In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, learn how to build powerful apps for the world’s most popular mobile platform: Android. Using this book’s straightforward, step-by-step approach, you’ll build complete Android 5 apps from the ground up with Android Studio. As you do, you’ll master key skills for designing, developing, and publishing meaningful apps of your own. Extensively updated for Android 5’s newest capabilities, every lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success!   Highlights of this new Fourth Edition include Extensive new coverage: Android 5 (Lollipop), Android Studio, and Material Design; plus Android M early preview A laser focus on modern Android essentials, including activities, intents, resources, and background processing New Android 5 features for Android TV and Android Wear Complete Android Studio projects in nearly every chapter Learn how to… Use the powerful new Android Studio development environment Build layouts that automatically display properly on any device Craft more dynamic, intuitive apps with Google’s new material design language Display the right information at the right time with ListViews and adapters Make apps more responsive with background processes Add sophisticated navigation with action toolbars and slide-out menus Integrate images and media into your apps Save data for your app and create public files that can be used by anyone Access the cloud to download and parse JSON data Use SQLite and content providers to create responsive, data-driven apps Create, update, and cancel notifications Start developing Android Wearable and TV apps Use Google Play Services to add location, mapping, and more Package and publish apps to Google Play and other markets  

Table of Contents:
Preface    xiv Part I: Android Fundamentals    1 HOUR 1: Introducing Android    3 Defining Android    3 Understanding Android Development    5 Beginning Android Studio    10 Summary    14 Q&A    14 Workshop    14 Exercise    15 HOUR 2: Understanding Intents    17 Using Intents to Start an Activity    17 Using Implicit Intents    27 Handling an Implicit Intent    32 Summary    34 Q&A    35 Workshop    35 Exercise    36 HOUR 3: Understanding Resources    37 Resources in Your Project    37 Understanding Common Resources.    40 Providing Alternative Resources.    48 Internationalization: Using Alternative Languages Resources 49 Summary    51 Q&A    52 Workshop    52 Exercises    52 HOUR 4: Activities and Fragments    53 Working with Activities    53 Understanding the Activity Lifecycle    63 Introducing Fragments    66 Summary    71 Q&A    71 Workshop    71 Exercises    72 HOUR 5: Responsive Apps: Running in the Background    73 Working in the Background    73 Using an AsyncTask    76 Service and IntentService    79 Summary    87 Q&A    87 Workshop    88 Exercise    88 Part II: Creating the User Interface    89 HOUR 6: Using Basic UI Controls    91 Using the Android Studio Palette    91 Handling User Input    92 Using Buttons for User Actions    97 Summary    102 Q&A    103 Workshop    103 Exercise    103 HOUR 7: Using Layouts    105 Getting Started with Layouts    105 Becoming a RelativeLayout Expert    108 Common Attributes    112 More Layout Types    114 Summary    116 Q&A    117 Workshop    117 Exercises    117 HOUR 8: ListViews and Adapters    119 Getting Started with ListViews    119 Extending Base Adapters    124 Introducing the View Holder Pattern    131 Summary    136 Q&A    136 Workshop    136 Exercises    137 HOUR 9: Material Design    139 The Evolution of App Design    139 Introducing Material Design    140 Implementing Material Design    145 Summary    159 Q&A    159 Workshop    160 Exercise    160 HOUR 10: More Views and Controls    161 Controls for Collecting Information    161 Indicating Progress    166 Displaying Data    170 More Views    174 Summary    177 Q&A    177 Workshop    177 Exercise    178 HOUR 11: ImageViews and Bitmaps    179 Examining ImageView    179 Using Bitmaps and Canvas    186 Introducing Picasso    192 Summary    192 Q&A    193 Workshop    193 Exercise    193 HOUR 12: Using VideoViews and Media    195 Playing Video    195 Handling VideoView Events    199 Playing Audio with MediaPlayer    202 More Media    204 Summary    205 Q&A    205 Workshop    205 Exercise    206 HOUR 13: Adding Navigation    207 Using the ActionBar    207 Introducing the Toolbar    214 Sliding Drawer Navigation.    219 Summary    228 Q&A    228 Workshop    229 Exercise    229 Part III: Working with Data    231 HOUR 14: Using the File System    233 File System Overview    233 Saving Data Privately in Your App    236 Saving Data in Public Folders    240 Summary    242 Q&A    242 Workshop    242 Exercise    243 HOUR 15: Using SharedPreferences    245 Using SharedPreferences to Store Data    245 Setting User Preferences    249 Summary    258 Q&A    258 Workshop    258 Exercise    259 HOUR 16: Using SQLite and File Storage    261 Organizing a Database with Tables    261 Managing Data with SQLiteOpenHelper    263 Adding, Deleting, and Updating Data.    266 Querying Data and Using Cursors    267 Using a Database in the App    269 Summary    274 Q&A    274 Workshop    274 Exercise    275 HOUR 17: Accessing the Cloud: Working with a Remote API 277 Fetching Remote Data    277 Using and Parsing JSON-Formatted Data    282 Putting the Pieces Together    286 Checking Connectivity.    290 Summary    294 Q&A    295 Workshop    295 Exercise    295 HOUR 18: Introducing Content Providers    297 Introducing Content Providers    297 All About the Calendar    298 Calendar Data via the Calendar Content Provider    300 Summary    308 Q&A    308 Workshop    309 Exercise    309 HOUR 19: Creating a Content Provider.    311 Specifying a URI for Data Retrieval    311 Using PieDbAdapter    312 Building a Content Provider    312 Using MyContentProvider in the App    319 Summary    321 Q&A    321 Workshop    322 Exercise    322 HOUR 20: Loaders and CursorAdapters.    323 How Loaders Work    323 Loader Classes    324 Understanding Loader States    325 Creating Cursor Adapters    330 The Rest of the App    333 Summary    333 Q&A    333 Workshop    334 Exercise    334 Part IV: Next Steps    335 HOUR 21: Using Notifications    337 Introducing Notifications    337 Creating and Managing Notifications    338 Customizing Notifications    344 Summary    345 Q&A    346 Workshop    346 Exercise    346 HOUR 22: Android TV and Wear Apps    347 Android as a Platform    347 Developing Android Wear Apps    348 Developing Android TV Apps    355 Summary    358 Q&A    358 Workshop    359 Exercise    359 HOUR 23: More Features to Explore    361 Using Google Play Services    361 Using Google Play Services for Location    364 Using Open Source and External SDKs    368 Digging Deeper into Android    369 Summary    373 Q&A    373 Workshop    374 Exercise    374 HOUR 24: Publishing Your Apps    375 Preparing for Release    375 Sharing Your App with the World    382 Monetizing Your App    384 Summary    385 Q&A    385 Workshop    385 Exercise    386 Index    387