change Example Project
    • Designing the User Interface
    • Overriding the Activity Lifecycle Methods
    • Filtering the LogCat Panel
    • Running the Application
    • Experimenting with the Activity
      
      
11. Saving and Restoring Activity State in Android Studio
    • Saving Dynamic State
    • Default Saving of User Interface State
    • The Bundle Class
    • Saving the State
    • Restoring the State
    • Testing the Application
      
      
12. Understanding Android Views, View Groups and Layouts in Android Studio
    • Designing for Different Android Devices
    • Views and View Groups
    • Android Layout Managers
    • The View Hierarchy
    • Creating User Interfaces
      
      
13. A Guide to the Android Studio Designer Tool
    • The Android Studio Designer
    • Design Mode
    • Text Mode
    • Setting Properties
    • Type Morphing
    • Creating a Custom Device Definition
      
      
14. Designing a User Interface using the Android Studio Designer Tool
    • An Android Studio Designer Tool Example
    • Creating a New Activity
    • Designing the User Interface
    • Editing View Properties
    • Running the Application
    • Manually Creating an XML Layout
    • Using the Hierarchy Viewer
      
      
15. Using the Android GridLayout Manager in Android Studio Designer
    • Introducing the Android GridLayout and Space Classes
    • The GridLayout Example
    • Creating the GridLayout Project
    • Creating the GridLayout Instance
    • Adding Views to GridLayout Cells
    • Moving and Deleting Rows and Columns
    • Implementing Cell Row and Column Spanning
    • Changing the Gravity of a GridLayout Child
      
      
16. Working with the Android GridLayout using XML Layout Resources
    • GridLayouts in XML Resource Files
    • Adding Child Views to the GridLayout
    • Declaring Cell Spanning, Gravity and Margins
      
      
17. An Overview and Android Studio Example of Android Event Handling
    • Understanding Android Events
    • Using the android:onClick Resource
    • Event Listeners and Callback Methods
    • An Event Handling Example
    • Designing the User Interface
    • The Event Listener and Callback Method
    • Consuming Events
      
      
18. Android Touch and Multi-touch Event Handling in Android Studio
    • Intercepting Touch Events
    • The MotionEvent Object
    • Understanding Touch Actions
    • Handling Multiple Touches
    • An Example Multi-Touch Application
    • Designing the Activity User Interface
    • Implementing the Touch Event Listener
    • Running the Example Application
      
      
19. Detecting Common Gestures using Android Studio and the Gesture Detector Class
    • Implementing Common Gesture Detection
    • Creating an Example Gesture Detection Project
    • Implementing the Listener Class
    • Creating the GestureDetectorCompat Instance
    • Implementing the onTouchEvent() Method
    • Testing the Application
      
      
20. Implementing Android Custom Gesture Recognition with Android Studio
    • The Android Gesture Builder Application
    • The GestureOverlayView Class
    • Detecting Gestures
    • Identifying Specific Gestures
    • Adding SD Card Support to an AVD
    • Building and Running the Gesture Builder Application
    • Creating a Gestures File
    • Extracting the Gestures File from the SD Card
    • Creating the Example Project
    • Adding the Gestures File to the Project
    • Designing the User Interface
    • Loading the Gestures File
    • Registering the Event Listener
    • Implementing the onGesturePerformed Method
    • Testing the Application
    • Configuring the GestureOverlayView
    • Intercepting Gestures
      
      
21. Android Pinch Gesture Detection Tutorial using Android Studio
    • Detecting Pinch Gestures in Android
    • A Pinch Gesture Example Project
      
      
22. An Introduction to Using Fragments in Android Studio
    • What is a Fragment?
    • Creating a Fragment
    • Adding a Fragment to an Activity using the Layout XML File
    • Adding and Managing Fragments in Code
    • Handling Fragment Events
    • Implementing Fragment Communication
      
      
23. Using Fragments in Android Studio - An Example
    • About the Example Fragment Application
    • Creating the Example Project
    • Creating the First Fragment Layout
    • Creating the First Fragment Class
    • Creating the Second Fragment Layout
    • Adding the Fragments to the Activity
    • Making the Toolbar Fragment Talk to the Activity
    • Making the Activity Talk to the Text Fragment]
    • Testing the Application
      
      
24. An Android Studio Master/Detail Flow Tutorial
    • The Android Master/Detail Flow
    • Creating a Master/Detail Flow Activity
    • The Anatomy of the Master/Detail Flow Template
    • Modifying the Master/Detail Flow Template
    • Changing the Content Model
    • Changing the Detail Pane
    • Modifying the WebsiteDetailFragment Class
    • Adding Manifest Permissions
    • Running the Application
      
      
25. Creating and Managing Overflow Menus in Android Studio
    • The Overflow Menu
    • Creating an Overflow Menu
    • Displaying an Overflow Menu
    • Responding to Menu Item Selections
    • Creating Checkable Item Groups
    • Creating the Example Project
    • Modifying the Menu Description
    • Modifying the onOptionsItemSelected() Method
    • Testing the Application
      
      
26. Animating User Interfaces in Android Studio using the Transitions Framework
    • Introducing Android Transitions and Scenes
    • Using Interpolators with Transitions
    • Working with Scene Transitions
    • Custom Transitions and TransitionSets in Code
    • Custom Transitions and TransitionSets in XML
    • Working with Interpolators
    • Creating a Custom Interpolator
    • Using the beginDelayedTransition Method
      
      
27. An Android Studio Transition Tutorial using beginDelayedTransition
    • Creating the Android Studio TransitionDemo Project
    • Preparing the Project Files
    • Implementing beginDelayedTransition Animation
    • Customizing the Transition
      
      
28. Implementing Android Scene Transitions – An Android Studio Tutorial
    • An Overview of the Scene Transition Project
    • Creating the Android Studio SceneTransitions Project
    • Identifying and Preparing the Root Container
    • Designing the First Scene
    • Designing the Second Scene
    • Entering the First Scene
    • Loading Scene 2
    • Implementing the Transitions
    • Adding the Transition File
    • Loading and Using the Transition Set
    • Configuring Additional Transitions
      
      
29. An Overview of Intents in Android Studio
    • An Overview of Intents
    • Explicit Intents
    • Returning Data from an Activity
    • Implicit Intents
    • Using Intent Filters
    • Checking Intent Availability
      
      
30. Android Explicit Intents – An Android Studio Example
31. Android Implicit Intents – An Android Studio Example