 Trade In this Item for up to £5.25
Trade in Android Application Development For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers)) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £5.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
′...a highly capable book from a well regarded self–help book series on a subject that is very topical at the moment’ (Will Roney, 5 December 2011).
Product Description
The fun and friendly guide to creating applications on the Android platform
The popularity of the Android market is soaring with no sign of slowing down. The open nature of the Android OS offers programmers the freedom to access the platform′s capabilities and this straightforward guide walks you through the steps for creating amazing Android applications. Android programming expert Donn Felker explains how to download the SDK, get Eclipse up and running, code Android applications, and submit your finished products to the Android Market. Featuring two sample programs, this introductory book explores everything from the simple basics to more advanced aspects of the Android platform.
- Takes you soup through nuts of developing applications for the Android platform
- Begins with downloading the SDK, then explains how to code Android applications and submit projects to the Android Market
- Written by Android guru Donn Felker, who breaks every aspect of developing applications for the Android platform into easily digestible pieces
No matter your level of programming experience, Android Application Development For Dummies is an ideal guide for getting started with developing applications for the Android platform.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a good if flawed book. If you are new to programming you will have a hard time getting through this book without any additional help. An experienced programmer will find it a comprehensive introduction, but have the occasional frustrating time with the example code.
Being called a "Dummies" book suggests it'll take you from the ground up, in regards to Android this is true, in regards to Application Development a certain level of knowledge is assumed and there is no mention on the book's cover of the need to know Java and XML, those requirements are mentioned in fifth paragraph of the intro. Therefore total beginners will need to wade through a Java and XML book before tackling this one. Yet the text is a contradiction at points, it assumes you know Java but holds your hand in showing you how to get hold of the Java SDK, surely a Java programmer would know about the SDK already. It's a "Dummies" book yet none of the Android SDK helper screens are discussed or used, all the XML is hand typed (or copied over from the downloaded source code). It is a similar issue with the programming environment. The Eclipse IDE is powerful and flexible, but first time Eclipse users, like me, will feel lost until you get used to it. An Appendix giving a quick overview of Eclipse would have helped greatly.
Whilst the book blurb does not mention the need for previous programming experience it does mention on the rear "cool ways to use the accelerometer in your app", but there is no code in the book to do that, merely a link to an open source program.
It's not until page 76 that the ubiquitous "hello, world" program is running. So that's 76 pages before you are running anything. Having said that the programs that follow do give you a good grounding in the aspects of Android that are needed to develop a full featured App and publish it to the Marketplace. The main example application that is developed in the book does get bogged down occasionally with pages of code to type out (or copy across) but not much to show for it. If like me you type code in from the book to aid learning you need to be careful as it is easy to miss something and sit scratching your head trying to comprehend the error messages in Eclipse. Although going back over the text and code eventually finds the issue, though beginners could slip up when following the text as some things are assumed based on previous chapters, e.g. adding the import statement for external classes.
There are a handful of errors in the book, some not the responsibility of the author because although this is a new book the Android SDK has already been revised and as a result some of the screen shots in the book are out of date. However, the author has an active blog and publishes updates to his book there.
In summary a good book if you're prepared to put in the work but room for improvement if they produce a future second edition. If you know what a callback is and how to define one within the parameters of a call to another function you'll do fine with this book, if you don't know then you may be better looking at the Android AppInventor site to learn how to program you cell phone.
Being called a "Dummies" book suggests it'll take you from the ground up, in regards to Android this is true, in regards to Application Development a certain level of knowledge is assumed and there is no mention on the book's cover of the need to know Java and XML, those requirements are mentioned in fifth paragraph of the intro. Therefore total beginners will need to wade through a Java and XML book before tackling this one. Yet the text is a contradiction at points, it assumes you know Java but holds your hand in showing you how to get hold of the Java SDK, surely a Java programmer would know about the SDK already. It's a "Dummies" book yet none of the Android SDK helper screens are discussed or used, all the XML is hand typed (or copied over from the downloaded source code). It is a similar issue with the programming environment. The Eclipse IDE is powerful and flexible, but first time Eclipse users, like me, will feel lost until you get used to it. An Appendix giving a quick overview of Eclipse would have helped greatly.
Whilst the book blurb does not mention the need for previous programming experience it does mention on the rear "cool ways to use the accelerometer in your app", but there is no code in the book to do that, merely a link to an open source program.
It's not until page 76 that the ubiquitous "hello, world" program is running. So that's 76 pages before you are running anything. Having said that the programs that follow do give you a good grounding in the aspects of Android that are needed to develop a full featured App and publish it to the Marketplace. The main example application that is developed in the book does get bogged down occasionally with pages of code to type out (or copy across) but not much to show for it. If like me you type code in from the book to aid learning you need to be careful as it is easy to miss something and sit scratching your head trying to comprehend the error messages in Eclipse. Although going back over the text and code eventually finds the issue, though beginners could slip up when following the text as some things are assumed based on previous chapters, e.g. adding the import statement for external classes.
There are a handful of errors in the book, some not the responsibility of the author because although this is a new book the Android SDK has already been revised and as a result some of the screen shots in the book are out of date. However, the author has an active blog and publishes updates to his book there.
In summary a good book if you're prepared to put in the work but room for improvement if they produce a future second edition. If you know what a callback is and how to define one within the parameters of a call to another function you'll do fine with this book, if you don't know then you may be better looking at the Android AppInventor site to learn how to program you cell phone.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This has to be one of the best 'How-to' books I have ever read! I downloaded it to my Kindle and within an hour of first finding this book on Amazon, I had an Android application up and running!
Ok, I do have an extensive background in software engineering and my PC runs Linux, which is obviously an advantage when developing for what is essentially a Linux platform. But neither is a prerequisite. In fact the author is using Windows 7 for all of the examples.
The fact is I really had no knowlage at all about how to go about writing an application for Android until I read this book.
What I really like is the fact that it is written in plain (American) English. Other than an assumption of some Java knowledge, everything is explained in just the right level of detail. Nothing more is assumed and all the important points are covered. The author also injects just the right amount of humour without being patronising.
I have no doubt that this book will get you up and running as an Android developer. It will work just as well for Windows and Mac users as it did for me. I have not read any other books on the subject, so I can't, in all honestly, say that it is the best book out there. But what I can say, is that if you get this book, you will not go far wrong and probably won't need to buy anything more on the subject.
If I had one minor criticism, it would be that the first few pages waffle on about the virtues of Android a little more than I would have liked. I did wonder if the author was being sponsored by Google ;-). But it soon settles down and before you know it, you have your first app up and running.
Worth every star and every penny.
Ok, I do have an extensive background in software engineering and my PC runs Linux, which is obviously an advantage when developing for what is essentially a Linux platform. But neither is a prerequisite. In fact the author is using Windows 7 for all of the examples.
The fact is I really had no knowlage at all about how to go about writing an application for Android until I read this book.
What I really like is the fact that it is written in plain (American) English. Other than an assumption of some Java knowledge, everything is explained in just the right level of detail. Nothing more is assumed and all the important points are covered. The author also injects just the right amount of humour without being patronising.
I have no doubt that this book will get you up and running as an Android developer. It will work just as well for Windows and Mac users as it did for me. I have not read any other books on the subject, so I can't, in all honestly, say that it is the best book out there. But what I can say, is that if you get this book, you will not go far wrong and probably won't need to buy anything more on the subject.
If I had one minor criticism, it would be that the first few pages waffle on about the virtues of Android a little more than I would have liked. I did wonder if the author was being sponsored by Google ;-). But it soon settles down and before you know it, you have your first app up and running.
Worth every star and every penny.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had gone through some basics of Java and eclipse and the next logical step for me to put my skills to use was getting to know Android. Being a fan and regular reader of For Dummies series, I opted to start my Android journey from here.
After reading the introduction, I realized that apart from Java and Eclipse knowledge, you also need some basic XML and JUnit knowledge. I had to do a crash course in XML and took the risk of diving into this book, without knowing anything about JUnit.
Author starts off with preparing the development HQ by guiding us to download the Java SDK, Eclipse and Android SDK. Suddenly he shocks readers with foolish assumptions (topic) that you should have some Java background. In that case I'am not sure why a detailed section on downloading and installing the Java SDK is given.
While trying example in listing 7-3, I had errors in my eclipse as the R.java file was not updated with phone_state_silent. I tried updating the R.java file directly in eclipse from the source code given by the author in his website, but the R.java file just kept getting refreshed. So I had to solve the problem by directly passing the integer values in listing 7-3.
I had a few more errors while coding the first few pages, but this was entirely due to my carelessness and luckily eclipse helped me to fix it.
While trying to workout Part 3, I noticed that the author had forgotten to give the correct Import statements. I got the correct ones from the source code downloaded from author's website. From chapter 9 onwards I started getting a fair idea of Android (you know this book is for dummies :-) and the UI design aspects.
The missing import statements continues in the rest of the chapters and I had to refer to the source code downloads. From the SQLite DB chapter (12) onwards, nothing explained by the author is working. The explanation is also not very clear. The author has given screen shots which are supposed to be displayed, but when I ran the program, the Emulator was still showing the basic screens. I checked and rechecked the code, but same basic output for me. I even copied and pasted the code downloaded from author's website, but still nothing was working. Actually eclipse was showing error in the code and I had to comment the override in many places for eclipse to accept the code.
The later sections become too code intensive with very little explanation. The author seems to have forgotten that he is writing for dummies. The good thing is Author has explained various options which could be used to improve the user experience. However no coding or web reference samples for these options have been given.
I might have to revise this book a second or third time to fully understand the functioning of Android. The first reading just gave me a basic idea. I plan to go through a few more Android beginners books which have a good rating in Amazon (May be the Wrox one next).
A mandatory pre requisite before you buy this book, is to do a crash course in Java using eclipse (do a detailed course if possible).
After reading the introduction, I realized that apart from Java and Eclipse knowledge, you also need some basic XML and JUnit knowledge. I had to do a crash course in XML and took the risk of diving into this book, without knowing anything about JUnit.
Author starts off with preparing the development HQ by guiding us to download the Java SDK, Eclipse and Android SDK. Suddenly he shocks readers with foolish assumptions (topic) that you should have some Java background. In that case I'am not sure why a detailed section on downloading and installing the Java SDK is given.
While trying example in listing 7-3, I had errors in my eclipse as the R.java file was not updated with phone_state_silent. I tried updating the R.java file directly in eclipse from the source code given by the author in his website, but the R.java file just kept getting refreshed. So I had to solve the problem by directly passing the integer values in listing 7-3.
I had a few more errors while coding the first few pages, but this was entirely due to my carelessness and luckily eclipse helped me to fix it.
While trying to workout Part 3, I noticed that the author had forgotten to give the correct Import statements. I got the correct ones from the source code downloaded from author's website. From chapter 9 onwards I started getting a fair idea of Android (you know this book is for dummies :-) and the UI design aspects.
The missing import statements continues in the rest of the chapters and I had to refer to the source code downloads. From the SQLite DB chapter (12) onwards, nothing explained by the author is working. The explanation is also not very clear. The author has given screen shots which are supposed to be displayed, but when I ran the program, the Emulator was still showing the basic screens. I checked and rechecked the code, but same basic output for me. I even copied and pasted the code downloaded from author's website, but still nothing was working. Actually eclipse was showing error in the code and I had to comment the override in many places for eclipse to accept the code.
The later sections become too code intensive with very little explanation. The author seems to have forgotten that he is writing for dummies. The good thing is Author has explained various options which could be used to improve the user experience. However no coding or web reference samples for these options have been given.
I might have to revise this book a second or third time to fully understand the functioning of Android. The first reading just gave me a basic idea. I plan to go through a few more Android beginners books which have a good rating in Amazon (May be the Wrox one next).
A mandatory pre requisite before you buy this book, is to do a crash course in Java using eclipse (do a detailed course if possible).
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
I was a Dummy
This is a good starter. It does require some basic Java knowledge but it explains well the structure and dependencies of developing Android Apps. Read more
Published 1 month ago by HA
Very Satisfied
I am very satisfied with this item. It is very interesting and well constructed. I recommend this product to others.
Published 3 months ago by Matthew
Book is good but text formatting horrible
If you arw new to programming this book can help you at the beginning of your long jorney. What is driving me crazy is text formatting on my Kindle. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Radim
Do not buy this book
All the information links and download info which you need to get going are totally incorrect so havnt bothered with anything else it has been recycled use a internet search... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Fraser Hollingworth
Kindle edition lacks quality formatting
I think there are enough reviews on the actual content of this book (so far, after a couple of sessions with it it seems up to the mark) but the Kindle edition needs a little more... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. A. D. Garratt
Android Examples
My aim in buying this book was to learn Android techniques by finding examples to try out. This book contains two examples. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mr. Trevor Hughes
A simply amazing book to get started in Android App Development
I started my career in application development, but it is amazing how soon you left application development things move on. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Peter Abatan
Highly Recommend, Does what it says on the cover
Before reading this I must note that I understood a lot about computer, however absolutely nothing about building software. Read more
Published 13 months ago by AJT
Excellent starter guide with a few rough edges.
An excellent book to get started on programming for Android platform 2.2. The examples in the book give you a good base of knowledge to work from in creating your own apps ranging... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Joe
very low entry point
This is a thorough introduction to the topic, but it is very much a hand-held journey.
If that is what you need, buy it, but if you have any programming experience you may... Read more
If that is what you need, buy it, but if you have any programming experience you may... Read more
Published 14 months ago by N. Watton
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
