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CHAPTER 1 HELLO, ANDROID
Android Libraries
Android offers a number of APIs for developing your applications. Rather than list them all here, I refer
you to the documentation at
http://developer.android.com/reference/packages.html , which gives
a complete list of packages included in the Android SDK.
Android is intended to target a wide range of mobile hardware, so be aware that the suitability and
implementation of some of the advanced or optional APIs may vary depending on the host device.
SUMMARY
This chapter explained that despite significant advances in the hardware features available on modern
mobile phones, the software has lagged. Hard-to-use development kits, hardware-specific APIs, and a
lack of openness have stifled innovation in mobile software.
Android offers an opportunity for developers to create innovative software applications for mobile
devices without the restrictions generally associated with the existing proprietary mobile development
frameworks.
You were shown the complete Android software stack, which includes not only an application layer
and development toolkit but also the Dalvik VM, a custom run time, core libraries, and a Linux kernel,
all of which are available as open source.
You also learned:
➤ How handsets with an expanding range of hardware features have created demand for tools
that give developers better access to these features.
➤ About some of the features available to developers using Android, including native map sup-
port, hardware access, background services, interprocess messaging, shared databases, and
2D and 3D graphics.
➤ That all Android applications are built equal, allowing users to completely replace one appli-
cation, even a core native application, with another.
➤ That the Android SDK includes developer tools, APIs, and comprehensive documentation.
The next chapter will help you get started by downloading and installing the Android SDK and setting
up an Android development environment in Eclipse.
You’ll also learn how to use the Android developer tools plug-in to streamline development, testing,
and debugging before creating your first Android application.
After learning about the building blocks of Android applications, you’ll be introduced to the different
types of applications you can create, and you’ll start to understand some of the design considerations
that should go into developing applications for mobile devices.