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Android Tutorial

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Cover page

About the Tutorial


Android is an open-source, Linux-based operating system for mobile devices
such as smartphones and tablet computers. Android was developed by the Open
Handset Alliance, led by Google, and other companies.
This tutorial will teach you the basic Android programming and will also take you
through some advance concepts related to Android application development.

Audience
This tutorial has been prepared for beginners to help them understand basic
Android programming. After completing this tutorial, you will find yourself at a
moderate level of expertise in Android programming from where you can take
yourself to next levels.

Prerequisites
Android programming is based on Java programming language. If you have a
basic understanding of Java programming, then it will be fun to learn Android
application development.

Copyright & Disclaimer


Copyright 2014 by Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd.
All the content and graphics published in this e-book are the property of Tutorials Point
(I) Pvt. Ltd. The user of this e-book is prohibited to reuse, retain, copy, distribute or
republish any contents or a part of contents of this e-book in any manner without written
consent of the publisher.
We strive to update the contents of our website and tutorials as timely and as precisely
as possible, however, the contents may contain inaccuracies or errors. Tutorials Point (I)
Pvt. Ltd. provides no guarantee regarding the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of
our website or its contents including this tutorial. If you discover any errors on our
website or in this tutorial, please notify us at contact@tutorialspoint.com

Table of Contents
About the Tutorial i
Audience i
Prerequisites i
Copyright & Disclaimer i
Table of Contents ii

1. OVERVIEW 1
What is Android? 1
Features of Android 1
Android Applications 2

2. ENVIORNMENT SETUP 4
Step 1 - Setup Java Development Kit (JDK) 4
Step 2 - Setup Android SDK 5
Step 3 - Setup Eclipse IDE 6
Step 4 - Setup Android Development Tools (ADT) Plugin 7
Step 5 - Create Android Virtual Device 9

3. ARCHITECTURE 11
Linux kernel 11
Libraries 11
Android Runtime 12
Application Framework 12
Applications 12

4. APPLICATIONS COMPONENT 13
Activities 13
Services 14

ii

Broadcast Receivers 14
Content Providers 14
Additional Components 15

5. HELLO WORLD EXAMPLE 16


Create Android Application 16
Anatomy of Android Application 17
The Main Activity File 19
The Manifest File 20
The Strings File 21
The R File 22
The Layout File 23
Running the Application 24

6. ORGANIZING & ACCESSING THE RESOURCES 26


Organize Resources 26
Alternative Resources 28
Accessing Resources 29
Accessing Resources in Code 29
Accessing Resources in XML 31

7. ACTIVITIES 32
8. SERVICES 38
9. BROADCAST RECEIVERS 49
Creating the Broadcast Receiver 49
Registering Broadcast Receiver 49
Broadcasting Custom Intents 51

10. CONTENT PROVIDERS 58


iii

Content URIs 58
Create Content Provider 59

11. FRAGMENTS 74
Fragment Life Cycle 75
How to use Fragments? 76

12. INTENTS & FILTERS 85


Intent Objects 86
Action 86
Data 86
Category 87
Extras 87
Flags 87
Component Name 87
Types of Intents 87
Explicit Intents 88
Implicit Intents 88
Intent Filters 93

13. UI LAYOUTS 104


Android Layout Types 105
Layout Attributes 106
View Identification 108

14. UI CONTROLS 110


Android UI Controls 110
Create UI Controls 112

15. EVENT HANDLING 113


iv

Event Listeners & Event Handlers 113


Event Listeners Registration: 114
Event Handling Examples 114
Event Listeners Registration Using an Anonymous Inner Class 114
Registration Using the Activity Implements Listener Interface 119
Registration Using Layout file activity_main.xml 122
Exercise: 126

17. STYLES & THEMES 127


Defining Styles 127
Using Styles 128
Style Inheritance 129
Android Themes 130
Default Styles & Themes 130

18. CUSTOM COMPONENTS 132


Creating a Simple Custom Component 132
Instantiate using code inside activity class 133
Instantiate using Layout XML file 134
Custom Component with Custom Attributes 135
Step 1 135
Step 2 135
Step 3 136

19. DRAG & DROP 138


The Drag/Drop Process 138
The DragEvent Class 139
Constants 139
Methods 140
Listening for Drag Event 140
Starting a Drag Event 141

20. NOTIFICATIONS 148


Create and Send Notifications 149
Step 1 - Create Notification Builder 149
Step 2 - Setting Notification Properties 149
Step 3 - Attach Actions 149
Step 4 - Issue the notification 150
The NotificationCompat.Builder Class 150
Big View Notification 162

21. LOCATION-BASED SERVICES 165


The Location Object 165
Get the Current Location 167
Get the Updated Location 168
Location Quality of Service 168
Displaying a Location Address 169
Install the Google Play Services SDK 170
Create Android Application 170

22. SENDING EMAIL 182


Intent Object - Action to send Email 182
Intent Object - Data/Type to send Email 182
Intent Object - Extra to send Email 182

23. SENDING SMS 190


Using SmsManager to send SMS 190
Using Built-in Intent to send SMS 197
Intent Object - Action to send SMS 197
Intent Object - Data/Type to send SMS 198
Intent Object - Extra to send SMS 198

24. PHONE CALLS 205


Intent Object - Action to make Phone Call 205

vi

Intent Object - Data/Type to make Phone Call 205

25. PUBLISHING ANDROID APPLICATION 212


Export Android Application 213
Google Play Registration 217

26. ALERT DIALOG TUTORIAL 219


27. ANIMATIONS 234
Tween Animation 234
Zoom in animation 235

28. AUDIO CAPTURE 250


29. AUDIO MANAGER 263
30. AUTOCOMPLETE 276
31. BEST PRACTICES 286
Best Practices - User input 286
AsyncTask Vs Services. 286
Best Practices - Performance 287
Best Practices - Security and privacy 287

32. BLUETOOTH 299


33. CAMERA 314
Using existing android camera application in our application 314
Directly using Camera API Provided by Android in our Application 323

34. CLIPBOARD 335


Copying data 335
Pasting data 336

35. CUSTOM FONTS 346


vii

36. DATA BACKUP 352


Test your BackupAgent 356
Install your application on a suitable Android system image. 356
Ensure data backup is enabled 356
Performing backup 357
Uninstall and reinstall your application 357

37. DEVELOPER TOOLS 358


SDK tools 358
Android 359
DDMS 359
Running DDMS 359
How it works 359
Using DDMS 360
Making SMS 360
Making Call 361
Capturing ScreenShot 363
Sqlite3 364
Use Sqlite3 from a remote shell. 364
Using Sqlite3 directly 365
Platform tools 365

38. EMULATOR 366


Creating AVD 366
Creating Snapshots 366
Changing Orientation 366
Emulator Commands. 368
Emulator - Sending SMS 369
Sending SMS through Telnet. 369
Emulator - Making Call 370
Emulator - Transferring files 371

39. FACEBOOK INTEGRATION 372


Integrating Facebook SDK 372
Generating application signature 372
Registering your application 373

viii

Downloading SDK and integrating it 373


Creating facebook login application 373
Intent share 374

40. GESTURES 384


Handling Pinch Gesture 384

41. GOOGLE MAPS 395


Adding Google Map 395
Google Map - Activity file 395
Google Map - Layout file 395
Google Map - AndroidManifest file 395
Customizing Google Map 396
Adding Marker 396
Changing Map Type 396
Enable/Disable zoom 397
Integrating Google Maps 398
Download and configure. Google Play Services SDK 399
Install Google services SDK 399
Import SDK to eclipse 399
Configure your project with SDK 399
Obtaining the API key 400
Getting Certificate from KeyTool 400
Getting key from Google Console 401
Specify Android Manifest Settings 401
Adding Google Maps to your application. 402

42. IMAGE EFFECTS 408


43. IMAGE SWITCHER 421
44. INTERNAL STORAGE 431
Writing file 431
Reading file 431

45. JETPLAYER 442


Using JetCreator 444

ix

Installing python 444


Installing WxPython 444
Running JetCreator 444
Creating JetContent 445
Verifying Results 446

46. JSON PARSER 448


JSON - Elements 449
JSON - Parsing 449

47. LINKEDIN INTEGRATION 463


Integrating LinkedIn SDK 463
Registering your application 463
Downloading SDK and integrating it 464
Posting updates on LinkedIn application 464
Intent share 464

48. LOADING SPINNER 474


49. LOCALIZATION 481
Localizing Strings 481
Italy, res/values-it/strings.xml 481
Spanish, res/values-it/strings.xml 482
French, res/values-it/strings.xml 482

50. LOGIN SCREEN 489


51. MEDIA PLAYER 501
52. MULTITOUCH 517
53. NAVIGATION 530
Providing Up Navigation 530
Handling device back button 530

54. NETWORK CONNECTION 542


Checking Network Connection 542

Performing Network Operations 543

55. NFC GUIDE 556


How It Works: 556
Three Modes of Operation 556
How it works with Android: 556
Future Applications 558

56. PHP/MYSQL 559


PHP - MYSQL 559
Creating Database 559
Creating Tables 559
Inserting Values in tables 560
PHP - GET and POST methods 560
Android - Connecting MYSQL 561
Connecting Via Get Method 561
Connecting Via Post Method 561
PHP - MYSQL part 562
Android Part 563

57. PROGRESS CIRCLE 579


58. PROGRESS BAR USING PROGRESS DIALOG 588
59. PUSH NOTIFICATION 598
60. RENDERSCRIPT 611
How RenderScript Works: 611
How to Begin: 611
A RenderScript Kernel 611
RenderScript APIs 612
How to use RenderScript Support Library 613

61. RSS READER 615


RSS Example 615
RSS Elements 615
Parsing RSS 616

xi

62. SCREEN CAST 629


Screen Cast Steps 629
Step 1 629
Step 629
Step 3 629
Step 629
Step 5 630

63. SDK MANAGER 633


Running Android SDK Manager: 633
Recommended 634
Enabling Proxy in Android SDK Manager 634
Adding New Third Party Sites 635

64. SENSORS 637


Getting list of sensors supported. 638

65. SESSION MANAGEMENT 645


Shared Preferences 645
Session Management through Shared Preferences 646

66. SIP PROTOCOL 662


Applications 662
Requirements 662
SIP Classes 662
Functions of SIP 663
Components of SIP 663
UAC 663
UAS 663
SipManager 663

67. SPELLING CHECKER 665

xii

68. SQLITE DATABASE 675


Database - Package 675
Database - Creation 675
Database - Insertion 676
Database - Fetching 676
Database - Helper class 677

69. SUPPORT LIBRARY 706


Support Library Features 706
Downloading the Support Libraries 707
Choosing Support Libraries 708
Changes in Android.Manifest 708
API Version 708

70. TESTING 709


Test Structure 709
Testing Tools in Android 709
JUnit 710
Monkey 711
Monkey features 711
Monkey Usage 711

71. TEXT TO SPEECH 720


72. TEXTURE VIEW 731
73. TWITTER INTEGRATION 741
Integrating Twitter SDK 741
Registering your application 741
Downloading SDK and integrating it 743
Posting tweets on twitter application 743
Intent share 743

74. UI DESIGN 753


UI screen components 753

xiii

Understanding Screen Components 754


View and ViewGroups 754
Types of layout 754
Linear Layout 754
AbsoluteLayout 755
TableLayout 755
RelativeLayout 756
FrameLayout 756
Units of Measurement 757
Screen Densities 758
Optimizing layouts 758

75. UI PATTERNS 759


UI Patterns components 759
Action Bar 759
Action Bar Components 759
Confirming and Acknowledging 760
Confirming 760
Acknowledging 761
Settings 761
Placement of Settings 761
Help 761
Placement of Help 762
Selection 762
Using Contextual Action Bar (CAB) 762

76. UI TESTING 763


uiautomatorviewer 763
uiautomator 767

77. WEBVIEW 775


78. WI-FI 785
79. WIDGETS 793
Widget - XML file 793
Widget - Layout file 793

xiv

Widget - Java file 793


Widget - Manifest file 794

80. XML PARSER 803


XML - Elements 803
XML - Parsing 804

xv

1. OVERVIEW

Android

What is Android?
Android is an open source and Linux-based Operating System for mobile
devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Android was developed by
the Open Handset Alliance, led by Google, and other companies.
Android offers a unified approach to application development for mobile devices
which means developers need to develop only for Android, and their applications
should be able to run on different devices powered by Android.
The first beta version of the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) was
released by Google in 2007, whereas the first commercial version, Android 1.0,
was released in September 2008.
On June 27, 2012, at the Google I/O conference, Google announced the next
Android version, 4.1 Jelly Bean. Jelly Bean is an incremental update, with the
primary aim of improving the user interface, both in terms of functionality and
performance.
The source code for Android is available under free and open source software
licenses. Google publishes most of the code under the Apache License version
2.0 and the rest, Linux kernel changes, under the GNU General Public License
version 2.

Features of Android
Android is a powerful operating system competing with Apple 4GS and support
great features. Few of them are listed below:
Feature

Description

Beautiful UI

Android OS basic screen provides a beautiful and intuitive


user interface.

Connectivity

GSM/EDGE, IDEN, CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi,


LTE, NFC and WiMAX.

Storage

SQLite, a lightweight relational database, is used for data


storage purposes.

Android

Media support

H.263, H.264, MPEG-4 SP, AMR, AMR-WB, AAC, HE-AAC,


AAC 5.1, MP3, MIDI, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, JPEG, PNG, GIF,
and BMP

Messaging

SMS and MMS

Web browser

Based on the open-source WebKit layout engine, coupled


with Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine supporting HTML5 and
CSS3.

Multi-touch

Android has native support for multi-touch which was


initially made available in handsets such as the HTC Hero.

Multi-tasking

User can jump from one task to another and same time
various application can run simultaneously.

Resizable widgets

Widgets are resizable, so users can expand them to show


more content or shrink them to save space

Multi-Language

Support single direction and bi-directional text.

GCM

Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) is a service that let


developers send short message data to their users on
Android devices, without needing a proprietary sync
solution.

Wi-Fi Direct

A technology that let apps discover and pair directly, over


a high-bandwidth peer-to-peer connection.

Android Beam

A popular NFC-based technology that let users instantly


share, just by touching two NFC-enabled phones together.

Android Applications
Android applications are usually developed in the Java language using the
Android Software Development Kit.
Once developed, Android applications can be packaged easily and sold out either
through a store such as Google Play or the Amazon Appstore.
Android powers hundreds of millions of mobile devices in more than 190
countries around the world. It's the largest installed base of any mobile platform
2

Android

and is growing fast. Every day more than 1 million new Android devices are
activated worldwide.
This tutorial has been written with an aim to teach you how to develop and
package Android application. We will start from environment setup for Android
application programming and then drill down to look into various aspects of
Android applications.

2. ENVIORNMENT SETUP

Android

You will be glad to know that you can start your Android application
development on either of the following operating systems:

Microsoft Windows XP or later version.

Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later version with Intel chip.

Linux including GNU C Library 2.7 or later.

Second point is that all the required tools to develop Android applications are
freely available and can be downloaded from the Web. Following is the list of
software's you will need before you start your Android application programming.

Java JDK5 or JDK6

Android SDK

Eclipse IDE for Java Developers (optional)

Android Development Tools (ADT) Eclipse Plugin (optional)

Here last two components are optional and if you are working on Windows
machine then these components make your life easy while doing Java based
application development. So let us have a look at how to proceed to set the
required environment.

Step 1 - Setup Java Development Kit (JDK)


You can download the latest version of Java JDK from Oracle's Java site: Java SE
Downloads. You will find instructions for installing JDK in downloaded files, follow
the given instructions to install and configure the setup. Finally, set PATH and
JAVA_HOME environment variables to refer to the directory that
contains java and javac, typically java_install_dir/bin and java_install_dir
respectively.
If you are running Windows and have installed the JDK in C:\jdk1.6.0_15, you
would have to put the following line in your C:\autoexec.bat file.
set PATH=C:\jdk1.6.0_15\bin;%PATH%
set JAVA_HOME=C:\jdk1.6.0_15
Alternatively, you could also right-click on My Computer, select Properties,
then Advanced, then Environment Variables. Then, you would update the PATH
value and press the OK button.
On Linux, if the SDK is installed in /usr/local/jdk1.6.0_15 and you use the C
shell, you would put the following code into your .cshrc file.
4

Android

setenv PATH /usr/local/jdk1.6.0_15/bin:$PATH


setenv JAVA_HOME /usr/local/jdk1.6.0_15
Alternatively, if you use an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) Eclipse,
then it will know automatically where you have installed your Java.

Step 2 - Setup Android SDK


You can download the latest version of Android SDK from Androids official
website: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html. If you are installing SDK
on Windows machine, then you will find ainstaller_rXX-windows.exe, so just
download and run this exe which will launch Android SDK Tool Setup wizard to
guide you throughout the installation, so just follow the instructions carefully.
Finally, you will have Android SDK Tools installed on your machine.
If you are installing SDK either on Mac OS or Linux, check the instructions
provided along with the downloaded android-sdk_rXX-macosx.zip file for Mac OS
and android-sdk_rXX-linux.tgz file for Linux. This tutorial will consider that you
are going to setup your environment on Windows machine having Windows 7
operating system.
So let's launch Android SDK Manager using the option All Programs > Android
SDK Tools > SDK Manager, this will give you following window:

Android

Once you launched SDK manager, it is time to install other required packages.
By default it will list down total 7 packages to be installed, but we will suggest to
de-select Documentation for Android SDK and Samples for SDK packages to
reduce installation time. Next click the Install 7 Packages button to proceed,
which will display following dialogue box:

If you agree to install all the packages, select Accept All radio button and
proceed by clicking Install button. Now let SDK manager do its work and you
go, pick up a cup of coffee and wait until all the packages are installed. It may
take some time depending on your internet connection. Once all the packages
are installed, you can close SDK manager using top-right cross button.

Step 3 - Setup Eclipse IDE


All the examples in this tutorial have been written using Eclipse IDE. So we
would suggest you should have latest version of Eclipse installed on your
machine.
To install Eclipse IDE, download the latest Eclipse binaries from
http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/. Once you have downloaded the installation,
unpack the binary distribution into a convenient location. For example in
C:\eclipse on windows, or /usr/local/eclipse on Linux and finally set PATH
variable appropriately.
Eclipse can be started by executing the following commands on windows
machine, or you can simply double click on eclipse.exe
%C:\eclipse\eclipse.exe
Eclipse can be started by executing the following command on Linux machine:
$/usr/local/eclipse/eclipse
6

Android

After a successful startup, if everything is fine then it should display the


following result:

Step 4 - Setup Android Development Tools (ADT) Plugin


This step will help you in setting Android Development Tool plugin for Eclipse.
Let's start with launching Eclipse and then, choose Help > Software Updates
> Install New Software. This will display the following dialogue box.

Android

Now
use Add button
to
add ADT
Plugin as
name
and https://dlssl.google.com/android/eclipse/ as the location. Then click OK to add this
location. As soon as you will click OK button to add this location, Eclipse starts
searching for the plug-in available in the given location and finally lists down the
found plugins.

Android

Now select all the listed plug-ins using Select All button and click Next button
which will guide you ahead to install Android Development Tools and other
required plugins.

Step 5 - Create Android Virtual Device


To test your Android applications you will need a virtual Android device. So
before we start writing our code, let us create an Android virtual device. Launch
Android AVD Manager using Eclipse menu options Window > AVD
Manager> which will launch Android AVD Manager. Use New button to create a
new Android Virtual Device and enter the following information, before
clicking Create AVD button.

Android

If your AVD is created successfully it means your environment is ready for


Android application development. If you like, you can close this window using
top-right cross button. Better you re-start your machine and once you are done
with this last step, you are ready to proceed for your first Android example but
before that we will see few more important concepts related to Android
Application Development.

10

3. ARCHITECTURE

Android

Android operating system is a stack of software components which is roughly


divided into five sections and four main layers as shown below in the
architecture diagram.

Linux kernel
At the bottom of the layers is Linux - Linux 2.6 with approximately 115 patches.
This provides basic system functionality like process management, memory
management, device management like camera, keypad, display etc. Also, the
kernel handles all the things that Linux is really good at, such as networking and
a vast array of device drivers, which take the pain out of interfacing to
peripheral hardware.

Libraries
On top of Linux kernel there is a set of libraries including open-source Web
browser engine WebKit, well known library libc, SQLite database which is a
useful repository for storage and sharing of application data, libraries to play and
record audio and video, SSL libraries responsible for Internet security etc.

11

Android

Android Runtime
This is the third section of the architecture and available on the second layer
from the bottom. This section provides a key component called Dalvik Virtual
Machine which is a kind of Java Virtual Machine specially designed and
optimized for Android.
The Dalvik VM makes use of Linux core features like memory management and
multi-threading, which is intrinsic in the Java language. The Dalvik VM enables
every Android application to run in its own process, with its own instance of the
Dalvik virtual machine.
The Android runtime also provides a set of core libraries which enable Android
application developers to write Android applications using standard Java
programming language.

Application Framework
The Application Framework layer provides many higher-level services to
applications in the form of Java classes. Application developers are allowed to
make use of these services in their applications.

Applications
You will find all the Android application at the top layer. You will write your
application to be installed on this layer only. Examples of such applications are
Contacts Books, Browser, Games, etc.

12

Android

4. APPLICATIONS COMPONENT

Application components are the essential building blocks of an Android


application. These components are loosely coupled by the application manifest
file AndroidManifest.xml that describes each component of the application and
how they interact.
There are following four main components that can be used within an Android
application:
Components

Description

Activities

They dictate the UI and handle the user interaction to


the smartphone screen

Services

They handle background processing associated with an


application.

Broadcast Receivers

They handle communication between Android OS and


applications.

Content Providers

They handle data and database management issues.

Activities
An activity represents a single screen with a user interface. For example, an
email application might have one activity that shows a list of new emails,
another activity to compose an email, and one for reading emails. If an
application has more than one activity, then one of them should be marked as
the activity that is presented when the application is launched.
An activity is implemented as a subclass of Activity class as follows:
public class MainActivity extends Activity
{

13

Android

Services
A service is a component that runs in the background to perform long-running
operations. For example, a service might play music in the background while the
user is in a different application, or it might fetch data over the network without
blocking user interaction with an activity.
A service is implemented as a subclass of Service class as follows:
public class MyService extends Service
{

Broadcast Receivers
Broadcast Receivers simply respond to broadcast messages from other
applications or from the system. For example, applications can also initiate
broadcasts to let other applications know that some data has been downloaded
to the device and is available for them to use, so this is broadcast receiver who
will intercept this communication and will initiate appropriate action.
A broadcast receiver is implemented as a subclass of BroadcastReceiver class
and each message is broadcasted as an Intent object.
public class MyReceiver

extends

BroadcastReceiver

Content Providers
A content provider component supplies data from one application to others on
request.
Such
requests
are
handled
by
the
methods
of
the ContentResolver class. The data may be stored in the file system, the
database or somewhere else entirely.
A content provider is implemented as a subclass of ContentProvider class and
must implement a standard set of APIs that enable other applications to perform
transactions.
public class MyContentProvider extends

ContentProvider

14

Android

}
We will go through these tags in detail while covering application components in
individual chapters.

Additional Components
There are additional components which will be used in the construction of above
mentioned entities, their logic, and wiring between them. These components
are:
Components

Description

Fragments

Represent a behavior or a portion of user interface in an


Activity.

Views

UI elements that are drawn onscreen including buttons,


lists forms etc.

Layouts

View hierarchies that


appearance of the views.

Intents

Messages wiring components together.

Resources

External elements,
drawable pictures.

Manifest

Configuration file for the application.

such

control

as

screen

strings,

format

and

constants

and

15

Android

5. HELLO WORLD EXAMPLE

Let us start actual programming with Android Framework. Before you start
writing your first example using Android SDK, you have to make sure that you
have setup your Android development environment properly as explained
in Android - Environment Setup tutorial. We also assume, that you have a little bit
working knowledge with Eclipse IDE.
So let us proceed to write a simple Android Application which will print "Hello
World!".

Create Android Application


The first step is to create a simple Android Application using Eclipse IDE. Follow
the option File -> New -> Project and finally select Android New
Application wizard from the wizard list. Now name your application
as HelloWorld using the wizard window as follows:

Next, follow the instructions provided and keep all other entries as default till the
final step. Once your project is created successfully, you will have the following
project screen:
16

Android

Anatomy of Android Application


Before you run your app, you should be aware of a few directories and files in
the Android project:

17

Android

S.N.

Folder, File & Description

src
This contains the .java source files for your project. By default, it
includes anMainActivity.java source file having an activity class that runs
when your app is launched using the app icon.

gen
This contains the .R file, a compiler-generated file that references all the
18

Android

resources found in your project. You should not modify this file.
3

bin
This folder contains the Android package files .apk built by the ADT
during the build process and everything else needed to run an Android
application.

res/drawable-hdpi
This is a directory for drawable objects that are designed for highdensity screens.

res/layout
This is a directory for files that define your app's user interface.

res/values
This is a directory for other various XML files that contain a collection of
resources, such as strings and colors definitions.

AndroidManifest.xml
This is the manifest file which describes the fundamental characteristics
of the app and defines each of its components.

Following section will give a brief overview few of the important application files.

The Main Activity File


The main activity code is a Java file MainActivity.java. This is the actual
application file which ultimately gets converted to a Dalvik executable and runs
your application. Following is the default code generated by the application
wizard for Hello World! application:
package com.example.helloworld;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MenuItem;
import android.support.v4.app.NavUtils;
19

Android

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.activity_main, menu);
return true;
}
}
Here, R.layout.activity_main refers to the activity_main.xml file located in
the res/layout folder. The onCreate() method is one of many methods that are
fired when an activity is loaded.

The Manifest File


Whatever component you develop as a part of your application, you must
declare all its components in a manifest file called AndroidManifest.xml which
resides at the root of the application project directory. This file works as an
interface between Android OS and your application, so if you do not declare your
component in this file, then it will not be considered by the OS. For example, a
default manifest file will look like as following file:
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.helloworld"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >
<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="15" />
<application
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
20

Android

<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:label="@string/title_activity_main" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category
android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Here <application>...</application> tags enclosed the components related to
the application. Attribute android:icon will point to the application icon available
underres/drawable-hdpi. The application uses the image named ic_launcher.png
located in the drawable folders.
The <activity> tag is used to specify an activity and android:name attribute
specifies the fully qualified class name of the Activity subclass and
the android:label attributes specifies a string to use as the label for the activity.
You can specify multiple activities using <activity> tags.
The action for the intent filter is named android.intent.action.MAIN to indicate
that this activity serves as the entry point for the application. The category for
the intent-filter is named android.intent.category.LAUNCHER to indicate that the
application can be launched from the device's launcher icon.
The @string refers
to
the strings.xml file
explained
below.
Hence, @string/app_name refers to the app_name string defined in the
strings.xml file, which is "HelloWorld". Similar way, other strings get populated
in the application.
Following is the list of tags which you will use in your manifest file to specify
different Android application components:

<activity>elements for activities

<service> elements for services

<receiver> elements for broadcast receivers

<provider> elements for content providers

The Strings File


The strings.xml file is located in the res/values folder and it contains all the text
that your application uses. For example, the names of buttons, labels, default
21

Android

text, and similar types of strings go into this file. This file is responsible for their
textual content. For example, a default string file will look like as following file:
<resources>
<string name="app_name">HelloWorld</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="menu_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="title_activity_main">MainActivity</string>
</resources>

The R File
The gen/com.example.helloworld/R.java file is the glue between the activity
Java files likeMainActivity.java and the resources like strings.xml. It is an
automatically generated file and you should not modify the content of the R.java
file. Following is a sample of R.java file:
/* AUTO-GENERATED FILE.

DO NOT MODIFY.

*
* This class was automatically generated by the
* aapt tool from the resource data it found.

It

* should not be modified by hand.


*/

package com.example.helloworld;

public final class R {


public static final class attr {
}
public static final class dimen {
public static final int padding_large=0x7f040002;
public static final int padding_medium=0x7f040001;
public static final int padding_small=0x7f040000;
}
public static final class drawable {
public static final int ic_action_search=0x7f020000;
public static final int ic_launcher=0x7f020001;
22

Android

}
public static final class id {
public static final int menu_settings=0x7f080000;
}
public static final class layout {
public static final int activity_main=0x7f030000;
}
public static final class menu {
public static final int activity_main=0x7f070000;
}
public static final class string {
public static final int app_name=0x7f050000;
public static final int hello_world=0x7f050001;
public static final int menu_settings=0x7f050002;
public static final int title_activity_main=0x7f050003;
}
public static final class style {
public static final int AppTheme=0x7f060000;
}
}

The Layout File


The activity_main.xml is a layout file available in res/layout directory that is
referenced by your application when building its interface. You will modify this
file very frequently to change the layout of your application. For your "Hello
World!" application, this file will have following content related to default layout:
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" >

<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
23

Android

android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_centerVertical="true"
android:padding="@dimen/padding_medium"
android:text="@string/hello_world"
tools:context=".MainActivity" />

</RelativeLayout>
This is an example of simple RelativeLayout which we will study in a separate
chapter. TheTextView is an Android control used to build the GUI and it has
various attributes like android:layout_width, android:layout_height, etc., which
are being used to set its width and height etc. The @string refers to the
strings.xml file located in the res/values folder. Hence, @string/hello_world
refers to the hello string defined in the strings.xml file, which is "Hello World!".

Running the Application


Let's try to run our Hello World! application we just created. We assume, you
had created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is
fine with your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

24

Android

Congratulations! You have developed your first Android Application and now just
keep following rest of the tutorial step by step to become a great Android
Developer. All the very best!

25

Android

6. ORGANIZING & ACCESSING THE


RESOURCES
There are many more items which you use to build a good Android application.
Apart from coding for the application, you take care of various
other resources like static content that your code uses, such as bitmaps, colors,
layout definitions, user interface strings, animation instructions, and more.
These resources are always maintained separately in various sub-directories
under res/ directory of the project.
This tutorial will explain you how you can organize your application resources,
specify alternative resources and access them in your applications.

Organize Resources
You should place each type of resource in a specific subdirectory of your
project's res/directory. For example, here's the file hierarchy for a simple
project:
MyProject/
src/
MyActivity.java
res/
drawable/
icon.png
layout/
activity_main.xml
info.xml
values/
strings.xml
The res/ directory contains all the resources in various sub-directories. Here we
have an image resource, two layout resources, and a string resource file.
Following table gives a detail about the resource directories supported inside
project res/ directory.
Directory

Resource Type

anim/

XML files that define property animations. They are saved in


res/anim/ folder and accessed from the R.anim class.

26

Android

color/

XML files that define a state list of colors. They are saved in
res/color/ and accessed from the R.color class.

drawable/

Image files like .png, .jpg, .gif or XML files that are compiled
into bitmaps, state lists, shapes, animation drawables. They
are
saved
in
res/drawable/
and
accessed
from
the R.drawable class.

layout/

XML files that define a user interface layout. They are saved in
res/layout/ and accessed from the R.layout class.

menu/

XML files that define application menus, such as an Options


Menu, Context Menu, or Sub Menu. They are saved in
res/menu/ and accessed from the R.menu class.

raw/

Arbitrary files to save in their raw form. You need to call


Resources.openRawResource() with the resource ID, which is
R.raw.filename to open such raw files.

values/

XML files that contain simple values, such as strings, integers,


and colors. For example, here are some filename conventions
for resources you can create in this directory:
arrays.xml for resource arrays, and accessed from the
R.array class.
integers.xml for resource integers, and accessed from the
R.integer class.
bools.xml for resource boolean, and accessed from the
R.bool class.
colors.xml for color values, and accessed from the R.color
class.
dimens.xml for dimension values, and accessed from the
R.dimen class.
strings.xml for string values, and accessed from the R.string
class.
styles.xml for styles, and accessed from the R.style class.

xml/

Arbitrary XML files that can be read at runtime by calling


Resources.getXML(). You can save various configuration files
here which will be used at run time.
27

Android

Alternative Resources
Your application should provide alternative resources to support specific device
configurations. For example, you should include alternative drawable resources
(i.e. images) for different screen resolution and alternative string resources for
different languages. At runtime, Android detects the current device configuration
and loads the appropriate resources for your application.
To specify configuration-specific alternatives for a set of resources, follow these
steps:

Create a new directory in res/ named in the form <resources_name><config_qualifier>. Here resources_name will be any of the resources
mentioned in the above table, like layout, drawable etc. The qualifier will
specify an individual configuration for which these resources are to be
used. You can check official documentation for a complete list of qualifiers
for different type of resources.

Save the respective alternative resources in this new directory. The


resource files must be named exactly the same as the default resource
files as shown in the below example, but these files will have content
specific to the alternative. For example though image file name will be
same but for high resolution screen, its resolution will be high.

Below is an example which specifies images for a default screen and alternative
images for high resolution screen.
MyProject/
src/
MyActivity.java
res/
drawable/
icon.png
background.png
drawable-hdpi/
icon.png
background.png
layout/
activity_main.xml
info.xml
values/
strings.xml

28

Android

Below is another example which specifies layout for a default language and
alternative layout for Arabic language (layout-ar/).
MyProject/
src/
MyActivity.java
res/
drawable/
icon.png
background.png
drawable-hdpi/
icon.png
background.png
layout/
activity_main.xml
info.xml
layout-ar/
main.xml
values/
strings.xml

Accessing Resources
During your application development you will need to access defined resources
either in your code, or in your layout XML files. Following section explains how to
access your resources in both the scenarios:

Accessing Resources in Code


When your Android application is compiled, a R class gets generated, which
contains resource IDs for all the resources available in your res/ directory. You
can use R class to access that resource using sub-directory and resource name
or directly resource ID.
Example:
To access res/drawable/myimage.png and set an ImageView you will use
following code:
ImageView imageView = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.myimageview);
29

Android

imageView.setImageResource(R.drawable.myimage);
Here first line of the code uses the R.id.myimageview to get ImageView defined
with idmyimageview in a Layout file. Second line of code uses
the R.drawable.myimage to get an image with name myimage available in
drawable sub-directory under /res.
Example:
Consider next example where res/values/strings.xml has following definition:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string

name="hello">Hello, World!</string>

</resources>
Now you can set the text on a TextView object with ID msg using a resource ID
as follows:
TextView msgTextView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.msg);
msgTextView.setText(R.string.hello);
Example:
Consider a layout res/layout/activity_main.xml with the following definition:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >
<TextView android:id="@+id/text"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Hello, I am a TextView" />
<Button android:id="@+id/button"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Hello, I am a Button" />
</LinearLayout>

30

Android

This application code will load this layout for an Activity, in the onCreate()
method as follows:
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main_activity);
}

Accessing Resources in XML


Consider the following resource XML res/values/strings.xml file that includes a
color resource and a string resource:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<color name="opaque_red">#f00</color>
<string name="hello">Hello!</string>
</resources>
Now you can use these resources in the following layout file to set the text color
and text string as follows:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<EditText xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:textColor="@color/opaque_red"
android:text="@string/hello" />
Now if you go through the previous chapter once again where we have
explained Hello World! example, surely you will have better understanding on
all the concepts explained in this chapter. So we highly recommend to check
previous chapter for working example and check how we have used various
resources at very basic level.

31

7. ACTIVITIES

Android

An activity represents a single screen with a user interface. For example, an


email application might have one activity that shows a list of new emails,
another activity to compose an email, and another activity for reading emails. If
an application has more than one activity, then one of them should be marked
as the activity that is presented when the application is launched.
If you have worked with C, C++ or Java programming language then you must
have seen that your program starts from main() function. Very similar way,
Android system initiates its program within an Activity starting with a call
on onCreate() callback method. There is a sequence of callback methods that
start up an activity and a sequence of callback methods that tear down an
activity as shown in the below Activity lifecycle diagram: (image courtesy:
android.com )

The Activity class defines the following callbacks i.e. events. You don't need to
implement all the callback methods. However, it's important that you
understand each one and implement those that ensure your app behaves the
way users expect.
Callback

Description

onCreate()

This is the first callback and called when the activity is first
created.

onStart()

This callback is called when the activity becomes visible to the


32

Android

user.
onResume()

This is called when the user starts interacting with the


application.

onPause()

The paused activity does not receive user input and cannot
execute any code and called when the current activity is being
paused and the previous activity is being resumed.

onStop()

This callback is called when the activity is no longer visible.

onDestroy()

This callback is called before the activity is destroyed by the


system.

onRestart()

This callback is called when the activity restarts after stopping


it.

Example:
This example will take you through simple steps to show Android application activity
life cycle. Follow the below mentioned steps to modify the Android application we
created in Hello World Example chapter:

Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
HelloWorld under a package com.example.helloworld as explained in
the Hello World Example chapter.

Modify main activity file MainActivity.java as explained below. Keep rest


of the files unchanged.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
activity
file
src/com.example.helloworld/MainActivity.java. This file includes each of
the fundamental lifecycle methods. The Log.d() method has been used to
generate log messages:
package com.example.helloworld;
33

Android

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.util.Log;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {


String msg = "Android : ";

/** Called when the activity is first created. */


@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
Log.d(msg, "The onCreate() event");
}

/** Called when the activity is about to become visible. */


@Override
protected void onStart() {
super.onStart();
Log.d(msg, "The onStart() event");
}

/** Called when the activity has become visible. */


@Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
Log.d(msg, "The onResume() event");
}

/** Called when another activity is taking focus. */


@Override
protected void onPause() {

34

Android

super.onPause();
Log.d(msg, "The onPause() event");
}

/** Called when the activity is no longer visible. */


@Override
protected void onStop() {
super.onStop();
Log.d(msg, "The onStop() event");
}

/** Called just before the activity is destroyed. */


@Override
public void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
Log.d(msg, "The onDestroy() event");
}
}
An activity class loads all the UI component using the XML file available
in res/layout folder of the project. Following statement loads UI components
from res/layout/activity_main.xml file:
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
An application can have one or more activities without any restrictions. Every
activity
you
define
for
your
application
must
be
declared
in
your AndroidManifest.xml file and the main activity for your app must be
declared in the manifest with an <intent-filter> that includes the MAIN action
and LAUNCHER category as follows:
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.helloworld"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >
<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="15" />
35

Android

<application
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:label="@string/title_activity_main" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category
android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
If either the MAIN action or LAUNCHER category are not declared for one of your
activities, then your app icon will not appear in the Home screen's list of apps.
Let's try to run our modified Hello World! application we just modified. We
assume, you had created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the
app from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon
from the toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if
everything is fine with your setup and application, it will display Emulator
window and you should see following log messages in LogCat window in Eclipse
IDE:
07-19 15:00:43.405: D/Android :(866): The onCreate() event
07-19 15:00:43.405: D/Android :(866): The onStart() event
07-19 15:00:43.415: D/Android :(866): The onResume() event

36

Android

Let us try to click Red button


on the Android emulator and it will generate
following events messages in LogCat window in Eclipse IDE:
07-19 15:01:10.995: D/Android :(866): The onPause() event
07-19 15:01:12.705: D/Android :(866): The onStop() event
Let us again try to click Menu button
on the Android emulator and it will
generate following events messages in LogCat window in Eclipse IDE:
07-19 15:01:13.995: D/Android :(866): The onStart() event
07-19 15:01:14.705: D/Android :(866): The onResume() event
Next, let us again try to click Back button
on the Android emulator and it will
generate following events messages in LogCat window in Eclipse IDE and this
completes the Activity Life Cycle for an Android Application.
07-19 15:33:15.687: D/Android :(992): The onPause() event
07-19 15:33:15.525: D/Android :(992): The onStop() event
07-19 15:33:15.525: D/Android :(992): The onDestroy() event

37

8. SERVICES

Android

A service is a component that runs in the background to perform long-running


operations without needing to interact with the user. For example, a service
might play music in the background while the user is in a different application,
or it might fetch data over the network without blocking user interaction with an
activity. A service can essentially take two states:
State

Description

Started

A service is started when an application component, such as


an activity, starts it by calling startService(). Once started, a
service can run in the background indefinitely, even if the
component that started it is destroyed.

Bound

A service is bound when an application component binds to it


by calling bindService(). A bound service offers a client-server
interface that allows components to interact with the service,
send requests, get results, and even do so across processes
with inter-process communication (IPC).

A service has lifecycle callback methods that you can implement to monitor
changes in the service's state and you can perform work at the appropriate
stage. The following diagram on the left shows the lifecycle when the service is
created with startService() and the diagram on the right shows the lifecycle
when the service is created with bindService():(image courtesy : android.com )

38

Android

To create a service, you create a Java class that extends the Service base class
or one of its existing subclasses. The Service base class defines various callback
methods and the most important are given below. You don't need to implement
all the callback methods. However, it is important that you understand each one
and implement those that ensure your app behaves the way users expect.
Callback

Description

onStartCommand()

The system calls this method when another component,


such as an activity, requests that the service be started,
by calling startService(). If you implement this method, it
is your responsibility to stop the service when its work is
done, by calling stopSelf() or stopService() methods.

onBind()

The system calls this method when another component


wants to bind with the service by calling bindService(). If
you implement this method, you must provide an
interface that clients use to communicate with the
service, by returning an IBinder object. You must always
39

Android

implement this method, but if you don't want to allow


binding, then you should return null.
onUnbind()

The system calls this method when all clients have


disconnected from a particular interface published by the
service.

onRebind()

The system calls this method when new clients have


connected to the service, after it had previously been
notified that all had disconnected in its onUnbind(Intent).

onCreate()

The system calls this method when the service is first


created using onStartCommand() or onBind(). This call is
required to perform one-time setup.

onDestroy()

The system calls this method when the service is no


longer used and is being destroyed. Your service should
implement this to clean up any resources such as
threads, registered listeners, receivers, etc.

The following skeleton service demonstrates each of the lifecycle methods:


package com.tutorialspoint;

import android.app.Service;
import android.os.IBinder;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;

public class HelloService extends Service {

/** indicates how to behave if the service is killed */


int mStartMode;
/** interface for clients that bind */
IBinder mBinder;
/** indicates whether onRebind should be used */
boolean mAllowRebind;
40

Android

/** Called when the service is being created. */


@Override
public void onCreate() {

/** The service is starting, due to a call to startService() */


@Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
return mStartMode;
}

/** A client is binding to the service with bindService() */


@Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
return mBinder;
}

/** Called when all clients have unbound with unbindService() */


@Override
public boolean onUnbind(Intent intent) {
return mAllowRebind;
}

/** Called when a client is binding to the service with


bindService()*/
@Override
public void onRebind(Intent intent) {

/** Called when The service is no longer used and is being destroyed
*/
41

Android

@Override
public void onDestroy() {

}
}
Example:
This example will take you through simple steps to show how to create your own
Android Service. Follow the below mentioned steps to modify the Android application
we created in Hello World Example chapter:

Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
HelloWorld under a package com.example.helloworld as explained in
the Hello World Example chapter.

Modify
main
activity
add startService() and stopService()methods.

Create
a
new
java
file MyService.java under
the
package com.example.helloworld. This file will have implementation of
Android service related methods.

Define your service in AndroidManifest.xml file using <service.../> tag.


An application can have one or more services without any restrictions.

Modify the default content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file to include


two buttons in linear layout.

Define
two
constants start_service and stop_service in res/values/strings.xml file.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

file MainActivity.java to

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
activity
file
src/com.example.helloworld/MainActivity.java. This file can include each
of
the
fundamental
lifecycle
methods.
We
have
added startService() and stopService() methods to start and stop the service.
42

Android

package com.example.helloworld;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.view.View;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.activity_main, menu);
return true;
}

// Method to start the service


public void startService(View view) {
startService(new Intent(getBaseContext(), MyService.class));
}

// Method to stop the service


public void stopService(View view) {
stopService(new Intent(getBaseContext(), MyService.class));
}
}
Following is the content of src/com.example.helloworld/MyService.java.
This file can have implementation of one or more methods associated with
Service based on requirements. For now we are going to implement only two
methods onStartCommand() and onDestroy():
43

Android

package com.example.helloworld;

import android.app.Service;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.IBinder;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MyService extends Service {


@Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent arg0) {
return null;
}

@Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
// Let it continue running until it is stopped.
Toast.makeText(this, "Service Started", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
return START_STICKY;
}
@Override
public void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
Toast.makeText(this, "Service Destroyed",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
}
Following is the modified content of AndroidManifest.xml file. Here we have
added <service.../> tag to include our service:
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.helloworld"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >
<uses-sdk
44

Android

android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="15" />
<application
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:label="@string/title_activity_main" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category
android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
<service android:name=".MyService" />
</application>
</manifest>
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file to include
two buttons:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<Button android:id="@+id/btnStartService"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/start_service"
android:onClick="startService"/>

<Button android:id="@+id/btnStopService"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
45

Android

android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/stop_service"
android:onClick="stopService" />

</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define two new
constants:
<resources>

<string name="app_name">HelloWorld</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="menu_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="title_activity_main">MainActivity</string>
<string name="start_service">Start Service</string>
<string name="stop_service">Stop Service</string>

</resources>
Let's try to run our modified Hello World! application we just modified. We
assume, you had created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the
app from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon
from the toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if
everything is fine with your setup and application, it will display following
Emulator window:

46

Android

Now to start your service, let's click on Start Service button, this will start the
service and as per our programming in onStartCommand() method, a
message Service Started will appear on the bottom of the simulator as follows:

47

Android

To stop the service, you can click the Stop Service button.

48

Android

9. BROADCAST RECEIVERS

Broadcast Receivers simply respond to broadcast messages from other


applications or from the system itself. These messages are sometime called
events or intents. For example, applications can also initiate broadcasts to let
other applications know that some data has been downloaded to the device and
is available for them to use, so this is broadcast receiver who will intercept this
communication and will initiate appropriate action.
There are following two important steps to make BroadcastReceiver work for the
system broadcasted intents:

Creating the Broadcast Receiver.

Registering Broadcast Receiver

There is one additional step in case you are going to implement your custom
intents; then you will have to create and broadcast those intents.

Creating the Broadcast Receiver


A broadcast receiver is implemented as a subclass of BroadcastReceiver class
and overriding the onReceive() method where each message is received as
an Intent object parameter.
public class MyReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {

@Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
Toast.makeText(context, "Intent Detected.",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}

Registering Broadcast Receiver


An application listens for specific broadcast intents by registering a broadcast
receiver
in
AndroidManifest.xml file.
Consider
we
are
going
to
register MyReceiver for system generated event ACTION_BOOT_COMPLETED
which is fired by the system once the Android system has completed the boot
process.
49

Android

<application
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >

<receiver android:name="MyReceiver">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED">
</action>
</intent-filter>
</receiver>

</application>
Now whenever your Android device gets booted, it will be intercepted by
BroadcastReceiver MyReceiver and implemented logic inside onReceive() will be
executed.
There are several system generated events defined as final static fields in
the Intent class. The following table lists a few important system events.
Event Constant

Description

android.intent.action.BATTERY_CHANGED

Sticky broadcast containing the


charging state, level, and other
information about the battery.

android.intent.action.BATTERY_LOW

Indicates low battery condition on


the device.

android.intent.action.BATTERY_OKAY

Indicates the battery is now okay


after being low.

android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED

This is broadcast once, after the


system has finished booting.

android.intent.action.BUG_REPORT

Show activity for reporting a bug.

android.intent.action.CALL

Perform a call to someone specified


50

Android

by the data.
android.intent.action.CALL_BUTTON

The user pressed the "call" button


to go to the dialer or other
appropriate UI for placing a call.

android.intent.action.DATE_CHANGED

The date has changed.

android.intent.action.REBOOT

Have the device reboot.

Broadcasting Custom Intents


If you want your application itself should generate and send custom intents then
you
will
have
to
create
and
send
those
intents
by
using
the sendBroadcast() method
inside
your
activity
class.
If
you
use
the sendStickyBroadcast(Intent) method,
the
Intent
is sticky,
meaning
the Intent you are sending stays around after the broadcast is complete.
public void broadcastIntent(View view)
{
Intent intent = new Intent();
intent.setAction("com.tutorialspoint.CUSTOM_INTENT");
sendBroadcast(intent);
}
This intent com.tutorialspoint.CUSTOM_INTENT can also be registered in similar
way as we have registered system generated intent.
<application
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >

<receiver android:name="MyReceiver">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="com.tutorialspoint.CUSTOM_INTENT">
</action>
</intent-filter>
51

Android

</receiver>

</application>
Example:
This example will explain you how to create BroadcastReceiver to intercept custom
intent. Once you are familiar with custom intent, then you can program your
application to intercept system generated intents. So let's follow the below
mentioned steps to modify the Android application we created in Hello World
Example chapter:

Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
HelloWorld under a package com.example.helloworld as explained in
the Hello World Example chapter.

Modify
main
activity
add broadcastIntent() method.

Create a new java file called MyReceiver.java under the package


com.example.helloworld to define a BroadcastReceiver.

An application can handle one or more custom and system intents


without any restrictions. Every indent you want to intercept must be
registered in yourAndroidManifest.xml file using <receiver.../> tag.

Modify the default content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file to include


a button to broadcast intent.

Define a constant broadcast_intent in res/values/strings.xml file.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

file MainActivity.java to

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
activity
file
src/com.example.helloworld/MainActivity.java. This file can include each
of the fundamental lifecycle methods. We have added broadcastIntent() method
to broadcast a custom intent.
package com.example.helloworld;
52

Android

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.view.View;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.activity_main, menu);
return true;
}
// broadcast a custom intent.
public void broadcastIntent(View view)
{
Intent intent = new Intent();
intent.setAction("com.tutorialspoint.CUSTOM_INTENT");
sendBroadcast(intent);
}
}
Following is the content of src/com.example.helloworld/MyReceiver.java:
package com.example.helloworld;

import android.content.BroadcastReceiver;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
53

Android

import android.widget.Toast;

public class MyReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {

@Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
Toast.makeText(context, "Intent Detected.",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}

}
Following will be the modified content of AndroidManifest.xml file. Here we have
added <service.../> tag to include our service:
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.helloworld"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >
<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="15" />
<application
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:label="@string/title_activity_main" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category
android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
54

Android

<receiver android:name="MyReceiver">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="com.tutorialspoint.CUSTOM_INTENT">
</action>
</intent-filter>
</receiver>
</application>
</manifest>
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file to include a
button to broadcast our custom intent:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<Button android:id="@+id/btnStartService"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/broadcast_intent"
android:onClick="broadcastIntent"/>

</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define two new
constants:
<resources>
<string name="app_name">HelloWorld</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="menu_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="title_activity_main">MainActivity</string>
<string name="broadcast_intent">Broadcast Intent</string>

</resources>
55

Android

Let's try to run our modified Hello World! application we just modified. We
assume, you had created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the
app from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon
from the toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if
everything is fine with your setup and application, it will display following
Emulator window:

Now to broadcast our custom intent, let's click on Broadcast Intent button, this
will broadcast our custom intent "com.tutorialspoint.CUSTOM_INTENT" which will
be intercepted by our registered BroadcastReceiver i.e. MyReceiver and as per
our implemented logic a toast will appear on the bottom of the simulator as
follows:

56

Android

You can try implementing other BroadcastReceiver to intercept


generated intents like system boot-up, date changed, low battery etc.

system

57

10. CONTENT PROVIDERS

Android

A content provider component supplies data from one application to other on


request. Such requests are handled by the methods of the ContentResolver
class. A content provider can use different ways to store its data and the data
can be stored in a database, in files, or even over a network.
Each Android application runs in its own process with its own permissions which
keeps an application data hidden from another application. But sometimes it is
required to share data across applications. This is where content providers
become very useful.
Content providers let you centralize content in one place and have many
different applications access it as needed. A content provider behaves very much
like a database where you can query it, edit its content, as well as add or delete
content using insert(), update(), delete(), and query() methods. In most cases
this data is stored in an SQlite database.
A content provider is implemented as a subclass of ContentProvider class and
must implement a standard set of APIs that enable other applications to perform
transactions.
public class MyContentProvider extends

ContentProvider

Content URIs
To query a content provider, you specify the query string in the form of a URI
which has following format:
<prefix>://<authority>/<data_type>/<id>
Here is the detail of various parts of the URI:
Part

Description

prefix

This is always set to content://

58

Android

authority

This specifies the name of the content provider, for


example contacts, browser etc. For third-party content providers,
this
could
be
the
fully
qualified
name,
such
as com.tutorialspoint.statusprovider

data_type

This indicates the type of data that this particular provider


provides. For example, if you are getting all the contacts from
the Contacts content provider, then the data path would
be people and URI would look like thiscontent://contacts/people

id

This specifies the specific record requested. For example, if you


are looking for contact number 5 in the Contacts content provider
then URI would look like this content://contacts/people/5.

Create Content Provider


This involves number of simple steps to create your own content provider.

First of all you need to create a Content Provider class that extends the
ContentProviderbase class.

Secondly, you need to define your content provider URI address which will
be used to access the content.

Next you will need to create your own database to keep the content.
Usually, Android uses SQLite database and framework needs to
override onCreate() method which will use SQLite Open Helper method to
create or open the provider's database. When your application is
launched, the onCreate() handler of each of its Content Providers is called
on the main application thread.

Next you will have to implement Content Provider queries to perform


different database specific operations.

Finally register
<provider> tag.

your

Content

Provider

in

your

activity

file

using

Here is the list of methods which you need to override in Content Provider class
to have your Content Provider working:

onCreate() This method is called when the provider is started.

query() This method receives a request from a client. The result is


returned as a Cursor object.

insert()This method inserts a new record into the content provider.

delete() This method deletes an existing record from the content


provider.
59

Android

update() This method updates an existing record from the content


provider.

getType() This method returns the MIME type of the data at the given
URI.

Example:
This example will explain you how to create your own ContentProvider. So let's
follow the following steps similar to what we followed while creating Hello World
Example:

Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
MyContentProvider under a package com.example.mycontentprovider,
with blank Activity.

Modify main activity file MainActivity.java to add two new methods


onClickAddName() and onClickRetrieveStudents().

Create a new java file called StudentsProvider.java under the package


com.example.mycontentprovider to define your actual provider and
associated methods.

Register your content provider in your AndroidManifest.xml file using


<provider.../> tag.

Modify the default content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file to include


a small GUI to add students records.

Define required constants in res/values/strings.xml file.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
activity
file
src/com.example.mycontentprovider/MainActivity.java. This file can
include each of the fundamental lifecycle methods. We have added two new
methods onClickAddName()and onClickRetrieveStudents() to
handle
user
interaction with the application.
package com.example.mycontentprovider;
60

Android

import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.ContentValues;
import android.content.CursorLoader;
import android.database.Cursor;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

public void onClickAddName(View view) {


// Add a new student record
ContentValues values = new ContentValues();

values.put(StudentsProvider.NAME,
((EditText)findViewById(R.id.txtName)).getText().toString());

values.put(StudentsProvider.GRADE,
61

Android

((EditText)findViewById(R.id.txtGrade)).getText().toString());

Uri uri = getContentResolver().insert(


StudentsProvider.CONTENT_URI, values);

Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(),
uri.toString(), Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}

public void onClickRetrieveStudents(View view) {


// Retrieve student records
String URL = "content://com.example.provider.College/students";
Uri students = Uri.parse(URL);
Cursor c = managedQuery(students, null, null, null, "name");
if (c.moveToFirst()) {
do{
Toast.makeText(this,
c.getString(c.getColumnIndex(StudentsProvider._ID)) +
", " +

c.getString(c.getColumnIndex( StudentsProvider.NAME))

+
", " + c.getString(c.getColumnIndex(
StudentsProvider.GRADE)),
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
} while (c.moveToNext());
}
}
}
Create
new
file
StudentsProvider.java
under com.example.mycontentprovider package and following is the content
of src/com.example.mycontentprovider/StudentsProvider.java:
package com.example.mycontentprovider;

import java.util.HashMap;
62

Android

import android.content.ContentProvider;
import android.content.ContentUris;
import android.content.ContentValues;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.UriMatcher;
import android.database.Cursor;
import android.database.SQLException;
import android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase;
import android.database.sqlite.SQLiteOpenHelper;
import android.database.sqlite.SQLiteQueryBuilder;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.text.TextUtils;

public class StudentsProvider extends ContentProvider {

static final String PROVIDER_NAME = "com.example.provider.College";


static final String URL = "content://" + PROVIDER_NAME + "/students";
static final Uri CONTENT_URI = Uri.parse(URL);

static final String _ID = "_id";


static final String NAME = "name";
static final String GRADE = "grade";

private static HashMap<String, String> STUDENTS_PROJECTION_MAP;

static final int STUDENTS = 1;


static final int STUDENT_ID = 2;

static final UriMatcher uriMatcher;


static{
uriMatcher = new UriMatcher(UriMatcher.NO_MATCH);
uriMatcher.addURI(PROVIDER_NAME, "students", STUDENTS);
uriMatcher.addURI(PROVIDER_NAME, "students/#", STUDENT_ID);
}
63

Android

/**
* Database specific constant declarations
*/
private SQLiteDatabase db;
static final String DATABASE_NAME = "College";
static final String STUDENTS_TABLE_NAME = "students";
static final int DATABASE_VERSION = 1;
static final String CREATE_DB_TABLE =
" CREATE TABLE " + STUDENTS_TABLE_NAME +
" (_id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT, " +
" name TEXT NOT NULL, " +
" grade TEXT NOT NULL);";

/**
* Helper class that actually creates and manages
* the provider's underlying data repository.
*/
private static class DatabaseHelper extends SQLiteOpenHelper {
DatabaseHelper(Context context){
super(context, DATABASE_NAME, null, DATABASE_VERSION);
}

@Override
public void onCreate(SQLiteDatabase db)
{
db.execSQL(CREATE_DB_TABLE);
}

@Override
public void onUpgrade(SQLiteDatabase db, int oldVersion,
int newVersion) {
db.execSQL("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS " +

STUDENTS_TABLE_NAME);

onCreate(db);
64

Android

}
}

@Override
public boolean onCreate() {
Context context = getContext();
DatabaseHelper dbHelper = new DatabaseHelper(context);
/**
* Create a write able database which will trigger its
* creation if it doesn't already exist.
*/
db = dbHelper.getWritableDatabase();
return (db == null)? false:true;
}

@Override
public Uri insert(Uri uri, ContentValues values) {
/**
* Add a new student record
*/
long rowID = db.insert(

STUDENTS_TABLE_NAME, "", values);

/**
* If record is added successfully
*/
if (rowID > 0)
{
Uri _uri = ContentUris.withAppendedId(CONTENT_URI, rowID);
getContext().getContentResolver().notifyChange(_uri, null);
return _uri;
}
throw new SQLException("Failed to add a record into " + uri);
}

@Override
65

Android

public Cursor query(Uri uri, String[] projection, String selection,


String[] selectionArgs, String sortOrder) {

SQLiteQueryBuilder qb = new SQLiteQueryBuilder();


qb.setTables(STUDENTS_TABLE_NAME);

switch (uriMatcher.match(uri)) {
case STUDENTS:
qb.setProjectionMap(STUDENTS_PROJECTION_MAP);
break;
case STUDENT_ID:
qb.appendWhere( _ID + "=" + uri.getPathSegments().get(1));
break;
default:
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown URI " + uri);
}
if (sortOrder == null || sortOrder == ""){
/**
* By default sort on student names
*/
sortOrder = NAME;
}
Cursor c = qb.query(db,

projection, selection, selectionArgs,

null, null, sortOrder);


/**
* register to watch a content URI for changes
*/
c.setNotificationUri(getContext().getContentResolver(), uri);

return c;
}

@Override
public int delete(Uri uri, String selection, String[] selectionArgs) {
66

Android

int count = 0;

switch (uriMatcher.match(uri)){
case STUDENTS:
count = db.delete(STUDENTS_TABLE_NAME, selection,
selectionArgs);
break;
case STUDENT_ID:
String id = uri.getPathSegments().get(1);
count = db.delete( STUDENTS_TABLE_NAME, _ID +

" = " + id +

(!TextUtils.isEmpty(selection) ? " AND (" +


selection + ')' : ""), selectionArgs);
break;
default:
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown URI " + uri);
}

getContext().getContentResolver().notifyChange(uri, null);
return count;
}

@Override
public int update(Uri uri, ContentValues values, String selection,
String[] selectionArgs) {
int count = 0;

switch (uriMatcher.match(uri)){
case STUDENTS:
count = db.update(STUDENTS_TABLE_NAME, values,
selection, selectionArgs);
break;
case STUDENT_ID:
count = db.update(STUDENTS_TABLE_NAME, values, _ID +
" = " + uri.getPathSegments().get(1) +
67

Android

(!TextUtils.isEmpty(selection) ? " AND (" +


selection + ')' : ""), selectionArgs);
break;
default:
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown URI " + uri );
}
getContext().getContentResolver().notifyChange(uri, null);
return count;
}

@Override
public String getType(Uri uri) {
switch (uriMatcher.match(uri)){
/**
* Get all student records
*/
case STUDENTS:
return "vnd.android.cursor.dir/vnd.example.students";
/**
* Get a particular student
*/
case STUDENT_ID:
return "vnd.android.cursor.item/vnd.example.students";
default:
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unsupported URI: " + uri);
}
}
}
Following will be the modified content of AndroidManifest.xml file. Here we have
added <provider.../> tag to include our content provider:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.mycontentprovider"
68

Android

android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.mycontentprovider.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"
/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
<provider android:name="StudentsProvider"
android:authorities="com.example.provider.College">
</provider>
</application>

</manifest>
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file to include a
button to broadcast your custom intent:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >
<TextView
69

Android

android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Name" />
<EditText
android:id="@+id/txtName"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="fill_parent" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Grade" />
<EditText
android:id="@+id/txtGrade"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="fill_parent" />
<Button
android:text="Add Name"
android:id="@+id/btnAdd"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:onClick="onClickAddName" />
<Button
android:text="Retrieve Students"
android:id="@+id/btnRetrieve"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:onClick="onClickRetrieveStudents" />
</LinearLayout>
Make sure you have following content of res/values/strings.xml file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">MyContentProvider</string>
70

Android

<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>

</resources>;
Let's try to run our modified MyContentProvider application we just created.
We assume, you had created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run
the app from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click
Run icon from the toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it
and if everything is fine with your setup and application, it will display following
Emulator window, be patience because it may take some time based on your
computer speed:

Now let's enter student Name and Grade and finally click on Add Name button,
this will add student record in the database and will flash a message at the
bottom showing ContentProvider URI along with record number added in the
database. This operation makes use of our insert() method. Let's repeat this
process to add few more students in the database of our content provider.
71

Android

Once you are done with adding records in the database, now its time to ask
ContentProvider to give us those records back, so let's click Retrieve
Students button which will fetch and display all the records one by one which is
as per our implementation of our query() method.

72

Android

You can write activities against update and delete operations by providing
callback functions in MainActivity.java file and then modify user interface to
have buttons for update and deleted operations in the same way as we have
done for add and read operations.
This way you can use existing Content Provider like Address Book or you can use
Content Provider concept in developing nice database oriented applications
where you can perform all sort of database operations like read, write, update
and delete as explained above in the example.

73

11. FRAGMENTS

Android

A Fragment is a piece of an application's user interface or behavior that can be


placed in an Activity which enable more modular activity design. It will not be
wrong if we say, a fragment is a kind of sub-activity. Following are the
important points about fragment:

A fragment has its own layout and its own behavior with its own lifecycle
callbacks.

You can add or remove fragments in an activity while the activity is


running.

You can combine multiple fragments in a single activity to build a multipane UI.

A fragment can be used in multiple activities.

Fragment life cycle is closely related to the lifecycle of its host activity
which means when the activity is paused, all the fragments available in
the activity will also be stopped.

A fragment can implement a behavior that has no user interface


component.

Fragments were added to the Android API in Honeycomb version of


Android which has API version 11.

You create fragments by extending Fragment class and you can insert a
fragment into your activity layout by declaring the fragment in the activity's
layout file, as a <fragment> element.
Prior to fragment introduction, we had a limitation because we can show only a
single activity on the screen at one given point in time. So we were not able to
divide device screen and control different parts separately. But with the
introduction of fragment we got more flexibility and removed the limitation of
having a single activity on the screen at a time. Now we can have a single
activity but each activity can comprise of multiple fragments which will have
their own layout, events and complete lifecycle.
Following is a typical example of how two UI modules defined by fragments can
be combined into one activity for a tablet design, but separated for a handset
design.

74

Android

The application can embed two fragments in Activity A, when running on a


tablet-sized device. However, on a handset-sized screen, there's not enough
room for both fragments, so Activity A includes only the fragment for the list of
articles, and when the user selects an article, it starts Activity B, which includes
the second fragment to read the article.

Fragment Life Cycle


Android fragments have their own life cycle very similar to an android activity.
This section briefs different stages of its life cycle.

75

Android

Phase I: When a fragment gets


created, it goes through the following
states:
onAttach()
onCreate()
onCreateView()
onActivityCreated()
Phase
II: When
the
fragment
becomes visible, it goes through these
states:
onStart()
onResume()
Phase III: When the fragment goes
into the background mode, it goes
through these states:
onPaused()
onStop()
Phase IV: When the fragment is
destroyed, it goes through the
following states:
onPaused()
onStop()
onDestroyView()
onDestroy()
onDetach()

How to use Fragments?


This involves number of simple steps to create Fragments.

First of all decide how many fragments you want to use in an activity. For
example, we want to use two fragments to handle landscape and portrait
modes of the device.

Next, based on number of fragments, create classes which will extend the
Fragment class. The Fragment class has above mentioned callback
functions. You can override any of the functions based on your
requirements.
76

Android

Corresponding to each fragment, you will need to create layout files in


XML file. These files will have layout for the defined fragments.

Finally modify activity file to define the actual logic of replacing fragments
based on your requirement.

Here is the list of important methods which you can override in your fragment
class:

onCreate() The system calls this when creating the fragment. You should
initialize essential components of the fragment that you want to retain
when the fragment is paused or stopped, then resumed.

onCreateView() The system calls this callback when it's time for the
fragment to draw its user interface for the first time. To draw a UI for
your fragment, you must return a View component from this method that
is the root of your fragment's layout. You can return null if the fragment
does not provide a UI.

onPause() The system calls this method as the first indication that the
user is leaving the fragment. This is usually where you should commit any
changes that should be persisted beyond the current user session.

Example:
This example will explain you how to create your own Fragments. Here we will
create two fragments and one of them will be used when device is in landscape
mode and another fragment will be used in case of portrait mode. So let's follow the
below mentioned steps similar to what we followed while creating Hello World
Example:

Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
MyFragments under a package com.example.myfragments, with blank
Activity.

Modify main activity file MainActivity.java as shown below in the code.


Here we will check orientation of the device and accordingly we will
switch between different fragments.

Create a two java


files PM_Fragment.java and LM_Fragement.java under the
package com.example.myfragments to define your fragments and
associated methods.

Create layout
files res/layout/lm_fragment.xml and res/layout/pm_fragment.xml and
77

Android

define your layouts for both the fragments.


5

Modify the default content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file to include


both the fragments.

Define required constants in res/values/strings.xml file.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
src/com.example.mycontentprovider/MainActivity.java:

activity

file

package com.example.myfragments;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.FragmentManager;
import android.app.FragmentTransaction;
import android.content.res.Configuration;
import android.view.WindowManager;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

Configuration config = getResources().getConfiguration();

FragmentManager fragmentManager = getFragmentManager();


FragmentTransaction fragmentTransaction =
fragmentManager.beginTransaction();

/**
78

Android

* Check the device orientation and act accordingly


*/
if (config.orientation == Configuration.ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE) {
/**
* Landscape mode of the device
*/
LM_Fragment ls_fragment = new LM_Fragment();
fragmentTransaction.replace(android.R.id.content, ls_fragment);
}else{
/**
* Portrait mode of the device
*/
PM_Fragment pm_fragment = new PM_Fragment();
fragmentTransaction.replace(android.R.id.content, pm_fragment);
}
fragmentTransaction.commit();
}

}
Create two fragment files LM_Fragement.java and PM_Fragment.java under
com.example.mycontentprovider package.
Following is the content of LM_Fragement.java file:
package com.example.myfragments;

import android.app.Fragment;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;

public class LM_Fragment extends Fragment{


@Override
79

Android

public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater,


ViewGroup container, Bundle savedInstanceState) {
/**
* Inflate the layout for this fragment
*/
return inflater.inflate(
R.layout.lm_fragment, container, false);
}
}
Following is the content of PM_Fragement.java file:
package com.example.myfragments;

import android.app.Fragment;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;

public class PM_Fragment extends Fragment{


@Override
public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater,
ViewGroup container, Bundle savedInstanceState) {
/**
* Inflate the layout for this fragment
*/
return inflater.inflate(
R.layout.pm_fragment, container, false);
}
}

Create two layout


files: lm_fragement.xml and pm_fragment.xml under res/layoutdirectory.
80

Android

Following is the content of lm_fragement.xml file:


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:background="#7bae16">

<TextView
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/landscape_message"
android:textColor="#000000"
android:textSize="20px" />

<!-- More GUI components go here

-->

</LinearLayout>
Following is the content of pm_fragment.xml file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="horizontal"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:background="#666666">

<TextView
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/portrait_message"
android:textColor="#000000"
81

Android

android:textSize="20px" />

<!-- More GUI components go here

-->

</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file which
includes your fragments:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="horizontal">

<fragment
android:name="com.example.fragments"
android:id="@+id/lm_fragment"
android:layout_weight="1"
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_height="match_parent" />

<fragment
android:name="com.example.fragments"
android:id="@+id/pm_fragment"
android:layout_weight="2"
android:layout_width="0dp"
android:layout_height="match_parent" />

</LinearLayout>
Make sure you have following content of res/values/strings.xml file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
82

Android

<string name="app_name">MyFragments</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="landscape_message">This is Landscape mode fragment
</string>
<string name="portrait_message">This is Portrait mode fragment
</string>

</resources>
Let's try to run our modified MyFragments application we just created. We
assume, you had created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the
app from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon
from the toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if
everything is fine with your setup and application, it will display Emulator
window where you will click on Menu button to see the following window. Be
patience because it may take some time based on your computer speed:

To change the mode of the emulator screen, let's do the following:

fn+control+F11 on Mac to change the landscape to portrait and vice


versa.

ctrl+F11 on Windows.
83

Android

ctrl+F11 on Linux.

Once you changed the mode, you will be able to see the GUI which you have
implemented for landscape mode as below:

This way you can use same activity but different GUIs through different
fragments. You can use different type of GUI components for different GUIs
based on your requirements.

84

12. INTENTS & FILTERS

Android

An Android Intent is an object carrying an intent i.e. message from one


component to another component within the application or outside the
application. The intents can communicate messages among any of the three
core components of an application - activities, services, and broadcast receivers.
The intent itself, an Intent object, is a passive data structure holding an abstract
description of an operation to be performed.
For example, let's assume, that you have an Activity that needs to launch an
email client and sends an email using your Android device. For this purpose,
your Activity would send an ACTION_SEND along with appropriate chooser, to
the Android Intent Resolver. The specified chooser gives the proper interface for
the user to pick how to send your email data.
For example, assume, that you have an Activity that needs to open URL in a web
browser on your Android device. For this purpose, your Activity will send
ACTION_WEB_SEARCH Intent to the Android Intent Resolver to open given URL
in the web browser. The Intent Resolver parses through a list of Activities and
chooses the one that would best match your Intent, in this case, the Web
Browser Activity. The Intent Resolver then passes your web page to the web
browser and starts the Web Browser Activity.
There are separate mechanisms for delivering intents to each type of component
- activities, services, and broadcast receivers.
S.N.

Method & Description

Context.startActivity()
The Intent object is passed to this method to launch a new activity or
to get an existing activity to do something new.

Context.startService()
The Intent object is passed to this method to initiate a service or
deliver new instructions to an ongoing service.

Context.sendBroadcast()
The Intent object is passed to this method to deliver the message to
all interested broadcast receivers.

85

Android

Intent Objects
An Intent object is a bundle of information which is used by the component that
receives the intent plus information used by the Android system.
An Intent object can contain the following components based on what it is
communicating or going to perform:

Action
This is mandatory part of the Intent object and is a string naming the action to
be performed or, in the case of broadcast intents, the action that took place and
is being reported. The action largely determines how the rest of the intent object
is structured. The Intent class defines a number of action constants
corresponding to different intents. Here is a list of Android Intent Standard Actions
The action in an Intent object can be set by the setAction() method and read by
getAction().

Data
The URI of the data to be acted on and the MIME type of that data. For example,
if the action field is ACTION_EDIT, the data field would contain the URI of the
document to be displayed for editing.
The setData() method specifies data only as a URI, setType() specifies it only as
a MIME type, and setDataAndType() specifies it as both a URI and a MIME type.
The URI is read by getData() and the type by getType().
Some examples of action/data pairs are:
S.N.

Action/Data Pair & Description

ACTION_VIEW content://contacts/people/1
Display information about the person whose identifier is "1".

ACTION_DIAL content://contacts/people/1
Display the phone dialer with the person filled in.

ACTION_VIEW tel:123
Display the phone dialer with the given number filled in.

ACTION_DIAL tel:123
Display the phone dialer with the given number filled in.
86

Android

ACTION_EDIT content://contacts/people/1
Edit information about the person whose identifier is "1".

ACTION_VIEW content://contacts/people/
Display a list of people, which the user can browse through.

Category
The category is an optional part of Intent object and it's a string containing
additional information about the kind of component that should handle the
intent. The addCategory() method places a category in an Intent object,
removeCategory() deletes a category previously added, and getCategories()
gets the set of all categories currently in the object. Here is a list of Android Intent
Standard Categories.
You can check detail on Intent Filters in below section to understand how do we
use categories to choose appropriate activity corresponding to an Intent.

Extras
This will be in key-value pairs for additional information that should be delivered
to the component handling the intent. The extras can be set and read using the
putExtras() and getExtras() methods respectively. Here is a list of Android Intent
Standard Extra Data

Flags
These flags are optional part of Intent object and instruct the Android system
how to launch an activity, and how to treat it after it is launched etc.

Component Name
This optional field is an android ComponentName object representing either
Activity, Service or BroadcastReceiver class. If it is set, the Intent object is
delivered to an instance of the designated class, otherwise Android uses other
information in the Intent object to locate a suitable target.
The component name is set by setComponent(), setClass(), or setClassName()
and read by getComponent().

Types of Intents
There are following two types of intents supported by Android till version 4.1
87

Android

Explicit Intents
These intents designate the target component by its name and they are typically
used for application-internal messages - such as an activity starting a
subordinate service or launching a sister activity. For example:
// Explicit Intent by specifying its class name
Intent i = new Intent(this, TargetActivity.class);
i.putExtra("Key1", "ABC");
i.putExtra("Key2", "123");

// Starts TargetActivity
startActivity(i);

Implicit Intents
These intents do not name a target and the field for the component name is left
blank. Implicit intents are often used to activate components in other
applications. For example:
// Implicit Intent by specifying a URI
Intent i = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW,
Uri.parse("http://www.example.com"));

// Starts Implicit Activity


startActivity(i);
The
target
component
which
receives
the
intent
can
use
the getExtras() method to get the extra data sent by the source component.
For example:
// Get bundle object at appropriate place in your code
Bundle extras = getIntent().getExtras();

// Extract data using passed keys


String value1 = extras.getString("Key1");
String value2 = extras.getString("Key2");
Example:

88

Android

Following example shows the functionality of an Android Intent to launch various


Android built-in applications.

Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
IntentDemo under a package com.example.intentdemo. While creating
this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file and add the code to define two listeners
corresponding two buttons i.e. Start Browser and Start Phone.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml to add three buttons


in linear layout.

Modify res/values/strings.xml to define required constant values.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.intentdemo/MainActivity.java.

main

activity

file

package com.example.intentdemo;

import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
89

Android

super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

Button startBrowser = (Button) findViewById(R.id.start_browser);


startBrowser.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
Intent i = new Intent(android.content.Intent.ACTION_VIEW,
Uri.parse("http://www.example.com"));
startActivity(i);
}
});
Button startPhone = (Button) findViewById(R.id.start_phone);
startPhone.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
Intent i = new Intent(android.content.Intent.ACTION_VIEW,
Uri.parse("tel:9510300000"));
startActivity(i);
}
});
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action
// bar if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
90

Android

android:orientation="vertical" >

<Button android:id="@+id/start_browser"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/start_browser"/>

<Button android:id="@+id/start_phone"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/start_phone" />

</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define two new
constants:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">IntentDemo</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="start_browser">Start Browser</string>
<string name="start_phone">Start Phone</string>

</resources>
Following is the default content of AndroidManifest.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.intentdemo"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

91

Android

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.intentdemo.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"
/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your IntentDemo application. We assume, you had created
your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse, open one
of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar. Eclipse
installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with your
setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

92

Android

Now click on Start Browser button, which will start a browser configured and
display http://www.example.com as shown below:

Similarly, you can launch phone interface using Start Phone button, which will
allow you to dial already given phone number.

Intent Filters
You have seen how an Intent has been used to call another activity. Android OS
uses filters to pinpoint the set of Activities, Services, and Broadcast receivers
that can handle the Intent with help of specified set of action, categories, data
scheme associated with an Intent. You will use <intent-filter> element in the
manifest file to list down actions, categories and data types associated with any
activity, service, or broadcast receiver.

93

Android

Following is an example of a part of AndroidManifest.xml file to specify an


activity com.example.intentdemo.CustomActivity which can be invoked by
either of the two mentioned actions, one category, and one data:
<activity android:name=".CustomActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<action android:name="com.example.intentdemo.LAUNCH" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:scheme="http" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
Once this activity is defined along with above mentioned filters, other activities
will
be
able
to
invoke
this
activity
using
either
the android.intent.action.VIEW,
or
using
the
com.example.intentdemo.LAUNCH action
provided
their
category
is
android.intent.category.DEFAULT.
The <data> element specifies the data type expected by the activity to be called
and for above example our custom activity expects the data to start with the
"http://".
There may be a situation that an intent can pass through the filters of more than
one activity or service, the user may be asked which component to activate. An
exception is raised if no target can be found.
There are following test Android checks before invoking an activity:

A filter <intent-filter> may list more than one action as shown above but
this list cannot be empty; a filter must contain at least one <action>
element, otherwise it will block all intents. If more than one actions are
mentioned then Android tries to match one of the mentioned actions
before invoking the activity.

A filter <intent-filter> may list zero, one or more than one categories. If
there is no category mentioned then android always pass this test but if
more than one categories are mentioned then for an intent to pass the
category test, every category in the Intent object must match a category
in the filter.

Each <data> element can specify a URI and a data type (MIME media
type). There are separate attributes like scheme, host, port,
and path for each part of the URI. An Intent object that contains both a
URI and a data type passes the data type part of the test only if its type
matches a type listed in the filter.
94

Android

Example:
Following example is a modification of the above example. Here we will see how
Android resolves conflict if one intent is invoking two activities defined in, next how
to invoke a custom activity using a filter and third one is an exception case if
Android does not file appropriate activity defined for an intent.

Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
IntentDemo under a package com.example.intentdemo. While creating
this project, make sure your Target SDK and Compile With are at the
latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file and add the code to define three


listeners corresponding to three buttons defined in layout file.

Add a new src/CustomActivity.java file to have one custom activity


which will be invoked by different intents.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml to add three buttons


in linear layout.

Add one layout XML file res/layout/custom_view.xml to add a simple


<TextView> to show the passed data through intent.

Modify res/values/strings.xml to define required constant values.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add <intent-filter> to define rules for


your intent to invoke custom activity.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.intentdemo/MainActivity.java.

main

activity

file

package com.example.intentdemo;

import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
95

Android

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

// First intent to use ACTION_VIEW action with correct data


Button startBrowser_a = (Button)
findViewById(R.id.start_browser_a);
startBrowser_a.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
Intent i = new Intent(android.content.Intent.ACTION_VIEW,
Uri.parse("http://www.example.com"));
startActivity(i);
}
});

// Second intent to use LAUNCH action with correct data


Button startBrowser_b = (Button)
findViewById(R.id.start_browser_b);
startBrowser_b.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
Intent i = new Intent("com.example.intentdemo.LAUNCH",
Uri.parse("http://www.example.com"));
startActivity(i);
}
});
96

Android

// Third intent to use LAUNCH action with incorrect data


Button startBrowser_c = (Button)
findViewById(R.id.start_browser_c);
startBrowser_c.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
Intent i = new Intent("com.example.intentdemo.LAUNCH",
Uri.parse("https://www.example.com"));
startActivity(i);
}
});

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the
// action bar if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
src/com.example.intentdemo/CustomActivity.java.

activity

file

package com.example.intentdemo;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class CustomActivity extends Activity {


97

Android

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.custom_view);

TextView label = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.show_data);

Uri url = getIntent().getData();


label.setText(url.toString());
}

}
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<Button android:id="@+id/start_browser_a"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/start_browser_a"/>

<Button android:id="@+id/start_browser_b"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/start_browser_b"/>

<Button android:id="@+id/start_browser_c"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/start_browser_c"/>

98

Android

</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/layout/custom_view.xml file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"

>

<TextView android:id="@+id/show_data"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="400dp"/>

</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define two new
constants:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">IntentDemo</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="start_browser_a">Start Browser with VIEW
action</string>
<string name="start_browser_b">Start Browser with LAUNCH
action</string>
<string name="start_browser_c">Exception Condition</string>

</resources>
Following is the default content of AndroidManifest.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.intentdemo"
99

Android

android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.intentdemo.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"
/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
<activity android:name="com.example.intentdemo.CustomActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<action android:name="com.example.intentdemo.LAUNCH" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:scheme="http" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

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Android

Let's try to run your IntentDemo application. We assume, you had created
your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse, open one
of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar. Eclipse
installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with your
setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

Now let's start with first button "Start Browser with VIEW Action". Here we have
defined our custom activity with a filter "android.intent.action.VIEW", and there
is already one default activity against VIEW action defined by Android which is
launching web browser. So android displays following two options to select the
activity you want to launch.

101

Android

Now if you select Browser, then Android will launch web browser and open
example.com website but if you select IndentDemo option then Android will
launch CustomActivity which does nothing but just capture passed data and
displays in a text view as follows:

102

Android

Now go back using back button and click on "Start Browser with LAUNCH Action"
button, here Android applies filter to choose define activity and it simply launch
your custom activity and again it displays following screen:

Again, go back using back button and click on "Exception Condition" button, here
Android tries to find out a valid filter for the given intent but it does not find a
valid activity defined because this time we have used data as https instead
of http though we are giving a correct action, so Android raises an exception and
shows following screen:

103

13. UI LAYOUTS

Android

The basic building block for user interface is a View object which is created from
the View class and occupies a rectangular area on the screen and is responsible
for drawing and event handling. View is the base class for widgets, which are
used to create interactive UI components like buttons, text fields, etc.
The ViewGroup is a subclass of View and provides invisible container that hold
other Views or other ViewGroups and define their layout properties.
At third level we have different layouts which are subclasses of ViewGroup class
and a typical layout defines the visual structure for an Android user interface and
can be created either at run time using View/ViewGroup objects or you can
declare your layout using simple XML file main_layout.xml which is located in
the res/layout folder of your project.
This tutorial is more about creating your GUI based on layouts defined in XML
file. A layout may contain any type of widgets such as buttons, labels,
textboxes, and so on. Following is a simple example of XML file having
LinearLayout:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >
<TextView android:id="@+id/text"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="This is a TextView" />
<Button android:id="@+id/button"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="This is a Button" />

<!-- More GUI components go here

-->

</LinearLayout>

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Android

Once your layout is defined, you can load the layout resource from your
application code, in your Activity.onCreate() callback implementation as shown
below:
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}

Android Layout Types


There are number of Layouts provided by Android which you will use in almost
all the Android applications to provide different view, look and feel.
S.N.

Layout & Description

Linear Layout
LinearLayout is a view group that aligns all children in a single direction,
vertically or horizontally.

Relative Layout
RelativeLayout is a view group that displays child views in relative
positions.

Table Layout
TableLayout is a view that groups views into rows and columns.

Absolute Layout
AbsoluteLayout enables you to specify the exact location of its children.

Frame Layout
The FrameLayout is a placeholder on screen that you can use to display
a single view.

List View
ListView is a view group that displays a list of scrollable items.

Grid View
GridView is a ViewGroup that displays items in a two-dimensional,
scrollable grid.

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Android

Layout Attributes
Each layout has a set of attributes which define the visual properties of that
layout. There are few common attributes among all the layouts and there are
other attributes which are specific to that layout. Following are common
attributes and will be applied to all the layouts:
Attribute

Description

android:id

This is the ID which uniquely identifies the


view.

android:layout_width

This is the width of the layout.

android:layout_height

This is the height of the layout

android:layout_marginTop

This is the extra space on the top side of the


layout.

android:layout_marginBottom

This is the extra space on the bottom side of


the layout.

android:layout_marginLeft

This is the extra space on the left side of the


layout.

android:layout_marginRight

This is the extra space on the right side of the


layout.

android:layout_gravity

This specifies how child Views are positioned.

android:layout_weight

This specifies how much of the extra space in


the layout should be allocated to the View.

android:layout_x

This specifies the x-coordinate of the layout.

android:layout_y

This specifies the y-coordinate of the layout.

android:layout_width

This is the width of the layout.

android:layout_width

This is the width of the layout.

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Android

android:paddingLeft

This is the left padding filled for the layout.

android:paddingRight

This is the right padding filled for the layout.

android:paddingTop

This is the top padding filled for the layout.

android:paddingBottom

This is the bottom padding filled for the layout.

Here width and height are the dimension of the layout/view which can be
specified in terms of dp (Density-independent Pixels), sp (Scale-independent
Pixels), pt (Points which is 1/72 of an inch), px (Pixels), mm (Millimeters) and
finally in (inches).
You can specify width and height with exact measurements but more often, you
will use one of these constants to set the width or height:

android:layout_width=wrap_content tells your view to size itself to


the dimensions required by its content.

android:layout_width=fill_parent tells your view to become as big as


its parent view.

Gravity attribute plays important role in positioning the view object and it can
take one or more (separated by '|') of the following constant values.
Constant

Value

Description

top

0x30

Push object to the top of its container, not


changing its size.

bottom

0x50

Push object to the bottom of its container,


not changing its size.

left

0x03

Push object to the left of its container, not


changing its size.

right

0x05

Push object to the right of its container, not


changing its size.

center_vertical

0x10

Place object in the vertical center of its


container, not changing its size.

fill_vertical

0x70

Grow the vertical size of the object if needed


so it completely fills its container.
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Android

center_horizontal

0x01

Place object in the horizontal center of its


container, not changing its size.

fill_horizontal

0x07

Grow the horizontal size of the object if


needed so it completely fills its container.

center

0x11

Place the object in the center of its container


in both the vertical and horizontal axis, not
changing its size.

fill

0x77

Grow the horizontal and vertical size of the


object if needed so it completely fills its
container.

clip_vertical

0x80

Additional option that can be set to have the


top and/or bottom edges of the child clipped
to its container's bounds. The clip will be
based on the vertical gravity: a top gravity
will clip the bottom edge, a bottom gravity
will clip the top edge, and neither will clip
both edges.

clip_horizontal

0x08

Additional option that can be set to have the


left and/or right edges of the child clipped to
its container's bounds. The clip will be based
on the horizontal gravity: a left gravity will
clip the right edge, a right gravity will clip
the left edge, and neither will clip both
edges.

start

0x00800003

Push object to the beginning of its container,


not changing its size.

end

0x00800005

Push object to the end of its container, not


changing its size.

View Identification
A view object may have a unique ID assigned to it which will identify the View
uniquely within the tree. The syntax for an ID, inside an XML tag is:
android:id="@+id/my_button"
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Android

Following is a brief description of @ and + signs:

The at-symbol (@) at the beginning of the string indicates that the XML
parser should parse and expand the rest of the ID string and identify it as
an ID resource.

The plus-symbol (+) means that this is a new resource name that must
be created and added to our resources. To create an instance of the view
object and capture it from the layout, use the following:

Button myButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.my_button);

109

14. UI CONTROLS

Android

An Android application user interface is everything that the user can see and
interact with. You have learned about the various layouts that you can use to
position your views in an activity. This chapter will give you detail on various
views.
A View is an object that draws something on the screen that the user can
interact with and a ViewGroup is an object that holds other View (and
ViewGroup) objects in order to define the layout of the user interface.
You define your layout in an XML file which offers a human-readable structure
for the layout, similar to HTML. For example, a simple vertical layout with a text
view and a button looks like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<TextView android:id="@+id/text"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="I am a TextView" />
<Button android:id="@+id/button"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="I am a Button" />
</LinearLayout>

Android UI Controls
There are number of UI controls provided by Android that allows you to build the
graphical user interface for your app.
S.N.

UI Control & Description

110

Android

TextView

This control is used to display text to the user.


2

EditText

EditText is a pre-defined subclass of TextView that includes rich editing


capabilities.
3

AutoCompleteTextView

The AutoCompleteTextView is a view that is similar to EditText, except


that it shows a list of completion suggestions automatically while the
user is typing.
4

Button

A push-button that can be pressed, or clicked, by the user to perform an


action.
5

ImageButton

AbsoluteLayout enables you to specify the exact location of its children.


6

CheckBox

An on/off switch that can be toggled by the user. You should use
checkboxes when presenting users with a group of selectable options
that are not mutually exclusive.
7

ToggleButton

An on/off button with a light indicator.


8

RadioButton

The RadioButton has two states: either checked or unchecked.


9

RadioGroup

A RadioGroup is used to group together one or more RadioButtons.


10

ProgressBar

The ProgressBar view provides visual feedback about some ongoing


tasks, such as when you are performing a task in the background.

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Android

11

Spinner

A drop-down list that allows users to select one value from a set.
12

TimePicker

The TimePicker view enable users to select a time of the day, in either
24-hour mode or AM/PM mode.
13

DatePicker

The DatePicker view enable users to select a date of the day.

Create UI Controls
As explained in previous chapter, a view object may have a unique ID assigned
to it which will identify the View uniquely within the tree. The syntax for an ID,
inside an XML tag is:
android:id="@+id/text_id"
To create a UI Control/View/Widget you will have to define a view/widget in the
layout file and assign it a unique ID as follows:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<TextView android:id="@+id/text_id"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="I am a TextView" />
</LinearLayout>
Then finally create an instance of the Control object and capture it from the
layout, use the following:
TextView myText = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.text_id);

112

15. EVENT HANDLING

Android

Events are a useful way to collect data about a user's interaction with interactive
components of your app, like button presses or screen touch etc. The Android
framework maintains an event queue into which events are placed as they occur
and then each event is removed from the queue on a first-in, first-out (FIFO)
basis. You can capture these events in your program and take appropriate action
as per requirements.
There are following three concepts related to Android Event Management:

Event Listeners: The View class is mainly involved in building up an


Android GUI, same View class provides a number of Event Listeners. The
Event Listener is the object that receives notification when an event
occurs.

Event Listeners Registration: Event Registration is the process by


which an Event Handler gets registered with an Event Listener so that the
handler is called when the Event Listener fires the event.

Event Handlers: When an event happens and we have registered and


event listener for the event, the event listener calls the Event Handlers,
which is the method that actually handles the event.

Event Listeners & Event Handlers


Event Handler

Event Listener & Description

onClick()

OnClickListener()
This is called when the user either clicks or touches or
focuses upon any widget like button, text, image etc. You
will use onClick() event handler to handle such event.

onLongClick()

OnLongClickListener()
This is called when the user either clicks or touches or
focuses upon any widget like button, text, image etc. for
one or more seconds. You will use onLongClick() event
handler to handle such event.

onFocusChange()

OnFocusChangeListener()
This is called when the widget loses its focus i.e. user
goes away from the view item. You will use
onFocusChange() event handler to handle such event.
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Android

onKey()

OnFocusChangeListener()
This is called when the user is focused on the item and
presses or releases a hardware key on the device. You
will use onKey() event handler to handle such event.

onTouch()

OnTouchListener()
This is called when the user presses the key, releases the
key, or any movement gesture on the screen. You will
use onTouch() event handler to handle such event.

onMenuItemClick()

OnMenuItemClickListener()
This is called when the user selects a menu item. You will
use onMenuItemClick() event handler to handle such
event.

There are many more event listeners available as a part of View class like
OnHoverListener, OnDragListener etc., which may be needed for your
application. So we recommend to refer official documentation for Android
application development in case you are going to develop a sophisticated app.

Event Listeners Registration:


Event Registration is the process by which an Event Handler gets registered with
an Event Listener so that the handler is called when the Event Listener fires the
event. Though there are several tricky ways to register your event listener for
any event, let us list down only top 3 ways, out of which you can use any of
them based on the situation.

Using an Anonymous Inner Class

Activity class implements the Listener interface.

Using Layout file activity_main.xml to specify event handler directly.

Below section will provide you detailed examples on all the three scenarios:

Event Handling Examples


Event Listeners Registration Using an Anonymous Inner Class
Here you will create an anonymous implementation of the listener and will be
useful if each class is applied to a single control only and you have advantage to
pass arguments to event handler. In this approach event handler methods can
access private data of Activity. No reference is needed to call to Activity.
114

Android

But if you have applied the handler to more than one control, you would have to
cut and paste the code for the handler and if the code for the handler is long, it
makes the code harder to maintain.
Following are the simple steps to show how we will make use of separate
Listener class to register and capture click event. Similarly, you can implement
your listener for any other required event type.
Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
EventDemo under a package com.example.eventdemo as explained in
the Hello World Example chapter.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add


handlers for the two buttons defined.

Modify the default content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file to include


Android UI controls.

Define required constants in res/values/strings.xml file.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

click

event

listeners

and

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
activity
file
src/com.example.eventdemo/MainActivity.java. This file can include each
of the fundamental life-cycle methods.
package com.example.eventdemo;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

115

Android

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

//--- find both the buttons--Button sButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button_s);


Button lButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button_l);

// -- register click event with first button --sButton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {


public void onClick(View v) {
// --- find the text view -TextView txtView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.text_id);
// -- change text size -txtView.setTextSize(14);
}
});

// -- register click event with second button --lButton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {


public void onClick(View v) {
// --- find the text view -TextView txtView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.text_id);
// -- change text size -txtView.setTextSize(24);
}
});
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
116

Android

}
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<Button
android:id="@+id/button_s"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:text="@string/button_small"/>

<Button
android:id="@+id/button_l"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:text="@string/button_large"/>

<TextView
android:id="@+id/text_id"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:capitalize="characters"
android:text="@string/hello_world" />

</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define two new
constants:
117

Android

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>


<resources>

<string name="app_name">EventDemo</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="button_small">Small Font</string>
<string name="button_large">Large Font</string>

</resources>
Following is the default content of AndroidManifest.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.guidemo"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.guidemo.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"
118

Android

/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your EventDemo application. We assume, you had created
your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse, open one
of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar. Eclipse
installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with your
setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

Now you try to click on two buttons one by one and you will see that font of
the Hello World text will change, which happens because registered click event
handler method is being called against each click event.

Registration Using the Activity Implements Listener Interface


Here your Activity class implements the Listener interface and you put the
handler method in the main Activity and then you call setOnClickListener(this).
This approach is fine if your application has only a single control of that Listener
type otherwise you will have to do further programming to check which control
has generated event. Secondly, you cannot pass arguments to the Listener so,
again, works poorly for multiple controls.
Following are the simple steps to show how we will implement Listener class to
register and capture click event. Similarly, you can implement your listener for
any other required event type.

119

Android

Step

Description

We do not need to create this application from scratch, so let's make


use of above created Android application EventDemo.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add


handlers for the two buttons defined.

We are not making any change in res/layout/activity_main.xml, it will


remain as shown above.

We are also not making any change in res/values/strings.xml file, it will


also remain as shown above.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

click

event

listeners

and

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
activity
file
src/com.example.eventdemo/MainActivity.java. This file can include each
of the fundamental life-cycle methods.
package com.example.eventdemo;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity implements OnClickListener {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
120

Android

//--- find both the buttons--Button sButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button_s);


Button lButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button_l);

// -- register click event with first button --sButton.setOnClickListener(this);


// -- register click event with second button --lButton.setOnClickListener(this);
}

//--- Implement the OnClickListener callback


public void onClick(View v) {
if(v.getId() == R.id.button_s)
{
// --- find the text view -TextView txtView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.text_id);
// -- change text size -txtView.setTextSize(14);
return;
}
if(v.getId() == R.id.button_l)
{
// --- find the text view -TextView txtView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.text_id);
// -- change text size -txtView.setTextSize(24);
return;
}
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
121

Android

getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Now again let's try to run your EventDemo application. We assume, you had
created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar.
Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with
your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

Now you try to click on two buttons one by one and you will see that font of
the Hello World text will change, which happens because registered click event
handler method is being called against each click event.

Registration Using Layout file activity_main.xml


Here you put your event handlers in Activity class without implementing a
Listener interface or call to any listener method. Rather you will use the layout
file
(activity_main.xml)
to
specify
the
handler
method
via
the android:onClick attribute for click event. You can control click events
differently for different control by passing different event handler methods.
The event handler method must have a void return type and take a View as an
argument. However, the method name is arbitrary, and the main class need not
implement any particular interface.
This approach does not allow you to pass arguments to Listener and for the
Android developers it will be difficult to know which method is the handler for
which control, until they look into activity_main.xml file. Secondly, you cannot
handle any other event except click event using this approach.
122

Android

Following are the simple steps to show how we can make use of layout file
Main.xml to register and capture click event.
Step

Description

We do not need to create this application from scratch, so let's make


use of above created Android application EventDemo.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add


handlers for the two buttons defined.

Modify layout file res/layout/activity_main.xml,


handlers for the two buttons.

We are also not making any change in res/values/strings.xml file, it will


also remain as shown above.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

click

event

to

listeners

specify

and

event

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
activity
file
src/com.example.eventdemo/MainActivity.java. This file can include each
of the fundamental life-cycle methods.
package com.example.eventdemo;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity{

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
123

Android

setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}

//--- Implement the event handler for the first button.


public void doSmall(View v)

// --- find the text view -TextView txtView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.text_id);


// -- change text size -txtView.setTextSize(14);
return;
}
//--- Implement the event handler for the second button.
public void doLarge(View v)

// --- find the text view -TextView txtView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.text_id);


// -- change text size -txtView.setTextSize(24);
return;
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file. Here we
have to add android:onClick="methodName" for both the buttons, which will
register given method names as click event handlers.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
124

Android

android:orientation="vertical" >

<Button
android:id="@+id/button_s"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:text="@string/button_small"
android:onClick="doSmall"/>

<Button
android:id="@+id/button_l"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:text="@string/button_large"
android:onClick="doLarge"/>

<TextView
android:id="@+id/text_id"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:capitalize="characters"
android:text="@string/hello_world" />

</LinearLayout>
Again let's try to run your EventDemo application. We assume, you had created
your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse, open one
of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar. Eclipse
installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with your
setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

125

Android

Now you try to click on two buttons one by one and you will see that font of
the Hello World text will change, which happens because registered click event
handler method is being called against each click event.

Exercise:
We recommend you to try writing different event handlers for different event
types and understand exact difference in different event types and their
handling. Events related to menu, spinner, pickers widgets are little different but
they are also based on the same concepts as explained above.

126

17. STYLES & THEMES

Android

If you already know about Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) in web design then
understanding Android Style will be easy as it also works in a similar way. There
are number of attributes associated with each Android widget which you can set
to change your applications look and feel. A style can specify properties such as
height, padding, font color, font size, background color, and much more.
You can specify these attributes in Layout file as follows:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/text_id"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:capitalize="characters"
android:textColor="#00FF00"
android:typeface="monospace"
android:text="@string/hello_world" />

</LinearLayout>
But this way we need to define style attributes for every attribute separately
which is not good for source code maintenance point of view. So we work with
styles by defining them in separate file as explained below.

Defining Styles
A style is defined in an XML resource that is separate from the XML that specifies
the layout. This XML file resides under res/values/ directory of your project
and will have <resources> as the root node which is mandatory for the style
file. The name of the XML file is arbitrary, but it must use the .xml extension.

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Android

You can define multiple styles per file using <style> tag but each style will have
its name that uniquely identifies the style. Android style attributes are set
using <item> tag as shown below:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<style name="CustomFontStyle">
<item name="android:layout_width">fill_parent</item>
<item name="android:layout_height">wrap_content</item>
<item name="android:capitalize">characters</item>
<item name="android:typeface">monospace</item>
<item name="android:textSize">12pt</item>
<item name="android:textColor">#00FF00</item>/>
</style>
</resources>
The value for the <item> can be a keyword string, a hex color, a reference to
another resource type, or other value depending on the style property.

Using Styles
Once your style is defined, you can use it in your XML Layout file
using style attribute as follows:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/text_id"
style="@style/CustomFontStyle"
android:text="@string/hello_world" />

</LinearLayout>
To understand the concept related to Android Style, you can check Style Demo
Example.
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Android

Style Inheritance
Android supports Style Inheritance in very much similar way as cascading style
sheet in web design. You can use this to inherit properties from an existing style
and then define only the properties that you want to change or add.
It
is
simple
to
create
a
new
style LargeFont that
inherits
the CustomFontStyle style defined above, but make the font size big, you can
author the new style like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<style name="CustomFontStyle.LargeFont">
<item name="android:textSize">20ps</item>
</style>
</resources>
You can reference this new style as @style/CustomFontStyle.LargeFont in
your XML Layout file. You can continue inheriting like this as many times as
you'd like, by chaining names with periods. For example, you can extend
FontStyle.LargeFont to be Red, with:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<style name="CustomFontStyle.LargeFont.Red">
<item name="android:textColor">#FF0000</item>/>
</style>
</resources>
This technique for inheritance by chaining together names only works for styles
defined by your own resources. You can't inherit Android built-in styles this way.
To reference an Android built-in style, such as TextAppearance, you must use
the parent attribute as shown below:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<style name="CustomFontStyle" parent="@android:style/TextAppearance">
<item name="android:layout_width">fill_parent</item>
<item name="android:layout_height">wrap_content</item>
<item name="android:capitalize">characters</item>
<item name="android:typeface">monospace</item>
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Android

<item name="android:textSize">12pt</item>
<item name="android:textColor">#00FF00</item>/>
</style>
</resources>

Android Themes
Hope you understood the concept of Style, so now let's try to understand what is
a Theme. A theme is nothing but an Android style applied to an entire Activity
or application, rather than an individual View.
Thus, when a style is applied as a theme, every View in the Activity or
application will apply each style property that it supports. For example, you can
apply the same CustomFontStyle style as a theme for an Activity and then all
text inside that Activity will have green monospace font.
To set a theme for all the activities of your application, open
the AndroidManifest.xml file and edit the <application> tag to include
the android:theme attribute with the style name. For example:
<application android:theme="@style/CustomFontStyle">
But if you want a theme applied to just one Activity in your application, then add
the android:theme attribute to the <activity> tag only. For example:
<activity android:theme="@style/CustomFontStyle">
There are number of default themes defined by Android which you can use
directly or inherit them using parent attribute as follows:
<style name="CustomTheme" parent="android:Theme.Light">
...
</style>
To understand the concept related to Android Theme, you can check Theme Demo
Example.

Default Styles & Themes


The Android platform provides a large collection of styles and themes that you
can use in your applications. You can find a reference of all available styles in
the R.style class. To use the styles listed here, replace all underscores in the
style name with a period. For example, you can apply theme_NoTitleBar theme
with "@android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar". You can see the following source code
for Android styles and themes:
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Android

Android Styles (styles.xml)

Android Themes (themes.xml)

131

Android

18. CUSTOM COMPONENTS

Android offers a great list of pre-built widgets like Button, TextView, EditText,
ListView, CheckBox, RadioButton, Gallery, Spinner, AutoCompleteTextView etc.
which you can use directly in your Android application development, but there
may be a situation when you are not satisfied with existing functionality of any
of the available widgets. Android provides you with means of creating your own
custom components which you can customize to suit your needs.
If you only need to make small adjustments to an existing widget or layout, you
can simply subclass the widget or layout and override its methods which will
give you precise control over the appearance and function of a screen element.
This tutorial explains you how to create custom Views and use them in your
application using simple and easy steps.

Creating a Simple Custom Component


The simplest way to create your custom component is to extend an existing
widget class or subclass with your own class if you want to extend the
functionality of existing widget like Button, TextView, EditText, ListView,
CheckBox etc. otherwise you can do everything yourself by starting with
the android.view.View class.
At its simplest form you will have to write your constructors corresponding to all
the constructors of the base class. For example if you are going to
extend TextView to create a DateView then following three constructors will be
created for DateView class:
public class DateView extends TextView {
public DateView(Context context) {
super(context);
//--- Additional custom code -}

public DateView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {


super(context, attrs);
//--- Additional custom code -}

public DateView(Context context, AttributeSet attrs, int defStyle) {


132

Android

super(context, attrs, defStyle);


//--- Additional custom code -}
}
Because you have created DateView as child of TextView so it will have access
on all the attributes, methods and events related to TextView and you will be
able to use them without any further implementation. You will implement
additional custom functionality inside your own code as explained in the given
examples below.
If you have requirement for implementing custom drawing/sizing for your
custom
widgets
then
you
need
to
override onMeasure(int
widthMeasureSpec,
int
heightMeasureSpec)
and onDraw(Canvas
canvas) methods. If you are not going to resize or change the shape of your
built-in component then you do not need either of these methods in your custom
component.
The onMeasure() method coordinate with the layout manager to report the
widget's width and height, and you need to call setMeasuredDimension(int width,
int height) from inside this method to report the dimensions.
You can then execute your custom drawing inside the onDraw(Canvas
canvas) method, where android.graphis.Canvas is pretty similar to its
counterpart in Swing, and has methods such as drawRect(), drawLine(),
drawString(), drawBitmap() etc. which you can use to draw your component.
Once you are done with the implementation of a custom component by
extending existing widget, you will be able to instantiate these custom
components in two ways in your application development:

Instantiate using code inside activity class


It is very similar way of instantiating custom component the way you instantiate
built-in widget in your activity class. For example you can use following code to
instantiate above defined custom component:
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

DateView dateView = new DateView(this);


setContentView(dateView);
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Android

}
Check this example to understand how to Instantiate a Basic Android Custom
Component using code inside an activity.

Instantiate using Layout XML file


Traditionally you use Layout XML file to instantiate your built-in widgets, same
concept will apply on your custom widgets as well so you will be able to
instantiate your custom component using Layout XML file as explained below.
Here com.example.dateviewdemo is the package where you have put all the
code related to DateView class and DateView is Java class name where you
have put complete logic of your custom component.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<com.example.dateviewdemo.DateView
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textColor="#fff"
android:textSize="40sp"
android:background="#000"
/>
</RelativeLayout>
It is important to note here that we are using all TextView attributes along with
custom component without any change. Similarly, you will be able to use all the
events, and methods along with DateView component.
Check this example to understand how to Instantiate a Basic Android Custom
Component using Layout XML file.
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Android

Custom Component with Custom Attributes


We have seen how we can extend functionality of built-in widgets but in both the
examples given above we saw that extended component can make use of all the
default attributes of its parent class. But consider a situation when you want to
create your own attribute from scratch. Below is a simple procedure to create
and use new attributes for Android Custom components. Consider we want to
introduce three attributes and will use them as shown below:
<com.example.dateviewdemo.DateView
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textColor="#fff"
android:textSize="40sp"
custom:delimiter="-"
custom:fancyText="true"
/>

Step 1
The first step to enable us to use our custom attributes is to define them in a
new xml file under res/values/ and call it attrs.xml. Let's have a look on an
example attrs.xml file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<declare-styleable name="DateView">
<attr name="delimiter" format="string"/>
<attr name="fancyText" format="boolean"/>
</declare-styleable>
</resources>
Here the name=value is what we want to use in our Layout XML file as
attribute, and the format=type is the type of attribute.

Step 2
Your second step will be to read these attributes from Layout XML file and set
them for the component. This logic will go in the constructors that get passed
an AttributeSet, since that is what contains the XML attributes. To read the
values in the XML, you need to first create a TypedArray from the AttributeSet,
then use that to read and set the values as shown in the below example code:
135

Android

TypedArray
a
R.styleable.DateView);

context.obtainStyledAttributes(attrs,

final int N = a.getIndexCount();


for (int i = 0; i < N; ++i)
{
int attr = a.getIndex(i);
switch (attr)
{
case R.styleable.DateView_delimiter:
String delimiter = a.getString(attr);
//...do something with delimiter...
break;
case R.styleable.DateView_fancyText:
boolean fancyText = a.getBoolean(attr, false);
//...do something with fancyText...
break;
}
}
a.recycle();

Step 3
Finally you can use your defined attributes in your Layout XML file as follows:
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
xmlns:custom="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/com.example.dateviewdemo
"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
136

Android

android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<com.example.dateviewdemo.DateView
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textColor="#fff"
android:textSize="40sp"
custom:delimiter="-"
custom:fancyText="true"
/>

</RelativeLayout>
The
important
part
isxmlns:custom="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/com.example.dateviewd
emo". Note that http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/ will remain as is, but last
part will be set to your package name and also that you can use anything after
xmlns:, in this example we have used custom, but you could use any name you
like.
Check this example to understand how to Create Custom Attributes for Android Custom
Component with simple steps.

137

19. DRAG & DROP

Android

Android drag/drop framework allows your users to move data from one View to
another View in the current layout using a graphical drag and drop gesture. The
framework includes following three important components to support drag &
drop functionality:

Drag event class:

Drag listeners:

Helper methods and classes:

The Drag/Drop Process


There are basically four steps or states in the drag and drop process:

Started: This event occurs when you start dragging an item in a layout,
your application calls startDrag() method to tell the system to start a
drag. The arguments inside startDrag() method provide the data to be
dragged, metadata for this data, and a callback for drawing the drag
shadow.
The system first responds by calling back to your application to get a drag
shadow. It then displays the drag shadow on the device.
Next,
the
system
sends
a
drag
event
with
action
ACTION_DRAG_STARTED to the registered drag event listeners for all the
View objects in the current layout.
To continue to receive drag events, including a possible drop event, a
drag event listener must return true, if the drag event listener returns
false, then it will not receive drag events for the current operation until
the system sends a drag event with action type ACTION_DRAG_ENDED.

Continuing: The
user
continues
the
drag.
System
sends
ACTION_DRAG_ENTERED action followed by ACTION_DRAG_LOCATION
action to the registered drag event listener for the View where dragging
point enters. The listener may choose to alter its View object's appearance
in response to the event or can react by highlighting its View.
The drag event listener receives an ACTION_DRAG_EXITED action after
the
user has moved the drag shadow outside the bounding box of the
View.

Dropped: The user releases the dragged item within the bounding box of
a View. The system sends the View object's listener, a drag event with
action type ACTION_DROP.
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Android

Ended: Just after the action type ACTION_DROP, the system sends out a
drag event with action type ACTION_DRAG_ENDED to indicate that the
drag operation is over.

The DragEvent Class


The DragEvent represents an event that is sent out by the system at various
times during a drag and drop operation. This class provides few Constants and
important methods which we use during Drag/Drop process.

Constants
Following are all constants integers available as a part of DragEvent class.
S.N.

Constants & Description

ACTION_DRAG_STARTED
Signals the start of a drag and drop operation.

ACTION_DRAG_ENTERED
Signals to a View that the drag point has entered the bounding box of
the View.

ACTION_DRAG_LOCATION
Sent to a View after ACTION_DRAG_ENTERED if the drag shadow is still
within the View object's bounding box.

ACTION_DRAG_EXITED
Signals that the user has moved the drag shadow outside the bounding
box of the View.

ACTION_DROP
Signals to a View that the user has released the drag shadow, and the
drag point is within the bounding box of the View.

ACTION_DRAG_ENDED
Signals to a View that the drag and drop operation has concluded.

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Android

Methods
Following are few important and most frequently used methods available as a
part of DragEvent class.
S.N.

Constants & Description

int getAction()
Inspect the action value of this event.

ClipData getClipData()
Returns the ClipData object sent to the system as part of the call to
startDrag().

ClipDescription getClipDescription()
Returns the ClipDescription object contained in the ClipData.

boolean getResult()
Returns an indication of the result of the drag and drop operation.

float getX()
Gets the X coordinate of the drag point.

float getY()
Gets the Y coordinate of the drag point.

String toString()
Returns a string representation of this DragEvent object.

Listening for Drag Event


If you want any of your views within a Layout to respond to Drag event then
your
view
either
implements View.OnDragListener or
setup onDragEvent(DragEvent) callback method. When the system calls the
method or listener, it passes to them a DragEvent object explained above. You
can have both a listener and a callback method for View object. If this occurs,
the system first calls the listener and then defined callback as long as listener
returns true.

140

Android

The
combination
of
the onDragEvent(DragEvent) method
and View.OnDragListener is
analogous
to
the
combination
of
the onTouchEvent() and View.OnTouchListener used with touch events in old
versions of Android.

Starting a Drag Event


You start with creating a ClipData and ClipData.Item for the data being moved.
As part of the ClipData object, supply metadata that is stored in
a ClipDescription object within the ClipData. For a drag and drop operation that
does not represent data movement, you may want to use null instead of an
actual object.
Next either you can extend View.DragShadowBuilder to create a drag
shadow
for
dragging
the
view
or
simply
you
can
use View.DragShadowBuilder(View) to create a default drag shadow that is the
same size as the View argument passed to it, with the touch point centered in
the drag shadow.
Example:
Following example shows the functionality of a simple Drag & Drop using a
View.setOnLongClickListener() event
listener
along
with View.OnDragEventListener().
Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
DragNDropDemo under a package com.example.dragndropdemo. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file and add the code to define event


listeners as well as a call back method for the logo image used in the
example.

Copy image logo.png in res/drawable-* folder. You can use images with
different resolution in case you want to provide them for different
devices.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml to define default


view of the logo images.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the aplication.
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Android

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
activity
file
src/com.example.dragndropdemo/MainActivity.java. This file can include
each of the fundamental life-cycle methods.
package com.example.dragndropdemo;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.ClipData;
import android.content.ClipDescription;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.DragEvent;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.DragShadowBuilder;
import android.view.View.OnDragListener;
import android.widget.*;

public class MainActivity extends Activity{


ImageView ima;
private static final String IMAGEVIEW_TAG = "Android Logo";
String msg;

private android.widget.RelativeLayout.LayoutParams layoutParams;

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

ima = (ImageView)findViewById(R.id.iv_logo);
// Sets the tag
ima.setTag(IMAGEVIEW_TAG);

ima.setOnLongClickListener(new View.OnLongClickListener() {
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Android

@Override
public boolean onLongClick(View v) {
ClipData.Item item = new
ClipData.Item((CharSequence)v.getTag());

String[] mimeTypes = {ClipDescription.MIMETYPE_TEXT_PLAIN};


ClipData dragData = new ClipData(v.getTag().toString(),
mimeTypes, item);

// Instantiates the drag shadow builder.


View.DragShadowBuilder myShadow = new DragShadowBuilder(ima);

// Starts the drag


v.startDrag(dragData,

// the data to be dragged

myShadow,

// the drag shadow builder

null,

// no need to use local data

// flags (not currently used, set to 0)

);
return true;
}
});

// Create and set the drag event listener for the View
ima.setOnDragListener( new OnDragListener(){
@Override
public boolean onDrag(View v,

DragEvent event){

switch(event.getAction())
{
case DragEvent.ACTION_DRAG_STARTED:
layoutParams = (RelativeLayout.LayoutParams)
v.getLayoutParams();
Log.d(msg, "Action is DragEvent.ACTION_DRAG_STARTED");
// Do nothing
break;
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Android

case DragEvent.ACTION_DRAG_ENTERED:
Log.d(msg, "Action is DragEvent.ACTION_DRAG_ENTERED");
int x_cord = (int) event.getX();
int y_cord = (int) event.getY();
break;
case DragEvent.ACTION_DRAG_EXITED :
Log.d(msg, "Action is DragEvent.ACTION_DRAG_EXITED");
x_cord = (int) event.getX();
y_cord = (int) event.getY();
layoutParams.leftMargin = x_cord;
layoutParams.topMargin = y_cord;
v.setLayoutParams(layoutParams);
break;
case DragEvent.ACTION_DRAG_LOCATION

Log.d(msg, "Action is DragEvent.ACTION_DRAG_LOCATION");


x_cord = (int) event.getX();
y_cord = (int) event.getY();
break;
case DragEvent.ACTION_DRAG_ENDED

Log.d(msg, "Action is DragEvent.ACTION_DRAG_ENDED");


// Do nothing
break;
case DragEvent.ACTION_DROP:
Log.d(msg, "ACTION_DROP event");
// Do nothing
break;
default: break;
}
return true;
}
});
}
}
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file:
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Android

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>


<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="@+id/container"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<ImageView
android:id="@+id/iv_logo"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:src="@drawable/logo"
android:contentDescription="@string/drag_drop"

/>

</RelativeLayout>
Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define two new
constants:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">DragNDropDemo</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="drag_drop">Click on the image to drag and drop</string>

</resources>
Following is the default content of AndroidManifest.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.guidemo"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >
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Android

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="16"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.guidemo.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"
/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

Let's try to run your DragNDropDemo application. We assume, you had created
your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse, open one
of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar. Eclipse
installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with your
setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

146

Android

Now do long click on the displayed android logo and you will see that logo image
moves a little after 1 seconds long click from its place, it is time when you
should start dragging the image. You can drag it around the screen and drop it
at a new location.

147

20. NOTIFICATIONS

Android

Android Toast class provides a handy way to show alerts to the users, but these
alerts are not persistent which means alert flashes on the screen for a few
seconds and then disappears.
For important messages to be given to the user, it is required to have more
persistent method. A notification is a message you can display as an icon at the
top of the device which we call notification bar or status bar.

To see the details of the notification, you will have to select the icon which will
display notification drawer having detail about the notification. While working
with emulator with virtual device, you will have to click and drag down the status
bar to expand it which will give you detail as follows. This will be just 64 dp tall
and called normal view.

Above expanded form can have a Big View which will have additional detail
about the notification. You can add up to six additional lines in the notification.
The following screenshot shows such notification.

148

Android

Create and Send Notifications


There is a simple way to create a notification. Follow the below mentioned steps
in your application to create a notification:

Step 1 - Create Notification Builder


The
first
step
is
to
create
a
notification
builder
using NotificationCompat.Builder.build(). You will use Notification Builder to set
various Notification properties like its small and large icons, title, priority etc.
NotificationCompat.Builder mBuilder = new
NotificationCompat.Builder(this)

Step 2 - Setting Notification Properties


Once you have Builder object, you can set its Notification properties using
Builder object as per your requirement. But this is mandatory to set at least
following:

A small icon, set by setSmallIcon()

A title, set by setContentTitle()

Detail text, set by setContentText()

mBuilder.setSmallIcon(R.drawable.notification_icon);
mBuilder.setContentTitle("Notification Alert, Click Me!");
mBuilder.setContentText("Hi, This is Android Notification Detail!");
You have plenty of optional properties which you can set for your notification. To
learn
more
about
them,
see
the
reference
documentation
for
NotificationCompat.Builder.

Step 3 - Attach Actions


This is an optional part and required if you want to attach an action with the
notification. An action allows users to go directly from the notification to
an Activity in your application, where they can look at one or more events or do
further work.
The action is defined by a PendingIntent containing an Intent that starts an
Activity in your application. To associate the PendingIntent with a gesture, call
the appropriate method of NotificationCompat.Builder. For example, if you want
to start Activity when the user clicks the notification text in the notification
drawer, you add the PendingIntent by calling setContentIntent().

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Android

A PendingIntent object helps you to perform an action on your applications


behalf, often at a later time, without caring of whether or not your application is
running.
We take help of stack builder object which will contain an artificial back stack for
the started Activity. This ensures that navigating backward from the Activity
leads out of your application to the Home screen.
Intent resultIntent = new Intent(this, ResultActivity.class);
TaskStackBuilder stackBuilder = TaskStackBuilder.create(this);
stackBuilder.addParentStack(ResultActivity.class);

// Adds the Intent that starts the Activity to the top of the stack
stackBuilder.addNextIntent(resultIntent);
PendingIntent resultPendingIntent =
stackBuilder.getPendingIntent(0,
PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT
);
mBuilder.setContentIntent(resultPendingIntent);

Step 4 - Issue the notification


Finally, you pass the Notification object to the system by calling
NotificationManager.notify() to send your notification. Make sure you
call NotificationCompat.Builder.build() method on builder object before
notifying it. This method combines all of the options that have been set and
return a new Notification object.
NotificationManager mNotificationManager =
(NotificationManager) getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);

// notificationID allows you to update the notification later on.


mNotificationManager.notify(notificationID, mBuilder.build());

The NotificationCompat.Builder Class


The NotificationCompat.Builder class allows easier control over all the flags, as
well as help constructing the typical notification layouts. Following are few
important and most frequently used methods available as a part of
NotificationCompat.Builder class.
150

Android

S.N.

Constants & Description

Notification build()
Combine all of the options that have been set and return a new
Notification object.

NotificationCompat.Builder setAutoCancel (boolean autoCancel)


Setting this flag will make it so the notification is automatically canceled
when the user clicks it in the panel.

NotificationCompat.Builder setContent (RemoteViews views)


Supply a custom RemoteViews to use instead of the standard one.

NotificationCompat.Builder setContentInfo (CharSequence info)


Set the large text at the right-hand side of the notification.

NotificationCompat.Builder
intent)

setContentIntent

(PendingIntent

Supply a PendingIntent to send when the notification is clicked.


6

NotificationCompat.Builder setContentText (CharSequence text)


Set the text (second row) of the notification, in a standard notification.

NotificationCompat.Builder setContentTitle (CharSequence title)


Set the text (first row) of the notification, in a standard notification.

NotificationCompat.Builder setDefaults (int defaults)


Set the default notification options that will be used.

NotificationCompat.Builder setLargeIcon (Bitmap icon)


Set the large icon that is shown in the ticker and notification.

10

NotificationCompat.Builder setNumber (int number)


Set the large number at the right-hand side of the notification.

151

Android

11

NotificationCompat.Builder setOngoing (boolean ongoing)


Set whether this is an ongoing notification.

12

NotificationCompat.Builder setSmallIcon (int icon)


Set the small icon to use in the notification layouts.

13

NotificationCompat.Builder
style)

setStyle

(NotificationCompat.Style

Add a rich notification style to be applied at build time.


14

NotificationCompat.Builder setTicker (CharSequence tickerText)


Set the text that is displayed in the status bar when the notification first
arrives.

15

NotificationCompat.Builder setVibrate (long[] pattern)


Set the vibration pattern to use.

16

NotificationCompat.Builder setWhen (long when)


Set the time that the event occurred. Notifications in the panel are
sorted by this time.

Example:
Following example shows the functionality of an Android notification using a
NotificationCompat.Builder Class which has been introduced in Android 4.1.
Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
NotificationDemo under a package com.example.notificationdemo. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file and add the code to define three


methods
startNotification(),
cancelNotification()
and
updateNotification() to cover maximum functionality related to Android
notifications.

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Android

Create a new Java file src/NotificationView.java, which will be used to


display new layout as a part of new activity which will be started when
user will click any of the notifications

Copy image woman.png in res/drawable-* folder and this image will be


used as Notification icon. You can use images with different resolutions
in case you want to provide them for different devices.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml to add three buttons


in linear layout.

Create a new layout XML file res/layout/notification.xml. This will be


used as layout file for new activity which will start when user will click
any of the notifications.

Modify res/values/strings.xml to define required constant values.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the aplication.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
activity
file
src/com.example.notificationdemo/MainActivity.java. This file can include
each of the fundamental life-cycle methods.
package com.example.notificationdemo;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.NotificationManager;
import android.app.PendingIntent;
import android.app.TaskStackBuilder;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.support.v4.app.NotificationCompat;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;

153

Android

public class MainActivity extends Activity {


private NotificationManager mNotificationManager;
private int notificationID = 100;
private int numMessages = 0;

protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {


super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

Button startBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.start);


startBtn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
displayNotification();
}
});

Button cancelBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.cancel);


cancelBtn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
cancelNotification();
}
});

Button updateBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.update);


updateBtn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
updateNotification();
}
});
}
protected void displayNotification() {
Log.i("Start", "notification");

/* Invoking the default notification service */


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Android

NotificationCompat.Builder

mBuilder =

new NotificationCompat.Builder(this);

mBuilder.setContentTitle("New Message");
mBuilder.setContentText("You've received new message.");
mBuilder.setTicker("New Message Alert!");
mBuilder.setSmallIcon(R.drawable.woman);

/* Increase notification number every time a new notification


arrives */
mBuilder.setNumber(++numMessages);

/* Creates an explicit intent for an Activity in your app */


Intent resultIntent = new Intent(this, NotificationView.class);

TaskStackBuilder stackBuilder = TaskStackBuilder.create(this);


stackBuilder.addParentStack(NotificationView.class);

/* Adds the Intent that starts the Activity to the top of the stack
*/
stackBuilder.addNextIntent(resultIntent);
PendingIntent resultPendingIntent =
stackBuilder.getPendingIntent(
0,
PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT
);

mBuilder.setContentIntent(resultPendingIntent);

mNotificationManager =
(NotificationManager)
getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);

/* notificationID allows you to update the notification later on.


155

Android

*/
mNotificationManager.notify(notificationID, mBuilder.build());
}

protected void cancelNotification() {


Log.i("Cancel", "notification");
mNotificationManager.cancel(notificationID);
}

protected void updateNotification() {


Log.i("Update", "notification");

/* Invoking the default notification service */


NotificationCompat.Builder

mBuilder =

new NotificationCompat.Builder(this);

mBuilder.setContentTitle("Updated Message");
mBuilder.setContentText("You've got updated message.");
mBuilder.setTicker("Updated Message Alert!");
mBuilder.setSmallIcon(R.drawable.woman);

/* Increase
arrives */

notification

number

every

time

new

notification

mBuilder.setNumber(++numMessages);

/* Creates an explicit intent for an Activity in your app */


Intent resultIntent = new Intent(this, NotificationView.class);

TaskStackBuilder stackBuilder = TaskStackBuilder.create(this);


stackBuilder.addParentStack(NotificationView.class);

/* Adds the Intent that starts the Activity to the top of the stack
*/
stackBuilder.addNextIntent(resultIntent);
156

Android

PendingIntent resultPendingIntent =
stackBuilder.getPendingIntent(
0,
PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT
);

mBuilder.setContentIntent(resultPendingIntent);

mNotificationManager =
(NotificationManager)
getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);

/* Update the existing notification using same notification ID */


mNotificationManager.notify(notificationID, mBuilder.build());
}
}
Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
src/com.example.notificationdemo/NotificationView.java.

activity

file

package com.example.notificationdemo;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;

public class NotificationView extends Activity{


@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.notification);
}

157

Android

Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file:


<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<Button android:id="@+id/start"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/start_note"/>

<Button android:id="@+id/cancel"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/cancel_note" />

<Button android:id="@+id/update"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/update_note" />

</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/layout/notification.xml file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"

>

<TextView
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="400dp"
android:text="Hi, Your Detailed notification view goes here...." />
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Android

</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define two new
constants:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">NotificationDemo</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="start_note">Start Notification</string>
<string name="cancel_note">Cancel Notification</string>
<string name="update_note">Update Notification</string>

</resources>
Following is the default content of AndroidManifest.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.notificationdemo"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="17"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.notificationdemo.MainActivity"
159

Android

android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"
/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
<activity android:name=".NotificationView"
android:label="Details of notification"
android:parentActivityName=".MainActivity">
<meta-data
android:name="android.support.PARENT_ACTIVITY"
android:value=".MainActivity"/>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your NotificationDemo application. We assume, you had
created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar.
Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with
your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

160

Android

Now click Start Notification button, you will see a message "New Message
Alert!" at the top that will display momentarily and after that you will have
following screen having a small icon at the top left corner.

Now lets expand the view, long click on the small icon, after a second it will
display date information and this is the time when you should drag status bar
down without releasing mouse. You will see status bar will expand and you will
get following screen:

161

Android

Now let's try to click on the image icon, this will launch your new activity which
you have set using intent and you will have following screen:

Next, you can click on "Detail of notification" and it will take you back to the
main screen where you can try using Update Notification button which will
update existing notification and number will increase by 1 but if you will send
notification with new notification ID then it will keep adding in the stack and you
see them separately listed on the screen.

Big View Notification


The following code snippet demonstrates how to alter the notification created in
the previous snippet to use the Inbox big view style. I'm going to update
displayNotification() modification method to show this functionality:
protected void displayNotification() {
Log.i("Start", "notification");

/* Invoking the default notification service */


NotificationCompat.Builder

mBuilder =

new NotificationCompat.Builder(this);

mBuilder.setContentTitle("New Message");
mBuilder.setContentText("You've received new message.");
mBuilder.setTicker("New Message Alert!");
mBuilder.setSmallIcon(R.drawable.woman);

162

Android

/* Increase notification number every time a new notification


arrives */
mBuilder.setNumber(++numMessages);

/* Add Big View Specific Configuration */


NotificationCompat.InboxStyle inboxStyle =
new NotificationCompat.InboxStyle();

String[] events = new String[6];


events[0] = new String("This is first line....");
events[1] = new String("This is second line...");
events[2] = new String("This is third line...");
events[3] = new String("This is 4th line...");
events[4] = new String("This is 5th line...");
events[5] = new String("This is 6th line...");

// Sets a title for the Inbox style big view


inboxStyle.setBigContentTitle("Big Title Details:");
// Moves events into the big view
for (int i=0; i < events.length; i++) {

inboxStyle.addLine(events[i]);
}
mBuilder.setStyle(inboxStyle);

/* Creates an explicit intent for an Activity in your app */


Intent resultIntent = new Intent(this, NotificationView.class);

TaskStackBuilder stackBuilder = TaskStackBuilder.create(this);


stackBuilder.addParentStack(NotificationView.class);

/* Adds the Intent that starts the Activity to the top of the stack
*/
163

Android

stackBuilder.addNextIntent(resultIntent);
PendingIntent resultPendingIntent =
stackBuilder.getPendingIntent(
0,
PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT
);

mBuilder.setContentIntent(resultPendingIntent);

mNotificationManager =
(NotificationManager)
getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);

/* notificationID allows you to update the notification later on.


*/
mNotificationManager.notify(notificationID, mBuilder.build());
}
Now if you will try to run your application then you will find following result in
expanded form of the view:

164

Android

21. LOCATION-BASED SERVICES

Android location APIs make it easy for you to build location-aware applications,
without needing to focus on the details of the underlying location technology.
This becomes possible with the help of Google Play services, which facilitates
adding location awareness to your app with automated location tracking,
geofencing, and activity recognition.
This tutorial shows you how to use Location Services in your app to get the
current location, get periodic location updates, look up addresses etc.

The Location Object


The Location object represents a geographic location which can consist of a
latitude, longitude, timestamp, and other information such as bearing, altitude
and velocity. There are following important methods which you can use with
Location object to get location specific information:
S.N.

Method & Description

float distanceTo(Location dest)


Returns the approximate distance in meters between this location and
the given location.

float getAccuracy()
Get the estimated accuracy of this location, in meters.

double getAltitude()
Get the altitude if available, in meters above sea level.

float getBearing()
Get the bearing, in degrees.

double getLatitude()
Get the latitude, in degrees.

double getLongitude()

165

Android

Get the longitude, in degrees.


7

float getSpeed()
Get the speed if it is available, in meters/second over ground.

boolean hasAccuracy()
True if this location has an accuracy.

boolean hasAltitude()
True if this location has an altitude.

10

boolean hasBearing()
True if this location has a bearing.

11

boolean hasSpeed()
True if this location has a speed.

12

void reset()
Clears the contents of the location.

13

void setAccuracy(float accuracy)


Set the estimated accuracy of this location, meters.

14

void setAltitude(double altitude)


Set the altitude, in meters above sea level.

15

void setBearing(float bearing)


Set the bearing, in degrees.

16

void setLatitude(double latitude)


Set the latitude, in degrees.

17

void setLongitude(double longitude)


Set the longitude, in degrees.

166

Android

18

void setSpeed(float speed)


Set the speed, in meters/second over ground.

19

String toString()
Returns a string containing a concise, human-readable description of
this object.

Get the Current Location


To
get
the
current
location,
create
a
location
client
which
is LocationClient object,
connect
it
to
Location
Services
using connect() method, and then call its getLastLocation() method. This
method returns the most recent location in the form of Location object that
contains latitude and longitude coordinates and other information as explained
above. To have location based functionality in your activity, you will have to
implement two interfaces:

GooglePlayServicesClient.ConnectionCallbacks

GooglePlayServicesClient.OnConnectionFailedListener

These interfaces provide following important callback methods, which you need
to implement in your activity class:
S.N.

Callback Methods & Description

abstract void onConnected(Bundle connectionHint)


This callback method is called when location service is connected to the
location client successfully. You will use connect() method to connect
to the location client.

abstract void onDisconnected()


This callback method is called when the client is disconnected. You will
use disconnect() method to disconnect from the location client.

abstract void onConnectionFailed(ConnectionResult result)


This callback method is called when there was an error connecting the
client to the service.

You should create the location client in onCreate() method of your activity
class, then connect it in onStart(), so that Location Services maintains the
167

Android

current location while your activity is fully visible. You should disconnect the
client in onStop() method, so that when your app is not visible, Location
Services is not maintaining the current location. This helps in saving battery
power up-to a large extent.

Get the Updated Location


If you are willing to have location updates, then apart from above mentioned
interfaces, you will need to implement LocationListener interface as well. This
interface provide following callback method, which you need to implement in
your activity class:
S.N.

Callback Method & Description

abstract void onLocationChanged(Location location)


This callback method is used for receiving notifications from the
LocationClient when the location has changed.

Location Quality of Service


The LocationRequest object is used to request a quality of service (QoS) for
location updates from the LocationClient. There are following useful setter
methods which you can use to handle QoS. There are equivalent getter methods
available which you can check in Android official documentation.
S.N.

Method & Description

setExpirationDuration(long millis)
Set the duration of this request, in milliseconds.

setExpirationTime(long millis)
Set the request expiration time, in millisecond since boot.

setFastestInterval(long millis)
Explicitly set the fastest interval for location updates, in milliseconds.

setInterval(long millis)
Set the desired interval for active location updates, in milliseconds.

168

Android

setNumUpdates(int numUpdates)
Set the number of location updates.

setPriority(int priority)
Set the priority of the request.

Now for example, if your application wants high accuracy location it should
create
a
location
request
with setPriority(int) set
to
PRIORITY_HIGH_ACCURACY and setInterval(long) to 5 seconds. You can also
use bigger interval and/or other priorities like PRIORITY_LOW_POWER for to
request "city" level accuracy or PRIORITY_BALANCED_POWER_ACCURACY for
"block" level accuracy.
Activities should strongly consider removing all location request when entering
the background (for example at onPause()), or at least swap the request to a
larger interval and lower quality to save power consumption.

Displaying a Location Address


Once
you
have Location object,
you
can
use Geocoder.getFromLocation() method to get an address for a given
latitude and longitude. This method is synchronous, and may take a long time to
do its work, so you should call the method from the doInBackground()method
of an AsyncTask class.
The AsyncTask must be subclassed to be used and the subclass will override
doInBackground(Params...) method to perform a task in the background and
onPostExecute(Result) method is invoked on the UI thread after the
background computation finishes and at the time to display the result. There is
one more important method available in AyncTask which is execute(Params...
params), this method executes the task with the specified parameters.
Check following example to have better understanding on how we use
AynchTask in any Android application to get work done in the background
without interfering main task.
Example:
Following example shows you in practical how to use Location Services in your app
to get the current location and its equivalent addresses etc.
To experiment with this example, you will need actual Mobile device equipped with
latest Android OS, otherwise you will have to struggle with emulator which may not
work.

169

Android

Install the Google Play Services SDK


Before you proceed to have location support in your Android Applications, you
need to setup Google Play Services SDK using following simple steps:
google-play-services_lib/ to the location where you maintain your Android app
projects. If you are using Eclipse, import the library
Steps

Description

Launch the SDK Manager.


From Eclipse (with ADT), select Window > Android SDK Manager.
On Windows, double-click the SDK Manager.exe file at the root of the
Android SDK directory.
On Mac or Linux, open a terminal and navigate to the tools/ directory
in the Android SDK directory, then execute android sdk.

Search for Google Play services option from the given package list
under Extra and if it is not installed, then install it. The Google Play
services SDK is saved in your Android SDK environment at <androidsdk>/extras/google/google_play_services/.

Copy
the
library
project
at <androidsdk>/extras/google/google_play_services/libproject/ project into your
workspace. Click File > Import, select Android > Existing Android
Code
into
Workspace,
and
browse
to <androidsdk>/extras/google/google_play_services/libproject/, library project to
import it.

Create Android Application


Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
LBSDemo/i> under a package com.example.lbsdemo. While creating
this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Add Google Play Service library in your project by following simple


steps given below.

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Android

Modify src/MainActivity.java file and add required code as shown below


to take care of getting current location and its equivalent address.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml to add all GUI


components which include three buttons and two text views to show
location/address.

Modify res/values/strings.xml to define required constant values.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml as shown below.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the aplication.

Let's add Google Play Service reference in the project. Right click on the
project and select Build Path > Configure Build Path > Android > and then
click Add button which will show google-play-service_lib option to be added, just
double click on it, which will add required library reference and you will have
window as follows:

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.lbsdemo/MainActivity.java.

main

activity

file

171

Android

package com.example.lbsdemo;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Locale;

import com.google.android.gms.common.ConnectionResult;
import com.google.android.gms.common.GooglePlayServicesClient;
import com.google.android.gms.location.LocationClient;

import android.content.Context;
import android.location.Address;
import android.location.Geocoder;
import android.location.Location;
import android.os.AsyncTask;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v4.app.FragmentActivity;

import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends FragmentActivity implements


GooglePlayServicesClient.ConnectionCallbacks,
GooglePlayServicesClient.OnConnectionFailedListener
{
LocationClient mLocationClient;
private TextView addressLabel;
private TextView locationLabel;
private Button getLocationBtn;
private Button disconnectBtn;
private Button connectBtn;
172

Android

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

locationLabel = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.locationLabel);


addressLabel = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.addressLabel);
getLocationBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.getLocation);

getLocationBtn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
displayCurrentLocation();
}
});
disconnectBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.disconnect);
disconnectBtn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
mLocationClient.disconnect();
locationLabel.setText("Got disconnected....");
}
});
connectBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.connect);
connectBtn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
mLocationClient.connect();
locationLabel.setText("Got connected....");
}
});
// Create the LocationRequest object
mLocationClient = new LocationClient(this, this, this);
}
@Override
protected void onStart() {
173

Android

super.onStart();
// Connect the client.
mLocationClient.connect();
locationLabel.setText("Got connected....");
}
@Override
protected void onStop() {
// Disconnect the client.
mLocationClient.disconnect();
super.onStop();
locationLabel.setText("Got disconnected....");
}
@Override
public void onConnected(Bundle dataBundle) {
// Display the connection status
Toast.makeText(this, "Connected", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
@Override
public void onDisconnected() {
// Display the connection status
Toast.makeText(this, "Disconnected. Please re-connect.",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
@Override
public void onConnectionFailed(ConnectionResult connectionResult) {
// Display the error code on failure
Toast.makeText(this, "Connection Failure : " +
connectionResult.getErrorCode(),
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
public void displayCurrentLocation() {
// Get the current location's latitude & longitude
Location currentLocation = mLocationClient.getLastLocation();
String msg = "Current Location: " +
174

Android

Double.toString(currentLocation.getLatitude()) + "," +
Double.toString(currentLocation.getLongitude());

// Display the current location in the UI


locationLabel.setText(msg);

// To display the current address in the UI


(new GetAddressTask(this)).execute(currentLocation);
}
/*
* Following is a subclass of AsyncTask which has been used to get
* address corresponding to the given latitude & longitude.
*/
private class GetAddressTask extends AsyncTask<Location, Void,
String>{
Context mContext;
public GetAddressTask(Context context) {
super();
mContext = context;
}

/*
* When the task finishes, onPostExecute() displays the address.
*/
@Override
protected void onPostExecute(String address) {
// Display the current address in the UI
addressLabel.setText(address);
}
@Override
protected String doInBackground(Location... params) {
Geocoder geocoder =
new Geocoder(mContext, Locale.getDefault());
// Get the current location from the input parameter list
175

Android

Location loc = params[0];


// Create a list to contain the result address
List<Address> addresses = null;
try {
addresses = geocoder.getFromLocation(loc.getLatitude(),
loc.getLongitude(), 1);
} catch (IOException e1) {
Log.e("LocationSampleActivity",
"IO Exception in getFromLocation()");
e1.printStackTrace();
return ("IO Exception trying to get address");
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e2) {
// Error message to post in the log
String errorString = "Illegal arguments " +
Double.toString(loc.getLatitude()) +
", " +
Double.toString(loc.getLongitude()) +
" passed to address service";
Log.e("LocationSampleActivity", errorString);
e2.printStackTrace();
return errorString;
}
// If the reverse geocode returned an address
if (addresses != null && addresses.size() > 0) {
// Get the first address
Address address = addresses.get(0);
/*
* Format the first line of address (if available),
* city, and country name.
*/
String addressText = String.format(
"%s, %s, %s",
// If there's a street address, add it
address.getMaxAddressLineIndex() > 0 ?
176

Android

address.getAddressLine(0) : "",
// Locality is usually a city
address.getLocality(),
// The country of the address
address.getCountryName());
// Return the text
return addressText;
} else {
return "No address found";
}
}
}// AsyncTask class
}
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<Button android:id="@+id/getLocation"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/get_location"/>

<Button android:id="@+id/disconnect"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/disconnect"/>

<Button android:id="@+id/connect"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/connect"/>
177

Android

<TextView
android:id="@+id/locationLabel"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>

<TextView
android:id="@+id/addressLabel"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>

</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define two new
constants:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">LBSDemo</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="get_location">Get Location</string>
<string name="disconnect">Disconnect Service</string>
<string name="connect">Connect Service</string>
</resources>
Following is the default content of AndroidManifest.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.lbsdemo"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
178

Android

android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission
android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION"/>

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.lbsdemo.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"
/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your LBSDemo application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

179

Android

Select mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which will
display following screen:

Now to see location select Get Location Button which will display location
information as follows:
180

Android

You can try by disconnecting location client using Disconnect Service and then
connecting it by using Connect Service button. You can also modify to get
location update as explained above and in Android Official documentation.

181

22. SENDING EMAIL

Android

You have learnt Android Intent, which is an object carrying an intent i.e.
message from one component to another component within the application or
outside the application.
As such you do not need to develop your email client from scratch because they
are already available like Gmail and K9mail. But you will need to send email
from your Android application, where you will have to write an Activity that
needs to launch an email client and sends an email using your Android device.
For this purpose, your Activity will send an ACTION_SEND along with appropriate
data load, to the Android Intent Resolver. The specified chooser gives the proper
interface for the user to pick how to send your email data.
Following section explains different parts of our Intent object required to send an
email.

Intent Object - Action to send Email


You will use ACTION_SEND action to launch an email client installed on your
Android device. Following is simple syntax to create an intent with
ACTION_SEND action.
Intent emailIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND);

Intent Object - Data/Type to send Email


To send an email you need to specify mailto: as URI using setData() method
and data type will be to text/plain using setType() method as follows:
emailIntent.setData(Uri.parse("mailto:"));
emailIntent.setType("text/plain");

Intent Object - Extra to send Email


Android has built-in support to add TO, SUBJECT, CC, TEXT etc. fields which can
be attached to the intent before sending the intent to a target email client. You
can use following extra fields in your email:
S.N.

Extra Data & Description

EXTRA_BCC
182

Android

A String[] holding e-mail addresses that should be blind carbon copied.


2

EXTRA_CC
A String[] holding e-mail addresses that should be carbon copied.

EXTRA_EMAIL
A String[] holding e-mail addresses that should be delivered to.

EXTRA_HTML_TEXT
A constant String that is associated with the Intent, used with
ACTION_SEND to supply an alternative to EXTRA_TEXT as HTML
formatted text.

EXTRA_SUBJECT
A constant string holding the desired subject line of a message.

EXTRA_TEXT
A constant CharSequence that is associated with the Intent, used with
ACTION_SEND to supply the literal data to be sent.

EXTRA_TITLE
A CharSequence dialog title to provide to the user when used with a
ACTION_CHOOSER.

Here is an example showing you how to assign extra data to your intent:
emailIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_EMAIL , new
String[]{"recipient@example.com"});
emailIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_SUBJECT, "subject of email");
emailIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT

, "body of email");

Example:
Following example shows you in practical how to use Intent object to launch Email
client to send an Email to the given recipients.

To experiment with this example, you will need actual Mobile device equipped
with latest Android OS, otherwise you will have to struggle with emulator which
may not work. Second you will need to have an Email client like GMail or K9mail
installed on your device.
183

Android

Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
SendEmailDemo under a package com.example.sendemaildemo. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file and add required code to take care of


sending email.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required. I'm adding a simple button to launch Email
Client.

Modify res/values/strings.xml to define required constant values.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml as shown below.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
src/com.example.sendemaildemo/MainActivity.java.

activity

file

package com.example.sendemaildemo;

import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {


184

Android

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

Button startBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.sendEmail);


startBtn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
sendEmail();
}
});

}
protected void sendEmail() {
Log.i("Send email", "");

String[] TO = {"amrood.admin@gmail.com"};
String[] CC = {"mcmohd@gmail.com"};
Intent emailIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
emailIntent.setData(Uri.parse("mailto:"));
emailIntent.setType("text/plain");

emailIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_EMAIL, TO);
emailIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_CC, CC);
emailIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_SUBJECT, "Your subject");
emailIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "Email message goes here");

try {
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(emailIntent, "Send
mail..."));
finish();
Log.i("Finished sending email...", "");
185

Android

} catch (android.content.ActivityNotFoundException ex) {


Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this,
"There is no email client installed.",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
}
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<Button android:id="@+id/sendEmail"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/compose_email"/>

</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define two new
constants:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">SendEmailDemo</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
186

Android

<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="compose_email">Compose Email</string>

</resources>
Following is the default content of AndroidManifest.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.sendemaildemo"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.sendemaildemo.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"
/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Let's try to run your SendEmailDemo application. We assume, you have
connected your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app
187

Android

from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from
the toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following
window to select an option where you want to run your Android application.

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

Now use Compose Email button to list down all the installed email clients. From
the list, you can choose one of email clients to send your email. I'm going to use
Gmail client to send my email which will have all the provided defaults fields
available as shown below. Here From: will be default email ID you have
registered for your Android device.

188

Android

You can modify either of the given default fields and finally use send email
button (marked with red rectangle) to send your email to the mentioned
recipients.
189

23. SENDING SMS

Android

There are following two ways to send SMS using Android device:

Using SmsManager to send SMS

Using Built-in Intent to send SMS

Using SmsManager to send SMS


The SmsManager manages SMS operations such as sending data to the given
mobile device. You can create this object by calling the static method
SmsManager.getDefault() as follows:
SmsManager smsManager = SmsManager.getDefault();
Once you have SmsManager object, you can use sendDataMessage() method to
send SMS at the specified mobile number as below:
smsManager.sendTextMessage("phoneNo", null, "SMS text", null, null);
Apart from the above method, there are few other important functions available
in SmsManager class. These methods are listed below:
S.N.

Method & Description

ArrayList<String> divideMessage(String text)


This method divides a message text into several fragments, none bigger
than the maximum SMS message size.

static SmsManager getDefault()


This method is used to get the default instance of the SmsManager

void sendDataMessage(String destinationAddress, String


scAddress, short destinationPort, byte[] data, PendingIntent
sentIntent, PendingIntent deliveryIntent)
This method is used to send a data based SMS to a specific application
port.

void sendMultipartTextMessage(String destinationAddress,


String scAddress, ArrayList<String> parts,
190

Android

ArrayList<PendingIntent> sentIntents,
ArrayList<PendingIntent> deliveryIntents)
Send a multi-part text based SMS.
5

void sendTextMessage(String destinationAddress, String


scAddress, String text, PendingIntent sentIntent, PendingIntent
deliveryIntent)
Send a text based SMS.

Example:
Following example shows you in practical how to use SmsManager object to send an
SMS to the given mobile number.

To experiment with this example, you will need actual Mobile device equipped
with latest Android OS, otherwise you will have to struggle with emulator which
may not work.
Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
SendSMSDemo under a package com.example.sendsmsdemo. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file and add required code to take care of


sending email.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required. I'm adding a simple GUI to take mobile number
and SMS text to be sent and a simple button to send SMS.

Modify res/values/strings.xml to define required constant values.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml as shown below.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

191

Android

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
src/com.example.sendsmsdemo/MainActivity.java.

activity

file

package com.example.sendsmsdemo;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.telephony.SmsManager;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

Button sendBtn;
EditText txtphoneNo;
EditText txtMessage;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

sendBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.btnSendSMS);


txtphoneNo = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.editTextPhoneNo);
txtMessage = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.editTextSMS);

sendBtn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
sendSMSMessage();
}
});
192

Android

}
protected void sendSMSMessage() {
Log.i("Send SMS", "");

String phoneNo = txtphoneNo.getText().toString();


String message = txtMessage.getText().toString();

try {
SmsManager smsManager = SmsManager.getDefault();
smsManager.sendTextMessage(phoneNo, null, message, null, null);
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "SMS sent.",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
} catch (Exception e) {
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
"SMS faild, please try again.",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is
present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
}
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >
193

Android

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textViewPhoneNo"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/phone_label" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editTextPhoneNo"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:inputType="phone"/>

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textViewMessage"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/sms_label" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editTextSMS"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:inputType="textMultiLine"/>

<Button android:id="@+id/btnSendSMS"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/send_sms_label"/>

</LinearLayout>

194

Android

Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define two new


constants:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">SendSMSDemo</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="phone_label">Enter Phone Number:</string>
<string name="sms_label">Enter SMS Message:</string>
<string name="send_sms_label">Send SMS</string>

</resources>
Following is the default content of AndroidManifest.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.sendsmsdemo"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.SEND_SMS" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.sendsmsdemo.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
195

Android

<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"
/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your SendSMSDemo application. We assume, you have
connected your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app
from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from
the toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following
window to select an option where you want to run your Android application.

196

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

Now you can enter a desired mobile number and a text message to be sent on
that number. Finally click on Send SMS button to send your SMS. Make sure
your GSM connection is working fine to deliver your SMS to its recipient.
You can take a number of SMS separated by comma and then inside your
program you will have to parse them into an array string and finally you can use
a loop to send message to all the given numbers. That's how you can write your
own SMS client. Next section will show you how to use existing SMS client to
send SMS.

Using Built-in Intent to send SMS


You can use Android Intent to send SMS by calling built-in SMS functionality of
the Android. Following section explains different parts of our Intent object
required to send an SMS.

Intent Object - Action to send SMS


You will use ACTION_VIEW action to launch an SMS client installed on your
Android device. Following is a simple syntax to create an intent with
ACTION_VIEW action.
Intent smsIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);

197

Android

Intent Object - Data/Type to send SMS


To send an SMS you need to specify smsto: as URI using setData() method and
data type will be to vnd.android-dir/mms-sms using setType() method as
follows:
smsIntent.setData(Uri.parse("smsto:"));
smsIntent.setType("vnd.android-dir/mms-sms");

Intent Object - Extra to send SMS


Android has built-in support to add phone number and text message to send an
SMS as follows:
smsIntent.putExtra("address" , new String("0123456789;3393993300"));
smsIntent.putExtra("sms_body" , "Test SMS to Angilla");
Here address and sms_body are case sensitive and should be specified in small
characters only. You can specify more than one number in single string but
separated by semi-colon (;).
Example:
Following example shows you in practical how to use Intent object to launch SMS
client to send an SMS to the given recipients.

To experiment with this example, you will need actual Mobile device equipped
with latest Android OS, otherwise you will have to struggle with emulator which
may not work.
Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
SendSMSDemo under a package com.example.sendsmsdemo. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file and add required code to take care of


sending SMS.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required. I'm adding a simple button to launch SMS
Client.

Modify res/values/strings.xml to define required constant values.


198

Android

Modify AndroidManifest.xml as shown below.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the aplication.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
src/com.example.sendsmsdemo/MainActivity.java.

activity

file

package com.example.sendsmsdemo;

import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

Button startBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.sendSMS);


startBtn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
sendSMS();
}
});
199

Android

}
protected void sendSMS() {
Log.i("Send SMS", "");

Intent smsIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);


smsIntent.setData(Uri.parse("smsto:"));
smsIntent.setType("vnd.android-dir/mms-sms");

smsIntent.putExtra("address" , new String ("0123456789"));


smsIntent.putExtra("sms_body" , "Test SMS to Angilla");
try {
startActivity(smsIntent);
finish();
Log.i("Finished sending SMS...", "");
} catch (android.content.ActivityNotFoundException ex) {
Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this,
"SMS faild, please try again later.",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
}
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
200

Android

android:orientation="vertical" >

<Button android:id="@+id/sendSMS"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/compose_sms"/>

</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define two new
constants:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">SendSMSDemo</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="compose_sms">Compose SMS</string>

</resources>
Following is the default content of AndroidManifest.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.sendsmsdemo"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
201

Android

android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.sendsmsdemo.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"
/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Let's try to run your SendSMSDemo application. We assume, you have
connected your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app
from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from
the toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following
window to select an option where you want to run your Android application.

202

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

203

Android

Now use Compose SMS button to launch Android built-in SMS clients which is
shown below:

You can modify either of the given default fields and finally use send SMS button
(marked with red rectangle) to send your SMS to the mentioned recipient.

204

24. PHONE CALLS

Android

As such every Android Device specially Mobile phone is meant to provide a


functionality to make a phone call but still you may need to write an application
where you want to give an option to your user to make a call using a hard coded
phone number.
This chapter lists down all the simple steps to create an application which can be
used to make a Phone Call. You can use Android Intent to make phone call by
calling built-in Phone Call functionality of the Android. Following section explains
different parts of our Intent object required to make a call.

Intent Object - Action to make Phone Call


You will use ACTION_CALL action to trigger built-in phone call functionality
available in Android device. Following is simple syntax to create an intent with
ACTION_CALL action.
Intent phoneIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_CALL);
You can use ACTION_DIAL action instead of ACTION_CALL, in that case you
will have option to modify hardcoded phone number before making a call instead
of making a direct call.

Intent Object - Data/Type to make Phone Call


To make a phone call at a given number 91-800-001-0101, you need to
specify tel: as URI using setData() method as follows:
phoneIntent.setData(Uri.parse("tel:91-800-001-0101"));
The interesting point is that, to make a phone call, you do not need to specify
any extra data or data type.
Example:
Following example shows you in practical how to use Android Intent to make phone
call to the given mobile number.

To experiment with this example, you will need actual Mobile device equipped
with latest Android OS, otherwise you will have to struggle with emulator which
may not work.

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Android

Step

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it as
PhoneCallDemo under a package com.example.phonecalldemo. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file and add required code to take care of


making a call.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required. I'm adding a simple button to Call 91-800-0010101 number.

Modify res/values/strings.xml to define required constant values.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml as shown below.

Run the application to launch Android emulator and verify the result of
the changes done in the application.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
src/com.example.phonecalldemo/MainActivity.java.

activity

file

package com.example.phonecalldemo;

import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {


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Android

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

Button startBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.makeCall);


startBtn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
makeCall();
}
});

}
protected void makeCall() {
Log.i("Make call", "");

Intent phoneIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_CALL);


phoneIntent.setData(Uri.parse("tel:91-800-001-0101"));

try {
startActivity(phoneIntent);
finish();
Log.i("Finished making a call...", "");
} catch (android.content.ActivityNotFoundException ex) {
Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this,
"Call faild, please try again later.",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is
present.
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Android

getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
}
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<Button android:id="@+id/makeCall"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/make_call"/>
</LinearLayout>
Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define two new
constants:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">PhoneCallDemo</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="make_call">Call 91-800-001-0101</string>
</resources>
Following is the default content of AndroidManifest.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.phonecalldemo"
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Android

android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CALL_PHONE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE"
/>

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.phonecalldemo.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category
android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Let's try to run your PhoneCallDemo application. We assume, you have
connected your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app
from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from
the toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following
window to select an option where you want to run your Android application.

209

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

Now use Call 91-800-001-0101 button to make phone call as shown below:

210

Android

211

Android

25. PUBLISHING ANDROID


APPLICATION

Android application publishing is a process that makes your Android applications


available to users. Infact, publishing is the last phase of the Android application
development process.

Once you have developed and fully tested your Android Application, you can
start selling or distributing free using Google Play (A famous Android
marketplace). You can also release your applications by sending them directly to
users or by letting users download them from your own website.
You can check a detailed publishing process at Android official website, but this
tutorial will take you through simple steps to launch your application on Google
Play. Here is a simplified check list which will help you in launching your Android
application:
Step

Activity

Regression Testing Before you publish your application, you need to


make sure that it is meeting the basic quality expectations for all
Android apps, on all of the devices that you are targeting. So perform
all the required testing on different devices including phone and tablets.

Application Rating When you will publish your application at Google


Play, you will have to specify a content rating for your app, which
informs Google Play users of its maturity level. Currently available
ratings are (a) Everyone (b) Low maturity (c) Medium maturity (d) High
maturity.

Targeted Regions Google Play lets you control what countries and
territories where your application will be sold. Accordingly you must
take care of setting up time zone, localization or any other specific
requirement as per the targeted region.

Application Size Currently, the maximum size for an APK published on


Google Play is 50 MB. If your app exceeds that size, or if you want to
offer a secondary download, you can use APK Expansion Files, which
Google Play will host for free on its server infrastructure and
212

Android

automatically handle the download to devices.


5

SDK and Screen Compatibility It is important to make sure that your


app is designed to run properly on the Android platform versions and
device screen sizes that you want to target.

Application Pricing Deciding whether your app will be free or paid is


important because, on Google Play, free apps must remain free. If you
want to sell your application then you will have to specify its price in
different currencies.

Promotional Content It is a good marketing practice to supply a


variety of high-quality graphic assets to showcase your app or brand.
After you publish, these appear on your product details page, in store
listings and search results, and elsewhere.

Build and Upload release-ready APK The release-ready APK is what


you will upload to the Developer Console and distribute to users. You
can check complete detail on how to create a release-ready version of
your app: Preparing for Release.

Finalize Application Detail Google Play gives you a variety of ways to


promote your app and engage with users on your product details page,
from colorful graphics, screenshots, and videos to localized
descriptions, release details, and links to your other apps. So you can
decorate your application page and provide as much as clear crisp
detail you can provide.

Export Android Application


You will need to export your application as an APK (Android Package) file before
you upload it Google Play marketplace.
To export an application, just open that application project in Eclipse and
select File->Export from your Eclipse and follow the simple steps to export your
application:

213

Android

Next, select Export Android Application option as shown in the above screen
shot and then click Next and again Next so that you get following screen where
you will choose Create new keystore to store your application.

214

Android

Enter your password to protect your application and click on Next button once
again. It will display following screen to let you create a key for your application:

215

Android

Once you filled up all the information, click Next button and finally it will ask you
a location where Application will be exported:

216

Android

Finally, you click on Finish button to generate your Android Application Package
File which will be uploaded at Google Play marketplace.

Google Play Registration


The most important step is to register with Google Play using Google Play
Marketplace. You can use your existing google ID if you have any otherwise you
can create a new Google ID and then register with the marketplace. You will
have following screen to accept terms and condition.

217

Android

You can use Continue to payment button to proceed to make a payment of


$25 as a registration fee and finally to complete your account detail.
Once you are a registered user at Google Play, you can upload release-ready
APK for your application and finally you will complete application detail using
application detail page as mentioned in step 9 of the above mentioned checklist.

218

Android

26. ALERT DIALOG TUTORIAL

Some times in your application, if you wanted to ask the user about taking a
decision between yes or no in response of any particular action taken by the
user, by remaining in the same activity and without changing the screen, you
can use Alert Dialog.
In order to make an alert dialog, you need to make an object of
AlertDialogBuilder which an inner class of AlertDialog. Its syntax is given below:
AlertDialog.Builder alertDialogBuilder = new AlertDialog.Builder(this);
Now you have to set the positive (yes) or negative (no) button using the object
of the AlertDialogBuilder class. Its syntax isalertDialogBuilder.setPositiveButton(CharSequence text,
DialogInterface.OnClickListener listener)
alertDialogBuilder.setNegativeButton(CharSequence text,
DialogInterface.OnClickListener listener)
Apart from this, you can use other functions provided by the builder class to
customize the alert dialog. These are listed below:
Sr.No

Method type & description

setIcon(Drawable icon)
This method set the icon of the alert dialog box.

setCancelable(boolean cancelable)
This method sets the property that the dialog can be cancelled or not.

setMessage(CharSequence message)
This method sets the message to be displayed in the alert dialog.

setMultiChoiceItems(CharSequence[]
items,
boolean[]
checkedItems,
DialogInterface.OnMultiChoiceClickListener
listener)
This method sets list of items to be displayed in the dialog as the
content. The selected option will be notified by the listener.

219

Android

setOnCancelListener(DialogInterface.OnCancelListener
onCancelListener)
This method Sets the callback that will be called if the dialog is
canceled.

setTitle(CharSequence title)
This method sets the title that will appear in the dialog.

After creating and setting the dialog builder, you will create an alert dialog by
calling the create() method of the builder class. Its syntax is:
AlertDialog alertDialog = alertDialogBuilder.create();
alertDialog.show();
This will create the alert dialog and will show it on the screen.
Example:
The following example demonstrates the use of AlertDialog in android. It uses three
different activities to demonstrate it. The dialog asks you to jump to positive activity
or negative activity or cancel it.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an emulator or an actual
device.

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as AlertDialog under a package com.example.alertdialog. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add alert dialog code to launch the


dialog.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Create a new activity called PositiveActivity and confirm it by visiting


src/PositiveActivity.java.

Modify

layout

XML

file

of

the

newly

created

activity
220

Android

res/layout/activity_positive.xml
required.

and

add

any

GUI

component

if

Create a new activity called NegativeActivity and confirm it by visiting


src/NegativeActivity.java.

Modify
layout
XML
file
of
the
newly
created
activity
res/layout/activity_negative.xml and add any GUI component if
required.

Modify res/values/strings.xml to define required constant values.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

Here is the modified code of src/com.example.alertdialog/MainActivity.java


package com.example.alertdialog;

import com.example.alertdialog.*;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.AlertDialog;
import android.content.DialogInterface;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}
221

Android

public void open(View view){


AlertDialog.Builder alertDialogBuilder = new
AlertDialog.Builder(this);
alertDialogBuilder.setMessage(R.string.decision);
alertDialogBuilder.setPositiveButton(R.string.positive_button,
new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {

@Override
public void onClick(DialogInterface arg0, int arg1) {
Intent
positveActivity
=
new
Intent(getApplicationContext(),com.example.alertdialog.Positi
veActivity.c
lass);
startActivity(positveActivity);

}
});
alertDialogBuilder.setNegativeButton(R.string.negative_button,
new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {

@Override
public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
Intent
negativeActivity
=
new
Intent(getApplicationContext(),com.example.alertdialog.Negati
veActivity.c
lass);
startActivity(negativeActivity);
}
});

AlertDialog alertDialog = alertDialogBuilder.create();


alertDialog.show();

@Override
222

Android

public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {


// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
}
Here is the default code of src/com.example.alertdialog/PositiveActivity.java
package com.example.alertdialog;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;

public class PositiveActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_positive);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.positive, menu);
return true;
}

223

Android

Here is the default code of src/com.example.alertdialog/NegativeActivity.java


package com.example.alertdialog;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;

public class NegativeActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_negative);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.negative, menu);
return true;
}

}
Here is the modified code of res/layout/activity_main.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
224

Android

android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="170dp"
android:onClick="open"
android:text="@string/hello_world" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the modified code of res/layout/activity_positive.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".PositiveActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginLeft="14dp"
225

Android

android:layout_marginTop="20dp"
android:text="@string/positive"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the modified code of res/layout/activity_negative.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".NegativeActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginLeft="14dp"
android:layout_marginTop="17dp"
android:text="@string/negative"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the modified code of Strings.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
226

Android

<string name="app_name">AlertDialog</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="title_activity_positive">PositiveActivity</string>
<string name="title_activity_negative">NegativeActivity</string>
<string name="positive">Positive Activity</string>
<string name="negative">Negative Activity</string>
<string name="decision">Are you sure, you wanted to make this
decision</string>
<string name="positive_button">+ive</string>
<string name="negative_button">-ive</string>
</resources>
Here is the default code of AndroidManifest.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.alertdialog"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.alertdialog.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
227

Android

<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
<activity
android:name="com.example.alertdialog.PositiveActivity"
android:label="@string/title_activity_positive" >
</activity>
<activity
android:name="com.example.alertdialog.NegativeActivity"
android:label="@string/title_activity_negative" >
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your Camera application. We assume, you have connected your
actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar.
Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to select
an option where you want to run your Android application.

228

Android

229

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

230

Android

Now just tap the button hello world to see the alert box, which would be
something like this:

231

Android

Now select any of the two buttons and see the respective activity loading up. In
case you select positive button, this screen would appear:

232

Android

Now press back button on your device, and this time select negative from your
alert dialog. The following screen would appear this time:

233

27. ANIMATIONS

Android

Animation in android is possible in many ways. We will discuss one easy and
widely used way of making animation called tweened animation.

Tween Animation
Tween Animation takes some parameters such as start value, end value, size,
time duration, rotation angle etc., and perform the required animation on that
object. It can be applied to any type of object. So in order to use this, android
has povided us a class called Animation.
In order to perform animation in android, we are going to call a static function
loadAnimation() of the class AnimationUtils. We are going to receive the result in
an instance of Animation Object. Its syntax is as follows:
Animation animation =
AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(getApplicationContext(),
R.anim.myanimation);
Note the second parameter. It is the name of the our animation xml file. You
have to create a new folder called anim under res directory and make an xml file
under anim folder.
This animation class has many useful functions which are listed below:
Sr.No

Method & Description

start()
This method starts the animation.

setDuration(long duration)
This method sets the duration of an animation.

getDuration()
This method gets the duration which is set by above method.

end()
This method ends the animation.

234

Android

cancel()
This method cancels the animation.

In order to apply this animation to an object, we will just call the


startAnimation() method of the object. Its syntax is:
ImageView image1 = (ImageView)findViewById(R.id.imageView1);
image.startAnimation(animation);

Zoom in animation
In order to perform a zoom in animation, create an XML file under anim folder
under res directory and put this code in the file.
<set xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

<scale xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:fromXScale="0.5"
android:toXScale="3.0"
android:fromYScale="0.5"
android:toYScale="3.0"
android:duration="5000"
android:pivotX="50%"
android:pivotY="50%" >

</scale>

</set>
The parameter fromXScale and fromYScale defines the start point and the
parameters toXScale and toYScale defines the end point. The duration defines
the time of animation and the pivotX,pivotY defines the center from where the
animation would start.
Example:
The following example demonstrates the use of Animation in android. You would
be able to choose different type of animation from the menu and the selected
animation will be applied on an imageView on the screen.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an emulator or an
actual device.
235

Android

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Animation under a package com.example.animation. While creating
this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add animation code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Create a new folder under res directory and call it anim. Confirm it by
visiting res/anim.

Right click on anim and click on new and select Android XML file You
have to create three different files that are listed below.

Create files myanimation.xml, clockwise.xml, fade.xml and add the


XML code.

Modify res/values/string.xml
components.

Modify res/menu/main.xml file and add necessary menu components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

file

and

add

necessary

string

Here is the modified code of src/com.example.animation/MainActivity.java.


package com.example.animation;

import com.example.animation.R;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
236

Android

import android.view.MenuItem;
import android.view.animation.Animation;
import android.view.animation.AnimationUtils;
import android.widget.ImageView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item)


{
super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
switch(item.getItemId())
{
case R.id.zoomInOut:
ImageView image = (ImageView)findViewById(R.id.imageView1);
Animation animation =
AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(getApplicationContext(),
R.anim.myanimation);
image.startAnimation(animation);
return true;
case R.id.rotate360:
237

Android

ImageView image1 = (ImageView)findViewById(R.id.imageView1);


Animation animation1 =
AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(getApplicationContext(),
R.anim.clockwise);
image1.startAnimation(animation1);
return true;
case R.id.fadeInOut:
ImageView image2 = (ImageView)findViewById(R.id.imageView1);
Animation animation2 =
AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(getApplicationContext(),
R.anim.fade);
image2.startAnimation(animation2);
return true;

}
return false;
}

}
Here is the modified code of res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:gravity="top"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<ImageView
238

Android

android:id="@+id/imageView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="179dp"
android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the code of res/anim/myanimation.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<set xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

<scale xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:fromXScale="0.5"
android:toXScale="3.0"
android:fromYScale="0.5"
android:toYScale="3.0"
android:duration="5000"
android:pivotX="50%"
android:pivotY="50%" >

</scale>

<scale xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:startOffset="5000"
android:fromXScale="3.0"
android:toXScale="0.5"
android:fromYScale="3.0"
android:toYScale="0.5"
android:duration="5000"
android:pivotX="50%"
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Android

android:pivotY="50%" >

</scale>

</set>
Here is the code of res/anim/clockwise.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<set xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

<rotate xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:fromDegrees="0"
android:toDegrees="360"
android:pivotX="50%"
android:pivotY="50%"
android:duration="5000" >

</rotate>

<rotate xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:startOffset="5000"
android:fromDegrees="360"
android:toDegrees="0"
android:pivotX="50%"
android:pivotY="50%"
android:duration="5000" >

</rotate>

</set>
Here is the code of res/anim/fade.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<set xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
240

Android

android:interpolator="@android:anim/accelerate_interpolator" >

<alpha
android:fromAlpha="0"
android:toAlpha="1"
android:duration="2000" >

</alpha>

<alpha
android:startOffset="2000"
android:fromAlpha="1"
android:toAlpha="0"
android:duration="2000" >

</alpha>

</set>
Here is the modified code of res/menu/main.xml.
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >

<item
android:id="@+id/rotate360"
android:orderInCategory="100"
android:showAsAction="never"
android:title="@string/rotate_String"/>
<item
android:id="@+id/zoomInOut"
android:orderInCategory="100"
android:title="@string/zoom_In_Out"/>

<item
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Android

android:id="@+id/fadeInOut"
android:orderInCategory="100"
android:title="@string/fade_String"/>

</menu>
Here is the modified code of res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">Animation</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="zoom_In_Out">Zoom In/Out</string>
<string name="rotate_String">Clockwise/Anti Clockwise</string>
<string name="fade_String">Fade In/Out</string>

</resources>
Here is the default code of AndroidManifest.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.animation"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
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Android

android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.animation.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your Animation application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

243

Android

244

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

245

Android

Now just select the menu from your mobile, and a menu would appear which
would be something like this:

246

Android

Now just select the Zoom in, Zoom out option from menu and an animation
would appear which would be something like this:

247

Android

Now just select the clockwise option from menu and an animation would appear
which would be something like this:

248

Android

Now just select the fade in/out option from menu and an animation would
appear which would be something like this:

Note: If you run it in emulator, you may not experience smooth animation
effect. You have to run it in your android mobile in order to experience the
smooth animation.

249

28. AUDIO CAPTURE

Android

Android has a built-in microphone through which you can capture audio and
store it, or play it in your phone. There are many ways to do that but the most
common way is through MediaRecorder class.
Android provides MediaRecorder class to record audio or video. To use
MediaRecorder class, you will first create an instance of MediaRecorder class. Its
syntax is given below.
MediaRecorder myAudioRecorder = new MediaRecorder();
Now you will set the source, output and encoding format and output file. Their
syntax is given below.
myAudioRecorder.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.MIC);
myAudioRecorder.setOutputFormat(MediaRecorder.OutputFormat.THREE_GPP);
myAudioRecorder.setAudioEncoder(MediaRecorder.OutputFormat.AMR_NB);
myAudioRecorder.setOutputFile(outputFile);
After specifying the audio source and format and its output file, we can then call
the two basic methods perpare and start to start recording the audio.
myAudioRecorder.prepare();
myAudioRecorder.start();
Apart from these methods, there are other methods listed in the MediaRecorder
class that allows you more control over audio and video recording.
Sr.No

Method & description

setAudioSource()
This method specifies the source of audio to be recorded.

setVideoSource()
This method specifies the source of video to be recorded.

setOutputFormat()
This method specifies the audio format in which audio to be stored.

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Android

setAudioEncoder()
This method specifies the audio encoder to be used.

setOutputFile()
This method configures the path to the file into which the recorded
audio is to be stored.

stop()
This method stops the recording process.

release()
This method should be called when the recorder instance is needed.

Example:
This example provides demonstration of MediaRecorder class to capture audio and
then MediaPlayer class to play that recorded audio.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device.

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as AudioCapture under a package com.example.audiocapture. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add AudioCapture code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Modify res/values/string.xml
components.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add necessary permissions.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

file

and

add

necessary

string

251

Android

Here is the content of src/com.example.audiocapture/MainActivity.java


package com.example.audiocapture;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;

import android.media.MediaPlayer;
import android.media.MediaRecorder;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Environment;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private MediaRecorder myAudioRecorder;


private String outputFile = null;
private Button start,stop,play;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
start = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button1);
stop = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button2);
play = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button3);

stop.setEnabled(false);
play.setEnabled(false);
outputFile = Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory().
getAbsolutePath() + "/myrecording.3gp";;

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Android

myAudioRecorder = new MediaRecorder();


myAudioRecorder.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.MIC);
myAudioRecorder.setOutputFormat(MediaRecorder.OutputFormat.THREE_GP
P);
myAudioRecorder.setAudioEncoder(MediaRecorder.OutputFormat.AMR_NB);
myAudioRecorder.setOutputFile(outputFile);

public void start(View view){


try {
myAudioRecorder.prepare();
myAudioRecorder.start();
} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (IOException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
start.setEnabled(false);
stop.setEnabled(true);
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Recording started",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();

public void stop(View view){


myAudioRecorder.stop();
myAudioRecorder.release();
myAudioRecorder

= null;

stop.setEnabled(false);
play.setEnabled(true);

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Android

Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Audio recorded


successfully",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
public void play(View view) throws IllegalArgumentException,
SecurityException, IllegalStateException, IOException{

MediaPlayer m = new MediaPlayer();


m.setDataSource(outputFile);
m.prepare();
m.start();
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Playing audio",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();

}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
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Android

tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginTop="32dp"
android:text="@string/Recording"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<ImageView
android:id="@+id/imageView1"
android:layout_width="100dp"
android:layout_height="100dp"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="37dp"
android:scaleType="fitXY"
android:src="@android:drawable/presence_audio_online" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/imageView1"
android:layout_marginTop="67dp"
android:layout_toLeftOf="@+id/imageView1"
android:onClick="start"
android:text="@string/start" />

<Button
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Android

android:id="@+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/button1"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/button1"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_marginRight="40dp"
android:onClick="stop"
android:text="@string/stop" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button3"
style="?android:attr/buttonStyleSmall"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/button2"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:onClick="play"
android:text="@string/play" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of Strings.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">AudioCapture</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="Recording">Android Audio Recording Application</string>
<string name="start">start</string>
<string name="stop">stop</string>
<string name="play">play</string>

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Android

</resources>
Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.audiocapture"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="10"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission
android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.audiocapture.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

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Android

Let's try to run your AndroidCapture application. We assume, you have


connected your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app
from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from
the toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following
window to select an option where you want to run your Android application.

258

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

259

Android

Now by default you will see that the stop and play buttons are disabled. Just
press the start button and your application will start recording the audio. It will
display the following screen:

260

Android

Now just press stop button and it will save the recorded audio to external sd
card. When you click on stop button, the following screen would appear:

261

Android

Now just press the play button and and recorded audio will just start playing on
the device. The following message appears when you click on play button:

262

29. AUDIO MANAGER

Android

You can easily control your ringer volume and ringer profile i.e. (silent, vibrate,
loud etc.) in android. Android provides AudioManager class that provides access
to these controls.
In order to use AndroidManager class, you have to first create an object of
AudioManager class by calling the getSystemService() method. Its syntax is
given below.
private AudioManager myAudioManager;
myAudioManager = (AudioManager)getSystemService(Context.AUDIO_SERVICE);
Once you instantiate the object of AudioManager class, you can
use setRingerMode method to set the audio or ringer profile of your device. Its
syntax is given below.
myAudioManager.setRingerMode(AudioManager.RINGER_MODE_VIBRATE);
The method setRingerMode takes an integer number as a parameter. For each
mode, an integer number is assigned that will differentiate between different
modes. The possible modes are.
Sr.No

Mode & Description

RINGER_MODE_VIBRATE
This Mode sets the device at vibrate mode.

RINGER_MODE_NORMAL
This Mode sets the device at normal (loud) mode.

RINGER_MODE_SILENT
This Mode sets the device at silent mode.

Once you have set the mode, you can call the getRingerMode() method to get
the set state of the system. Its syntax is given below.
int mod = myAudioManager.getRingerMode();

263

Android

Apart from the getRingerMode method, there are other methods available in the
AudioManager class to control the volume and other modes. They are listed
below:
Sr.No

Method & description

adjustVolume(int direction, int flags)


This method adjusts the volume of the most relevant stream.

getMode()
This method returns the current audio mode.

getStreamMaxVolume(int streamType)
This method returns the maximum volume index for a particular
stream.

getStreamVolume(int streamType)
This method returns the current volume index for a particular stream.

isMusicActive()
This method checks whether any music is active.

startBluetoothSco()
This method Starts bluetooth SCO audio connection.

stopBluetoothSco()
This method stops bluetooth SCO audio connection.

Example:
The below example demonstrates the use of AudioManager class. It creates a basic
application that allows you to set different ringer modes for your device.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device.

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as AudioManager under a package com.example.audiomanager. While
264

Android

creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.
2

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add AudioManager code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml to add any GUI


component if required.

Modify res/values/string.xml
components.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add necessary permissions.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

file

and

add

necessary

string

Here is the content of src/com.example.audiomanager/MainActivity.java


package com.example.audiomanager;

import android.media.AudioManager;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Context;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private Button Vibrate, Ring, Silent, Mode;


private TextView Status;
private AudioManager myAudioManager;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
265

Android

super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

Vibrate = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button2);
Ring = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button4);
Silent = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button3);
Mode = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button1);
Status = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.textView2);

myAudioManager =
(AudioManager)getSystemService(Context.AUDIO_SERVICE);

public void vibrate(View view){


myAudioManager.setRingerMode(AudioManager.RINGER_MODE_VIBRATE);
}
public void ring(View view){
myAudioManager.setRingerMode(AudioManager.RINGER_MODE_NORMAL);
}
public void silent(View view){
myAudioManager.setRingerMode(AudioManager.RINGER_MODE_SILENT);
}
public void mode(View view){
int mod = myAudioManager.getRingerMode();
if(mod == AudioManager.RINGER_MODE_NORMAL){
Status.setText("Current Status: Ring");
}
else if(mod == AudioManager.RINGER_MODE_SILENT){
Status.setText("Current Status: Silent");
}
else if(mod == AudioManager.RINGER_MODE_VIBRATE){
Status.setText("Current Status: Vibrate");
266

Android

}
else{

}
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="25dp"
267

Android

android:text="@string/audio"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/button3"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/button3"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/textView1"
android:onClick="vibrate"
android:text="@string/Vibrate" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_marginBottom="144dp"
android:layout_marginLeft="40dp"
android:layout_toLeftOf="@+id/button2"
android:onClick="silent"
android:text="@string/Silent" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/button1"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/button1"
android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/button1"
android:onClick="ring"
android:text="@string/Ring" />
268

Android

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/button2"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/button3"
android:layout_marginBottom="15dp"
android:onClick="mode"
android:text="@string/Mode" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="46dp"
android:text="@string/Status"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of Strings.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">AudioManager</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="audio">Set Audio Profiles</string>
<string name="Ring">Ring</string>
<string name="Vibrate">Vibrate</string>
<string name="Silent">Silent</string>
269

Android

<string name="Mode">Current Mode</string>


<string name="Status">Current Status</string>

</resources>
Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.audiomanager"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.audiomanager.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

270

Android

Let's try to run your Androidmanager application. We assume, you have


connected your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app
from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from
the toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following
window to select an option where you want to run your Android application.

271

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

272

Android

Now just select the ring button and then press the current mode button to see
that if its status has been set.

273

Android

Now press the silent button and then press the current mode button to see
that if it is set or not. It will display the following screen:

274

Android

Now press the vibrate button and then press the current mode button to see
that if it is set or not. It will display the following screen:

275

30. AUTOCOMPLETE

Android

If you want to get suggestions, when you type in an editable text field, you can
do this via AutoCompleteTextView. It provides suggestions automatically when
the user is typing. The list of suggestions is displayed in a drop down menu from
which the user can choose an item to replace the content of the edit box.
In order to use AutoCompleteTextView you have to first
AutoCompletTextView Field in the xml. Its syntax is given below.

create

an

<AutoCompleteTextView
android:id="@+id/autoCompleteTextView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="65dp"
android:ems="10" >
After that, you have to get a reference of this textview in java. Its syntax is
given below.
private AutoCompleteTextView actv;
actv = (AutoCompleteTextView) findViewById(R.id.autoCompleteTextView1);
Thenext thing you need to do is to specify the list of suggestion items to be
displayed. You can specify the list items as a string array in java or in
strings.xml. Its syntax is given below.
String[] countries = getResources().
getStringArray(R.array.list_of_countries);
ArrayAdapter adapter = new ArrayAdapter
(this,android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1,countries);
actv.setAdapter(adapter);
The array adapter class is responsible for displaying the data as list in the
suggestion box of the text field. The setAdapter method is used to set the
adapter of the autoCompleteTextView. Apart from these methods, the other
methods of AutoCompelte are listed below.

276

Android

Sr.No

Method & description

getAdapter()
This method returns a filterable list adapter used for auto completion.

getCompletionHint()
This method returns optional hint text displayed at the bottom of the
matching list.

getDropDownAnchor()
This method returns the id for the view that the auto-complete drop
down list is anchored to.

getListSelection()
This method returns the position of the dropdown view selection, if
there is one.

isPopupShowing()
This method indicates whether the popup menu is showing.

setText(CharSequence text, boolean filter)


This method sets text except that it can disable filtering.

showDropDown()
This method displays the drop down on screen.

Example:
The below example demonstrates the use of AutoCompleteTextView class. It
creates a basic application that allows you to type in and it displays suggestions
on your device.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device or in
an emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
277

Android

as AutoComplete under a package com.example.autocomplete. While


creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.
2

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add AutoCompleteTextView code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml to add any GUI


component if required.

Modify res/values/string.xml
components.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add necessary permissions.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

file

and

add

necessary

string

Here is the content of src/com.example.autocomplete/MainActivity.java


package com.example.autocomplete;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;
import android.widget.AutoCompleteTextView;
import android.widget.MultiAutoCompleteTextView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private AutoCompleteTextView actv;


private MultiAutoCompleteTextView mactv;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
278

Android

setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

String[] countries = getResources().


getStringArray(R.array.list_of_countries);
ArrayAdapter adapter = new ArrayAdapter
(this,android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1,countries);

actv = (AutoCompleteTextView)
findViewById(R.id.autoCompleteTextView1);
mactv = (MultiAutoCompleteTextView) findViewById
(R.id.multiAutoCompleteTextView1);

actv.setAdapter(adapter);
mactv.setAdapter(adapter);

mactv.setTokenizer(new MultiAutoCompleteTextView.CommaTokenizer());

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
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Android

xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<AutoCompleteTextView
android:id="@+id/autoCompleteTextView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="65dp"
android:ems="10" >

<requestFocus />
</AutoCompleteTextView>

<MultiAutoCompleteTextView
android:id="@+id/multiAutoCompleteTextView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/autoCompleteTextView1"
android:layout_centerVertical="true"
android:ems="10" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
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Android

android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:text="@string/auto_complete"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/multiAutoCompleteTextView1"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_marginBottom="19dp"
android:text="@string/multi_auto_complete"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of Strings.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">AutoComplete</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="auto_complete">AutoComplete</string>
<string name="multi_auto_complete">Multi AutoComplete</string>
<string-array name="list_of_countries">
<item >USA</item>
<item >Uk</item>
<item >Canada</item>
<item >Australia</item>
<item >France</item>
<item >Italy</item>
<item >China</item>
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Android

<item >Japan</item>
<item >Spain</item>
</string-array>

</resources>
Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.autocomplete"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.autocomplete.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

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Android

</manifest>
Let's try to run your Androidmanager application. We assume, you have
connected your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Ecclipse will install this application in your AVD and your AVD will display
following screen.

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Android

Now just type in the text view to see suggestions of the country. As we type two
letters which are ca, it shows us suggestion of Canada:

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Android

The multiAutoCompleteTextView demonstrates suggestions for not only a word


but for whole text. As after writing first word, when we start writing the second
word, it displays the suggestions. This can be shown in the picture below.

285

31. BEST PRACTICES

Android

There are some practices that you can follow while developing android
application. These are suggested by the android itself and they keep on
improving with respect to time.
These best practices include interaction design features, performance, security
and privacy, compatibility, testing, distributing and monetizing tips. They are
narrowed down and are listed as below.

Best Practices - User input


Every text field is intended for a different job. For example, some text-fields are
for text and some are for numbers. If it is for numbers then it is better to display
the numeric keypad when that text-field is focused. Its syntax is.
<EditText
android:id="@+id/phone"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:inputType="phone" />
Other than that if your field is for password, then it must show a password hint,
so that the user can easily remember the password. It can be achieved as:
<EditText
android:id="@+id/password"
android:hint="@string/password_hint"
android:inputType="textPassword" />
Best Practices - Background jobs
There are certain jobs in an application that are run in the application
background. Their job might be to fetch some thing from the internet, playing
music etc. It is recommended that the long awaiting tasks should not be done in
the UI thread and rather in the background by services or AsyncTask.

AsyncTask Vs Services.
Both are used for doing background tasks, but the service is not affected by
most user interface life cycle events, so it continues to run in circumstances that
would shut down an AsyncTask.
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Android

Best Practices - Performance


Your application performance should be up to the mark. But it should perform
differently; not on the front end, but on the back end when the device is
connected to a power source or charging. Charging could be from USB and from
wire cable.
When your device is charging itself, it is recommended to update your
application settings if any, such as maximizing your refresh rate whenever the
device is connected. It can be done as follows:
IntentFilter ifilter = new IntentFilter(Intent.ACTION_BATTERY_CHANGED);
Intent batteryStatus = context.registerReceiver(null, ifilter);
// Are we charging / charged? Full or charging.
int status = batteryStatus.getIntExtra(BatteryManager.EXTRA_STATUS, -1);
// How are we charging? From AC or USB.
int chargePlug = batteryStatus.getIntExtra(BatteryManager.EXTRA_PLUGGED,
-1);

Best Practices - Security and privacy


It is very important that your application should be secure. Not only the
application, but the user data and the application data should also be secured.
The security can be increased by the following factors:

Use internal storage rather than external for storing applications files

Use content providers wherever possible

Use SSl when connecting to the web

Use appropriate permissions for accessing different functionalities of


device.

Example:
The below example demonstrates some of the best practices you should follow when
developing android application. It creates a basic application that allows you to
specify how to use text fields and how to increase performance by checking the
charging status of the phone.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device.

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as BestPractices under a package com.example.autocomplete. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
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Android

the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.


2

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add the code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Modify res/values/string.xml
components.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add necessary permissions.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

file

and

add

necessary

string

Here is the content of src/com.example.bestpractices/MainActivity.java


package com.example.bestpractices;

import android.os.BatteryManager;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.IntentFilter;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private Button Check;


private BatteryManager battery;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
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Android

setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
Check = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button1);
}

public void check(View view){


IntentFilter ifilter = new
IntentFilter(Intent.ACTION_BATTERY_CHANGED);
Intent batteryStatus = registerReceiver(null, ifilter);
int status = batteryStatus.getIntExtra(BatteryManager.EXTRA_STATUS,
-1);
boolean isCharging = status ==
BatteryManager.BATTERY_STATUS_CHARGING ||
status == BatteryManager.BATTERY_STATUS_FULL;
// How are we charging?
int chargePlug =
batteryStatus.getIntExtra(BatteryManager.EXTRA_PLUGGED,
-1);
boolean usbCharge = chargePlug ==
BatteryManager.BATTERY_PLUGGED_USB;
boolean acCharge = chargePlug == BatteryManager.BATTERY_PLUGGED_AC;

if(usbCharge){
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),"Mobile is
charging on USB",Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
else{
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),"Mobile is
charging on AC",Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}

}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
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Android

// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginLeft="22dp"
android:layout_marginTop="20dp"
android:text="@string/username"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/message"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
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Android

android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView1"
android:ems="10"
android:inputType="textCapSentences|textAutoCorrect" >

<requestFocus />
</EditText>

<EditText
android:id="@+id/password"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_marginTop="34dp"
android:ems="10"
android:hint="@string/password_hint"
android:inputType="textPassword" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_below="@+id/message"
android:layout_marginTop="50dp"
android:text="@string/password"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
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Android

android:layout_below="@+id/password"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="34dp"
android:onClick="check"
android:text="@string/check" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of Strings.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">BestPractices</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="username">Username</string>
<string name="password">Password</string>
<string name="password_hint">Hello world!</string>
<string name="check">Charging check</string>

</resources>
Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.bestpractices"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
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Android

android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.bestpractices.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your BestPractices application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

293

Android

294

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen.

295

Android

Now jsut type on the username field and you will see the built in android
suggestions from the dictionary will start coming up. This is shown below:

296

Android

Now you will see the hint in the password field. It would disappear as soon as
you start writing in the field. It is shown below.

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Android

In the end, just connect your device to AC cable or USB cable and press on
charging check button. In our case, we connect it with a PC via USB cable so it
shows the following message:

298

32. BLUETOOTH

Android

Among many ways, Bluetooth is a way to send or receive data between two
different devices. Android platform includes support for the Bluetooth framework
that allows a device to wirelessly exchange data with other Bluetooth devices.
Android provides Bluetooth API to perform these different operations.

Scan for other Bluetooth devices

Get a list of paired devices

Connect to other devices through service discovery

Android provides BluetoothAdapter class to communicate with Bluetooth. Create


an object of this calling by calling the static method getDefaultAdapter(). Its
syntax is given below.
private BluetoothAdapter BA;
BA = BluetoothAdapter.getDefaultAdapter();
In order to enable the Bluetooth of your device, call the intent with the following
Bluetooth constant ACTION_REQUEST_ENABLE. Its syntax is.
Intent turnOn = new Intent(BluetoothAdapter.ACTION_REQUEST_ENABLE);
startActivityForResult(turnOn, 0);
Apart from this constant, there are other constant provided by the API, that
supports different tasks. They are listed below:
Sr.No

Constant & description

ACTION_REQUEST_DISCOVERABLE
This constant is used to turn on discovering of Bluetooth.

ACTION_STATE_CHANGED
This constant will notify that Bluetooth state has been changed.

ACTION_FOUND
This constant is used for receiving information about each device that
is discovered.

Once you enable the Bluetooth, you can get a list of paired devices by calling
getBondedDevices() method. It returns a set of bluetooth devices. Its syntax is.
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Android

private Set<BluetoothDevice>pairedDevices;
pairedDevices = BA.getBondedDevices();
Apart form the pairedDevices, there are other methods in the API that gives
more control over Bluetooth. They are listed below.
Sr.No

Method & description

enable()
This method enables the adapter if not enabled.

isEnabled()
This method returns true if adapter is enabled.

disable()
This method disables the adapter.

getName()
This method returns the name of the Bluetooth adapter.

setName(String name)
This method changes the Bluetooth name.

getState()
This method returns the current state of the Bluetooth Adapter.

startDiscovery()
This method starts the discovery process of the Bluetooth for 120
seconds.

Example:
This example provides demonstration of BluetoothAdapter class to manipulate
Bluetooth and show list of paired devices by the Bluetooth.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device.

300

Android

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as AudioCapture under a package com.example.audiocapture. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add the code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Modify res/values/string.xml
components.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add necessary permissions.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

file

and

add

necessary

string

Here is the content of src/com.example.bluetooth/MainActivity.java


package com.example.bluetooth;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Set;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.bluetooth.BluetoothAdapter;
import android.bluetooth.BluetoothDevice;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;
import android.widget.Button;
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Android

import android.widget.ListAdapter;
import android.widget.ListView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private Button On,Off,Visible,list;


private BluetoothAdapter BA;
private Set<BluetoothDevice>pairedDevices;
private ListView lv;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
On = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button1);
Off = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button2);
Visible = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button3);
list = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button4);

lv = (ListView)findViewById(R.id.listView1);

BA = BluetoothAdapter.getDefaultAdapter();
}

public void on(View view){


if (!BA.isEnabled()) {
Intent turnOn = new
Intent(BluetoothAdapter.ACTION_REQUEST_ENABLE);
startActivityForResult(turnOn, 0);
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),"Turned on"
,Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
else{
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),"Already on",
302

Android

Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
}
public void list(View view){
pairedDevices = BA.getBondedDevices();

ArrayList list = new ArrayList();


for(BluetoothDevice bt : pairedDevices)
list.add(bt.getName());

Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),"Showing Paired Devices",


Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
final ArrayAdapter adapter = new ArrayAdapter
(this,android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1, list);
lv.setAdapter(adapter);

}
public void off(View view){
BA.disable();
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),"Turned off" ,
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
public void visible(View view){
Intent getVisible = new Intent(BluetoothAdapter.
ACTION_REQUEST_DISCOVERABLE);
startActivityForResult(getVisible, 0);

}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
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Android

}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<ScrollView
android:id="@+id/scrollView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true" >

<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
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Android

android:text="@string/app_name"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:onClick="on"
android:text="@string/on" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:onClick="visible"
android:text="@string/Visible" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:onClick="list"
android:text="@string/List" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:onClick="off"
android:text="@string/off" />

<ListView
android:id="@+id/listView1"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
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Android

android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:visibility="visible" >

</ListView>

</LinearLayout>
</ScrollView>

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of Strings.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">Bluetooth</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="on">Turn On</string>
<string name="off">Turn Off</string>
<string name="Visible">Get Visible</string>
<string name="List">List Devices</string>

</resources>
Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.bluetooth"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
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Android

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH_ADMIN"/>

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.bluetooth.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your AndroidCapture application. We assume, you have
connected your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app
from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from
the toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following
window to select an option where you want to run your Android application.

307

Android

308

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

309

Android

Now select Turn On to turn on the bluetooth. But as you select it, your
Bluetooth will not be turned on. In fact, it will ask your permission to enable the
Bluetooth.

310

Android

Now just select the Get Visible button to turn on your visibility. The following
screen would appear asking your permission to turn on discovery for 120
seconds.

311

Android

Now just select the List Devices option. It will list down the paired devices in the
list view. In our case, we have only one paired device. It is shown below:

312

Android

Now just select the Turn off button to switch off the Bluetooth. Following
message would appear when you switch off the bluetooth indicating the
successful switching off of Bluetooth.

313

33. CAMERA

Android

These are the following two ways, in which you can use camera in your
application

Using existing android camera application in our application

Directly using Camera API provided by android in our application

Using existing android camera application in our application


You will use MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE to launch an existing camera
application installed on your phone. Its syntax is given below:
Intent intent = new
Intent(android.provider.MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE);
Apart from the above, there are other available Intents provided by MediaStore.
They are listed as follows:
Sr.No

Intent type and description

ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE_SECURE
It returns the image captured from the camera, when the device is
secured.

ACTION_VIDEO_CAPTURE
It calls the existing video application in android to capture video.

EXTRA_SCREEN_ORIENTATION
It is used to set the orientation of the screen to vertical or landscape.

EXTRA_FULL_SCREEN
It is used to control the user interface of the ViewImage.

INTENT_ACTION_VIDEO_CAMERA
This intent is used to launch the camera in the video mode.

EXTRA_SIZE_LIMIT
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Android

It is used to specify the size limit of video or image capture size.

Now you will use the function startActivityForResult() to launch this activity and
wait for its result. Its syntax is given below:
startActivityForResult(intent,0)
This method has been defined in the activity class. We are calling it from main
activity. There are methods defined in the activity class that does the same job,
but used when you are not calling from the activity but from somewhere else.
They are listed below:
Sr.No

Activity function description

startActivityForResult(Intent intent, int requestCode, Bundle


options)
It starts an activity, but can take extra bundle of options with it.

startActivityFromChild(Activity child, Intent intent, int


requestCode)
It launches the activity when your activity is child of any other activity.

startActivityFromChild(Activity child, Intent intent, int


requestCode, Bundle options)
It work same as above, but it can take extra values in the shape of
bundle with it.

startActivityFromFragment(Fragment fragment, Intent intent,


int requestCode)
It launches activity from the fragment you are currently inside.

startActivityFromFragment(Fragment fragment, Intent intent,


int requestCode, Bundle options)
It not only launches the activity from the fragment, but can take extra
values with it.

No matter which function you used to launch the activity, they all return the
result. The result can be obtained by overriding the function onActivityResult

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Android

Example:
Here is an example that shows how to launch the exisitng camera application to
capture an image and display the result in the form of bitmap.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device on which
camera is supported.

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Camera under a package com.example.camera. While creating this
project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add intent code to launch the


activity and result method to receive the output.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required. Here we add only imageView and a textView.

Modify res/values/strings.xml to define required constant values.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.camera/MainActivity.java.

main

activity

file

package com.example.camera;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.graphics.Bitmap;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.ImageView;
316

Android

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

ImageView imgFavorite;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
imgFavorite = (ImageView)findViewById(R.id.imageView1);
imgFavorite.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {
@Override
public void onClick(View v) {
open();
}
});
}
public void open(){
Intent intent = new
Intent(android.provider.MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE);
startActivityForResult(intent, 0);
}

@Override
protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode,
Intent data) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
Bitmap bp = (Bitmap) data.getExtras().get("data");
imgFavorite.setImageBitmap(bp);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
317

Android

// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
}
Following will be the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml file:
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity">

<ImageView
android:id="@+id/imageView1"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_marginLeft="34dp"
android:layout_marginTop="36dp"
android:contentDescription="@string/hello_world"
android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/imageView1"
android:text="@string/tap"
318

Android

android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

</RelativeLayout>
Following will be the content of res/values/strings.xml to define one new
constants
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string name="app_name">Camera</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="tap">Tap the image to open the camera!!</string>
</resources>
Following is the default content of AndroidManifest.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.camera"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.camera.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
319

Android

<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"
/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your Camera application. We assume, you have connected your
actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar.
Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to select
an option where you want to run your Android application.

320

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display the following screen:

321

Android

Now just tap on the image of android icon and the camera will be opened. Just
capture a picture. After capturing it, two buttons will appear asking you to
discard it or to keep it:

322

Android

Just press the tic (green) button and you will be brought back to your application
with the captured image in place of android icon.

Directly using Camera API Provided by Android in our


Application
We will be using the camera API to integrate the camera in our application.
First you will need to intialize the camera object using the static method
provided by the api called Camera.open. Its syntax is:
Camera object = null;
object = Camera.open();
Apart from the above function, there are other functions provided by the Camera
class that are listed below:
Sr.No

Method & Description

323

Android

getCameraInfo(int cameraId, Camera.CameraInfo cameraInfo)


It returns the information about a particular camera.

getNumberOfCameras()
It returns an integer number defining of cameras availaible on device.

lock()
It is used to lock the camera, so no other application can access it.

release()
It is used to release the lock on camera, so other applications can
access it.

open(int cameraId)
It is used to open particular camera when multiple cameras are
supported.

enableShutterSound(boolean enabled)
It is used to enable/disable default shutter sound of image capture.

Now you need to make a seperate class and extend it with SurfaceView and
implement SurfaceHolder interface.
The two classes that have been used have the following purpose:
Class

Description

Camera

It is used to control the camera and take images or capture


video from the camera.

SurfaceView

This class is used to present a live camera preview to the user.

You have to call the preview method of the camera class to start the preview of
the camera to the user.
public
class
ShowCamera
SurfaceHolder.Callback {

extends

SurfaceView

implements

324

Android

private Camera theCamera;

public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {


theCamera.setPreviewDisplay(holder);
theCamera.startPreview();
}
public void surfaceChanged(SurfaceHolder arg0, int arg1, int arg2, int
arg3){
}
public void surfaceDestroyed(SurfaceHolder arg0) {
}
}
Apart from the preview there are other options of the camera that can be set
using the other functions provided by the Camera API.
Sr.No

Method & Description

startFaceDetection()
This function starts the face detection in the camera.

stopFaceDetection()
It is used to stop the face detection which is enabled by the above
function.

startSmoothZoom(int value)
It takes an integer value and zoom the camera very smoothly to that
value.

stopSmoothZoom()
It is used to stop the zoom of the camera.

stopPreview()
It is used to stop the preview of the camera to the user.

takePicture(Camera.ShutterCallback

shutter,
325

Android

Camera.PictureCallback raw, Camera.PictureCallback jpeg)


It is used to enable/disable default shutter sound of image capture.

Example:
Following example demonstrates the usage of the camera API in the application.
To experiment with this example, you will need actual Mobile device equipped with
latest Android OS, because camera is not supported by the emulator.

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Camera under a package com.example.camera1. While creating
this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add the respective code of camera


and get references to the XML components.

Create a new ShowCamera.java file to extend it with SurfaceView and


implement the SurfaceHolder interface.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required. Here we add only FrameView and a button and
an ImageView.

Modify res/values/strings.xml to define required constant values.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml as shown below to add the necessary


permissions for camera.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.camera1/MainActivity.java.

main

activity

file

package com.example.camera1;
326

Android

import android.graphics.Bitmap;
import android.graphics.BitmapFactory;
import android.hardware.Camera;
import android.hardware.Camera.PictureCallback;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.FrameLayout;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private Camera cameraObject;


private ShowCamera showCamera;
private ImageView pic;
public static Camera isCameraAvailiable(){
Camera object = null;
try {
object = Camera.open();
}
catch (Exception e){
}
return object;
}

private PictureCallback capturedIt = new PictureCallback() {

@Override
public void onPictureTaken(byte[] data, Camera camera) {

327

Android

Bitmap bitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeByteArray(data , 0, data


.length);
if(bitmap==null){
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "not taken",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
else
{
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "taken",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
cameraObject.release();
}
};

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
pic = (ImageView)findViewById(R.id.imageView1);
cameraObject = isCameraAvailiable();
showCamera = new ShowCamera(this, cameraObject);
FrameLayout preview = (FrameLayout)
findViewById(R.id.camera_preview);
preview.addView(showCamera);
}
public void snapIt(View view){
cameraObject.takePicture(null, null, capturedIt);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
328

Android

}
}
Create
the
new
java
file
called
as
src/com.example.camera1/ShowCamera.java. and add the following code:
package com.example.camera1;

import java.io.IOException;

import android.content.Context;
import android.hardware.Camera;
import android.view.SurfaceHolder;
import android.view.SurfaceView;

public class ShowCamera extends SurfaceView implements


SurfaceHolder.Callback {

private SurfaceHolder holdMe;


private Camera theCamera;

public ShowCamera(Context context,Camera camera) {


super(context);
theCamera = camera;
holdMe = getHolder();
holdMe.addCallback(this);
}

@Override
public void surfaceChanged(SurfaceHolder arg0, int arg1, int arg2, int
arg3) {
}

@Override
public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
try

{
329

Android

theCamera.setPreviewDisplay(holder);
theCamera.startPreview();
} catch (IOException e) {
}
}

@Override
public void surfaceDestroyed(SurfaceHolder arg0) {
}

}
Modify the content of the res/layout/activity_main.xml :
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="horizontal" >

<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_weight="0.30"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<FrameLayout
android:id="@+id/camera_preview"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="199dp" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button_capture"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
330

Android

android:onClick="snapIt"
android:text="@string/Capture" />

<ImageView
android:id="@+id/imageView1"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:scaleType="fitXY"
android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher" />

</LinearLayout>

< /LinearLayout>
Modify the content of the res/values/string.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">Camera1</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="Capture">Capture</string>

</resources>
Modify the content of the AndroidManifest.xml and
permissions as shown below.

add

the

necessary

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>


<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.camera1"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
331

Android

android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA"/>
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera" />
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera.autofocus" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.camera1.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />

</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your SendSMSDemo application. We assume, you have
connected your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app
from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from
the toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following
window to select an option where you want to run your Android application.

332

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

333

Android

The camera would start showing its preview in the upper half panel. Just click
the capture button. You can now either store the captured image, upload it to
the web or either discard it.

334

34. CLIPBOARD

Android

Android provides the clipboard framework for copying and pasting different types
of data. The data could be text, images, binary stream data or other complex
data types.
Android provides the library of ClipboardManager and ClipData and ClipData.item
to use the copying and pasting framework. To use clipboard framework, you
need to put data into clip object, and then put that object into system wide
clipboard.
In order to use clipboard, you need to instantiate an object of ClipboardManager
by calling the getSystemService() method. Its syntax is given below:
ClipboardManager myClipboard;
myClipboard = (ClipboardManager)getSystemService(CLIPBOARD_SERVICE);

Copying data
The next thing you need to do is to instantiate the ClipData object by calling the
respective type of data method of the ClipData class. In case of text data,
the newPlainText method will be called. After that you have to set that data as
the clip of the Clipbaoard Manager object. Its syntax is given below:
ClipData myClip;
String text = "hello world";
myClip = ClipData.newPlainText("text", text);
myClipboard.setPrimaryClip(myClip);
The ClipData object can take these three form and following functions are used
to create those forms.
Sr.No

ClipData Form & Method

Text
newPlainText(label, text)
Returns a ClipData object whose single ClipData.Item object contains
a text string.

URI
335

Android

newUri(resolver, label, URI)


Returns a ClipData object whose single ClipData.Item object contains
a URI.
3

Intent
newIntent(label, intent)
Returns a ClipData object whose single ClipData.Item object contains
an Intent.

Pasting data
In order to paste the data, we will first get the clip by calling
the getPrimaryClip() method. And from that click we will get the item in
ClipData.Item object. And from the object we will get the data. Its syntax is
given below:
ClipData abc = myClipboard.getPrimaryClip();
ClipData.Item item = abc.getItemAt(0);
String text = item.getText().toString();
Apart from these methods, there are other methods provided by the
ClipboardManager class for managing clipboard framework. These methods are
listed below:
Sr.No

Method & description

getPrimaryClip()
This method just returns the current primary clip on the clipboard.

getPrimaryClipDescription()
This method returns a description of the current primary clip on the
clipboard but not a copy of its data.

hasPrimaryClip()
This method returns true if there is currently a primary clip on the
clipboard.

setPrimaryClip(ClipData clip)

336

Android

This method sets the current primary clip on the clipboard.


5

setText(CharSequence text)
This method can be directly used to copy text into the clipboard.

getText()
This method can be directly used to get the copied text from the
clipboard.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of ClipboardManager class. It creates a
basic copy paste application that allows you to copy the text and then paste it via
clipboard.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Clipboard under a package com.example.clipboard. While creating
this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.clipboard/MainActivity.java.

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.clipboard;
337

Android

import android.annotation.SuppressLint;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.ClipData;
import android.content.ClipboardManager;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private ClipboardManager myClipboard;


private ClipData myClip;
private EditText copyField,pasteField;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
myClipboard =
(ClipboardManager)getSystemService(CLIPBOARD_SERVICE);
copyField = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
pasteField = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText2);

@SuppressLint("NewApi")
public void copy(View view){
String text = copyField.getText().toString();
myClip = ClipData.newPlainText("text", text);
myClipboard.setPrimaryClip(myClip);
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Text Copied",

338

Android

Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}

@SuppressLint("NewApi")
public void paste(View view){
ClipData abc = myClipboard.getPrimaryClip();
ClipData.Item item = abc.getItemAt(0);
String text = item.getText().toString();
pasteField.setText(text);
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Text Pasted",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >
339

Android

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginLeft="25dp"
android:layout_marginTop="19dp"
android:text="@string/copytext"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_marginTop="20dp"
android:ems="10" >

<requestFocus />
</EditText>

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_centerVertical="true"
android:text="@string/pastetext"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<Button
340

Android

android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_marginLeft="65dp"
android:layout_marginTop="20dp"
android:onClick="copy"
android:text="@string/copy" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_marginTop="39dp"
android:ems="10" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/button1"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_marginTop="34dp"
android:onClick="paste"
android:text="@string/paste" />

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
341

Android

<string name="app_name">Clipboard</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="copy">Copy Text</string>
<string name="paste">Paste Text</string>
<string name="copytext">Text to copy</string>
<string name="pastetext">Copied Text</string>
</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.clipboard"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.clipboard.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
342

Android

</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run our Clipboard application we just modified. We assume, you had
created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar.
Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with
your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

343

Android

Now just enter any text in the Text to copy field and then select the copy text
button. The following notification will be displayed which is shown below:

344

Android

Now just press the paste button, and you will see the text which is copied is now
pasted in the field of Copied Text. It is shown below:

345

35. CUSTOM FONTS

Android

In android, you can define your own custom fonts for the strings in your
application. You just need to download the required font from the internet, and
then place it in assets/fonts folder.
After putting fonts in the assets folder under fonts folder, you can access it in
your java code through Typeface class. First, get the reference of the text view
in the code. Its syntax is given below:
TextView tx = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.textview1);
The next thing you need to do is to call static method of Typeface
class createFromAsset() to get your custom font from assets. Its syntax is
given below:
Typeface custom_font = Typeface.createFromAsset(getAssets(), "fonts/font
name.ttf");
The last thing you need to do is to set this custom font object to your TextView
Typeface property. You need to call setTypeface() method to do that. Its
syntax is given below:
tx.setTypeface(custom_font);
Apart from these Methods, there are other methods defined in the Typeface
class, that you can use to handle Fonts more effectively.
Sr.No

Method & description

create(String familyName, int style)


Creates a Typeface object given a family name, and option style
information.

create(Typeface family, int style)


Creates a Typeface object that best matches the specified existing
Typeface and the specified Style.

createFromFile(String path)
Creates a new Typeface from the specified font file.

346

Android

defaultFromStyle(int style)
Returns one of the default Typeface objects, based on the specified
style.

getStyle()
Returns the Typeface's intrinsic style attributes.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of Typeface to handle CustomFont. It
creates a basic application that displays a custom font that you have specified in
the fonts file.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as CustomFonts under a package com.example.customfonts. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Download a font from internet and put it under assets/fonts folder.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.customfonts/MainActivity.java.

add

respective

main

activity

XML

file

347

Android

package com.example.customfonts;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.graphics.Typeface;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
TextView tx = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.hello);
Typeface custom_font = Typeface.createFromAsset(getAssets(),
"fonts/Erika Type.ttf");
tx.setTypeface(custom_font);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical">
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Android

<TextView
android:id="@+id/hello"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textSize="70dip"
android:text="@string/hello_world" />

</LinearLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">CustomFonts</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.customfonts"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
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Android

android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.customfonts.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Let's try to run our Custom Font application we just modified. We assume, you
had created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is
fine with your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

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Android

As you can see that the text that appeared on the AVD does not have a default
android font, rather it has the custom font that you have specified in the fonts
folder.
Note: You need to take care of the size and the character supported by the font,
when using custom fonts.

351

36. DATA BACKUP

Android

Android allows you to backup your application data to remote "cloud" storage, in
order to provide a restore point for the application data and settings. You can
only backup your application data. To access the other applications data, you
need to root your phone.
In order to make a data backup application, you need to register your
application with google backup service. This has been explained in the example.
After registering, you have to specify its key in the AndroidManifest.XML
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:backupAgent="MyBackupPlace">

<meta-data
android:name="com.google.android.backup.api_key"
android:value="AEdPqrEAAAAIErlxFByGgNz2ywBeQb6TsmLpp5Ksh1PW-ZSexg"
/>
</application>
Android provides BackUpAgentHelper class to handle all the operations of data
backup. To use this class, you have to extend your class with it. Its syntax is
given below:
public class MyBackUpPlace extends BackupAgentHelper {

}
The persistent data that you want to backup is in either of the two forms. Either
it could be SharedPreferences or it could be File. Android supports both types of
backup
in
the
respective
classes
of SharedPreferencesBackupHelper and FileBackupHelper.
In order to use SharedPerefernceBackupHelper, you need to instantiate its
object with the name of your sharedPreferences File. Its syntax is given below:
static final String File_Name_Of_Preferences = "myPreferences";
SharedPreferencesBackupHelper helper = new
SharedPreferencesBackupHelper(this, File_Name_Of_Preferences);
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Android

The last thing you need to do is to call addHelper method by specifying the
backup key string, and the helper object. Its syntax is given below:
addHelper(PREFS_BACKUP_KEY, helper);
The addHelper method will automatically add a helper to a given data subset to
the agent's configuration.
Apart from these methods, there are other
BackupAgentHelper class. They are defined below:

methods

Sr.No

Method & description

onBackup(ParcelFileDescriptor oldState,
data, ParcelFileDescriptor newState)

defined

in

the

BackupDataOutput

Run the backup process on each of the configured handlers.


2

onRestore(BackupDataInput
data,
ParcelFileDescriptor newState)

int

appVersionCode,

Run the restore process on each of the configured handlers.

The methods of the SharedPreferencesBackUpHelper class are listed below.


Sr.No

Method & description

performBackup(ParcelFileDescriptor
oldState,
BackupDataOutput data, ParcelFileDescriptor newState)
Backs up the configured SharedPreferences groups.

restoreEntity(BackupDataInputStream data)
Restores one entity from the restore data stream to its proper shared
preferences file store.

Example:
The following example demonstrates the use of BackupAgentHelper class to create
backup of your application data.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.

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Android

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Backup under a package com.example.backup. While creating this
project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Register your application with Google backup service.

Modify the AndroidManifest to add respective necessary key and other


components.

Create backup agent


AndroidManifest.XML

Run the application and verify the results.

class

with

the

name

you

specify

at

Register you android application with google backup service. To do that, visit this
link. You must agree to the terms of service, and then enter the application
package name. It is shown below:

Then click on Register with android backup service. It would give you your key,
along with your AndroidManifest code to copy. Just copy the key. It is shown
below:

Once you copy the key, you need to write it in your AndroidManifest.XML file. Its
code is given below:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
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Android

package="com.example.backup"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:backupAgent="MyBackUpPlace"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.backup.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
<meta-data
android:name="com.google.android.backup.api_key"
android:value="AEdPqrEAAAAIErlxFByGgNz2ywBeQb6TsmLpp5Ksh1PWZSexg" />

</application>

</manifest>
Here is the code of BackUpAgentHelper class. The name of the class should be
the same as you specified in the backupAgent tag under application in
AndroidManifest.XML
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Android

package com.example.backup;

import android.app.backup.BackupAgentHelper;
import android.app.backup.SharedPreferencesBackupHelper;

public class MyBackUpPlace extends BackupAgentHelper {

static final String File_Name_Of_Prefrences = "myPrefrences";


static final String PREFS_BACKUP_KEY = "backup";

@Override
public void onCreate() {
SharedPreferencesBackupHelper helper = new
SharedPreferencesBackupHelper(this,
File_Name_Of_Prefrences);
addHelper(PREFS_BACKUP_KEY, helper);
}

Test your BackupAgent


Once you've implemented your backup agent, you can test the backup and
restore functionality with the following procedure, using bmgr.

Install your application on a suitable Android system image.


If you are using the emulator, create and use an AVD with Android 2.2 (API
Level 8).
If you are using a device, the device must be running Android 2.2 or greater and
must have built-in Google Play.

Ensure data backup is enabled


If using the emulator, you can enable backup with the following command from
your SDK tools/ path:

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Android

adb shell bmgr enable true


If using a device, open the system Settings, select Privacy, then enable Back up
my data and Automatic restore.

Performing backup
For testing purposes, you can also make a request with the following bmgr
command:
adb shell bmgr backup your.package.name
Initiate a backup operation by typing the following command.
adb shell bmgr run
This forces the Backup Manager to perform all backup requests that are in its
queue.

Uninstall and reinstall your application


Uninstall the application with the following command:
adb uninstall your.package.name
Then reinstall the application and verify the results.

357

37. DEVELOPER TOOLS

Android

The android developer tools lets you create interactive and powerful application
for android platform. The tools can be generally categorized into two types.

SDK tools

Platform tools

SDK tools
SDK tools are generally platform independent and are required no matter which
android platform you are working on. When you install the Android SDK into
your system, these tools get automatically installed. The list of SDK tools has
been given below:
Sr.No

Tool & description

android
This tool lets you manage
components of the SDK.

AVDs,

projects,

and

the

installed

ddms
This tool lets you debug Android applications.

Draw 9-Patch
This tool allows you to easily create a NinePatch graphic using a
WYSIWYG editor.

emulator
This tools let you test your applications without using a physical
device.

mksdcard
Helps you create a disk image (external sdcard storage) that you can
use with the emulator.

proguard
Shrinks, optimizes, and obfuscates your code by removing unused
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Android

code.
7

sqlite3
Lets you access the SQLite data files created and used by Android
applications.

traceview
Provides a graphical viewer for execution logs saved by your
application.

We will discuss three important tools here that are android, ddms and sqlite3.

Android
Android is a development tool that lets you perform these tasks:

Manage Android Virtual Devices (AVD)

Create and update Android projects

Update your sdk with new platform add-ons and documentation

android [global options] action [action options]

DDMS
DDMS stands for Dalvik Debug Monitor Server that provides many services on
the device. The service could include message formation, call spoofing, capturing
screenshot, exploring internal threads and file systems etc.

Running DDMS
From eclipse click on Window, Open Perspective, Other ... DDMS. Or simply
look on the left most top corner and click on ddms.

How it works
In android, each application runs in its own process and each process run in the
virtual machine. Each VM exposes a unique port that a debugger can attach to.
When DDMS starts, it connects to adb. When a device is connected, a VM
monitoring service is created between adb and DDMS, which notifies DDMS
when a VM on the device is started or terminated.
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Android

Using DDMS
You can use DDMS for many tasks. For example, here we are using it to make
sms, make call, and capture screenshot.

Making SMS
In the DDMS, select the Emulator Control tab. In the emulator control tab, click
on SMS and start typing the SMS and then the incoming number. It is shown in
the picture below.

Now click on send button, and you will see an sms notification in the emulator
window. It is shown below:

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Android

Making Call
In the DDMS, select the Emulator Control tab. In the emulator control tab, click
on voice and then start typing the incoming number. It is shown in the picture
below:

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Android

Now click on the call button to make a call to your emulator. It is shown below:

362

Android

Now click on hang-up in the eclipse window to terminate the call.


The fake sms and call can be viewed from the notification by just dragging the
notification window to the center using mouse. It is shown below:

Capturing ScreenShot
You can also capture screenshot of your emulator. For this look for the camera
icon on the right side under Devices tab. Just point your mouse over it and
select it.
As soon as you select it, it will start the screen capturing process and will
capture whatever screen of the emulator is currently active. It is shown below:

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Android

The eclipse orientation can be changed using Ctrl + F11 key. Now you can save
the image or rotate it and then select done to exit the screen capture dialog.

Sqlite3
Sqlite3 is a command line program which is used to manage the SQLite
databases created by Android applications. The tool also allow us to execute the
SQL statements on the fly.
There are two way through which you can use SQLite, either from remote shell
or you can use locally.

Use Sqlite3 from a remote shell.


Enter a remote shell by entering the following command:
adb [-d|-e|-s {}] shell
From a remote shell, start the sqlite3 tool by entering the following command:
sqlite3
Once you invoke sqlite3, you can issue sqlite3 commands in the shell. To exit
and return to the adb remote shell, enter exit or press CTRL+D.

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Android

Using Sqlite3 directly


Copy a database file from your device to your host machine.
adb pull
Start the sqlite3 tool from the /tools directory, specifying the database file:
sqlite3

Platform tools
The platform tools are customized to support the features of the latest android
platform.
The platform tools are typically updated every time you install a new SDK
platform. Each update of the platform tools is backward compatible with older
platforms.
Some of the platform tools are listed below:

Android Debug bridge (ADB)

Android Interface definition language (AIDL)

aapt, dexdump, and dex etc.

365

38. EMULATOR

Android

Emulator lets you emulate the real device with all its functionalities without
purchasing the real device. Android emulator lets you emulate different android
configurations by creating android virtual devices.
We are going to explore different functionalities in the emulator that are present
in the real android device in this chapter.

Creating AVD
If you want to emulate a real device, first create an AVD with the same device
configurations as real device, then launch this AVD from AVD manager.

Creating Snapshots
Creating snapshots mean saving an emulator state to a file that enables the
emulator to be started quickly the next time you try to launch it. One of the
biggest advantage of creating snapshots is that it saves the boot up time.
In order to create snapshot, check mark the option of snapshot while creating
your AVD. It is shown below:

The first time you launch the emulator, it will take the usual time of loading. But
when you close it and start it again, you will see a considerable amount of time
reduction in appearing of emulator.

Changing Orientation
Usually by default when you launch the emulator, its orientation is vertical, but
you can change its orientation by pressing Ctrl+F11 key from keyboard.
First launch the emulator. It is shown in the picture below:

366

Android

Once it is launched, press Ctrl+F11 key to change its orientation. It is shown


below:

367

Android

Emulator Commands.
Apart from just orientation commands, there are other very useful commands of
emulator that you should keep in mind while using emulator. They are listed
below:
Sr.No

Command & description

Home
Shifts to main screen

F2
Toggles context sensitive menu

F3
Brings out call log

F4
End call

F5
Search

F6
Toggle trackball mode

F7
Power button

F8
Toggle data network

Ctrl+F5
Ring Volume up

10

Ctrl+F6

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Android

Ring Volume down

Emulator - Sending SMS


You can emulate sending SMS to your emulator. There are two ways to do that.
You can do that from DDMS which can be found in Eclipse, or from Telnet
(Network utility found in windows).

Sending SMS through Telnet.


Telnet is not enabled by default in windows. You have to enable it to use it. Once
enabled you can go to command prompt and start telnet by typing telnet.
In order to send SMS, note down the AVD number which can be found on the
title bar of the emulator. It could be like this 5554 etc. etc. Once noted, type this
command in command prompt.
telnet localhost 5554
Press enter when you type the command. It is shown below in the figure.

You will see that you are now connected to your emulator. Now type this
command to send message.
sms send +1234567 your sms goes here
Once you type this command, hit enter. Now look at the AVD. You will receive a
notification displaying that you got a new text message. It is shown below:

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Android

Emulator - Making Call


You can easily make phone calls to your emulator using telnet client. You need
to connect to your emulator from telnet. It is discussed in the sending sms topic
above.
After that you will type this command in the telnet window to make a call. Its
syntax is given below:
gsm call +1234567
Once you type this command, hit enter. Now look at the AVD. You will receive a
call from the number you put in the command. It is shown below:

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Android

Emulator - Transferring files


You can easily transfer files into the emulator and vice versa. To do that, you
need to select the DDMS utility in Eclipse. After that select the file explorer tab.
It is shown below:

Browse through the explorer and make new folder, view existing contents etc.
etc.

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Android

39. FACEBOOK INTEGRATION

Android allows your application to connect to Facebook and share data or any
kind of updates on Facebook. This chapter is about integrating Facebook into
your application.
There are two ways through which you can integrate Facebook and share
something from your application. These ways are listed below:

Facebook SDK

Intent Share

Integrating Facebook SDK


This is the first way of connecting with Facebook. You have to register your
application and then receive some Application Id, and then you have to
download the Facebook SDK and add it to your project. The steps are listed
below:

Generating application signature


You have to generate a key signature, but before you generate it, make sure
you have SSL installed, otherwise you have to download SSl. It can be
downloaded here.
Now open command prompt and redirect to your java jre folder. Once you reach
there, type this command exactly. You have to replace the path in the inverted
commas with your keystore path which you can find in eclipse by selecting the
window tab and selecting the preferences tab and then selecting the build option
under android from left side.
keytool -exportcert -alias androiddebugkey
openssl sha1 -binary | openssl base64

-keystore

"your

path"

Once you enter it, you will be prompted for password. Give android as the
password and then copy the key that is given to you. It is shown in the image
below:

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Android

Registering your application


Now create a new Facebook application at developers.facebook.com/apps and fill all
the information. It is shown below:

Now move to the native android app section and fill in your project and class
name and paste the hash that you copied in step 1. It is shown below:

If everything works fine, you will receive an application ID with the secret. Just
copy the application id and save it somewhere. It is shown in the image below:

Downloading SDK and integrating it


Download Facebook sdk here. Import this into eclipse. Once imported, right click
on your facebook project and click on properties.Click on android, click on add
button and select Facebook sdk as the project.Click ok.

Creating facebook login application


Once everything is complete, you can run the samples, that comes with SDK or
create
your
own
application.
To
login,
you
need
to
call openActiveSession method and implement its callback. Its syntax is given
below:

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Android

// start Facebook Login


Session.openActiveSession(this, true, new Session.StatusCallback() {

// callback when session changes state


public void
exception)

call(Session

session,

SessionState

state,

Exception

{
if (session.isOpened()) {
// make request to;2 the /me API
Request.executeMeRequestAsync(session, new Request.
GraphUserCallback() {

// callback after Graph API response with user object


@Override
public void onCompleted(GraphUser user, Response response) {
if (user != null) {
TextView welcome = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.welcome);
welcome.setText("Hello " + user.getName() + "!");
}
}
});
}
}

Intent share
Intent share is used to share data between applications. In this strategy, we will
not handle the SDK stuff, but let the Facebook application handle it. We will
simply call the facebook application and pass the data to share. This way, we
can share something on Facebook.
Android provides intent library to share data between activities and applications.
In order to use it as share intent, we have to specify the type of the share intent
to ACTION_SEND. Its syntax is given below:
Intent shareIntent = new Intent();
shareIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
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Android

Next thing you need is to define the type of data to pass, and then pass the
data. Its syntax is given below:
shareIntent.setType("text/plain");
shareIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "Hello, from tutorialspoint");
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, "Share your thoughts"));
Apart from these methods, there are other methods available that allows intent
handling. They are listed below:
Sr.No

Method & description

addCategory(String category)
This method adds a new category to the intent.

createChooser(Intent target, CharSequence title)


Convenience function for creating a ACTION_CHOOSER Intent.

getAction()
This method retrieve the general action to be performed, such as
ACTION_VIEW.

getCategories()
This method returns the set of all categories in the intent.nt and the
current scaling event.

putExtra(String name, int value)


This method add extended data to the intent.

toString()
This method returns a string containing a concise, human-readable
description of this object.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of IntentShare to share data on
Facebook. It creates a basic application that allows you to share some text on
Facebook.

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Android

To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as IntentShare under a package com.example.intentshare. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.intentshare/MainActivity.java.

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.intentshare;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;

import com.example.intentshare.R;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.DialogInterface;
import android.content.DialogInterface.OnClickListener;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Environment;
import android.view.Menu;
376

Android

import android.view.View;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private ImageView img;


@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
img = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.imageView1);

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
public void open(View view){
Intent shareIntent = new Intent();
shareIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
shareIntent.setType("text/plain");
shareIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "Hello, from
tutorialspoint");
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, "Share your
thoughts"));

}
377

Android

Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.


<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<ImageView
android:id="@+id/imageView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginLeft="98dp"
android:layout_marginTop="139dp"
android:onClick="open"
android:src="@drawable/tp" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="48dp"
android:text="@string/tap"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

</RelativeLayout>
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Android

Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">IntentShare</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="tap">Tap the button to share something</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.intentshare"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.intentshare.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


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Android

</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your IntentShare application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display your default screen:
380

Android

Now just tap on the image logo and you will see a list of share providers.
381

Android

Now just select Facebook from that list and then write any message. It is shown
in the image below:
382

Android

Now just select the post button and then it would be posted on your wall. It is
shown below:

383

40. GESTURES

Android

Android provides special types of touch screen events such as pinch, double tap,
scrolls, long presses and flinch. These are all known as gestures.
Android provides GestureDetector class to receive motion events and tell us that
these events correspond to gestures or not. To use it, you need to create an
object
of
GestureDetector
and
then
extend
another
class
with
GestureDetector.SimpleOnGestureListener to act as a listener and override
some methods. Its syntax is given below:
GestureDetector myG;
myG = new GestureDetector(this,new Gesture());

class Gesture extends GestureDetector.SimpleOnGestureListener{


public boolean onSingleTapUp(MotionEvent ev) {
}
public void onLongPress(MotionEvent ev) {
}
public boolean onScroll(MotionEvent e1, MotionEvent e2, float
distanceX,
float distanceY) {
}
public boolean onFling(MotionEvent e1, MotionEvent e2, float
velocityX,
float velocityY) {
}
}
}

Handling Pinch Gesture


Android provides ScaleGestureDetector class to handle gestures like pinchetc.
In order to use it, you need to instantiate an object of this class. Its syntax is as
follow:

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Android

ScaleGestureDetector SGD;
SGD = new ScaleGestureDetector(this,new ScaleListener());
The first parameter is the context and the second parameter is the event
listener. We have to define the event listener and override a
function OnTouchEvent to make it working. Its syntax is given below:
public boolean onTouchEvent(MotionEvent ev) {
SGD.onTouchEvent(ev);
return true;
}
private class ScaleListener extends
ScaleGestureDetector.SimpleOnScaleGestureListener {
@Override
public boolean onScale(ScaleGestureDetector detector) {
float scale = detector.getScaleFactor();
return true;
}
}
Apart from the pinch gestures, there are other methods available that notify
more about touch events. They are listed below:
Sr.No

Method & description

getEventTime()
This method gets the event time of the current event being processed.

getFocusX()
This method gets the X coordinate of the current gesture's focal point.

getFocusY()
This method gets the Y coordinate of the current gesture's focal point.

getTimeDelta()
This method returns the time difference in milliseconds between the
previous accepted scaling event and the current scaling event.

385

Android

isInProgress()
This method returns true if a scale gesture is in progress.

onTouchEvent(MotionEvent event)
This method accepts MotionEvents and dispatches events when
appropriate.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of ScaleGestureDetector class. It creates
a basic application that allows you to zoom in and out through pinch.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator with touch screen enabled.

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Gestures under a package com.example.gestures. While creating
this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.gestures/MainActivity.java.

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.gestures;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.graphics.Matrix;
386

Android

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MotionEvent;
import android.view.ScaleGestureDetector;
import android.widget.ImageView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private ImageView img;


private Matrix matrix = new Matrix();
private float scale = 1f;
private ScaleGestureDetector SGD;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
img = (ImageView)findViewById(R.id.imageView1);
SGD = new ScaleGestureDetector(this,new ScaleListener());
}

@Override
public boolean onTouchEvent(MotionEvent ev) {
SGD.onTouchEvent(ev);
return true;
}

private class ScaleListener extends ScaleGestureDetector.


SimpleOnScaleGestureListener {
@Override
public boolean onScale(ScaleGestureDetector detector) {
scale *= detector.getScaleFactor();
scale = Math.max(0.1f, Math.min(scale, 5.0f));
matrix.setScale(scale, scale);
img.setImageMatrix(matrix);
387

Android

return true;
}
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/hello_world" />

<ImageView
android:id="@+id/imageView1"
388

Android

android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView1"
android:scaleType="matrix"
android:src="@android:drawable/sym_def_app_icon" />

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">Gestures</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Pinch to zoom in or out!</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.gestures"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
389

Android

<activity
android:name="com.example.gestures.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your Gestures application. We assume, you have connected your
actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar.
Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to select
an option where you want to run your Android application.

390

Android

391

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display your default screen:

392

Android

Now just place two fingers over android screen, and separate them apart and
you will see that the android image is zooming. It is shown in the image below:

393

Android

Now again place two fingers over android screen, and try to close them and you
will see that the android image is now shrinking. It is shown in the image below:

394

41. GOOGLE MAPS

Android

Android allows us to integrate google maps in our application. You can show any
location on the map, or can show different routes on the map etc. etc. You can
also customize the map according to your choices.

Adding Google Map


Google provides this facility using google play services library which you have to
download externally. After downloading, you have to integrate it with your
project. In the end you have to integrate your application with google via google
console. This is completely discussed in the example.

Google Map - Activity file


Google provides GoogleMap and MapFragment api to integrate map in your
android application. In order to use GoogleMap, you have to create an object of
GoogleMap and get the reference of map from the xml layout file. Its syntax is
given below:
GoogleMap googleMap;
googleMap = ((MapFragment)
getFragmentManager().findFragmentById(R.id.map)).getMap();

Google Map - Layout file


Now you have to add the map fragment into xml layout file. Its syntax is given
below:
<fragment
android:id="@+id/map"
android:name="com.google.android.gms.maps.MapFragment"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"/>

Google Map - AndroidManifest file


The next thing you need to do is to add some permissions along with the Google
Map API key in the AndroidManifest.XML file. Its syntax is given below:
<!--Permissions-->
395

Android

<uses-permission
/>

android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE"

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />


<uses-permission
android:name="com.google.android.providers.gsf.permission.READ_GSERVICES"
/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
/>

<!--Google MAP API key-->

<meta-data
android:name="com.google.android.maps.v2.API_KEY"
android:value="AIzaSyDKymeBXNeiFWY5jRUejv6zItpmr2MVyQ0" />

Customizing Google Map


You can easily customize google map from its default view, and change it
according to your demand.

Adding Marker
You can place a marker with some text over it displaying your location on the
map. It can be done by via addMarker() method. Its syntax is given below:
final LatLng TutorialsPoint = new LatLng(21, 57);
Marker TP = googleMap.addMarker(new
MarkerOptions().position(TutorialsPoint).title("TutorialsPoint"));

Changing Map Type


You can also change the type of the MAP. There are four different types of map
and each give different view of the map. These types are Normal, Hybrid,
Satellite and terrain. You can use them as below:
googleMap.setMapType(GoogleMap.MAP_TYPE_NORMAL);
googleMap.setMapType(GoogleMap.MAP_TYPE_HYBRID);
googleMap.setMapType(GoogleMap.MAP_TYPE_SATELLITE);
googleMap.setMapType(GoogleMap.MAP_TYPE_TERRAIN);
396

Android

Enable/Disable zoom
You can also enable or disable the zoom gestures in the map by calling the
setZoomControlsEnabled(boolean) method. Its syntax is given below:
googleMap.getUiSettings().setZoomGesturesEnabled(true);
Apart from these customization, there are other methods available in the
GoogleMap class that helps you more to customize the map. They are listed
below:
Sr.No

Method & description

addCircle(CircleOptions options)
This method adds a circle to the map.

addPolygon(PolygonOptions options)
This method adds a polygon to the map.

addTileOverlay(TileOverlayOptions options)
This method adds tile overlay to the map.

animateCamera(CameraUpdate update)
This method moves the map according to the update with an
animation.

clear()
This method removes everything from the map.

getMyLocation()
This method returns the currently displayed user location.

moveCamera(CameraUpdate update)
This method repositions the camera according to the instructions
defined in the update.

setTrafficEnabled(boolean enabled)
This method toggles the traffic layer on or off.

397

Android

snapshot(GoogleMap.SnapshotReadyCallback callback)
This method takes a snapshot of the map.

10

stopAnimation()
This method stops the camera animation if there is one in progress

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of GoogleMap class. It creates a basic M
application that allows you to navigate through the map.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.

Steps

Description

Integrate google maps in your application.

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as GoogleMaps under a package com.example.googlemaps. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add necessary internet permission.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

respective

XML

Integrating Google Maps


Integrating google maps in your application basically consists of these 4 steps.

Download and configure. Google Play Services SDK

Obtain API key from google console

Specify Android Manifest settings


398

Android

Download and configure. Google Play Services SDK


Install Google services SDK
Open your SDK manager in the eclipse by clicking the Window and then
selecting the Android SDK manager.
Navigate to the extras tab and select the Google play services and click on install
this package. It would be like this.

Import SDK to eclipse


After you download the SDK, click on file tab and select import option. Select
existing android application code and press ok. Browse to your android folder
and then sdk folder. In sdk folder expand extras folder. Expand google folder
and select google play services.

Configure your project with SDK


After you import the SDK, you have to add it into your project. For this, right
click on your eclipse project and select properties. Select android from left tab
and then select add from right below panel and add the project. It would be like
this

399

Android

Obtaining the API key


This part is furthur divided into two steps. First you have to get an SHA1
fingerprint key from your pc and then you have to get map API key from google
console.

Getting Certificate from KeyTool


You need to get a certificate key because you have to provide it to google
console in order to get your API key for map.
Open your command prompt and move to the path where your java jre has been
placed. Now type this command.
keytool -list -v -alias androiddebugkey -keystore %%Your path%% storepass android -keypass android
Replace the percentage part of the command with the path which you will copy
from by selecting the window tab and selecting the preferences tab and then
selecting the build option under android from left side.
Copy the default debug keystore path and replace it in the command and hit
enter. The following result would appear.

400

Android

Copy the SHA1 key because you need it in the next step.

Getting key from Google Console


Open Google Console and sign in by clicking a new project.
Click on services from the left tab and then navigate to the Google Maps Android
API v2. You have to turn them on like this

Now again go to the left tab and select API access. And click on create new
android key. Now paste the key that you copied and put a semicolon and paste
your project name and click create. It would be like this.

Now copy the API key that has been given to your by android, because you have
to paste it into your manifest file.

Specify Android Manifest Settings


The final step is to add the API key to your application. Open your manifest file
and place this code right before closing the application tag.
<meta-data
android:name="com.google.android.maps.v2.API_KEY"
401

Android

android:value="API_KEY"/>
In the second line replace API_KEY with your api key and you are done. You
need to add some permissions in your manifest too, which are given below in
the manifest file.

Adding Google Maps to your application.


Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.googlemaps/MainActivity.java.

main

activity

file

package com.example.googlemaps;

import com.google.android.gms.maps.GoogleMap;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.MapFragment;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.model.LatLng;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.model.Marker;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.model.MarkerOptions;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {


static final LatLng TutorialsPoint = new LatLng(21, 57);
private GoogleMap googleMap;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
try {
if (googleMap == null) {
googleMap = ((MapFragment) getFragmentManager().
findFragmentById(R.id.map)).getMap();
}
googleMap.setMapType(GoogleMap.MAP_TYPE_HYBRID);
402

Android

Marker TP = googleMap.addMarker(new MarkerOptions().


position(TutorialsPoint).title("TutorialsPoint"));

} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent" >
<fragment
android:id="@+id/map"
android:name="com.google.android.gms.maps.MapFragment"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"/>
</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.googlemaps"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-permission
403

Android

android:name="com.example.googlemaps.permission.MAPS_RECEIVE" />

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="12"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<permission
android:name="com.example.googlemaps.permission.MAPS_RECEIVE"
android:protectionLevel="signature" />

<uses-permission
android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<uses-permission android:name="com.google.android.providers.
gsf.permission.
READ_GSERVICES" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.
WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.
ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION" />
<uses-permission
android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />

<uses-feature
android:glEsVersion="0x00020000"
android:required="true" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
404

Android

<activity
android:name="com.example.googlemaps.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>

<meta-data
android:name="com.google.android.maps.v2.API_KEY"
android:value="AIzaSyDKymeBXNeiFWY5jRUejv6zItpmr2MVyQ0" />

</application>

</manifest>

405

Android

Let's try to run your GoogleMaps application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

406

Android

Now what you need to do is to tap on the balloon to see the text.

Now you can customize the google map according to your choice with the
functions given in the GoogleMap API.

407

42. IMAGE EFFECTS

Android

Android allows you to manipulate images by adding different kinds of effects on


the images. You can easily apply image processing techniques to add certain
kinds of effects on images. The effects could be brightness, darkness, grayscale
conversion etc.
Android provides Bitmap class to handle images. This can be found under
android.graphics.bitmap. There are many ways through which you can
instantiate bitmap. We are creating a bitmap of image from the imageView.
private Bitmap bmp;
private ImageView img;
img = (ImageView)findViewById(R.id.imageView1);
BitmapDrawable

abmp = (BitmapDrawable)img.getDrawable();

Now we will create bitmap by calling getBitmap() function of BitmapDrawable


class. Its syntax is given below:
bmp = abmp.getBitmap();
An image is nothing but a two dimensional matrix. Same way you will handle a
bitmap. An image consist of pixels. So you will get pixels from this bitmap and
apply processing to it. Its syntax is as follows:
for(int i=0; i<bmp.getWidth(); i++){
for(int j=0; j<bmp.getHeight(); j++){
int p = bmp.getPixel(i, j);
}
}
The getWidth() and getHeight() functions returns the height and width of the
matrix. The getPixel() method returns the pixel at the specified index. Once you
got the pixel, you can easily manipulate it according to your needs.
Apart from these methods, there are other methods that help us manipulate
images more better.
Sr.No

Method & description

copy(Bitmap.Config config, boolean isMutable)

408

Android

This method copy this bitmap's pixels into the new bitmap.
2

createBitmap(DisplayMetrics
Bitmap.Config config)

display, int

width, int height,

Returns a mutable bitmap with the specified width and height.


3

createBitmap(int width, int height, Bitmap.Config config)


Returns a mutable bitmap with the specified width and height.

createBitmap(Bitmap src)
Returns an immutable bitmap from the source bitmap.

extractAlpha()
Returns a new bitmap that captures the alpha values of the original.

getConfig()
This method returns config, otherwise returns null.

getDensity()
Returns the density for this bitmap

getRowBytes()
Return the number of bytes between rows in the bitmap's pixels.

setPixel(int x, int y, int color)


Writes the specified Color into the bitmap (assuming it is mutable) at
the x,y coordinate.

10

setDensity(int density)
This method specifies the density for this bitmap

Example:
The below example demonstrates some of the image effects on the bitmap. It
creates a basic application that allows you to convert the picture into grayscale and
much more.

409

Android

To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device.

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as ImageEffects under a package com.example.imageeffects. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.imageeffects/MainActivity.java.

add

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.imageeffects;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.graphics.Bitmap;
import android.graphics.Color;
import android.graphics.drawable.BitmapDrawable;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.ImageView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private ImageView img;


private Bitmap bmp;
410

Android

private Bitmap operation;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

img = (ImageView)findViewById(R.id.imageView1);
BitmapDrawable

abmp = (BitmapDrawable)img.getDrawable();

bmp = abmp.getBitmap();

public void gray(View view){


operation= Bitmap.createBitmap(bmp.getWidth(),
bmp.getHeight(),bmp.getConfig());

double red = 0.33;


double green = 0.59;
double blue = 0.11;

for(int i=0; i<bmp.getWidth(); i++){


for(int j=0; j<bmp.getHeight(); j++){
int p = bmp.getPixel(i, j);
int r = Color.red(p);
int g = Color.green(p);
int b = Color.blue(p);

r = (int) red * r;
g = (int) green * g;
b = (int) blue * b;

operation.setPixel(i, j, Color.argb(Color.alpha(p), r, g, b));


}
411

Android

}
img.setImageBitmap(operation);
}

public void bright(View view){


operation= Bitmap.createBitmap(bmp.getWidth(),
bmp.getHeight(),bmp.getConfig());

for(int i=0; i<bmp.getWidth(); i++){


for(int j=0; j<bmp.getHeight(); j++){
int p = bmp.getPixel(i, j);
int r = Color.red(p);
int g = Color.green(p);
int b = Color.blue(p);
int alpha = Color.alpha(p);

r = 100

r;

g = 100

+ g;

b = 100

+ b;

alpha = 100 + alpha;

operation.setPixel(i, j, Color.argb(alpha, r, g, b));


}
}
img.setImageBitmap(operation);
}

public void dark(View view){


operation= Bitmap.createBitmap(bmp.getWidth(),
bmp.getHeight(),bmp.getConfig());

for(int i=0; i<bmp.getWidth(); i++){


412

Android

for(int j=0; j<bmp.getHeight(); j++){


int p = bmp.getPixel(i, j);
int r = Color.red(p);
int g = Color.green(p);
int b = Color.blue(p);
int alpha = Color.alpha(p);

r =

r - 50;

g =

g - 50;

b =

b - 50;

alpha = alpha -50;


operation.setPixel(i, j, Color.argb(Color.alpha(p), r, g,
b));

}
}

img.setImageBitmap(operation);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
413

Android

xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<Button
android:id="@+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/button1"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/button1"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_marginRight="19dp"
android:onClick="dark"
android:text="@string/dark" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_marginBottom="87dp"
android:layout_marginRight="17dp"
android:layout_toLeftOf="@+id/button3"
android:onClick="gray"
android:text="@string/gray" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
414

Android

android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/button2"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/button2"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:onClick="bright"
android:text="@string/bright" />

<ImageView
android:id="@+id/imageView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="114dp"
android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher" />

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">ImageEffects</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="gray">Gray</string>
<string name="bright">bright</string>
<string name="dark">dark</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
415

Android

package="com.example.imageeffects"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.imageeffects.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

416

Android

Let's try to run our Image Effects application we just modified. We assume, you
had created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is
fine with your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

417

Android

Now if you will look at your device screen, you will see an image of android
along with three buttons.
Now just select the gray button that will convert your image into grayscale and
will update the UI. It is shown below:

418

Android

Now tap on the bright button, that will add some value to each pixel of the
image and thus makes an illusion of brightness. It is shown below:

419

Android

Now tap on the dark button, that will subtract some value to each pixel of the
image and thus makes an illusion of dark. It is shown below:

420

43. IMAGE SWITCHER

Android

Sometimes you don't want an image to appear abruptly on the screen, rather
you want to apply some kind of animation to the image when it transitions from
one image to another. This is supported by android in the form of
ImageSwitcher.
An image switcher allows you to add some transitions on the images through the
way they appear on screen. In order to use image Switcher, you need to define
its XML component first. Its syntax is given below:
<ImageSwitcher
android:id="@+id/imageSwitcher1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_centerVertical="true" >
</ImageSwitcher>
Now we create an instance of ImageSwithcer in java file and get a reference of
this XML component. Its sytnax is given below:
private ImageSwitcher imageSwitcher;
imageSwitcher = (ImageSwitcher)findViewById(R.id.imageSwitcher1);
The next thing we need to do is implement the ViewFactory interface and
implement unimplemented method that returns an imageView. Its syntax is
below:
imageSwitcher.setImageResource(R.drawable.ic_launcher);
imageSwitcher.setFactory(new ViewFactory() {
public View makeView() {
ImageView myView = new ImageView(getApplicationContext());
return myView;
}
}
The last thing you need to do is to add Animation to the ImageSwitcher. You
need to define an object of Animation class through AnimationUtilities class by
calling a static method loadAnimation. Its syntax is given below:
421

Android

Animation in =
AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this,android.R.anim.slide_in_left);
imageSwitcher.setInAnimation(in);
imageSwitcher.setOutAnimation(out);
The method setInAnimaton sets the animation of the appearance of the object
on the screen whereas setOutAnimation does the opposite. The method
loadAnimation() creates an animation object.
Apart from these methods, there are other
ImageSwitcher class. They are defined below:

methods

Sr.No

Method & description

setImageDrawable(Drawable drawable)

defined

in

the

Sets an image with image switcher. The image is passed in the form of
bitmap.
2

setImageResource(int resid)
Sets an image with image switcher. The image is passed in the form of
integer id.

setImageURI(Uri uri)
Sets an image with image switcher. The image is passed in the form of
URI.

ImageSwitcher(Context context, AttributeSet attrs)


Returns an image switcher object with already setting some attributes
passed in the method.

onInitializeAccessibilityEvent (AccessibilityEvent event)


Initializes an AccessibilityEvent with information about this View which
is the event source.

onInitializeAccessibilityNodeInfo (AccessibilityNodeInfo info)


Initializes an AccessibilityNodeInfo with information about this view

422

Android

Example:
The below example demonstrates some of the image switcher effects on the
bitmap. It creates a basic application that allows you to view the animation
effects on the images.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as ImageSwitcher under a package com.example.imageswitcher.
While creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile
With at the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

respective

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
src/com.example.imageswithcer/MainActivity.java.

activity

XML

file

package com.example.imageswitcher;

import android.app.ActionBar.LayoutParams;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.animation.Animation;
import android.view.animation.AnimationUtils;
import android.widget.ImageButton;
import android.widget.ImageSwitcher;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.Toast;
423

Android

import android.widget.ViewSwitcher.ViewFactory;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private ImageButton img;


private ImageSwitcher imageSwitcher;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
img = (ImageButton)findViewById(R.id.imageButton1);
imageSwitcher = (ImageSwitcher)findViewById(R.id.imageSwitcher1);

imageSwitcher.setFactory(new ViewFactory() {

@Override
public View makeView() {
ImageView myView = new ImageView(getApplicationContext());
myView.setScaleType(ImageView.ScaleType.FIT_CENTER);
myView.setLayoutParams(new ImageSwitcher.LayoutParams(LayoutParams.
FILL_PARENT,LayoutParams.FILL_PARENT));
return myView;
}

});

public void next(View view){


Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Next Image",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
Animation in = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this,
android.R.anim.slide_in_left);
424

Android

Animation out = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this,


android.R.anim.slide_out_right);
imageSwitcher.setInAnimation(in);
imageSwitcher.setOutAnimation(out);
imageSwitcher.setImageResource(R.drawable.ic_launcher);
}
public void previous(View view){
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "previous Image",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
Animation in = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this,
android.R.anim.slide_out_right);
Animation out = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this,
android.R.anim.slide_in_left);
imageSwitcher.setInAnimation(out);
imageSwitcher.setOutAnimation(in);
imageSwitcher.setImageResource(R.drawable.ic_launcher);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
425

Android

android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<ImageButton
android:id="@+id/imageButton1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="54dp"
android:onClick="next"
android:src="@android:drawable/ic_menu_send" />

<ImageSwitcher
android:id="@+id/imageSwitcher1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_centerVertical="true" >
</ImageSwitcher>

<ImageButton
android:id="@+id/imageButton2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginBottom="85dp"
android:onClick="previous"
android:src="@android:drawable/ic_menu_revert" />

426

Android

</RelativeLayout>

Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.imageswitcher"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.imageswitcher.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

427

Android

Let's try to run our Image Switcher application we just modified. We assume,
you had created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is
fine with your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

428

Android

Now if you will look at your device screen, you will see the two buttons.
Now just select the upper button with right arrow. An image would appear from
right and move towards left. It is shown below:

429

Android

Now tap on the below button, that will bring back the previous image with some
transition. It is shown below:

430

44. INTERNAL STORAGE

Android

Android provides many kinds of storage for applications to store their data. The
storage places are shared preferences, internal and external storage, SQLite
storage, and storage via network connection.
We are going to look at the internal storage in this chapter. Internal storge is the
storage of the private data on the device memory.
By default these files are private and are accessed by only your application and
get deleted, when user delete your application.

Writing file
In order to use internal storage to write some data in the file, call the
openFileOutput() method with the name of the file and the mode. The mode
could be private, public etc. Its syntax is given below:
FileOutputStream fOut = openFileOutput("file name
here",MODE_WORLD_READABLE);
The method openFileOutput() returns an instance of FileOutputStream. So you
receive it in the object of FileInputStream. After that you can call write method
to write data on the file. Its syntax is given below:
String str = "data";
fOut.write(str.getBytes());
fOut.close();

Reading file
In order to read from the file you just created, call the openFileInput() method
with the name of the file. It returns an instance of FileInputStream. Its syntax is
given below:
FileInputStream fin = openFileInput(file);
After that, you can call read method to read one character at a time from the file
and then you can print it. Its syntax is given below:
int c;
String temp="";
while( (c = fin.read()) != -1){
431

Android

temp = temp + Character.toString((char)c);


}
//string temp contains all the data of the file.
fin.close();
Apart from the methods of write and close, there are other methods provided by
the FileOutputStream class for better writing files. These methods are listed
below:
Sr.No

Method & description

FileOutputStream(File file, boolean append)


This method constructs a new FileOutputStream that writes to file.

getChannel()
This method returns a write-only FileChannel that shares its position
with this stream.

getFD()
This method returns the underlying file descriptor.

write(byte[] buffer, int byteOffset, int byteCount)


This method Writes count bytes from the byte array buffer starting at
position offset to this stream.

Apart from the methods of read and close, there are other methods provided by
the FileInputStream class for better reading files. These methods are listed
below:
Sr.No

Method & description

available()
This method returns an estimated number of bytes that can be read or
skipped without blocking for more input.

getChannel()
This method returns a read-only FileChannel that shares its position
432

Android

with this stream.


3

getFD()
This method returns the underlying file descriptor.

read(byte[] buffer, int byteOffset, int byteCount)


This method reads at most length bytes from this stream and stores
them in the byte array by starting at offset.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of internal storage to store and read
files. It creates a basic storage application that allows you to read and write
from internal storage.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Storage under a package com.example.storage. While creating this
project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install the
application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.storage/MainActivity.java.

respective

main

activity

XML

file

433

Android

package com.example.storage;

import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private EditText et;


private String data;
private String file = "mydata";
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
et = (EditText)(findViewById(R.id.editText1));

public void save(View view){


data = et.getText().toString();
try {
FileOutputStream fOut =
openFileOutput(file,MODE_WORLD_READABLE);
fOut.write(data.getBytes());
fOut.close();
Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(),"file saved",
434

Android

Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
} catch (Exception e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public void read(View view){
try{
FileInputStream fin = openFileInput(file);
int c;
String temp="";
while( (c = fin.read()) != -1){
temp = temp + Character.toString((char)c);
}
et.setText(temp);
Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(),"file read",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

}catch(Exception e){

}
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

435

Android

Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.


<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="182dp"
android:onClick="save"
android:text="@string/save" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/button1"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/button1"
android:layout_below="@+id/button1"
android:layout_marginTop="46dp"
android:onClick="read"
android:text="@string/read" />

<EditText
436

Android

android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/button1"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginTop="23dp"
android:ems="10"
android:inputType="textMultiLine" >

<requestFocus />
</EditText>

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">Storage</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="save">save to internal storage</string>
<string name="read">load from internal storage</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.storage"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
437

Android

android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.storage.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

438

Android

Let's try to run our Storage application we just modified. We assume, you had
created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar.
Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with
your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

439

Android

Now what you need to do is to enter any text in the field. For example, we have
entered some text. Press the save button. The following notification would
appear in you AVD:

440

Android

Now when you press the load button, the application will read the file, and
display the data. In our case, following data would be returned:

Note, you can actually view this file by switching to DDMS tab. In DDMS, select
file explorer and navigate this path.
data>data>com.example.storage>files>mydata
This has also been shown in the image below.

441

45. JETPLAYER

Android

The Android platform includes a JET engine that lets you add interactive
playback of JET audio content in your applications. Android provides JetPlayer
class to handle this stuff.
In order to Jet Content, you need to use the JetCreator tool that comes with
AndroidSDK. The usage of jetCreator has been discussed in the example. In
order to play the content created by JetCreator, you need JetPlayer class
supported by android.
In order to use JetPlayer, you need to instantiate an object of JetPlayer class. Its
syntax is given below:
JetPlayer jetPlayer = JetPlayer.getJetPlayer();
The next thing you need to do is to call loadJetFile method and pass in the path
of your Jet file. After that you have to add this into the Queue of JetPlayer. Its
syntax is given below:
jetPlayer.loadJetFile("/sdcard/level1.jet");
byte segmentId = 0;
// queue segment 5, repeat once, use General MIDI, transpose by -1 octave
jetPlayer.queueJetSegment(5, -1, 1, -1, 0, segmentId++);
The method queueJetSegment Queues the specified segment in the JET Queue.
The last thing you need is to call the play method to start playing the music. Its
syntax is given below:
jetPlayer.play();
Apart from these methods, there are other methods defined in the JetPlayer
class. They are defined below:
Sr.No

Method & description

clearQueue()
Empties the segment queue, and clears all clips that are scheduled for
playback.

closeJetFile()

442

Android

Closes the resource containing the JET content.


3

getJetPlayer()
Factory method for the JetPlayer class.

loadJetFile(String path)
Loads a .jet file from a given path.

pause()
Pauses the playback of the JET segment queue.

release()
Stops the current JET playback, and releases all associated native
resources.

Example:
The following example demonstrates the use of JetCreator tool to create Jet content.
Once that content is created, you can play it through JetPlayer.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as JetPlayer under a package com.example.jetplayer. While creating
this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Install Python and WxPython on your computer from internet.

Run the jet creator from command prompt.

Create Jet content and then save it.

Run the application and verify the results.

443

Android

Using JetCreator
Installing python
The first step that you need while using JetCreator is to install the python. The
python can be installed from its official website https://www.python.org/ or
from anywhere else on the internet.
Please keep in mind the version number of the python should either be 2.6 or
2.7 because this example follows that.
Once you download python, install it. After installing you have to set path to the
python. Open your command prompt and type the following command. It is
shown in the image below:

Once path is set, you can verify it by typing python and hit enter. It is shown
below:

Installing WxPython
The next thing you need to do is to install the wxPython. It can be
downloaded here. Once downloaded, you will install it. It will be automatically
installed in the python directory.

Running JetCreator
The next thing you need is to move to the path where JetCreator is present. It is
in the tools, SDK folder of the android. It is shown below:

444

Android

Once in the folder, type this command and hit enter.


python JetCreator.py
It is shown in the figure below:

As soon as you hit enter, Jet Creator window will open. It would be something
like this.

Creating JetContent
In the above Jet Window, click on the import button. And select
JetCreator_demo_1 or 2 from the JetFolder from the demo content folder in the
Jet folder. It is shown in the image below:

445

Android

Once you import the content, you will see the content in the JetCreator window.
It is shown below:

Now you can explore different options of JetCreator by visiting the JetCreator
link http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/media/jet/jetcreator_manual.htm
l. Finally in order to create .jet file, you need to save the content from the file
menu.

Verifying Results
Once you got the jet file, you can play it using jet player. The main code of
playing it has been given below:
446

Android

JetPlayer jetPlayer = JetPlayer.getJetPlayer();


jetPlayer.loadJetFile("/sdcard/level1.jet");
byte segmentId = 0;
// queue segment 5, repeat once, use General MIDI, transpose by -1 octave
jetPlayer.queueJetSegment(5, -1, 1, -1, 0, segmentId++);
jetPlayer.play();

447

46. JSON PARSER

Android

JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation. It is an independent data exchange


format and is the best alternative for XML. This chapter explains how to parse
the JSON file and extract necessary information from it.
Android provides four different classes to manipulate JSON data. These classes
are JSONArray, JSONObject, JSONStringer and JSONTokenizer.
The first step is to identify the fields in the JSON data in which you are
interested. For example, in the JSON given below we are interested in getting
temperature only.
{
"sys":
{
"country":"GB",
"sunrise":1381107633,
"sunset":1381149604
},
"weather":[
{
"id":711,
"main":"Smoke",
"description":"smoke",
"icon":"50n"
}
],
"main":
{
"temp":304.15,
"pressure":1009,
}
}

448

Android

JSON - Elements
A JSON file consist of many components. Here is the table defining the
compoents of a JSON file and their description:
Sr.No

Component & description

Array([)
In a JSON file, square bracket ([) represents a JSON array.

Objects({)
In a JSON file, curly bracket ({) represents a JSON object.

Key
A JSON object contains a key that is just a string. Pairs of key/value
make up a JSON object.

Value
Each key has a value that could be string, integer or double etc.

JSON - Parsing
For parsing a JSON object, we will create an object of class JSONObject and
specify a string containing JSON data to it. Its syntax is:
String in;
JSONObject reader = new JSONObject(in);
The last step is to parse the JSON. A JSON file consist of different object with
different key/value pair etc. So JSONObject has a separate function for parsing
each of the component of JSON file. Its syntax is given below:
JSONObject sys

= reader.getJSONObject("sys");

country = sys.getString("country");

JSONObject main

= reader.getJSONObject("main");

temperature = main.getString("temp");
The
method getJSONObject returns
the
JSON
method getString returns the string value of the specified key.

object.

The

449

Android

Apart from these methods, there are other methods provided by this class for
better parsing JSON files. These methods are listed below:
Sr.No

Method & description

get(String name)
This method just Returns the value but in the form of Object type.

getBoolean(String name)
This method returns the boolean value specified by the key.

getDouble(String name)
This method returns the double value specified by the key.

getInt(String name)
This method returns the integer value specified by the key.

getLong(String name)
This method returns the long value specified by the key.

length()
This method returns the number of name/value mappings in this
object.

names()
This method returns an array containing the string names in this
object.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of JSONObject class. It creates a
basic Weather application that allows you to parse JSON from google weather
api and shows the result.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.

450

Android

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as JSONParser under a package com.example.jsonparser. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Create a new java file under src/HandleJSON.java to fetch and parse


XML data.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add necessary internet permission.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.jsonparser/MainActivity.java.

add

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.jsonparser;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private String url1 =


"http://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q=";
451

Android

private EditText location,country,temperature,humidity,pressure;


private HandleJSON obj;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
location = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
country = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText2);
temperature = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText3);
humidity = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText4);
pressure = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText5);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items
//to the action bar if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

public void open(View view){


String url = location.getText().toString();
String finalUrl = url1 + url;
country.setText(finalUrl);
obj = new HandleJSON(finalUrl);
obj.fetchJSON();

while(obj.parsingComplete);
country.setText(obj.getCountry());
temperature.setText(obj.getTemperature());
humidity.setText(obj.getHumidity());
pressure.setText(obj.getPressure());

452

Android

}
}
Following is the content of src/com.example.jsonparser/HandleXML.java.
package com.example.jsonparser;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.StringWriter;
import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;
import java.net.HttpURLConnection;
import java.net.URL;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;

import org.json.JSONObject;
import org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParser;
import org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParserFactory;

import android.annotation.SuppressLint;

public class HandleJSON {


private String country = "county";
private String temperature = "temperature";
private String humidity = "humidity";
private String pressure = "pressure";
private String urlString = null;

public volatile boolean parsingComplete = true;


public HandleJSON(String url){
this.urlString = url;
}
453

Android

public String getCountry(){


return country;
}
public String getTemperature(){
return temperature;
}
public String getHumidity(){
return humidity;
}
public String getPressure(){
return pressure;
}

@SuppressLint("NewApi")
public void readAndParseJSON(String in) {
try {
JSONObject reader = new JSONObject(in);

JSONObject sys

= reader.getJSONObject("sys");

country = sys.getString("country");

JSONObject main

= reader.getJSONObject("main");

temperature = main.getString("temp");

pressure = main.getString("pressure");
humidity = main.getString("humidity");

parsingComplete = false;

} catch (Exception e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
454

Android

}
public void fetchJSON(){
Thread thread = new Thread(new Runnable(){
@Override
public void run() {
try {
URL url = new URL(urlString);
HttpURLConnection conn = (HttpURLConnection)
url.openConnection();
conn.setReadTimeout(10000 /* milliseconds */);
conn.setConnectTimeout(15000 /* milliseconds */);
conn.setRequestMethod("GET");
conn.setDoInput(true);
// Starts the query
conn.connect();
InputStream stream = conn.getInputStream();

String data = convertStreamToString(stream);

readAndParseJSON(data);
stream.close();

} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
});

thread.start();
}
static String convertStreamToString(java.io.InputStream is) {
java.util.Scanner s = new
455

Android

java.util.Scanner(is).useDelimiter("\\A");
return s.hasNext() ? s.next() : "";
}
}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginTop="15dp"
android:text="@string/location"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:ems="10" />
456

Android

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_marginTop="68dp"
android:text="@string/country"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_marginTop="19dp"
android:text="@string/temperature"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_marginTop="32dp"
android:text="@string/humidity"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
457

Android

android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_marginTop="21dp"
android:text="@string/pressure"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/textView3"
android:ems="10" >

<requestFocus />
</EditText>

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText2"
android:ems="10" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText1"
android:ems="10" />

458

Android

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText5"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/editText4"
android:ems="10" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText1"
android:onClick="open"
android:text="@string/weather" />

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string name="app_name">JSONParser</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="location">Location</string>
<string name="country">Country:</string>
<string name="temperature">Temperature:</string>
<string name="humidity">Humidity:</string>
<string name="pressure">Pressure:</string>
<string name="weather">Weather</string>
</resources>

459

Android

Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.jsonparser"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.jsonparser.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>

460

Android

Let's try to run our JSONParser application we just modified. We assume, you
had created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run . icon from the
toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is
fine with your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

461

Android

Now what you need to do is to enter any location in the location field. For
example, we have entered newyork. Press the weather button, when you enter
the location. The following screen would appear in you AVD:

Now when you press the weather button, the application will contact the Google
Weather API and will request for your necessary JSON location file and will parse
it. In case of newyork following file would be returned:
London Temperature from google weather api
Note that this temperature is in kelvin, so if you want to convert it into more
understandable format, you have to convert it into Celsius.

462

Android

47. LINKEDIN INTEGRATION

Android allows your application to connect to LinkedIn and share data or any
kind of updates on LinkedIn. This chapter is about integrating LinkedIn into your
application.
There are two ways through which you can integrate LinkedIn and share
something from your application. These ways are listed below.

LinkedIn SDK (Scribe)

Intent Share

Integrating LinkedIn SDK


This is the first way of connecting with LinkedIn. You have to register your
application and then receive some Application Id, and then you have to
download the LinkedIn SDK and add it to your project. The steps are listed
below.

Registering your application


Create
a
new
LinkedIn
application
at https://www.LinkedIn.com/secure/developer. Click on add new application. It
is shown below:

Now fill in your application name, description and your website url. It is shown
below:

463

Android

If everything works fine, you will receive an API key with the secret. Just copy
the API key and save it somewhere. It is shown in the image below:

Downloading SDK and integrating it


Download LinkedIn sdk here. Copy the scribe-1.3.0.jar jar into your project libs
folder.

Posting updates on LinkedIn application


Once everything is complete, you can run the LinkedIn samples which can be
found here.

Intent share
Intent share is used to share data between applications. In this strategy, we will
not handle the SDK stuff, but let the LinkedIn application handle it. We will
simply call the LinkedIn application and pass the data to share. This way, we can
share something on LinkedIn.
Android provides intent library to share data between activities and applications.
In order to use it as share intent, we have to specify the type of the share intent
to ACTION_SEND. Its syntax is given below:
Intent shareIntent = new Intent();
shareIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
Next thing you need is to define the type of data to pass, and then pass the
data. Its syntax is given below:
shareIntent.setType("text/plain");
shareIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "Hello, from tutorialspoint");
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, "Share your thoughts"));
Apart from these methods, there are other methods available that allows intent
handling. They are listed below:

464

Android

Sr.No

Method & description

addCategory(String category)
This method adds a new category to the intent.

createChooser(Intent target, CharSequence title)


Convenience function for creating a ACTION_CHOOSER Intent.

getAction()
This method retrieve the general action to be performed, such as
ACTION_VIEW.

getCategories()
This method returns the set of all categories in the intent.nt and the
current scaling event.

putExtra(String name, int value)


This method adds extended data to the intent.

toString()
This method returns a string containing a concise, human-readable
description of this object.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of IntentShare to share data on
LinkedIn. It creates a basic application that allows you to share some text on
LinkedIn.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as IntentShare under a package com.example.intentshare. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

465

Android

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.intentshare/MainActivity.java.

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.intentshare;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;

import com.example.intentshare.R;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.DialogInterface;
import android.content.DialogInterface.OnClickListener;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Environment;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private ImageView img;


466

Android

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
img = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.imageView1);

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
public void open(View view){
Intent shareIntent = new Intent();
shareIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
shareIntent.setType("text/plain");
shareIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "Hello, from
tutorialspoint");
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, "Share your
thoughts"));

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
467

Android

android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<ImageView
android:id="@+id/imageView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginLeft="98dp"
android:layout_marginTop="139dp"
android:onClick="open"
android:src="@drawable/tp" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="48dp"
android:text="@string/tap"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">IntentShare</string>
468

Android

<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="tap">Tap the button to share something</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.intentshare"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.intentshare.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
469

Android

Let's try to run your IntentShare application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

470

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display your default screen:

471

Android

Now just tap on the image logo and you will see a list of share providers.

472

Android

Now just select LinkedIn from that list and then write any message. It is shown
in the image below:

Now, select the arrow button and then it would be posted on your LinkedIn
page. It is shown below:

473

48. LOADING SPINNER

Android

You can show progress of a task in android through loading progress bar. The
progress bar comes in two shapes. Loading bar and Loading Spinner. In this
chapter we will discuss spinner.
Spinner is used to display progress of those tasks whose total time of completion
is unknown. In order to use that, you just need to define it in the xml like this.
<ProgressBar
android:id="@+id/progressBar1"
style="?android:attr/progressBarStyleLarge"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true" />
After defining it in xml, you have to get its reference in java file through
ProgressBar class. Its syntax is given below:
private ProgressBar spinner;
spinner = (ProgressBar)findViewById(R.id.progressBar1);
After that you can make it disappear, and bring it back when needed through
setVisibility Method. Its syntax is given below:
spinner.setVisibility(View.GONE);
spinner.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
Apart from these Methods, there are other methods defined in the ProgressBar
class, that you can use to handle spinner more effectively.
Sr.No

Method & description

isIndeterminate()
Indicate whether this progress bar is in indeterminate mode.

postInvalidate()
Cause an invalidate to happen on a subsequent cycle through the
event loop.

474

Android

setIndeterminate(boolean indeterminate)
Change the indeterminate mode for this progress bar.

invalidateDrawable(Drawable dr)
Invalidates the specified Drawable.

incrementSecondaryProgressBy(int diff)
Increase the progress bar's secondary progress by the specified
amount.

getProgressDrawable()
Get the drawable used, to draw the progress bar in progress mode.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of ProgressBar to handle spinner. It
creates a basic application that allows you to turn on the spinner on clicking the
button.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Spinner under a package com.example.spinner. While creating this
project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

respective

XML

475

Android

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.spinner/MainActivity.java.

main

activity

file

package com.example.spinner;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.ProgressBar;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private ProgressBar spinner;


@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
spinner = (ProgressBar)findViewById(R.id.progressBar1);
spinner.setVisibility(View.GONE);
}
public void load(View view){
spinner.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.

476

Android

<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="103dp"
android:onClick="load"
android:text="@string/hello_world" />

<ProgressBar
android:id="@+id/progressBar1"
style="?android:attr/progressBarStyleLarge"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/button1"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true" />

</RelativeLayout>

477

Android

Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">Spinner</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">load spinner</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.spinner"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.spinner.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
478

Android

</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Let's try to run our Loading Spinner application we just modified. We assume,
you had created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is
fine with your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

Now click on the load spinner button to turn on the loading spinner. It is shown
in the image below:
479

Android

480

49. LOCALIZATION

Android

An android application can run on many devices in many different regions. In


order to make your application more interactive, your application should handle
text, numbers, files etc. in ways appropriate to the locales where your
application will be used.
Here we will explain, how you can localize your application according to different
regions etc. We will localize the strings used in the application, and in the same
way other things can be localized.

Localizing Strings
In order to localize the strings used in your application, make a new folder
under res with name of values-local where local would be the replaced with the
region.
For example, in the case of italy, the values-it folder would be made under res.
It is shown in the image below:

Once that folder is made, copy the strings.xml from default folder to the folder
you have created and change its contents. For example, we have changed the
value of hello_world string.

Italy, res/values-it/strings.xml
<;?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string name="hello_world">Ciao mondo!</string>
</resources>

481

Android

Spanish, res/values-it/strings.xml
<;?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string name="hello_world">Hola Mundo!</string>
</resources>

French, res/values-it/strings.xml
<;?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string name="hello_world">Bonjour le monde !</string>
</resources>
Apart from these languages, the region code of other languages have been given
in the table below:
Sr.No

Language & code

Afrikanns
Code: af. Folder name: values-af

Arabic
Code: ar. Folder name: values-ar

Bengali
Code: bn. Folder name: values-bn

Czech
Code: cs. Folder name: values-cs

Chinese
Code: zh. Folder name: values-zh

German
Code: de. Folder name: values-de

482

Android

French
Code: fr. Folder name: values-fr

Japanese
Code: ja. Folder name: values-ja

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of localization of strings. It creates a
basic application that allows you to customize your application according to US
and Italy region.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Locals under a package com.example.locals. While creating this
project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Create the
components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

res/values-it/string.xml

to

to

add

add

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.locals/MainActivity.java.

respective

necessary

main

XML

string

activity

file

package com.example.locals;
483

Android

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >
484

Android

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="174dp"
android:text="@string/hello_world"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">Locals</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of the res/values-it/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">Locals</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Ciao mondo!</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.

485

Android

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>


<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.locals"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >
<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.locals.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>

486

Android

Let's try to run our Localization application we just modified. We assume, you
had created yourAVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is
fine with your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

487

Android

Now change your device language setting from menu/system-settings/language


to italian.
Now open the application again and this time you will see hello world in italian
language. It has been shown below::

488

50. LOGIN SCREEN

Android

A login application is the screen asking your credentials to login to some


particular application. You might have seen it when logging into Facebook,
twitter etc.
This chapter explains, how to create a login screen and how to manage security
when false attempts are made.
First you have to define two TextView asking username and password of the
user. The password TextView must have inputType set to password. Its syntax
is given below:
<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:inputType="textPassword" />
<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
/>
Define a button with login text and set its onClick Property. After that define
the function mentioned in the onClick property in the java file.
<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:onClick="login"
android:text="@string/Login"
/>
In the java file, inside the method of onClick get the username and passwords
text using getText() and toString() method and match it with the text
using equals() function.
EditText username = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
489

Android

EditText password = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText2);


public void login(View view){
if(username.getText().toString().equals("admin") &&
password.getText().toString().equals("admin")){
//correcct password
}else{
//wrong password
}
The last thing you need to do is to provide a security mechanism, so that
unwanted attempts should be avoided. For this intialize a variable and on each
false attempt, decrement it. And when it reaches to 0, disable the login button.
int counter = 3;
counter--;
if(counter==0){
//disble the button, close the application etc.
}

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating a login application. It creates a basic
application that gives you only three attempts to login to an application.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as LoginScreen under a package com.example.loginscreen. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

respective

XML

490

Android

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.loginscreen/MainActivity.java.

main

activity

file

package com.example.loginscreen;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.graphics.Color;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private EditText

username=null;

private EditText

password=null;

private TextView attempts;


private Button login;
int counter = 3;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
username = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
password = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText2);
attempts = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.textView5);
attempts.setText(Integer.toString(counter));
login = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button1);
491

Android

public void login(View view){


if(username.getText().toString().equals("admin") &&
password.getText().toString().equals("admin")){
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Redirecting...",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
else{
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Wrong Credentials",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
attempts.setBackgroundColor(Color.RED);
counter--;
attempts.setText(Integer.toString(counter));
if(counter==0){
login.setEnabled(false);
}

}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

492

Android

Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.


<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >
<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="18dp"
android:text="@string/hello_world"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />
<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_marginTop="50dp"
android:text="@string/username"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />
<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
493

Android

android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_marginLeft="32dp"
android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/textView2"
android:ems="10" >
<requestFocus />
</EditText>

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_marginTop="38dp"
android:text="@string/password"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />
<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText1"
android:ems="10"
android:inputType="textPassword" />
<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText2"
494

Android

android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="94dp"
android:onClick="login"
android:text="@string/Login" />
<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_marginLeft="30dp"
android:layout_marginTop="48dp"
android:text="@string/attempts"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_alignTop="@+id/textView4"
android:text="TextView" />

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">LoginScreen</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Login Screen</string>
<string name="username">Username:</string>
495

Android

<string name="password">Password:</string>
<string name="Login">Login:</string>
<string name="attempts">Attempts Left:</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.loginscreen"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.loginscreen.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

496

Android

Let's try to run our Login application we just modified. We assume, you had
created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from the toolbar.
Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with
your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

497

Android

Type anything in the username and password field except admin, and then press
the login button. We put admin in the username field and nimda in the password
field. We got failed attempt. This is shown below:

498

Android

Do this two more time, and you will see that you have 0 login attempts left and
your login button is disabled.

499

Android

Now open the application again, and this time enter correct username as admin
and password as admin and click on login. You will be successfully logged in.

500

51. MEDIA PLAYER

Android

Android provides many ways to control playback of audio/video files and


streams. One of this way is through a class called MediaPlayer.
Android is providing MediaPlayer class to access built-in mediaplayer services
like playing audio, video etc. In order to use MediaPlayer, we have to call a static
Method create() of this class. This method returns an instance of MediaPlayer
class. Its syntax is as follows:
MediaPlayer mediaPlayer = MediaPlayer.create(this, R.raw.song);
The second parameter is the name of the song that you want to play. You have
to make a new folder under your project with name raw and place the music file
into it.
Once you have created the Mediaplayer object you can call some methods to
start or stop the music. These methods are listed below.
mediaPlayer.start();
mediaPlayer.pause();
On call to start() method, the music will start playing from the beginning. If this
method is called again after the pause() method, the music would start playing
from where it is left and not from the beginning.
In order to start music from the beginning, you have to call reset() method. Its
syntax is given below.
mediaPlayer.reset();
Apart from the start and pause method, there are other methods provided by
this class for better dealing with audio/video files. These methods are listed
below:
Sr.No

Method & description

isPlaying()
This method just returns true/false indicating the song is playing or
not.

seekTo(positon)
This method takes an integer, and move song to that particular
501

Android

second.
3

getCurrentDuration()
This method returns the current position of song in milliseconds.

getDuration()
This method returns the total time duration of song in milliseconds.

reset()
This method resets the media player.

release()
This method releases any resource attached with MediaPlayer object.

setVolume(float leftVolume, float rightVolume)


This method sets the up down volume for this player.

setDataSource(FileDescriptor fd)
This method sets the data source of audio/video file.

selectTrack(int
index)
This method takes an integer, and select the track from the list on
that particular index.

10

getTrackInfo()
This method returns an array of track information.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of MediaPlayer class. It creates a
basic media player that allows you to forward, backward, play and pause a song.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device to
hear the audio sound.

502

Android

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as MediaPlayer under a package com.example.mediaplayer. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add MediaPlayer code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Create a new folder under MediaPlayer with name as raw and place an
mp3 music file in it with name as song.mp3.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.mediaplayer/MainActivity.java.

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.mediaplayer;

import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;

import android.media.MediaPlayer;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.ImageButton;
import android.widget.SeekBar;
503

Android

import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

public TextView songName,startTimeField,endTimeField;


private MediaPlayer mediaPlayer;
private double startTime = 0;
private double finalTime = 0;
private Handler myHandler = new Handler();;
private int forwardTime = 5000;
private int backwardTime = 5000;
private SeekBar seekbar;
private ImageButton playButton,pauseButton;
public static int oneTimeOnly = 0;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
songName = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.textView4);
startTimeField =(TextView)findViewById(R.id.textView1);
endTimeField =(TextView)findViewById(R.id.textView2);
seekbar = (SeekBar)findViewById(R.id.seekBar1);
playButton = (ImageButton)findViewById(R.id.imageButton1);
pauseButton = (ImageButton)findViewById(R.id.imageButton2);
songName.setText("song.mp3");
mediaPlayer = MediaPlayer.create(this, R.raw.song);
seekbar.setClickable(false);
pauseButton.setEnabled(false);

public void play(View view){


Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Playing sound",
504

Android

Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
mediaPlayer.start();
finalTime = mediaPlayer.getDuration();
startTime = mediaPlayer.getCurrentPosition();
if(oneTimeOnly == 0){
seekbar.setMax((int) finalTime);
oneTimeOnly = 1;
}

endTimeField.setText(String.format("%d min, %d sec",


TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.toMinutes((long) finalTime),
TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.toSeconds((long) finalTime) TimeUnit.MINUTES.toSeconds(TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.
toMinutes((long) finalTime)))
);
startTimeField.setText(String.format("%d min, %d sec",
TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.toMinutes((long) startTime),
TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.toSeconds((long) startTime) TimeUnit.MINUTES.toSeconds(TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.
toMinutes((long) startTime)))
);
seekbar.setProgress((int)startTime);
myHandler.postDelayed(UpdateSongTime,100);
pauseButton.setEnabled(true);
playButton.setEnabled(false);
}

private Runnable UpdateSongTime = new Runnable() {


public void run() {
startTime = mediaPlayer.getCurrentPosition();
startTimeField.setText(String.format("%d min, %d sec",
TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.toMinutes((long) startTime),
TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.toSeconds((long) startTime) TimeUnit.MINUTES.toSeconds(TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.
505

Android

toMinutes((long) startTime)))
);
seekbar.setProgress((int)startTime);
myHandler.postDelayed(this, 100);
}
};
public void pause(View view){
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Pausing sound",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

mediaPlayer.pause();
pauseButton.setEnabled(false);
playButton.setEnabled(true);
}
public void forward(View view){
int temp = (int)startTime;
if((temp+forwardTime)<=finalTime){
startTime = startTime + forwardTime;
mediaPlayer.seekTo((int) startTime);
}
else{
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
"Cannot jump forward 5 seconds",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}

}
public void rewind(View view){
int temp = (int)startTime;
if((temp-backwardTime)>0){
startTime = startTime - backwardTime;
mediaPlayer.seekTo((int) startTime);
}
else{
506

Android

Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
"Cannot jump backward 5 seconds",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<ImageButton
android:id="@+id/imageButton3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
507

Android

android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_marginBottom="14dp"
android:onClick="forward"
android:src="@android:drawable/ic_media_ff" />

<ImageButton
android:id="@+id/imageButton4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_alignTop="@+id/imageButton2"
android:layout_marginLeft="22dp"
android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/imageButton2"
android:onClick="rewind"
android:src="@android:drawable/ic_media_rew" />

<ImageButton
android:id="@+id/imageButton2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignTop="@+id/imageButton1"
android:layout_marginLeft="14dp"
android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/imageButton1"
android:onClick="pause"
android:src="@android:drawable/ic_media_pause" />

<ImageButton
android:id="@+id/imageButton1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignTop="@+id/imageButton3"
android:layout_marginLeft="24dp"
android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/imageButton3"
android:onClick="play"
508

Android

android:src="@android:drawable/ic_media_play" />

<SeekBar
android:id="@+id/seekBar1"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/imageButton3"
android:layout_toLeftOf="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/textView1" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/imageButton3"
android:layout_alignTop="@+id/seekBar1"
android:text="@string/inital_Time"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/imageButton4"
android:layout_alignTop="@+id/seekBar1"
android:text="@string/inital_Time"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/imageButton3"
android:text="@string/hello_world"
509

Android

android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<ImageView
android:id="@+id/imageView1"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView3"
android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/imageButton1"
android:text="TextView" />

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">MediaPlayer</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Now Playing:</string>
<string name="inital_Time">0 min, 0 sec</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
510

Android

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>


<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.mediaplayer"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.mediaplayer.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>

511

Android

Let's try to run your MediaPlayer application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

512

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display your default screen:

513

Android

By default you would see the pause button disabled. Now press play button to
disable it, and it would enable the pause button. It is shown in the picture
below:

514

Android

Uptill now, the music has been playing. Now press the pause button and see the
pause notification. This is shown below:

515

Android

Now when you press the play button again, the song will not play from the
beginning but from where it was paused. Now press the fast forward or
backward button to jump the song forward or backward to 5 seconds. A time
would come when the song cannot be jumped forward. At this point, the
notification would appear which would be something like this:

Your music would remain playing in the background while you are doing other
tasks in your mobile. In order to stop it, you have to exit this application from
background activities.

516

52. MULTITOUCH

Android

Multi-touch gesture happens when more than one finger touches the screen at
the same time. Android allows us to detect these gestures.
Android system generates the following touch events whenever multiple fingers
touches the screen at the same time.
Sr.No

Event & description

ACTION_DOWN
For the first pointer that touches the screen. This starts the gesture.

ACTION_POINTER_DOWN
For extra pointers that enter the screen beyond the first.

ACTION_MOVE
A change has happened during a press gesture.

ACTION_POINTER_UP
Sent when a non-primary pointer goes up.

ACTION_UP
Sent when the last pointer leaves the screen.

So in order to detect any of the above mentioned event, you need to override
onTouchEvent() method and check these events manually. Its syntax is given
below:
public boolean onTouchEvent(MotionEvent ev){
final int actionPeformed = ev.getAction();
switch(actionPeformed){
case MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN:{
break;
}
517

Android

case MotionEvent.ACTION_MOVE:{
break;
}
return true;
}
In these cases, you can perform any calculation you like. For example zooming,
shrinking etc. In order to get the co-ordinates of the X and Y axis, you can
call getX() and getY()method. Its syntax is given below:
final float x = ev.getX();
final float y = ev.getY();
Apart from these methods, there are other methods provided by this
MotionEvent class for better dealing with multitouch. These methods are listed
below:
Sr.No

Method & description

getAction()
This method returns the kind of action being performed.

getPressure()
This method returns the current pressure of this event for the first
index.

getRawX()
This method returns the original raw X coordinate of this event.

getRawY()
This method returns the original raw Y coordinate of this event.

getSize()
This method returns the size for the first pointer index.

getSource()
This method gets the source of the event.

518

Android

getXPrecision()
This method returns the precision of the X coordinates being reported.

getYPrecision()
This method returns the precision of the Y coordinates being reported.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of Multitouch. It creates a basic
Multitouch gesture application that allows you to view the co-ordinates when
multitouch is performed.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Multitouch under a package com.example.multitouch. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add multitouch code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.multitouch/MainActivity.java.

add

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.multitouch;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
519

Android

import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MotionEvent;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

float xAxis = 0f;


float yAxis = 0f;
float lastXAxis = 0f;
float lastYAxis = 0f;
private EditText xText,yText,moveX,moveY;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
xText = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText2);
yText = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText3);
moveX = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
moveY = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText4);
}
@Override
public boolean onTouchEvent(MotionEvent ev){
final int actionPeformed = ev.getAction();
switch(actionPeformed){
case MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN:{
final float x = ev.getX();
final float y = ev.getY();
lastXAxis = x;
lastYAxis = y;
xText.setText(Float.toString(lastXAxis));
yText.setText(Float.toString(lastYAxis));
break;
520

Android

}
case MotionEvent.ACTION_MOVE:{
final float x = ev.getX();
final float y = ev.getY();
final float dx = x - lastXAxis;
final float dy = y - lastYAxis;
xAxis += dx;
yAxis += dy;
moveX.setText(Float.toString(xAxis));
moveY.setText(Float.toString(yAxis));
break;
}
}
return true;

}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
521

Android

android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText2"
android:ems="10" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_marginTop="25dp"
android:ems="10" >
<requestFocus />
</EditText>

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText3"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText3"
android:ems="10" >
</EditText>

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
522

Android

android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText1"
android:ems="10" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/editText3"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:text="@string/xaxis"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/editText3"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/textView2"
android:text="@string/yaxis"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/editText4"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView3"
android:text="@string/MoveX"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
523

Android

android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/editText4"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/editText4"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/textView4"
android:text="@string/MoveY"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView6"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginBottom="109dp"
android:text="@string/perform"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string name="app_name">Gestures</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Pinch to zoom in or out!</string>
<string name="xaxis">X-Axis</string>
<string name="yaxis">Y-Axis</string>
<string name="MoveX">Move X</string>
<string name="MoveY">Move Y</string>
<string name="perform">Touch here</string>
</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
524

Android

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.multitouch"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.multitouch.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>

525

Android

Let's try to run your Multitouch application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

526

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display your default screen:

527

Android

By default you will see nothing in any field. Now just tap on the Touch here area
and see some data in the fields. It is shown below:

528

Android

You will see that the data in the Move field is 0, because only a single touch
gesture has been performed. Now tap on the screen and start dragging your
finger. You will see the change in the data of the move field. It is shown below:

529

53. NAVIGATION

Android

We will see how you can provide navigation forward and backward between an
application in this chapter. We will first look at how to provide up navigation in
an application.

Providing Up Navigation
The up navigation will allow our application to move to previous activity from the
next activity. It can be done like this.
To implement Up navigation, the first step is to declare which activity is the
appropriate
parent
for
each
activity.
You
can
do
it
by
specifying parentActivityName attibute in an activity. Its syntax is given
below:
android:parentActivityName="com.example.test.MainActivity"
After
that
you
need
to
call setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled method
of getActionBar() in the onCreate method of the activity. This will enable the
back button in the top action bar.
getActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
The last thing you need to do is to override onOptionsItemSelected method.
When
the
user
presses
it,
your
activity
receives
a
call
to
onOptionsItemSelected(). The ID for the action is android.R.id.home. Its
syntax is given below:
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
switch (item.getItemId()) {
case android.R.id.home:
NavUtils.navigateUpFromSameTask(this);
return true;
}
}

Handling device back button


Since you have enabled your back button to navigate within your application,
you might want to put the application close function in the device back button.
530

Android

It
can
be
done
by
overriding onBackPressed and
calling moveTaskToBack and finish method. Its syntax is given below:

then

@Override
public void onBackPressed() {
moveTaskToBack(true);
MainActivity2.this.finish();
}
Apart from this setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled method, there are other methods
available in ActionBar API class. They are listed below:
Sr.No

Method & description

addTab(ActionBar.Tab tab, boolean setSelected)


This method adds a tab for use in tabbed navigation mode.

getSelectedTab()
This method returns the currently selected tab if in tabbed navigation
mode and at least one tab is present there. If there is none than it
returns null.

hide()
This method hides the ActionBar if it is currently showing.

removeAllTabs()
This method remove all tabs from the action bar and deselects the
current tab.

selectTab(ActionBar.Tab tab)
This method selects the specified tab.

Example:
The below example demonstrates the use of Navigation. It creates a basic
application that allows you to navigate within your application.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device or in
an emulator.
531

Android

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as test under a package com.example.test. While creating this project,
make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest version of
Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add Activity code.

Create a new activity with the name of MainActivity2 and edit it to add
activity code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main_activity2.xml add any


GUI component if required.

Modify res/values/string.xml
components.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add necessary code.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

file

and

add

necessary

string

Here is the content of src/com.example.test/MainActivity.java.


package com.example.test;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

532

Android

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}

public void activity2(View view){


Intent intent = new
Intent(this,com.example.test.MainActivity2.class);
startActivity(intent);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Here is the content of src/com.example.test/MainActivity2.java.
package com.example.test;

import android.annotation.SuppressLint;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v4.app.NavUtils;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MenuItem;
import android.view.View;

533

Android

public class MainActivity2 extends Activity {

@SuppressLint("NewApi")
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main_activity2);
getActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main_activity2, menu);
return true;
}
@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
switch (item.getItemId()) {
// Respond to the action bar's Up/Home button
case android.R.id.home:
NavUtils.navigateUpFromSameTask(this);
return true;
}
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}
@Override
public void onBackPressed() {
moveTaskToBack(true);
MainActivity2.this.finish();
}

}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml.
534

Android

<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="87dp"
android:text="@string/test1"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_centerVertical="true"
android:onClick="activity2"
android:text="@string/go2" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of activity_main_activity2.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
535

Android

xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity2" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="125dp"
android:text="@string/test2"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of Strings.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">test</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="test1">This is activity 1</string>
<string name="test2">This is activity 2</string>
<string name="go1">Go to activity 1</string>
<string name="go2">Go to activity 2</string>
<string name="title_activity_main_activity2">MainActivity2</string>
536

Android

</resources>
Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.test"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="14" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.test.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
<activity
android:name="com.example.test.MainActivity2"
android:label="@string/title_activity_main_activity2"
android:parentActivityName="com.example.test.MainActivity" >
</activity>
</application>
537

Android

</manifest>
Let's try to run your Navigation application. We assume, you had created
your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse, open one
of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar. Eclipse
installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with your
setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

538

Android

Now just press the go to activity2 button and the following screen will be shown
to you.

539

Android

Now at the top right corner, you will see the back button. Just press the back
button and you will be brought to the first activity.

540

Android

Now again go to activity2 and this time press the device exit button. You will see
your application will be closed. It is shown in the image below:

541

Android

54. NETWORK CONNECTION

Android lets your application connect to the internet or any other local network
and allows you to perform network operations.
A device can have various types of network connections. This chapter focuses on
using either a Wi-Fi or a mobile network connection.

Checking Network Connection


Before you perform any network operations, you must first check if you are
connected
to
that
network
or
internet
etc.
For
this,
android
provides ConnectivityManager class. You need to instantiate an object of this
class by calling getSystemService() method. Its syntax is given below:
ConnectivityManager check = (ConnectivityManager)
this.context.getSystemService(Context.CONNECTIVITY_SERVICE);
Once you instantiate the object of ConnectivityManager class, you can use
getAllNetworkInfo method to get the information of all the networks. This
method returns an array of NetworkInfo. So you have to receive it like this.
NetworkInfo[] info = check.getAllNetworkInfo();
The last thing you need to do is to check Connected State of the network. Its
syntax is given below:
for (int i = 0; i<info.length; i++){
if (info[i].getState() == NetworkInfo.State.CONNECTED){
Toast.makeText(context, "Internet is connected
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
Apart from this connected states, there are other states a network can achieve.
They are listed below:
Sr.No

State

Connecting

542

Android

Disconnected

Disconnecting

Suspended

Unknown

Performing Network Operations


After checking that you are connected to the internet, you can perform any
network operation. Here we are fetching the html of a website from a url.
Android
provides HttpURLConnection and URL class
to
handle
these
operations. You need to instantiate an object of URL class by providing the link
of website. Its syntax is as follows:
String link = "http://www.google.com";
URL url = new URL(link);
After that you need to call openConnection method of url class and receive it in
an HttpURLConnection object. After that you need to call the connect method of
HttpURLConnection class.
HttpURLConnection conn = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection();
conn.connect();
And the last thing you need to do is to fetch the HTML from the website. For this
you will use InputStream and BufferedReader class. Its syntax is given below:
InputStream is = conn.getInputStream();
BufferedReader reader =new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(is, "UTF8"));
String webPage = "",data="";
while ((data = reader.readLine()) != null){
webPage += data + "\n";
}
Apart from this connect method, there are other methods available in
HttpURLConnection class. They are listed below:

543

Android

Sr.No

Method & description

disconnect()
This method releases this connection so that its resources may be
either reused or closed.

getRequestMethod()
This method returns the request method which will be used to make
the request to the remote HTTP server.

getResponseCode()
This method returns response code returned by the remote HTTP
server.

setRequestMethod(String method)
This method Sets the request command which will be sent to the
remote HTTP server.

usingProxy()
This method returns whether this connection uses a proxy server or
not.

Example:
The below example demonstrates the use of HttpURLConnection class. It creates
a basic application that allows you to download HTML from a given webpage.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device on
which wifi internet is connected.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as
NetworkConnection
under
a
package
com.example.networkconnection. While creating this project, make
sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest version of Android
SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add Activity code.


544

Android

Create src/DownloadWebPage.java file to add NetworkConnection


code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Modify res/values/string.xml
components.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add necessary permissions.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

file

and

add

necessary

Here
is
the
of src/com.example.networkconnection/MainActivity.java.

string

content

package com.example.networkconnection;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private EditText urlField;


private TextView data;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
urlField = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
data = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.textView2);
545

Android

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

public void download(View view){

String url = urlField.getText().toString();


new DownloadWebPage(this,data).execute(url);
}

}
Here
is
the
content
of src/com.example.networkconnection/DownloadWebPage.java.
package com.example.networkconnection;

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.net.HttpURLConnection;
import java.net.URL;

import android.content.Context;
import android.net.ConnectivityManager;
import android.net.NetworkInfo;
import android.os.AsyncTask;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.TextView;
546

Android

import android.widget.Toast;

public class DownloadWebPage extends AsyncTask{

private TextView dataField;


private Context context;
public DownloadWebPage(Context context,TextView dataField) {
this.context = context;
this.dataField = dataField;
}

//check Internet connection.


private void checkInternetConenction(){
ConnectivityManager check = (ConnectivityManager) this.context.
getSystemService(Context.CONNECTIVITY_SERVICE);
if (check != null)
{
NetworkInfo[] info = check.getAllNetworkInfo();
if (info != null)
for (int i = 0; i <info.length; i++)
if (info[i].getState() == NetworkInfo.State.CONNECTED)
{
Toast.makeText(context, "Internet is connected",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}

}
else{
Toast.makeText(context, "not conencted to internet",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
protected void onPreExecute(){
547

Android

checkInternetConenction();
}
@Override
protected String doInBackground(String... arg0) {
try{
String link = (String)arg0[0];
URL url = new URL(link);
HttpURLConnection conn = (HttpURLConnection)
url.openConnection();
conn.setReadTimeout(10000);
conn.setConnectTimeout(15000);
conn.setRequestMethod("GET");
conn.setDoInput(true);
conn.connect();
InputStream is = conn.getInputStream();
BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader
(is, "UTF-8") );
String data = null;
String webPage = "";
while ((data = reader.readLine()) != null){
webPage += data + "\n";
}
return webPage;
}catch(Exception e){
return new String("Exception: " + e.getMessage());
}
}
@Override
protected void onPostExecute(String result){
this.dataField.setText(result);
}
}

548

Android

Here is the content of activity_main.xml.


<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="30dp"
android:text="@string/url"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="18dp"
android:ems="10" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
549

Android

android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="69dp"
android:onClick="download"
android:text="@string/click" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_below="@+id/button1"
android:layout_marginTop="56dp"
android:text="@string/google"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of Strings.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">NetworkConnection</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="url">URL here</string>
<string name="click">Download WebPage</string>
<string name="google">http://www.tutorialspoint.com</string>
</resources>

550

Android

Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.networkconnection"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>
<uses-permission
android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.networkconnection.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

551

Android

Let's try to run your NetworkConnection application. We assume, you have


connected your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app
from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from
the toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following
window to select an option where you want to run your Android application.

552

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

553

Android

Now just type in your website whose HTML you want to fetch. In our case we are
typing tutorialspoint.com. It is shown in the figure:

554

Android

Now press the Download WebPage button and wait for a few seconds and HTML
will be downloaded and will be shown to you. It is shown in the figure below:

555

55. NFC GUIDE

Android

NFC stands for Near Field Communication, and as the name implies it
provides a wireless communication mechanism between two compatible devices.
NFC is a short range wireless technology having a range of 4cm or less for two
devices to share data.

How It Works:
Like Bluetooth and WiFi, and all manner of other wireless signals, NFC works on
the principle of sending information over radio waves. NFC data is send through
electromagnetic induction between two devices.
NFC works on the basis of tags, it allows you to share some amount of data
between an NFC tag and an android powered device or between two android
powered devices. Tags have various set of complexities. The Data stored in the
tag can be written in a variety of formats, but android APIs are based around a
NFC standard called as NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF).
The transmission frequency for data across NFC is 13.56 megahertz, and data
can be sent at either 106, 212 or 424 kilobytes per second, which is quick
enough for a range of data transfers from contact details to swapping pictures,
songs and videos.
Android powered devices with NFC supports following three main modes of
operations:

Three Modes of Operation

Reader/Writer Mode:
It allows the NFC device to read or write passive NFC tags.

P2P mode:
This mode allows NFC device to exchange data with other NFC peers.

Card emulation mode:


It allows the NFC device itself to act as an NFC card, so it can be accessed
by an external NFC reader.

How it works with Android:


To get the permission to access NFC Hardware, add the following permission in
your Android.Manifest file.

556

Android

<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="10"/>
First thing to note is that not all android powered devices provide NFC
technology. So to make sure that your application shows up in google play for
only those devices that have NFC Hardware, add the following line in
your Android.Manifest file.
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.nfc"
android:required="true"/>
Android provides an android.nfc package for communicating with another device.
This package contains following classes:
Sr.No

Classes

NdefMessage
It represents an immutable NDEF Message. .

NdefRecord
It represents an immutable NDEF Record.

NfcAdapter
It represents the local NFC adapter.

NfcEvent
It wraps information associated with any NFC event.

NfcManager
It is a high level manager used to obtain an instance of an NfcAdapter.

Tag
It represents an NFC tag that has been discovered.

NFC tags system works in android with the help of some intent filters that are
listed below:

557

Android

Sr.No

Filters & Features

ACTION_NDEF_DISCOVERED
This intent is used to start an Activity when a tag contains an NDEF
payload.

ACTION_TECH_DISCOVERED
This intent is used to start an activity if the tag does not contain NDEF
data, but is of known technology.

ACTION_TAG_DISCOVERED
This
intent
is
started
if
no
activities
handle
the
ACTION_NDEF_DISCOVERED or ACTION_TECH_DISCOVERED intents.

To code an application that uses NFC technology is complex so don't use it in


your app unless necessary. The use of NFC is not common in devices but it is
getting popular. Let's see what is the future of this technology:

Future Applications
With this technology growing day by day and due to introduction of contact-less
payment systems this technology is getting a boom. A service known as Google
Wallet is already introduced in the US whose purpose is to make our
smartphones a viable alternative to credit and transport cards.

558

56. PHP/MYSQL

Android

Here, in this chapter, we are going to explain, how you can integrate PHP and
MYSQL with your android application. This is very useful in case you have a
webserver, and you want to access its data on your android application.
MYSQL is used as a database at the webserver and PHP is used to fetch data
from the database. Our application will communicate with the PHP page with
necessary parameters and PHP will contact MYSQL database and will fetch the
result and return the results to us.

PHP - MYSQL
Creating Database
MYSQL database can be created easily using this simple script. The CREATE
DATABASE statement creates the database.
<?php
$con=mysqli_connect("example.com","username","password");
$sql="CREATE DATABASE my_db";
if (mysqli_query($con,$sql))
{
echo "Database my_db created successfully";
}
?>

Creating Tables
Once database is created, it is time to create some tables in the database.
The CREATE TABLE statement creates the database.
<?php
$con=mysqli_connect("example.com","username","password","my_db");
$sql="CREATE TABLE table1(Username CHAR(30),Password CHAR(30),Role
CHAR(30))";
if (mysqli_query($con,$sql))
{
echo "Table have been created successfully";
559

Android

}
?>

Inserting Values in tables


When the database and tables are created,it is time to insert some data into the
tables. The Insert Into statement creates the database.
<?php
$con=mysqli_connect("example.com","username","password","my_db");
$sql="INSERT INTO table1 (FirstName, LastName, Age) VALUES ('admin',
'admin','adminstrator')";
if (mysqli_query($con,$sql))
{
echo "Values have been inserted successfully";
}
?>

PHP - GET and POST methods


PHP is also used to fetch the record from the mysql database once it is created.
In order to fetch record some information must be passed to PHP page regarding
what record to be fetched.
The first method to pass information is through GET method in
which $_GET command is used. The variables are passed in the url and the
record is fetched. Its syntax is given below:
<?php
$con=mysqli_connect("example.com","username","password","database name");
if (mysqli_connect_errno($con))
{
echo "Failed to connect to MySQL: " . mysqli_connect_error();
}
$username = $_GET['username'];
$password = $_GET['password'];
$result
=
mysqli_query($con,"SELECT
Role
Username='$username' and Password='$password'");

FROM

table1

where

$row = mysqli_fetch_array($result);
560

Android

$data = $row[0];
if($data){
echo $data;
}
mysqli_close($con);
?>
The second method is to use POST method. The only change in the above script
is to replace $_GET with $_POST. In Post method, the variables are not passed
through URL.

Android - Connecting MYSQL


Connecting Via Get Method
There are two ways to connect to MYSQL via PHP page. The first one is
called Get method. We will use HttpGet and HttpClient class to connect. Their
syntax is given below:
URL url = new URL(link);
HttpClient client = new DefaultHttpClient();
HttpGet request = new HttpGet();
request.setURI(new URI(link));
After that you need to call execute method of HttpClient class and receive it in a
HttpResponse object. After that you need to open streams to receive the data.
HttpResponse response = client.execute(request);
BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader
(new InputStreamReader(response.getEntity().getContent()));

Connecting Via Post Method


In the Post method, the URLEncoder, URLConnection class will be used. The
urlencoder will encode the information of the passing variables. It's syntax is
given below:
URL url = new URL(link);
String data

= URLEncoder.encode("username", "UTF-8")

+ "=" + URLEncoder.encode(username, "UTF-8");


data += "&" + URLEncoder.encode("password", "UTF-8")
561

Android

+ "=" + URLEncoder.encode(password, "UTF-8");


URLConnection conn = url.openConnection();
The last thing you need to do is to write this data to the link. After writing, you
need to open stream to receive the responded data.
OutputStreamWriter wr = new OutputStreamWriter(conn.getOutputStream());
wr.write( data );
BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new
InputStreamReader(conn.getInputStream()));

Example:
The below example is a complete example of connecting your android application
with MYSQL database via PHP page. It creates a basic application that allows you
to login using GET and POST method.

PHP - MYSQL part


In this example a database with the name of temp has been created at
000webhost.com. In that database, a table has been created with the name of
table1. This table has three fields. (Username, Password, Role). The table has
only one record which is ("admin","admin","adminstrator").
The php page has been given below which takes parameters by post method.
<?php
$con=mysqli_connect("mysql10.000webhost.com","username","password","db_na
me");
if (mysqli_connect_errno($con))
{
echo "Failed to connect to MySQL: " . mysqli_connect_error();
}
$username = $_POST['username'];
$password = $_POST['password'];
$result = mysqli_query($con,"SELECT Role FROM table1 where
Username='$username' and Password='$password'");
$row = mysqli_fetch_array($result);
$data = $row[0];
if($data){
562

Android

echo $data;
}
mysqli_close($con);
?>

Android Part
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device on
which wifi internet is connected.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as PHPMYSQL under a package com.example.phpmysql. While creating
this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add Activity code.

Create src/SiginActivity.java file to add PHPMYSQL code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Modify res/values/string.xml
components.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add necessary permissions.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

file

and

add

necessary

string

Here is the content of src/com.example.phpmysql/MainActivity.java.


package com.example.phpmysql;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
563

Android

import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private EditText usernameField,passwordField;


private TextView status,role,method;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
usernameField = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
passwordField = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText2);
status = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.textView6);
role = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.textView7);
method = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.textView9);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
public void login(View view){
String username = usernameField.getText().toString();
String password = passwordField.getText().toString();
method.setText("Get Method");
new SigninActivity(this,status,role,0).execute(username,password);

}
564

Android

public void loginPost(View view){


String username = usernameField.getText().toString();
String password = passwordField.getText().toString();
method.setText("Post Method");
new SigninActivity(this,status,role,1).execute(username,password);

}
Here is the content of src/com.example.phpmysql/SigninActivity.java.
package com.example.phpmysql;

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.OutputStreamWriter;
import java.net.URI;
import java.net.URL;
import java.net.URLConnection;
import java.net.URLEncoder;

import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;
import org.apache.http.client.HttpClient;
import org.apache.http.client.methods.HttpGet;
import org.apache.http.impl.client.DefaultHttpClient;

import android.content.Context;
import android.os.AsyncTask;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class SigninActivity

extends AsyncTask<String,Void,String>{

private TextView statusField,roleField;


private Context context;
565

Android

private int byGetOrPost = 0;


//flag 0 means get and 1 means post.(By default it is get.)
public SigninActivity(Context context,TextView statusField,
TextView roleField,int flag) {
this.context = context;
this.statusField = statusField;
this.roleField = roleField;
byGetOrPost = flag;
}

protected void onPreExecute(){

}
@Override
protected String doInBackground(String... arg0) {
if(byGetOrPost == 0){ //means by Get Method
try{
String username = (String)arg0[0];
String password = (String)arg0[1];
String link =
"http://myphpmysqlweb.hostei.com/login.php?username="
+username+"&password="+password;
URL url = new URL(link);
HttpClient client = new DefaultHttpClient();
HttpGet request = new HttpGet();
request.setURI(new URI(link));
HttpResponse response = client.execute(request);
BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader
(new InputStreamReader(response.getEntity().getContent()));

StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("");


String line="";
while ((line = in.readLine()) != null) {
sb.append(line);
566

Android

break;
}
in.close();
return sb.toString();
}catch(Exception e){
return new String("Exception: " + e.getMessage());
}
}
else{
try{
String username = (String)arg0[0];
String password = (String)arg0[1];
String link="http://myphpmysqlweb.hostei.com/loginpost.php";
String data

= URLEncoder.encode("username", "UTF-8")

+ "=" + URLEncoder.encode(username, "UTF-8");


data += "&" + URLEncoder.encode("password", "UTF-8")
+ "=" + URLEncoder.encode(password, "UTF-8");
URL url = new URL(link);
URLConnection conn = url.openConnection();
conn.setDoOutput(true);
OutputStreamWriter wr = new OutputStreamWriter
(conn.getOutputStream());
wr.write( data );
wr.flush();
BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader
(new InputStreamReader(conn.getInputStream()));
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
String line = null;
// Read Server Response
while((line = reader.readLine()) != null)
{
sb.append(line);
break;
}
567

Android

return sb.toString();
}catch(Exception e){
return new String("Exception: " + e.getMessage());
}
}
}
@Override
protected void onPostExecute(String result){
this.statusField.setText("Login Successful");
this.roleField.setText(result);
}
}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_marginTop="25dp"
android:ems="10"
android:inputType="textPassword" >
568

Android

</EditText>

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginTop="44dp"
android:ems="10" >

<requestFocus android:layout_width="wrap_content" />

</EditText>

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:text="@string/Username" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:text="@string/App"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView7"
569

Android

android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView6"
android:text="@string/Role"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium"
android:textSize="10sp" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView6"
android:layout_marginTop="27dp"
android:layout_toLeftOf="@+id/editText1"
android:text="@string/LoginRole" />
<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView8"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/textView6"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_marginBottom="27dp"
android:text="@string/method" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView8"
android:layout_below="@+id/button1"
android:layout_marginTop="86dp"
android:text="@string/LoginStatus" />

570

Android

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView6"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignTop="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:text="@string/Status"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium"
android:textSize="10sp" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView9"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView8"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView6"
android:text="@string/Choose"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium"
android:textSize="10sp" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerVertical="true"
android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/textView6"
android:onClick="loginPost"
android:text="@string/LoginPost" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
571

Android

android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/button2"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/button2"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView2"
android:onClick="login"
android:text="@string/LoginGet" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:text="@string/Password" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of Strings.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">PHPMYSQL</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="Username">Username</string>
<string name="Password">Password</string>
<string name="LoginGet">Login - Get</string>
<string name="LoginPost">Login - Post</string>
<string name="App">Login Application</string>
<string name="LoginStatus">Login Status</string>
<string name="LoginRole">Login Role</string>
<string name="Status">Not login</string>
<string name="Role">Not assigned</string>
<string name="method">Login Method</string>
572

Android

<string name="Choose">Choose Method</string>

</resources>
Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.phpmysql"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>
<uses-permission
android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.phpmysql.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>

573

Android

Let's try to run your PHPMYSQL application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

574

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

575

Android

Now just type in your username and password. In our case we are typing admin
as username and password. It is shown in the figure:

576

Android

Now press the Get button, wait a few seconds and response will be downloaded
and will be shown to you. In this case, the response is the ROLE that is fetched
in case of admin as username and password. It is shown in the figure below:

577

Android

Now again press the POST button and same result woud appear. It is shown in
the figure below:

578

57. PROGRESS CIRCLE

Android

The easiest way to make a progress circle is using a class called ProgressDialog.
The loading bar can also be made through that class. The only logical difference
between bar and circle is, that the former is used when you know the total time
for waiting for a particular task whereas the latter is used when you do not know
the waiting time.
In order to this, you need to instantiate an object of this class. Its syntax is.
ProgressDialog progress = new ProgressDialog(this);
Now you can set some properties of this dialog. Such as, its style,its text etc.
progress.setMessage("Downloading Music :) ");
progress.setProgressStyle(ProgressDialog.STYLE_SPINNER);
progress.setIndeterminate(true);
Apart from these methods, there are other methods that are provided by the
ProgressDialog class.
Sr. No

Style and description

getMax()
This method returns the maximum value of the progress.

incrementProgressBy(int diff)
This method increment the progress bar by the difference of value
passed as a parameter.

setIndeterminate(boolean indeterminate)
This method sets
indeterminate.

the

progress

indicator

as

determinate

or

setMax(int max)
This method sets the maximum value of the progress dialog.

setProgress(int value)
This method is used to update the progress dialog with some specific
579

Android

value.
6

show(Context context, CharSequence title, CharSequence


message)
This is a static method, used to display progress dialog.

Example:
This example demonstrates the spinning use of the progress dialog. It display a
spinning progress dialog on pressing the button.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device on
after developing the application according to the steps below.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as ProgressDialog under a package com.example.progressdialog.
While creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile
With at the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add progress code to display the


spinning progress dialog.

Modify res/layout/activity_main.xml file to add respective XML code.

Modify res/values/string.xml file to add a message as a string


constant.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
src/com.example.progressdialog/MainActivity.java.

activity

file

package com.example.progressdialog;

import com.example.progressdialog.R;

580

Android

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.ProgressDialog;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private ProgressDialog progress;


@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
progress = new ProgressDialog(this);
}

public void open(View view){


progress.setMessage("Downloading Music :) ");
progress.setProgressStyle(ProgressDialog.STYLE_SPINNER);
progress.setIndeterminate(true);
progress.show();

final int totalProgressTime = 100;

final Thread t = new Thread(){

@Override
public void run(){

int jumpTime = 0;
while(jumpTime < totalProgressTime){
try {
sleep(200);
581

Android

jumpTime += 5;
progress.setProgress(jumpTime);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}

}
};
t.start();

}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
}
Modify the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml to the following:
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >
582

Android

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="150dp"
android:onClick="open"
android:text="@string/download_button" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginTop="19dp"
android:text="@string/download_text"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

</RelativeLayout>
Modify the res/values/string.xml to the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string name="app_name">ProgressDialog</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="download_button">Download</string>
<string
name="download_text">Press
music</string>

the

button

to

download

</resources>

583

Android

This is the default AndroidManifest.xml:


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.progressdialog"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.progressdialog.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

584

Android

Let's try to run your ProgressDialog application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

585

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

586

Android

Just press the button to start the Progress Dialog. After pressing, following
screen would appear:

587

Android

58. PROGRESS BAR USING PROGRESS


DIALOG
Progress bars are used to show progress of a task. For example, when you are
uploading or downloading something from the internet, it is better to show the
progress of download/upload to the user.
In android there is a class called ProgressDialog that allows you to create
progress bar. In order to do this, you need to instantiate an object of this class.
Its syntax is.
ProgressDialog progress = new ProgressDialog(this);
Now you can set some properties of this dialog. Such as, its style, its text etc.
progress.setMessage("Downloading Music :) ");
progress.setProgressStyle(ProgressDialog.STYLE_HORIZONTAL);
progress.setIndeterminate(true);
Apart from these methods, there are other methods that are provided by the
ProgressDialog class
Sr.
NO

Title and description

getMax()
This method returns the maximum value of the progress.

incrementProgressBy(int diff)
This method increments the progress bar by the difference of value
passed as a parameter.

setIndeterminate(boolean indeterminate)
This method sets
indeterminate.

the

progress

indicator

as

determinate

or

setMax(int max)
This method sets the maximum value of the progress dialog.

setProgress(int value)
588

Android

This method is used to update the progress dialog with some specific
value.
6

show(Context
message)

context,

CharSequence

title,

CharSequence

This is a static method, used to display progress dialog.

Example:
This example demonstrates the horizontol use of the progress dialog which is in
fact a progress bar. It display a progress bar on pressing the button.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device after
developing the application according to the steps below.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as ProgressDialog under a package com.example.progressdialog.
While creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile
With at the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add progress code to display the


progress dialog.

Modify res/layout/activity_main.xml file to add respective XML code.

Modify res/values/string.xml file to add a message as a string


constant.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
src/com.example.progressdialog/MainActivity.java.

activity

file

package com.example.progressdialog;

import com.example.progressdialog.R;
589

Android

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.ProgressDialog;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private ProgressDialog progress;


@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
progress = new ProgressDialog(this);
}

public void open(View view){


progress.setMessage("Downloading Music :) ");
progress.setProgressStyle(ProgressDialog.STYLE_HORIZONTAL);
progress.setIndeterminate(true);
progress.show();

final int totalProgressTime = 100;

final Thread t = new Thread(){

@Override
public void run(){

int jumpTime = 0;
while(jumpTime < totalProgressTime){
try {
590

Android

sleep(200);
jumpTime += 5;
progress.setProgress(jumpTime);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}

}
};
t.start();

}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
}
Modify the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml to the following:
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
591

Android

tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="150dp"
android:onClick="open"
android:text="@string/download_button" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginTop="19dp"
android:text="@string/download_text"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

</RelativeLayout>
Modify the res/values/string.xml to the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string name="app_name">ProgressDialog</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="download_button">Download</string>
<string
name="download_text">Press
music</string>

the

button

to

download

</resources>
592

Android

This is the default AndroidManifest.xml:


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.progressdialog"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.progressdialog.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

593

Android

Let's try to run your ProgressDialog application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

594

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

595

Android

Just press the button to start the Progress bar. After pressing, following screen
would appear:

596

Android

It will continuously update itself, and after few seconds, it would appear
something like this.

597

59. PUSH NOTIFICATION

Android

A notification is a message you can display to the user outside of your


application's normal UI. You can create your own notifications in android very
easily.
Android provides NotificationManager class for this purpose. In order to use
this class, you need to instantiate an object of this class by requesting the
android system through getSystemService() method. Its syntax is given
below:
NotificationManager NM;
NM=(NotificationManager)getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);
After that you will create Notification through Notification class and specify its
attributes such as icon, title and time etc. Its syntax is given below:
Notification notify=new
Notification(android.R.drawable.stat_notify_more,title,System.currentTime
Millis());
The next thing you need to do is to create a PendingIntent by passing context
and intent as a parameter. By giving a PendingIntent to another application, you
are granting it the right to perform the operation you have specified as if the
other application was yourself.
PendingIntent pending=PendingIntent.getActivity(getApplicationContext(),
0, new Intent(),0);
The last thing you need to do is to call setLatestEventInfo method of the
Notification class and pass the pending intent along with notification subject and
body details. Its syntax is given below. And then finally call the notify method of
the NotificationManager class.
notify.setLatestEventInfo(getApplicationContext(), subject,
body,pending);
NM.notify(0, notify);
Apart from the notify method, there are other methods available in the
NotificationManager class. They are listed below:

598

Android

Sr.No

Method & description

cancel(int id)
This method cancels a previously shown notification.

cancel(String tag, int id)


This method also cancels a previously shown notification.

cancelAll()
This method cancels all previously shown notifications.

notify(int id, Notification notification)


This method posts a notification to be shown in the status bar.

notify(String tag, int id, Notification notification)


This method also Post a notification to be shown in the status bar.

Example:
The below example demonstrates the use of NotificationManager class. It
creates a basic application that allows you to create a notification.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device or in
an emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Status under a package com.example.status. While creating this
project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add Notification code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Modify

res/values/string.xml

file

and

add

necessary

string
599

Android

components.
5

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

Here is the content of src/com.example.status/MainActivity.java.


package com.example.status;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.Notification;
import android.app.NotificationManager;
import android.app.PendingIntent;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

NotificationManager NM;
EditText one,two,three;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
one = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
two = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText2);
three = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText3);
}

@Override
600

Android

public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {


// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

@SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
public void notify(View vobj){
String title = one.getText().toString();
String subject = two.getText().toString();
String body = three.getText().toString();
NM=(NotificationManager)getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVIC
E);
Notification notify=new Notification(android.R.drawable.
stat_notify_more,title,System.currentTimeMillis());
PendingIntent pending=PendingIntent.getActivity(
getApplicationContext(),0, new Intent(),0);
notify.setLatestEventInfo(getApplicationContext(),subject,body,pendi
ng);
NM.notify(0, notify);
}
}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
601

Android

android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginBottom="86dp"
android:onClick="notify"
android:text="@string/notification" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginTop="53dp"
android:ems="10" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_marginTop="28dp"
android:ems="10" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText3"
602

Android

android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_marginTop="23dp"
android:ems="10" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_marginRight="14dp"
android:layout_toLeftOf="@+id/editText1"
android:text="@string/title" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/editText3"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/textView1"
android:text="@string/heading" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/editText3"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView2"
android:text="@string/body" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView4"
603

Android

android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/textView2"
android:text="@string/create"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />
</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of Strings.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">Status</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="notification">Notify</string>
<string name="title">Title</string>
<string name="heading">Subject</string>
<string name="body">Body</string>
<string name="create">Create Notification</string>

</resources>
Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.status"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
604

Android

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.status.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>

605

Android

Let's try to run your TextToSpeech application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

606

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

607

Android

Now fill in the field with the title, subject and the body. This has been shown
below in the figure:

608

Android

Now click on the notify button and you will see a notification in the top
notification bar. It has been shown below:

609

Android

Now scroll down the notification bar and see the notification. This has been
shown below in the figure:

610

60. RENDERSCRIPT

Android

This chapter teaches you about Android RenderScript. Usually the apps on
android are designed as to consume as minimum resources as possible. But
some applications like some 3D games need high level processing on android.
To provide these applications high performance android introduced the
RenderScript. It is android based framework which is used for running
applications that perform very highly computational tasks. The development on
this framework is done in Native Development Kit (NDK) provided by android.
RenderScript is extremely useful for applications which performs following types
of actions:

3D Rendering

Image Processing

Computational Photography

Computer Vision

How RenderScript Works:


RenderScript framework is basically based on data parallel computation. It
distributes your application workload on all the processors available on your
device like multi-core CPUs or GPUs.
This parallel distribution of workload frees the programmer from the tension of
load balancing and work scheduling. You can write more detailed and complex
algorithms for your app without the worry of computational power.

How to Begin:
To use the RenderScript Framework you must have following two things:

A RenderScript Kernel

RenderScript APIs

A RenderScript Kernel
A kernel is a program which manages data processing instructions and manage
workload on Central Processing Units. A kernel is a fundamental part of the
operating system.
Similarly to run the RenderScript framework we need a written script named as
Kernel to manage all the data processing requests from our app and utilize more
features of the android OS provided by the NDK and as mentioned earlier that
611

Android

the development of RenderScript is done in the Native Development Kit of


Android.
The Kernel Script is written in C-99 standard of C-language. This Standard was
before the development of C++. A RenderScript kernel script file usually placed
in .rs file. Each file is called as a script. A RenderScript Kernel script can contain
following elements:
Sr.No

Elements

A Language declaration
It declares the version of RenderScript Kernel language used in this
script.

A package declaration
This declaration names the package name of the Java class which will
be affected by this Kernel Code.

Invokable functions
You can call these invokable functions from your JAVA code with
arbitrary arguments.

Script Globals Variables


These are just like the variables defined in C and C++ programming
language. You can access these variables from your JAVA code.

Following is the Sample Code of a Kernel:


uchar4 __convert__((kernel)) invert(uchar4 in, uint32_t x, uint32_t y) {
uchar4 out = in;
out.r = 255 - in.r;
out.g = 255 - in.g;
return out;
}

RenderScript APIs
If you want to use RenderScript in your API, you can do it in following two ways:

612

Android

Sr.No

APIs

android.renderscript
This API is available on devices running Android 3.0 and higher.

android.support.v8.renderscript
This API is available on devices running Android 2.2 and higher.

To android support library following tools are required:

Android SDK Tools version 22.2

Android SDK Build-tools version 18.1.0

How to use RenderScript Support Library


First Open the project.properties file in your project and add following lines in
the file:
renderscript.target=18
renderscript.support.mode=true
sdk.buildtools=18.1.0
Now open your main class which use RenderScript and add an import for the
Support Library classes as following:
import android.support.v8.renderscript.*;
Following are the purposes of above mentioned properties that we add in the
project.properties file.
Sr.No

Project properties

renderscript.target
It specifies the bytecode version to be generated.

renderscript.support.mode
It specifies a compatible version for the generated bytecode to fall
back.

613

Android

sdk.buildtools
It specifies the versions of Android SDK build tools to use.

Now call your RenderScript Kernel functions and compute complex algorithms in
your app.

614

61. RSS READER

Android

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. RSS is an easy way to share your
website updates and content with your users so that users might not have to
visit your site daily for any kind of updates.

RSS Example
RSS is a document that is created by the website with .xml extension. You can
easily parse this document and show it to the user in your application. An RSS
document looks like this.
<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title>Sample RSS</title>
<link>http://www.google.com</link>
<description>World's best search engine</description>
</channel>
</rss>

RSS Elements
An RSS document such as above has the following elements.
Sr.No

Component & description

channel
This element is used to describe the RSS feed.

title
Defines the title of the channel.

link
Defines the hyperlink to the channel.

description

615

Android

Describes the channel.

Parsing RSS
Parsing an RSS document is more like parsing XML. So now lets see how to
parse an XML document.
For this, we will create XMLPullParser object, but in order to create that we will
first create XmlPullParserFactory object and then call its newPullParser() method
to create XMLPullParser. Its syntax is given below:
private XmlPullParserFactory xmlFactoryObject =
XmlPullParserFactory.newInstance();
private XmlPullParser myparser = xmlFactoryObject.newPullParser();
The next step involves specifying the file for XmlPullParser that contains XML. It
could be a file or could be a Stream. In our case it is a stream. Its syntax is
given below:
myparser.setInput(stream, null);
The last step is to parse the XML. An XML file consist of events, Name, Text,
AttributesValue etc. So XMLPullParser has a separate function for parsing each of
the component of XML file. Its syntax is given below:
int event = myParser.getEventType();
while (event != XmlPullParser.END_DOCUMENT)
{
String name=myParser.getName();
switch (event){
case XmlPullParser.START_TAG:
break;
case XmlPullParser.END_TAG:
if(name.equals("temperature")){
temperature = myParser.getAttributeValue(null,"value");
}
break;
}
event = myParser.next();
}
616

Android

The method getEventType returns the type of event that happens. e.g.:
Document start, tag start etc. The method getName returns the name of the
tag. Since we are only interested in temperature, we just check in conditional
statement to get a temperature tag, we call the method getAttributeValue to
return us the value of temperature tag.
Apart from these methods, there are other methods provided by this class for
better parsing XML files. These methods are listed below:
Sr.No

Method & description

getAttributeCount()
This method just Returns the number of attributes of the current start
tag.

getAttributeName(int index)
This method returns the name of the attribute specified by the index
value.

getColumnNumber()
This method returns the current column number, starting from 0.

getDepth()
This method returns the current depth of the element.

getLineNumber()
Returns the current line number, starting from 1.

getNamespace()
This method returns the namespace URI of the current element.

getPrefix()
This method returns the prefix of the current element.

getName()
This method returns the name of the tag.

getText()
617

Android

This method returns the text for that particular element.


10

isWhitespace()
This method checks whether the current TEXT event contains only
whitespace characters.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of XMLPullParser class. It creates a
basic Parsing application that allows you to parse an RSS document present here
at http://tutorialspoint.com/android/sampleXML.xml and then shows the result.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as RSSReader under a package com.example.rssreader. While creating
this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Create a new java file under src/HandleXML.java to fetch and parse


XML data.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add necessary internet permission.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

respective

XML

618

Android

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.rssreader/MainActivity.java.

main

activity

file

package com.example.rssreader;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private String
finalUrl="http://tutorialspoint.com/android/sampleXML.xml";
private HandleXML obj;
private EditText title,link,description;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
title = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
link = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText2);
description = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText3);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
619

Android

public void fetch(View view){


obj = new HandleXML(finalUrl);
obj.fetchXML();
while(obj.parsingComplete);
title.setText(obj.getTitle());
link.setText(obj.getLink());
description.setText(obj.getDescription());
}
}
Following
is
the
content
of
file src/com.example.rssreader/HandleXML.java.

the

java

package com.example.rssreader;

import java.io.InputStream;
import java.net.HttpURLConnection;
import java.net.URL;

import org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParser;
import org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParserFactory;

import android.util.Log;

public class HandleXML {

private String title = "title";


private String link = "link";
private String description = "description";

private String urlString = null;


private XmlPullParserFactory xmlFactoryObject;
public volatile boolean parsingComplete = true;
public HandleXML(String url){
this.urlString = url;
620

Android

}
public String getTitle(){
return title;
}
public String getLink(){
return link;
}
public String getDescription(){
return description;
}
public void parseXMLAndStoreIt(XmlPullParser myParser) {
int event;
String text=null;
try {
event = myParser.getEventType();
while (event != XmlPullParser.END_DOCUMENT) {
String name=myParser.getName();
switch (event){
case XmlPullParser.START_TAG:
break;
case XmlPullParser.TEXT:
text = myParser.getText();
break;
case XmlPullParser.END_TAG:
if(name.equals("title")){
title = text;
}
else if(name.equals("link")){
link = text;
}
else if(name.equals("description")){
description = text;
}
else{
621

Android

}
break;
}
event = myParser.next();
}
parsingComplete = false;
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public void fetchXML(){
Thread thread = new Thread(new Runnable(){
@Override
public void run() {
try {
URL url = new URL(urlString);
HttpURLConnection conn = (HttpURLConnection)
url.openConnection();
conn.setReadTimeout(10000 /* milliseconds */);
conn.setConnectTimeout(15000 /* milliseconds */);
conn.setRequestMethod("GET");
conn.setDoInput(true);
// Starts the query
conn.connect();
InputStream stream = conn.getInputStream();
xmlFactoryObject = XmlPullParserFactory.newInstance();
XmlPullParser myparser = xmlFactoryObject.newPullParser();
myparser.setFeature(XmlPullParser.FEATURE_PROCESS_NAMESPACES,
false);
myparser.setInput(stream, null);
parseXMLAndStoreIt(myparser);
stream.close();
} catch (Exception e) {
}
622

Android

}
});
thread.start();
}
}
Modify the content of res/layout/activity_main.xml to the following:
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="26dp"
android:text="@string/hello_world"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_marginTop="48dp"
623

Android

android:layout_toLeftOf="@+id/textView1"
android:text="@string/title" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_marginTop="27dp"
android:text="@string/link" />
<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:ems="10" >
<requestFocus />
</EditText>

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText1"
android:ems="10" >
</EditText>

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText3"
624

Android

android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText2"
android:ems="10" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText3"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="37dp"
android:onClick="fetch"
android:text="@string/fetch" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_centerVertical="true"
android:text="@string/description" />
</RelativeLayout>
Modify the res/values/string.xml to the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string name="app_name">RSSReader</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Sample RSS Reader</string>
<string name="title">title</string>
<string name="link">link</string>
625

Android

<string name="description">Description</string>
<string name="fetch">Fetch Feed</string>
</resources>
This is the default AndroidManifest.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.rssreader"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.rssreader.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

626

Android

Let's try to run your RSSReader application. We assume, you had created
your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse, open one
of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar. Eclipse
installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with your
setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

627

Android

Just press the Fetch Feed button to fetch RSS feed. After pressing, following
screen would appear which would show the RSS data.

628

Android

62. SCREEN CAST

Android Screen cast is a desktop application to control an android device


remotely. If your phone is not rooted, you can only view your mobile activity in
PC.
But if your phone is rooted, you can communicate both ways. You can also
control your device remotely using keyboard and mouse if your phone is rooted.

Screen Cast Steps


The steps of using screen cast has been mentioned below:
Steps

Description

You should have latest android SDK installed on your PC.

Turn on USB debugging feature on your phone.

Connect your pc with phone via data cable.

Make sure you have Java Run Time 5 or later installed.

Download and open the androidscreencast application.

Step 1
You
can
download
the
latest
from http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html .

android

SDK

Step 2
Turn on USB debugging feature on your device. It is usually found under settings
and developer options.

Step 3
Just connect your PC with your phone via the USB data cable.

Step 4
Install Java run time 5 or later, if you have not installed already. You can install
it from http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html .
629

Android

Step 5
Finally install the androidScreenCast application. You can download it
from https://code.google.com/p/androidscreencast/ . Once you download it,
click to open. It is shown below:

Just wait for a few seconds for the application to load and following pop-up will
appear asking your permission to launch this application. Click on accept check
box and click on run. It is shown below:

630

Android

If everything work fine, you will now see your phone on your pc. Navigate
through your phone and you will see your mobile working on your pc. It is
shown below:

631

Android

You can see the message application in the above picture, that's because we
have opened the messaging application in our mobile. Now type something from
your mobile.

As you can see, we have written some text in the sms from our mobile and it
appears on PC. So this way you can use this ScreenCast application.

632

63. SDK MANAGER

Android

To download and install latest android APIs and development tools from the
internet, android provide us with android SDK manager. Android SDK Manager
separates the APIs, tools and different platforms into different packages which
you can download.
Android SDK manager comes with the Android SDK bundle. You can't download
it
separately.
You
can
download
the
android
sdk
from
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html .

Running Android SDK Manager:


Once downloaded, you can launch Android SDK Manager in one of the following
ways:

Click Window->Android SDK Manager option in Eclipse.

Double Click on the SDK Manager.exe file in the Android SDK folder.

When it runs you will see the following screen:

You can select which package you want to download by selecting the checkboxes
and then click Install to install those packages. By default SDK Manager keeps it
up to date with latest APIs and other packages.
Once you download the SDK, following packages are available, but first three are
necessary to run your SDK and others are recommended.
633

Android

Recommended Packages
Sr.No

Package

SDK Tools
This is necessary package to run your SDK.

SDK Platform-tools
This package will be installed once when you first run the SDK
manager.

SDK Platform
Atleast one platform must be installed in your environment to run your
application.

System Image
It's a good practice to download system images for all of the android
versions so you can test your app on them with the Android Emulator.

SDK Samples
This will give you some sample codes to learn about android.

Enabling Proxy in Android SDK Manager


When you run the Android SDK Manager, by default it will check from the
Android Repository and Third Party Add-ons and display the available packages
to you.
If you want to use proxy, you can do it by clicking on the Tools-->Options in
the menu. Once you click it, you will see the following screen:

634

Android

Just Enter the proxy and run your SDK Manager.

Adding New Third Party Sites


If you want to download some Third Party made Android add-ons, you can do it
in the SDK manager by following steps:

Click on the Tools option in the menu.

Click on the Manage Add-On Sites option in the sub menu.

Select the User Defined Sites tab.

Click the New button.

635

Android

Following screen will be displayed:

Just add the URL of Add-on.xml file and click Ok. Now you can download the
Third Party Add-on in your development environment and use it.

636

64. SENSORS

Android

Most of the android devices have built-in sensors that measure motion,
orientation, and various environmental condition. The android platform supports
three broad categories of sensors.

Motion Sensors

Environmental sensors

Position sensors

Some of the sensors are hardware based and some are software based sensors.
Whatever the sensor is, android allows us to get the raw data from these
sensors and use it in our application. For this, android provides us with some
classes.
Android provides SensorManager and Sensor classes to use the sensors in our
application. In order to use sensors, first thing you need to do is to instantiate
the object of SensorManager class. It can be achieved as follows.
SensorManager sMgr;
sMgr = (SensorManager)this.getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE);
The next thing you need to do is to instantiate the object of Sensor class by
calling the getDefaultSensor() method of the SensorManager class. Its syntax is
given below:
Sensor light;
light = sMgr.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_LIGHT);
Once that sensor is declared, you need to register its listener and override two
methods which are onAccuracyChanged and onSensorChanged. Its syntax is as
follows:
sMgr.registerListener(this, light,SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL);
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
}
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
}

637

Android

Getting list of sensors supported.


You can get a list of sensors supported by your device by calling the
getSensorList method, which will return a list of sensors containing their name
and version number and much more information. You can then iterate the list to
get the information. Its syntax is given below:
sMgr = (SensorManager)this.getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE);
List<Sensor> list = sMgr.getSensorList(Sensor.TYPE_ALL);
for(Sensor sensor: list){
}
Apart from these methods, there are other methods provided by the
SensorManager class for managing sensors framework. These methods are listed
below:
Sr.No

Method & description

getDefaultSensor(int type)
This method gets the default sensor for a given type.

getOrientation(float[] R, float[] values)


This method returns a description of the current primary clip on the
clipboard but not a copy of its data.

getInclination(float[] I)
This method computes the geomagnetic inclination angle in radians
from the inclination matrix.

registerListener(SensorListener listener, int sensors, int rate)


This method registers a listener for the sensor

unregisterListener(SensorEventListener listener, Sensor


sensor)
This method unregisters a listener for the sensors with which it is
registered.

getOrientation(float[] R, float[] values)


This method computes the device's orientation based on the rotation
638

Android

matrix.
7

getAltitude(float p0, float p)


This method computes the Altitude in meters from the atmospheric
pressure and the pressure at sea level.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of SensorManager class. It creates a
basic application that allows you to view the list of sensors on your device.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Sensors under a package com.example.sensors. While creating this
project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.sensors/MainActivity.java.

add

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.sensors;

import java.util.List;

import android.app.Activity;
639

Android

import android.hardware.Sensor;
import android.hardware.SensorManager;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private SensorManager sMgr;


@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
TextView sensorsData = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.textView1);

sMgr = (SensorManager)this.getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE);
List list = sMgr.getSensorList(Sensor.TYPE_ALL);

StringBuilder data = new StringBuilder();


for(Sensor sensor: list){
data.append(sensor.getName() + "\n");
data.append(sensor.getVendor() + "\n");
data.append(sensor.getVersion() + "\n");

}
sensorsData.setText(data);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
640

Android

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<ScrollView
android:id="@+id/scrollView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginLeft="16dp"
android:layout_marginTop="16dp" >

<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
641

Android

android:text="Medium Text"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

</LinearLayout>
</ScrollView>

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">Sensors</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="list">List of sensors supported</string>
</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.sensors"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
642

Android

<activity
android:name="com.example.sensors.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run our Sensor application we just modified. We assume, you had
created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from the toolbar.
Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with
your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

643

Android

Now if you will look at your device screen, you will see the list of sensors
supported by your device along with their name and version and other
information.
If you would run this application on different devices, the output would be
different because the output depends upon the number of sensors supported by
your device.

644

Android

65. SESSION MANAGEMENT

Session help you when want to store user data outside your application, so that
when the next time user use your application, you can easily get back his details
and perform accordingly.
This can be done in many ways. But the most easiest and nicest way of doing
this is through Shared Preferences.

Shared Preferences
Shared Preferences allows you to save and retrieve data in the form of key value
pair. In order to use shared preferences, you have to call a method
getSharedPreferences() that returns a SharedPreference instance pointing to the
file that contains the values of preferences.
SharedPreferences sharedpreferences = getSharedPreferences(MyPREFERENCES,
Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
You
can
save
something
in
the
shared
preferences
by
using
SharedPreferences.Editor class. You will call the edit method of
SharedPreference instance and will receive it in an editor object. Its syntax is:
Editor editor = sharedpreferences.edit();
editor.putString("key", "value");
editor.commit();
Apart from the putString method, there are methods availaible in the editor
class that allows manipulation of data inside shared preferences. They are listed
as follows:
Sr.
No.

Mode and description

apply()
It is an abstract method. It will commit your changes back from
editor to the sharedPreference object you are calling.

clear()
It will remove all values from the editor.

645

Android

remove(String key)
It will remove the value whose key has been passed as a parameter.

putLong(String key, long value)


It will save a long value in a preference editor.

putInt(String key, int value)


It will save an integer value in a preference editor.

putFloat(String key, float value)


It will save a float value in a preference editor.

Session Management through Shared Preferences


To perform session management from shared preferences, we need to check the
values or data stored in shared preferences in the onResume method. If we do
not have the data, we will start the application from the beginning as it is newly
installed. But if we have the data, we will start from where the user left it. It is
demonstrated in the example below:
Example
The below example demonstrates the use of Session Management. It creates a
basic application that allows you to login for the first time. And then when you
exit the application without logging out, you will be brought back to the same
place if you start the application again. But if you logout from the application,
you will be brought back to the main login screen.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device or in
an emulator .
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as
SessionManagement
under
a
package
com.example.sessionmanagement. While creating this project, make
sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest version of Android
SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add progress code to add session


code.

646

Android

Create New Activity and it name as Welcome.java.Edit this file to add


progress code to add session code.

Modify res/layout/activity_main.xml file to add respective XML code.

Modify res/layout/activity_welcome.xml file to add respective XML


code.

Modify res/values/string.xml file to add a message as a string


constant.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

Here is the content


of src/com.example.sessionmanagement/MainActivity.java.
package com.example.sessionmanagement;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.SharedPreferences;
import android.content.SharedPreferences.Editor;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private EditText username,password;


public static final String MyPREFERENCES = "MyPrefs" ;
public static final String name = "nameKey";
public static final String pass = "passwordKey";
SharedPreferences sharedpreferences;
647

Android

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
username = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
password = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText2);
}
@Override
protected void onResume() {
sharedpreferences=getSharedPreferences(MyPREFERENCES,
Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
if (sharedpreferences.contains(name))
{
if(sharedpreferences.contains(pass)){
Intent i = new Intent(this,com.example.sessionmanagement.
Welcome.class);
startActivity(i);
}
}
super.onResume();
}

public void login(View view){


Editor editor = sharedpreferences.edit();
String u = username.getText().toString();
String p = password.getText().toString();
editor.putString(name, u);
editor.putString(pass, p);
editor.commit();
Intent i = new Intent(this,com.example.
sessionmanagement.Welcome.class);
startActivity(i);
}
@Override
648

Android

public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {


// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Here is the content
of src/com.example.sessionmanagement/Welcome.java.
package com.example.sessionmanagement;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.SharedPreferences;
import android.content.SharedPreferences.Editor;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;

public class Welcome extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_welcome);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.welcome, menu);
649

Android

return true;
}
public void logout(View view){
SharedPreferences sharedpreferences = getSharedPreferences
(MainActivity.MyPREFERENCES, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
Editor editor = sharedpreferences.edit();
editor.clear();
editor.commit();
moveTaskToBack(true);
Welcome.this.finish();
}
public void exit(View view){
moveTaskToBack(true);
Welcome.this.finish();
}
}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/editText1"
650

Android

android:layout_below="@+id/textView2"
android:ems="10"
android:inputType="textPassword" >
</EditText>

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginTop="52dp"
android:text="@string/Username"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_alignTop="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_marginRight="16dp"
android:layout_marginTop="27dp"
android:ems="10" >
<requestFocus />
</EditText>

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText1"
android:text="@string/Password"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />
651

Android

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginBottom="22dp"
android:text="@string/Signin"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="45dp"
android:onClick="login"
android:text="@string/Login" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of activity_welcome.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".Welcome" >
652

Android

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="146dp"
android:onClick="logout"
android:text="@string/logout" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/button1"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginTop="64dp"
android:text="@string/title_activity_welcome"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/button1"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="43dp"
android:onClick="exit"
android:text="@string/exit" />

</RelativeLayout>

653

Android

Here is the content of Strings.xml.


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">SessionManagement</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="Username">Username</string>
<string name="Password">Password</string>
<string name="Signin">Sign In</string>
<string name="Login">Login</string>
<string name="logout">Logout</string>
<string name="title_activity_welcome">Welcome</string>
<string name="exit">Exit without logout</string>

</resources>
Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.sessionmanagement"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
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Android

<activity
android:name="com.example.sessionmanagement.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
<activity
android:name="com.example.sessionmanagement.Welcome"
android:label="@string/title_activity_welcome" >
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Let's try to run your Session Management application. We assume, you had
created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from the toolbar.
Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with
your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

655

Android

656

Android

Type in your username and password (type anything you like, but remember
what you type), and click on login button. It is shown in the image below:

657

Android

As soon as you click on login button, you will be brought to this Welcome screen.
Now your login information is stored in shared preferences.

658

Android

Now click on Exit without logout button and you will be brought back to the
home screen. This is shown in the image below:

659

Android

Now Start the application again. And this time you will not be brought to the
login screen, but directly to the welcome screen.This is shown in the image
below:

660

Android

Now click on logout button, and the application will be closed. Now open the
application again, and since you have logout your session, so you will be brought
back to the front login screen. This is shown in the image below:

661

66. SIP PROTOCOL

Android

SIP stands for (Session Initiation Protocol). It is a protocol that let applications
easily set up outgoing and incoming voice calls, without having to manage
sessions, transport-level communication, or audio record or playback directly.

Applications
Some of the common applications of SIP are.

Video conferencing

Instant messaging

Requirements
Here are the requirements for developing a SIP application:

Android OS must be 2.3 or higher

You must have a data connection or WIFI

You must have an SIP account in order to use this service.

SIP Classes
Here is a summary of the classes that are included in the Android SIP API:
Sr.
NO

Class and description

SipAudioCall
Handles an Internet audio call over SIP.

SipErrorCode
Defines error codes returned during SIP actions.

SipManager
Provides APIs for SIP tasks, such as initiating SIP connections, and
provides access to related SIP services.

662

Android

SipProfile
Defines a SIP profile, including a SIP account, domain and server.
information

SipSession
Represents a SIP session that is associated with a SIP dialog or a
standalone transaction not within a dialog.

Functions of SIP
SIP has following major functions.

SIP allows for the establishment of user location

SIP provides a mechanism for call management

SIP provides feature negotiation, so that all the parties in the call can
agree to the features supported among them

Components of SIP
SIP has two major components which are listed below.

User Agent Client (UAC)

User Agent Server (UAS)

UAC
UAC or User Agent Client are those end users who generates requests and send
those requests to the server.These requests are generated by the client
applications running on their systems.

UAS
UAS or User Agent Server are those systems which get the request generated by
UAC. The UAS process those requests and then according to the requests it
generates responses accordingly.

SipManager
SipManager is an android API for SIP tasks, such as initiating SIP connections,
and provides access to related SIP services. This class is the starting point for
any SIP actions. You can acquire an instance of it with newInstance().

663

Android

The SipManager has many functions for managing SIP tasks. Some of the
functions are listed below.
Sr.
NO

Class and description

close(String localProfileUri)
Closes the specified profile to not make/receive calls.

getCallId(Intent incomingCallIntent)
Gets the call ID from the specified incoming call broadcast intent.

isOpened(String localProfileUri)
Checks if the specified profile is opened in the SIP service for making
and/or receiving calls.

isSipWifiOnly(Context context)
Returns true if SIP is only available on WIFI.

isRegistered(String localProfileUri)
Checks if the SIP service has successfully registered the profile to the
SIP provider (specified in the profile) for receiving calls.

isVoipSupported(Context context)
Returns true if the system supports SIP-based VOIP API.

takeAudioCall(Intent incomingCallIntent, SipAudioCall.Listener


listener)
Creates a SipAudioCall to take an incoming call.

unregister(SipProfile
listener)

localProfile,

SipRegistrationListener

Manually unregisters the profile from the corresponding SIP provider to


stop receiving further calls.

664

67. SPELLING CHECKER

Android

The Android platform offers a spelling checker framework that lets you
implement and access spell checking in your application.
To use spelling checker, you need to implement SpellCheckerSessionListener
interface and override its methods. Its syntax is given below:
public class HelloSpellCheckerActivity extends Activity implements
SpellCheckerSessionListener {
@Override
public void onGetSuggestions(final SuggestionsInfo[] arg0) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}

@Override
public void onGetSentenceSuggestions(SentenceSuggestionsInfo[] arg0) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
}
Next thing you need to do is to create an object of SpellCheckerSession class.
This object can be instantiated by calling newSpellCheckerSession method of
TextServicesManager class. This class handles interaction between application
and text services. You need to request system service to instantiate it. Its
syntax is given below:
private SpellCheckerSession mScs;
final TextServicesManager tsm = (TextServicesManager) getSystemService(
Context.TEXT_SERVICES_MANAGER_SERVICE);
mScs = tsm.newSpellCheckerSession(null, null, this, true);
The last thing you need to do is to call getSuggestions method to get
suggestion for any text, you want. The suggestions will be passed onto
the onGetSuggestions method from where you can do whatever you want.
mScs.getSuggestions(new TextInfo(editText1.getText().toString()), 3);

665

Android

This method takes two parameters. First parameter is the string in the form of
TextInfo object, and second parameter is the cookie number used to distinguish
suggestions.
Apart from the methods, there are other methods provided by the
SpellCheckerSession class for better handling suggestions. These methods are
listed below:
Sr.No

Method & description

cancel()
Cancels pending and running spell check tasks.

close()
Finish this session and allow
disconnect the bound spell checker.

TextServicesManagerService

to

getSentenceSuggestions(TextInfo[] textInfos, int


suggestionsLimit)
Get suggestions from the specified sentences.

getSpellChecker()
Get the spell checker service info, this spell checker session has.

isSessionDisconnected()
True if the connection to a text service of this session is disconnected
and not alive.

Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of Spell Checker. It creates a basic
spell checking application that allows you to write text and get suggestions.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as
HelloSpellCheckerActivity
under
a
package
com.example.hellospellchecker. While creating this project, make sure
666

Android

you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest version of Android SDK
to use higher levels of APIs.
2

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the res/layout/main to add respective XML components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
main
src/com.example.hellospellchecker/MainActivity.java.

activity

file

package com.example.android.hellospellchecker;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Context;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.textservice.SentenceSuggestionsInfo;
import android.view.textservice.SpellCheckerSession;
import
android.view.textservice.SpellCheckerSession.SpellCheckerSessionListener;
import android.view.textservice.SuggestionsInfo;
import android.view.textservice.TextInfo;
import android.view.textservice.TextServicesManager;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class HelloSpellCheckerActivity


SpellCheckerSessionListener {

extends

Activity

implements

private static final int NOT_A_LENGTH = -1;


667

Android

private TextView mMainView;


private SpellCheckerSession mScs;
private EditText editText1;

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
mMainView = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.main);
editText1 = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
}

@Override
public void onResume() {
super.onResume();
final TextServicesManager tsm = (TextServicesManager)
getSystemService(
Context.TEXT_SERVICES_MANAGER_SERVICE);
mScs = tsm.newSpellCheckerSession(null, null, this, true);
}

@Override
public void onPause() {
super.onPause();
if (mScs != null) {
mScs.close();
}
}

public void go(View view){


Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
editText1.getText().toString(),
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
mScs.getSuggestions(new TextInfo(editText1.getText().toString()),
668

Android

3);

}
@Override
public void onGetSuggestions(final SuggestionsInfo[] arg0) {
final StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();

for (int i = 0; i < arg0.length; ++i) {


// Returned suggestions are contained in SuggestionsInfo
final int len = arg0[i].getSuggestionsCount();
sb.append('\n');
for (int j = 0; j < len; ++j) {
sb.append("," + arg0[i].getSuggestionAt(j));
}
sb.append(" (" + len + ")");
}
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {

public void run() {


mMainView.append(sb.toString());
}
});

}
@Override
public void onGetSentenceSuggestions(SentenceSuggestionsInfo[] arg0) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub

}
}

669

Android

Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/main.xml.


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/main"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/pre"
/>

<Button
android:id="@+id/mainbtn"
android:layout_width="150dip"
android:layout_height="50dip"
android:onClick="go"
android:text="@string/suggest" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:ems="10" >

<requestFocus />
</EditText>

</LinearLayout>

670

Android

Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<resources>

<string name="app_name">HelloSpellChecker</string>
<string name="suggest">suggest</string>
<string name="pre">Suggestions</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.android.hellospellchecker"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="14" />

<application
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<activity
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:name=".HelloSpellCheckerActivity" >
<intent-filter >
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

671

Android

</manifest>
Let's try to run our Spell Checker application we just modified. We assume, you
had created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is
fine with your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

672

Android

Now what you need to do is to enter any text in the field. For example, we have
entered some text. Press the suggestions button. The following notification
would appear in your AVD along with suggestions:

673

Android

Now change the text and press the button again, like we did. And this is what
comes on screen.

674

68. SQLITE DATABASE

Android

SQLite is an open source SQL database that stores data to a text file on a
device. Android comes in with built in SQLite database implementation.
SQLite supports all the relational database features. To access this database,
you don't need to establish any kind of connections for it like JDBC, ODBC etc.

Database - Package
The main package is android.database.sqlite that contains the classes to manage
your own databases.

Database - Creation
In order to create a database you need to call the method
openOrCreateDatabase with your database name and mode as a parameter. It
returns an instance of SQLite database which you have to receive in your own
object. Its syntax is given below:
SQLiteDatabse mydatabase = openOrCreateDatabase("your database name",
MODE_PRIVATE, null);
Apart from this, there are other functions available in the database package that
does this job. They are listed below
Sr.No

Method & Description

openDatabase(String path, SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory


factory, int flags, DatabaseErrorHandler errorHandler)
This method only opens the existing database with the appropriate
flag mode. The common flags mode could be OPEN_READWRITE
OPEN_READONLY.

openDatabase(String path, SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory


factory, int flags)
It is similar to the above method as it also opens the exisiting
database but it does not define any handler to handle the errors of
databases.

openOrCreateDatabase(String path,
675

Android

SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory factory)
It not only opens, but creates the database if it does not exists. This
method is equivalent to openDatabase method.
4

openOrCreateDatabase(File file, SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory


factory)
This method is similar to above method but it takes the File object as
a path rather than a string. It is equavilent to file.getPath()

Database - Insertion
We can create table or insert data into table using execSQL method defined in
SQLiteDatabase class. Its syntax is given below:
mydatabase.execSQL("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS TutorialsPoint(Username
VARCHAR,Password VARCHAR);");
mydatabase.execSQL("INSERT INTO TutorialsPoint
VALUES('admin','admin');");
This will insert some values into our table in our database. Another method that
also does the same job but take some additional parameter is given below
Sr.No

Method & Description

execSQL(String sql, Object[] bindArgs)


This method not only insert data, but also used to update or modify
already existing data in database using bind arguments.

Database - Fetching
We
will
the
the

can retrieve anything from database using an object of the Cursor class. We
call a method of this class called rawQuery and it will return a resultset with
cursor pointing to the table. We can move the cursor forward and retrieve
data.

Cursor resultSet = mydatabase.rawQuery("Select * from


TutorialsPoint",null);
resultSet.moveToFirst();
String username = resultSet.getString(1);
String password = resultSet.getString(2);
676

Android

There are other functions available in the Cursor class that allows us to
effectively retrieve the data. That includesSr.No

Method & Description

getColumnCount()
This method returns the total number of columns of the table.

getColumnIndex(String columnName)
This method returns the index number of a column by specifying the
name of the column.

getColumnName(int columnIndex)
This method returns the name of the column by specifying the index of
the column.

getColumnNames()
This method returns the array of all the column names of the table.

getCount()
This method returns the total number of rows in the cursor.

getPosition()
This method returns the current position of the cursor in the table.

isClosed()
This method returns true if the cursor is closed and returns false
otherwise.

Database - Helper class


For managing all the operations related to the database, a helper class has been
given and is called SQLiteOpenHelper. It automatically manages the creation and
updation of the database. Its syntax is given below:
public class DBHelper extends SQLiteOpenHelper {
public DBHelper(){
super(context,DATABASE_NAME,null,1);
677

Android

}
public void onCreate(SQLiteDatabase db) {}
public void onUpgrade(SQLiteDatabase database, int oldVersion, int
newVersion) {}
}
Example:
Here is an example demonstrating the use of SQLite Database. It creates a basic
contacts applications that allows insertion, deletion and modification of contacts.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device on
which camera is supported.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as AddressBook under a package com.example.addressbook. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to get references of all the XML


components and populate the contacts on listView.

Create new src/DBHelper.java that will manage the database work.

Create a new Activity as DisplayContact.java that will display the


contact on the screen.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/layout/activity_display_contact.xml to add respective


XML components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Modify the res/menu/display_contact.xml to add necessary menu


components.

Create a new menu as res/menu/mainmenu.xml to add the insert


contact option.

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

respective

XML

678

Android

10

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.addressbook/MainActivity.java.

main

activity

file

package com.example.addressbook;

import java.util.ArrayList;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.view.KeyEvent;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MenuItem;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.AdapterView;
import android.widget.AdapterView.OnItemClickListener;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;
import android.widget.ListView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {


public final static String EXTRA_MESSAGE =
"com.example.AddressBook.MESSAGE";

private ListView obj;


DBHelper mydb;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

mydb = new DBHelper(this);


679

Android

ArrayList array_list = mydb.getAllCotacts();

ArrayAdapter arrayAdapter =
new ArrayAdapter(this,android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1,
array_list);

//adding it to the list view.


obj = (ListView)findViewById(R.id.listView1);
obj.setAdapter(arrayAdapter);

obj.setOnItemClickListener(new OnItemClickListener(){

@Override
public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> arg0, View arg1, int arg2,
long arg3) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
int id_To_Search = arg2 + 1;
Bundle dataBundle = new Bundle();
dataBundle.putInt("id", id_To_Search);
Intent intent = new
Intent(getApplicationContext(),com.example.addressbook.DisplayCo
ntact.class);
intent.putExtras(dataBundle);
startActivity(intent);
}
});
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.mainmenu, menu);
return true;
}
680

Android

@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item)
{
super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
switch(item.getItemId())
{
case R.id.item1:
Bundle dataBundle = new Bundle();
dataBundle.putInt("id", 0);
Intent intent = new
Intent(getApplicationContext(),com.example.addressbook.Displa
yContact.class);
intent.putExtras(dataBundle);
startActivity(intent);
return true;
default:
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);

}
public boolean onKeyDown(int keycode, KeyEvent event) {
if (keycode == KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BACK) {
moveTaskToBack(true);
}
return super.onKeyDown(keycode, event);
}

}
Following
is
the
modified
content
of
display
src/com.example.addressbook/DisplayContact.java

contact

activity

package com.example.addressbook;

import android.os.Bundle;
681

Android

import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.AlertDialog;
import android.content.DialogInterface;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.database.Cursor;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MenuItem;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class DisplayContact extends Activity {

int from_Where_I_Am_Coming = 0;
private DBHelper mydb ;
TextView name ;
TextView phone;
TextView email;
TextView street;
TextView place;
int id_To_Update = 0;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_display_contact);
name = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.editTextName);
phone = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.editTextPhone);
email = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.editTextStreet);
street = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.editTextEmail);
place = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.editTextCity);

682

Android

mydb = new DBHelper(this);

Bundle extras = getIntent().getExtras();


if(extras !=null)
{
int Value = extras.getInt("id");
if(Value>0){
//means this is the view part not the add contact part.
Cursor rs = mydb.getData(Value);
id_To_Update = Value;
rs.moveToFirst();
String nam =
rs.getString(rs.getColumnIndex(DBHelper.CONTACTS_COLUMN_NAME)
);
String phon =
rs.getString(rs.getColumnIndex(DBHelper.CONTACTS_COLUMN_PHONE
));
String emai =
rs.getString(rs.getColumnIndex(DBHelper.CONTACTS_COLUMN_EMAIL
));
String stree =
rs.getString(rs.getColumnIndex(DBHelper.CONTACTS_COLUMN_STREE
T));
String plac =
rs.getString(rs.getColumnIndex(DBHelper.CONTACTS_COLUMN_CITY)
);
if (!rs.isClosed())
{
rs.close();
}
Button b = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button1);
b.setVisibility(View.INVISIBLE);

name.setText((CharSequence)nam);
name.setFocusable(false);
name.setClickable(false);

683

Android

phone.setText((CharSequence)phon);
phone.setFocusable(false);
phone.setClickable(false);

email.setText((CharSequence)emai);
email.setFocusable(false);
email.setClickable(false);

street.setText((CharSequence)stree);
street.setFocusable(false);
street.setClickable(false);

place.setText((CharSequence)plac);
place.setFocusable(false);
place.setClickable(false);
}
}
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
Bundle extras = getIntent().getExtras();
if(extras !=null)
{
int Value = extras.getInt("id");
if(Value>0){
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.display_contact, menu);
}
else{
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
}
}
return true;
684

Android

public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item)


{
super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
switch(item.getItemId())
{
case R.id.Edit_Contact:
Button b = (Button)findViewById(R.id.button1);
b.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
name.setEnabled(true);
name.setFocusableInTouchMode(true);
name.setClickable(true);

phone.setEnabled(true);
phone.setFocusableInTouchMode(true);
phone.setClickable(true);

email.setEnabled(true);
email.setFocusableInTouchMode(true);
email.setClickable(true);

street.setEnabled(true);
street.setFocusableInTouchMode(true);
street.setClickable(true);

place.setEnabled(true);
place.setFocusableInTouchMode(true);
place.setClickable(true);

return true;
case R.id.Delete_Contact:

AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(this);


685

Android

builder.setMessage(R.string.deleteContact)
.setPositiveButton(R.string.yes, new
DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int id) {
mydb.deleteContact(id_To_Update);
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Deleted
Successfully", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
Intent intent = new
Intent(getApplicationContext(),com.example.addressbook.MainAc
tivity.class);
startActivity(intent);
}
})
.setNegativeButton(R.string.no, new
DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int id) {
// User cancelled the dialog
}
});
AlertDialog d = builder.create();
d.setTitle("Are you sure");
d.show();

return true;
default:
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);

}
}

public void run(View view)


{
Bundle extras = getIntent().getExtras();
if(extras !=null)
{
686

Android

int Value = extras.getInt("id");


if(Value>0){
if(mydb.updateContact(id_To_Update,name.getText().toString(),
phone.getText().toString(), email.getText().toString(),
street.getText().toString(), place.getText().toString())){
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Updated",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
Intent intent = new
Intent(getApplicationContext(),com.example.addressbook.Mai
nActivity.class);
startActivity(intent);
}
else{
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "not Updated",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
else{
if(mydb.insertContact(name.getText().toString(),
phone.getText().toString(), email.getText().toString(),
street.getText().toString(), place.getText().toString())){
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "done",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
else{
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "not done",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
Intent intent = new
Intent(getApplicationContext(),com.example.addressbook.MainAc
tivity.class);
startActivity(intent);
}
}
}
}

687

Android

Following
is
the
content
class src/com.example.addressbook/DBHelper.java

of

Database

package com.example.addressbook;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Hashtable;

import android.content.ContentValues;
import android.content.Context;
import android.database.Cursor;
import android.database.DatabaseUtils;
import android.database.sqlite.SQLiteOpenHelper;
import android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase;

public class DBHelper extends SQLiteOpenHelper {

public static final String DATABASE_NAME = "MyDBName.db";


public static final String CONTACTS_TABLE_NAME = "contacts";
public static final String CONTACTS_COLUMN_ID = "id";
public static final String CONTACTS_COLUMN_NAME = "name";
public static final String CONTACTS_COLUMN_EMAIL = "email";
public static final String CONTACTS_COLUMN_STREET = "street";
public static final String CONTACTS_COLUMN_CITY = "place";
public static final String CONTACTS_COLUMN_PHONE = "phone";

private HashMap hp;

public DBHelper(Context context)


{
super(context, DATABASE_NAME, null, 1);
}

688

Android

@Override
public void onCreate(SQLiteDatabase db) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
db.execSQL(
"create table contacts " +
"(id integer primary key, name text,phone text,email text, street
text,place text)"
);
}

@Override
public void
newVersion) {

onUpgrade(SQLiteDatabase

db,

int

oldVersion,

int

// TODO Auto-generated method stub


db.execSQL("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS contacts");
onCreate(db);
}

public boolean insertContact

(String name, String phone, String

email, String street,String place)


{
SQLiteDatabase db = this.getWritableDatabase();
ContentValues contentValues = new ContentValues();

contentValues.put("name", name);
contentValues.put("phone", phone);
contentValues.put("email", email);
contentValues.put("street", street);
contentValues.put("place", place);

db.insert("contacts", null, contentValues);


return true;
}
public Cursor getData(int id){
SQLiteDatabase db = this.getReadableDatabase();
689

Android

Cursor res =

db.rawQuery( "select * from contacts where

id="+id+"", null );
return res;
}
public int numberOfRows(){
SQLiteDatabase db = this.getReadableDatabase();
int numRows = (int) DatabaseUtils.queryNumEntries(db,
CONTACTS_TABLE_NAME);
return numRows;
}
public boolean updateContact (Integer id, String name, String phone,
String email, String street,String place)
{
SQLiteDatabase db = this.getWritableDatabase();
ContentValues contentValues = new ContentValues();
contentValues.put("name", name);
contentValues.put("phone", phone);
contentValues.put("email", email);
contentValues.put("street", street);
contentValues.put("place", place);
db.update("contacts", contentValues, "id = ? ", new String[] {
Integer.toString(id) } );
return true;
}

public Integer deleteContact (Integer id)


{
SQLiteDatabase db = this.getWritableDatabase();
return db.delete("contacts",
"id = ? ",
new String[] { Integer.toString(id) });
}
public ArrayList getAllCotacts()
{
690

Android

ArrayList array_list = new ArrayList();


//hp = new HashMap();
SQLiteDatabase db = this.getReadableDatabase();
Cursor res =

db.rawQuery( "select * from contacts", null );

res.moveToFirst();
while(res.isAfterLast() == false){
array_list.add(res.getString(res.getColumnIndex(CONTACTS_COLUMN_NAM
E)));
res.moveToNext();
}
return array_list;
}
}
Following is the content of the res/layout/activity_main.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<ListView
android:id="@+id/listView1"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_centerVertical="true" >
</ListView>

691

Android

</RelativeLayout>

Following is the content of the res/layout/activity_display_contact.xml


<ScrollView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:id="@+id/scrollView1"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
tools:context=".DisplayContact" >

<RelativeLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="370dp"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
>

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editTextName"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_marginTop="5dp"
android:layout_marginLeft="82dp"
android:ems="10"
android:inputType="text" >
</EditText>

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editTextEmail"
692

Android

android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editTextStreet"
android:layout_below="@+id/editTextStreet"
android:layout_marginTop="22dp"
android:ems="10"
android:inputType="textEmailAddress" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/editTextName"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:text="@string/name"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editTextCity"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_marginBottom="28dp"
android:onClick="run"
android:text="@string/save" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/editTextEmail"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView1"
android:text="@string/email"
693

Android

android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/editTextPhone"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView1"
android:text="@string/phone"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/editTextEmail"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView5"
android:text="@string/street"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editTextCity"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/editTextName"
android:layout_below="@+id/editTextEmail"
android:layout_marginTop="30dp"
android:ems="10"
android:inputType="text" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
694

Android

android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/editTextCity"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/editTextCity"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_toLeftOf="@+id/editTextEmail"
android:text="@string/country"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editTextStreet"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editTextName"
android:layout_below="@+id/editTextPhone"
android:ems="10"
android:inputType="text" >

<requestFocus />
</EditText>

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editTextPhone"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editTextStreet"
android:layout_below="@+id/editTextName"
android:ems="10"
android:inputType="phone|text" />

</RelativeLayout>
</ScrollView>
Following is the content of the res/value/string.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
695

Android

<string name="app_name">Address Book</string>


<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="Add_New">Add New</string>
<string name="edit">Edit Contact</string>
<string name="delete">Delete Contact</string>
<string name="title_activity_display_contact">DisplayContact</string>

<string name="name">Name</string>
<string name="phone">Phone</string>
<string name="email">Email</string>
<string name="street">Street</string>
<string name="country">City/State/Zip</string>

<string name="save">Save Contact</string>

<string name="deleteContact">Are
it.</string>

you

sure,

you

want

to

delete

<string name="yes">Yes</string>
<string name="no">No</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of the res/menu/mainmenu.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
<item android:id="@+id/item1"
android:icon="@drawable/add"
android:title="@string/Add_New"
android:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText">
</item>
</menu>
Following is the content of the res/menu/display_contact.xml
696

Android

<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >


<item
android:id="@+id/Edit_Contact"
android:orderInCategory="100"
android:title="@string/edit"/>
<item
android:id="@+id/Delete_Contact"
android:orderInCategory="100"
android:title="@string/delete"/>

</menu>

This is the defualt AndroidManifest.xml of this project


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.addressbook"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.addressbook.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
697

Android

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
<activity
android:name="com.example.addressbook.DisplayContact"
android:label="@string/title_activity_display_contact" >
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your Camera application. We assume, you have connected your
actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar.
Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to select
an option where you want to run your Android application.

698

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen:

699

Android

Click on the add button on the top right corner of the menu screen to add a new
contact. It will display the following screen:

700

Android

It will display the following fields. Please enter the required information and click
on save contact. It will bring you back to main screen.

701

Android

702

Android

Now our contact john has been added. Tap on this to edit or delete the contact.
It will bring you to the following screen. Now select menu from your mobile. And
there will be two options there.

703

Android

Select delete contact and a dialog box would appear asking you about deleting
this contact. It would be like this -

704

Android

Select Yes from the above screen that appears and a notification will appear that
the contact has been deleted successfully. It would appear like this -

In order to see where your database is created, open your eclipse, connect your
mobile, go to right corner and select DDMS. Now browse the file explorer tab.
Now
browse
this
folder /data/data/<your.package.name>/databases<database-name>.

705

69. SUPPORT LIBRARY

Android

When you develop an app on a latest version of android like 4.0 and you also
want it to run on those devices which are running older versions of android like
3.2 etc. you can't do that until you add backward compatability to your code.
To provide this backward compatability android provides you the Android
Support Library package. The Android Support Library package is a set of code
libraries that provide backward-compatible versions of Android framework APIs
as well as features that are only available through the library APIs. Each Support
Library is backward-compatible to a specific Android API level.
Including the Support Libraries in your Android project is considered a best
practice for application developers, depending on the range of platform versions
your app is targeting and the APIs that it uses.

Support Library Features


The Android Support Library package contains several libraries that can be
included in your application. Each of these libraries supports a specific range of
Android platform versions and set of features.
In order to effectively use the libraries, it is important to consider the API level
that you want to target, as each library supports different API level.
Following is a brief description of android support libraries and API level they
support.
Sr.No

Version & Features

v4 Support Library
This library is designed to be used with Android 1.6 (API level 4) and
higher.

v7 Support Library
There are several libraries designed to be used with Android 2.1 (API
level 7) and higher.

v8 Support Library
This library is designed to be used with Android (API level 8) and
higher.

706

Android

v13 Support Library


This library is designed to be used for Android 3.2 (API level 13) and
higher.

Please remember that use of Android Support Library in your app code is
encouraged and preferred. By using these libraries you can increase your target
market and target audience.

Downloading the Support Libraries


Note: Before installing the support library packages you should be clear of the
feature you want to use in your app.
The Android Support Library package is available through the Android SDK
Manager.
To download the support library package through the SDK Manager, follow these
steps:

Start the android SDK Manager.

In the SDK Manager window, scroll to the end of the Packages list, find
the Extras folder.

Select the Android Support Library item.

Click the Install packages button.

707

Android

After downloading, the tool installs the Support Library files to your existing
Android SDK directory. The library files are located in the following sub-directory
of your SDK:/extras/android/support/ directory.

Choosing Support Libraries


Before adding a Support Library to your application, decide what features you
want to include and the lowest Android versions you want to support.

Changes in Android.Manifest
If you are increasing the backward compatibility of your existing application to
an earlier version of the Android API with the Support Library, make sure to
update your application's manifest. Specifically, you should update
the android:minSdkVersion element of the tag in the manifest to the new,
lower version number, as shown below:
<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="7"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
This change tells Google Playstore app that your application can be installed on
devices with Android 2.1 (API level 7) and higher.

API Version
Note: If you are including the v4 support and v7 support libraries in your
application, you should specify a minimum SDK version of "7" (and not "4"). The
highest support library level you include in your application determines the
lowest API version in which it can operate.

708

70. TESTING

Android

The Android framework includes an integrated testing framework that help you
test all aspects of your application. The SDK tools include tools for setting up
and running test applications. Whether you are working in Eclipse with ADT or
working from the command line, the SDK tools help you set up and run your
tests within an emulator or the device you are targeting.

Test Structure
Android's build and test tools assume that test projects are organized into a
standard structure of tests, test case classes, test packages, and test projects.

Testing Tools in Android


There are many tools that can be used for testing android applications. Some
are official like Junit, Monkey and some are third party tools that can be used to
709

Android

test android applications. In this chapter we are going to explain these two tools
to test android applications.

JUnit

Monkey

JUnit
You can use the JUnit TestCase class to do unit testing on a class that doesn't
call Android APIs. TestCase is also the base class for AndroidTestCase, which you
can use to test Android-dependent objects. Besides providing the JUnit
framework, AndroidTestCase offers Android-specific setup, teardown, and helper
methods.
To use TestCase, extend your class with TestCase class and implement a method
call setUp(). Its syntax is given below:
public class MathTest extends TestCase {
protected double fValue1;
protected double fValue2;

protected void setUp() {


fValue1= 2.0;
fValue2= 3.0;
}
}
For each test, implement a method which interacts with the fixture. Verify the
expected results with assertions specified by calling assertTrue(String, boolean)
with a boolean.
public void testAdd() {
double result= fValue1 + fValue2;
assertTrue(result == 5.0);
}
The assert methods compare values you expect from a test to the actual results
and throw an exception if the comparison fails.
Once the methods are defined you can run them. Its syntax is given below:
TestCase test= new MathTest("testAdd");
test.run();
710

Android

Monkey
The UI/Application Exerciser Monkey, usually called "monkey", is a commandline tool that sends pseudo-random streams of keystrokes, touches, and
gestures to a device. You run it with the Android Debug Bridge (adb) tool.
You use it to stress-test your application and report back errors that are
encountered. You can repeat a stream of events by running the tool each time
with the same random number seed.

Monkey features
Monkey has many features, but it can all be summed up to these four
categories.

Basic configuration options

Operational constraints

Event types and frequencies

Debugging options

Monkey Usage
In order to use monkey, open up a command prompt and just naviagte to the
following directory.
android->sdk->platform-tools
Once inside the directory, attach your device with the PC, and run the following
command:
adb shell monkey -v 100
This command can be broken down into these steps:

adb - Android Debug Bridge. A tool used to connect and send commands
to your Android phone from a desktop or laptop computer.

shell - shell is just an interface on the device that translates our


commands to system commands.

monkey - monkey is the testing tool.

v - v stands for verbose method.

100- it is the frequency count or the number of events to be sent for


testing.

711

Android

This is also shown in the figure:

Here, you run the monkey tool on the default android UI application. Now in
order to run it to your application, here is what you have to do.
First run the example code given in the example section in your device. After
running, follow the steps of monkey usage and finally type this command.
adb shell monkey -p com.example.test -v 500
This has also been shown in the figure below. By typing this command, you are
actually generating 500 random events for testing.

Example
The below example demonstrates the use of Testing. It creates a basic
application which can be used for monkey.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device and
then follow the monkey steps explained in the beginning.
712

Android

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Test under a package com.example.test. While creating this
project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add Activity code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Create src/MainActivity2.java file to add Activity code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main_activity2.xml add any


GUI component if required.

Modify res/values/string.xml
components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

file

and

add

necessary

string

Here is the content of src/com.example.test/MainActivity.java.


package com.example.test;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
713

Android

setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}

public void activity2(View view){


Intent intent = new
Intent(this,com.example.test.MainActivity2.class);
startActivity(intent);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
}
Here is the content of src/com.example.test/MainActivity2.java.
package com.example.test;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;

public class MainActivity2 extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main_activity2);
}
714

Android

public void activity1(View view){


Intent intent = new
Intent(this,com.example.test.MainActivity.class);
startActivity(intent);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main_activity2, menu);
return true;
}

}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="87dp"
android:text="@string/test1"
715

Android

android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_centerVertical="true"
android:onClick="activity2"
android:text="@string/go2" />
</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of activity_main_activity2.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity2" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="125dp"
android:text="@string/test2"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<Button
716

Android

android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_centerVertical="true"
android:onClick="activity1"
android:text="@string/go1" />

</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of Strings.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">test</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="test1">This is activity 1</string>
<string name="test2">This is activity 2</string>
<string name="go1">Go to activity 1</string>
<string name="go2">Go to activity 2</string>
<string name="title_activity_main_activity2">MainActivity2</string>

</resources>
Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.test"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
717

Android

android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="14" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.test.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
<activity
android:name="com.example.test.MainActivity2"
android:label="@string/title_activity_main_activity2" >
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Let's try to run your Android Testing application. We assume, you have
connected your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app
from Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run icon from
the toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following
window to select an option where you want to run your Android application.

718

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display application screen. Now just follow the steps mentioned at the top
under the monkey section in order to peform testing on this application.

719

71. TEXT TO SPEECH

Android

Android allows you to convert your text into voice. Not only you can convert it,
but it also allows you to speak text in variety of different languages.
Android provides TextToSpeech class for this purpose. To use this class, you
need to instantiate an object of this class and also specify the initListener. Its
syntax is given below:
private EditText write;
ttobj=new TextToSpeech(getApplicationContext(), new
TextToSpeech.OnInitListener() {
@Override
public void onInit(int status) {
}
}
);
In this listener, you have to specify the properties for TextToSpeech object, such
as
its
language,
pitch
etc.
Language
can
be
set
by
calling setLanguage() method. Its syntax is given below:
ttobj.setLanguage(Locale.UK);
The method setLanguage takes a Locale object as parameter. The list of some of
the locales available are given below:
Sr.No

Locale

US

CANADA_FRENCH

GERMANY

ITALY

JAPAN

720

Android

CHINA

Once you have set the language, you can call speak method of the class to
speak the text. Its syntax is given below:
ttobj.speak(toSpeak, TextToSpeech.QUEUE_FLUSH, null);
Apart from the speak method, there are some other methods available in the
TextToSpeech class. They are listed below:
Sr.No

Method & description

addSpeech(String text, String filename)


This method adds a mapping between a string of text and a sound file.

getLanguage()
This method returns a Locale instance describing the language.

isSpeaking()
This method checks whether the TextToSpeech engine is busy
speaking.

setPitch(float pitch)
This method sets the speech pitch for the TextToSpeech engine.

setSpeechRate(float speechRate)
This method sets the speech rate.

shutdown()
This method releases the resources used by the TextToSpeech engine.

stop()
This method stops the speak.

Example
The below example demonstrates the use of TextToSpeech class. It creates a
basic application that allows you to set write text and speak it.
721

Android

To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as TextToSpeech under a package com.example.texttospeech. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add TextToSpeech code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Modify res/values/string.xml
components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

file

and

add

necessary

string

Here is the content of src/com.example.texttospeech/MainActivity.java.


package com.example.texttospeech;

import java.util.Locale;
import java.util.Random;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

TextToSpeech ttobj;
722

Android

private EditText write;


@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
write = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
ttobj=new TextToSpeech(getApplicationContext(),
new TextToSpeech.OnInitListener() {
@Override
public void onInit(int status) {
if(status != TextToSpeech.ERROR){
ttobj.setLanguage(Locale.UK);
}
}
});
}
@Override
public void onPause(){
if(ttobj !=null){
ttobj.stop();
ttobj.shutdown();
}
super.onPause();
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
public void speakText(View view){
String toSpeak = write.getText().toString();
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), toSpeak,
723

Android

Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
ttobj.speak(toSpeak, TextToSpeech.QUEUE_FLUSH, null);

}
}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_marginBottom="188dp"
android:layout_marginRight="67dp"
android:onClick="speakText"
android:text="@string/text1" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/button1"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
724

Android

android:layout_marginBottom="81dp"
android:ems="10" >
<requestFocus />
</EditText>

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="20dp"
android:text="@string/write"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />
</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of Strings.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string name="app_name">TextToSpeech</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="text1">Text to Speech</string>
<string name="write">Write Text</string>
</resources>

725

Android

Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.texttospeech"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.texttospeech.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>

726

Android

Let's try to run your TextToSpeech application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

727

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display the following screen:

728

Android

Now just type some text in the field and click on the text to speech button
below. A notification would appear and text will be spoken. It is shown in the
image below:

729

Android

Now type something else and repeat the step again with different locale. You will
again hear sound. This is shown below:

730

72. TEXTURE VIEW

Android

If you want to display a live video stream or any content stream such as video
or an OpenGL scene, you can use TextureView provided by android in order to
do that.
In order to use TextureView, all you need to do is get its SurfaceTexture. The
SurfaceTexture can then be used to render content. To do this, you just need to
do instantiate an object of this class and implement SurfaceTextureListener
interface. Its syntax is given below:
private TextureView myTexture;
public class MainActivity extends Activity implements
SurfaceTextureListener{
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
myTexture = new TextureView(this);
myTexture.setSurfaceTextureListener(this);
setContentView(myTexture);
}
}
After that, what you need to do is to override its methods. The methods are
listed as follows:
@Override
public void onSurfaceTextureAvailable(SurfaceTexture arg0, int arg1, int
arg2) {
}
@Override
public boolean onSurfaceTextureDestroyed(SurfaceTexture arg0) {
}
@Override
public void onSurfaceTextureSizeChanged(SurfaceTexture arg0, int arg1,int
arg2) {
}
@Override
public void onSurfaceTextureUpdated(SurfaceTexture arg0) {
}
731

Android

Any view that is displayed in the texture view can be rotated and its alpha
property can be adjusted by using setAlpha and setRotation methods. Its
syntax is given below:
myTexture.setAlpha(1.0f);
myTexture.setRotation(90.0f);
Apart from these methods, there are other methods available in TextureView
class. They are listed below:
Sr.No

Method & description

getSurfaceTexture()
This method returns the SurfaceTexture used by this view.

getBitmap(int width, int height)


This method returns a Bitmap representation of the content of the
associated surface texture.

getTransform(Matrix transform)
This method returns the transform associated with this texture view.

isOpaque()
This method indicates whether this View is opaque.

lockCanvas()
This method starts editing the pixels in the surface.

setOpaque(boolean opaque)
This method indicates whether the content of this TextureView is
opaque.

setTransform(Matrix transform)
This method sets the transform to associate with this texture view.

unlockCanvasAndPost(Canvas canvas)
This method finishes editing pixels in the surface.

732

Android

Example
The below example demonstrates the use of TextureView class. It creates a
basic application that allows you to view camera inside a texture view and
change its angle, orientation etc.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device on
which camera is present.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as TextureView under a package com.example.textureview. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add Activity code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

Here is the content of src/com.example.textureview/MainActivity.java.


package com.example.textureview;

import java.io.IOException;

import android.annotation.SuppressLint;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.graphics.SurfaceTexture;
import android.hardware.Camera;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Gravity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.TextureView;
import android.view.TextureView.SurfaceTextureListener;
import android.view.View;
733

Android

import android.widget.FrameLayout;

public
class
MainActivity
SurfaceTextureListener {

extends

Activity

implements

private TextureView myTexture;


private Camera mCamera;

@SuppressLint("NewApi")
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
myTexture = new TextureView(this);
myTexture.setSurfaceTextureListener(this);
setContentView(myTexture);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
@SuppressLint("NewApi")
@Override
public void onSurfaceTextureAvailable(SurfaceTexture arg0, int arg1,
int arg2) {
mCamera = Camera.open();
Camera.Size previewSize = mCamera.getParameters().getPreviewSize();
myTexture.setLayoutParams(new FrameLayout.LayoutParams(
previewSize.width, previewSize.height, Gravity.CENTER));
try {
mCamera.setPreviewTexture(arg0);
734

Android

} catch (IOException t) {
}
mCamera.startPreview();
myTexture.setAlpha(1.0f);
myTexture.setRotation(90.0f);
}

@Override
public boolean onSurfaceTextureDestroyed(SurfaceTexture arg0) {
mCamera.stopPreview();
mCamera.release();
return true;
}

@Override
public void onSurfaceTextureSizeChanged(SurfaceTexture arg0, int arg1,
int arg2) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
@Override
public void onSurfaceTextureUpdated(SurfaceTexture arg0) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
735

Android

tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextureView
android:id="@+id/textureView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true" />
</RelativeLayout>
Here is the default content of AndroidManifest.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.textureview"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA"/>
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.textureview.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
736

Android

</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Let's try to run your TextureView application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

737

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display following screen. This screen has alpha property set to 0.5 and
rotation set to 45.

738

Android

This screen has alpha property set to 1.5 and rotation set to 45.

739

Android

This screen has alpha property set to 1.0 and rotation set to 90.

740

Android

73. TWITTER INTEGRATION

Android allows your application to connect to twitter and share data or any kind
of updates on twitter. This chapter is about integrating twitter into your
application.
There are two ways through which you can integrate twitter and share
something from your application. These ways are listed below:

Twitter SDK (Twitter4J)

Intent Share

Integrating Twitter SDK


This is the first way of connecting with Twitter. You have to register your
application and then receive some Application Id, and then you have to
download the twitter SDK and add it to your project. The steps are listed below:

Registering your application


Create a new twitter application
information. It is shown below:

at dev.twitter.com/apps/new and

fill

all

the

741

Android

Now under setttings tab, change the access to read, write and access messages
and save the settings. It is shown below:

742

Android

If everything works fine, you will receive a consumer ID with the secret. Just
copy the application id and save it somewhere. It is shown in the image below:

Downloading SDK and integrating it


Download twitter sdk http://twitter4j.org/en/. Copy the twitter4J jar into your
project libs folder.

Posting tweets on twitter application


Once everything is complete, you can run the twitter 4J samples which can be
found http://twitter4j.org/en/code-examples.html.
In order to use twitter, you need to instantiate an object of twitter class. It can
be done by calling the static method getsingleton(). Its syntax is given below.
// The factory instance is re-useable and thread safe.
Twitter twitter = TwitterFactory.getSingleton();
In order to update the status, you can call updateStatus() method. Its syntax is
given below:
Status status = twitter.updateStatus(latestStatus);
System.out.println("Successfully updated the status to [" +
status.getText() + "].");

Intent share
Intent share is used to share data between applications. In this strategy, we will
not handle the SDK stuff, but let the twitter application handles it. We will simply
call the twitter application and pass the data to share. This way, we can share
something on twitter.
743

Android

Android provides intent library to share data between activities and applications.
To use it as share intent, we have to specify the type of the share intent
to ACTION_SEND. Its syntax is given below:
Intent shareIntent = new Intent();
shareIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
Next thing you need is to define the type of data to pass, and then pass the
data. Its syntax is given below:
shareIntent.setType("text/plain");
shareIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "Hello, from tutorialspoint");
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, "Share your thoughts"));
Apart from these methods, there are other methods available that allows intent
handling. They are listed below:
Sr.No

Method & description

addCategory(String category)
This method adds a new category to the intent.

createChooser(Intent target, CharSequence title)


Convenience function for creating a ACTION_CHOOSER Intent.

getAction()
This method retrieves the general action to be performed, such as
ACTION_VIEW.

getCategories()
This method returns the set of all categories in the intent.nt and the
current scaling event.

putExtra(String name, int value)


This method adds extended data to the intent.

toString()
This method returns a string containing a concise, human-readable
description of this object.

744

Android

Example
Here is an example demonstrating the use of IntentShare to share data on
twitter. It creates a basic application that allows you to share some text on
twitter.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as IntentShare under a package com.example.intentshare. While
creating this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at
the latest version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.intentshare/MainActivity.java.

add

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.intentshare;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;

import com.example.intentshare.R;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.DialogInterface;
import android.content.DialogInterface.OnClickListener;
import android.content.Intent;
745

Android

import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Environment;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private ImageView img;


@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
img = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.imageView1);

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
public void open(View view){
Intent shareIntent = new Intent();
shareIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
shareIntent.setType("text/plain");
shareIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "Hello, from
tutorialspoint");
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, "Share your
thoughts"));
746

Android

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >
<ImageView
android:id="@+id/imageView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginLeft="98dp"
android:layout_marginTop="139dp"
android:onClick="open"
android:src="@drawable/tp" />
<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="48dp"
android:text="@string/tap"
747

Android

android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />
</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">IntentShare</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="tap">Tap the button to share something</string>
</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.intentshare"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >
<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.intentshare.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
748

Android

<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>
Let's try to run your IntentShare application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

749

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display your default screen:

750

Android

Now just tap on the image logo and you will see a list of share providers.

751

Android

Now just select twitter from that list and then write any message. It is shown in
the image below:

Now just select the tweet button and then it would be posted on your twitter
page. It is shown below:

752

74. UI DESIGN

Android

We will look at the different UI components of android screen in this chapter. We


will also cover the tips to make a better UI design and also explain how to
design a UI.

UI screen components
A typical user interface of an android application consists of action bar and the
application content area.

Main Action Bar

View Control

Content Area

Split Action Bar

These components have also been shown in the image below:

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Android

Understanding Screen Components


The basic unit of android application is the activity. A UI is defined in an xml file.
During compilation, each element in the XML is compiled into equivalent Android
GUI class with attributes represented by methods.

View and ViewGroups


An activity is consisted of views. A view is just a widget that appears on the
screen. It could be button etc. One or more views can be grouped together into
one GroupView. Example of ViewGroup include layouts.

Types of layout
There are many types of layout. Some of which are listed below:

Linear Layout

Absolute Layout

Table Layout

Frame Layout

Relative Layout

Linear Layout
Linear layout is further divided into horizontal and vertical layout. It means it
can arrange views in a single column or in a single row. Here is the code of
linear layout (vertical) that includes a text view.
<?xml version=1.0 encoding=utf-8?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android=http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android
android:layout_width=fill_parent
android:layout_height=fill_parent
android:orientation=vertical >
<TextView
android:layout_width=fill_parent
android:layout_height=wrap_content
android:text=@string/hello />
</LinearLayout>

754

Android

AbsoluteLayout
The AbsoluteLayout enables you to specify the exact location of its children. It
can be declared like this.
<AbsoluteLayout
android:layout_width=fill_parent
android:layout_height=fill_parent
xmlns:android=http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android >
<Button
android:layout_width=188dp
android:layout_height=wrap_content
android:text=Button
android:layout_x=126px
android:layout_y=361px />
</AbsoluteLayout>

TableLayout
The TableLayout groups views into rows and columns. It can be declared like
this.
<TableLayout
xmlns:android=http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android
android:layout_height=fill_parent
android:layout_width=fill_parent >
<TableRow>
<TextView
android:text=User Name:
android:width =120dp
/>
<EditText
android:id=@+id/txtUserName
android:width=200dp />
</TableRow>
</TableLayout>

755

Android

RelativeLayout
The RelativeLayout enables you to specify how child views are positioned relative
to each other. It can be declared like this.
<RelativeLayout
android:id=@+id/RLayout
android:layout_width=fill_parent
android:layout_height=fill_parent
xmlns:android=http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android >
</RelativeLayout>

FrameLayout
The FrameLayout is a placeholder on screen that you can use to display a single
view. It can be declared like this.
<?xml version=1.0 encoding=utf-8?>
<FrameLayout
android:layout_width=wrap_content
android:layout_height=wrap_content
android:layout_alignLeft=@+id/lblComments
android:layout_below=@+id/lblComments
android:layout_centerHorizontal=true >
<ImageView
android:src = @drawable/droid
android:layout_width=wrap_content
android:layout_height=wrap_content />
</FrameLayout>
Apart from these attributes, there are other attributes that are common in all
views and ViewGroups. They are listed below:
Sr.No

View & description

layout_width
Specifies the width of the View or ViewGroup.

layout_height
756

Android

Specifies the height of the View or ViewGroup.


3

layout_marginTop
Specifies extra space on the top side of the View or ViewGroup.

layout_marginBottom
Specifies extra space on the bottom side of the View or ViewGroup.

layout_marginLeft
Specifies extra space on the left side of the View or ViewGroup.

layout_marginRight
Specifies extra space on the right side of the View or ViewGroup.

layout_gravity
Specifies how child Views are positioned.

layout_weight
Specifies how much of the extra space in the layout should be
allocated to the View.

Units of Measurement
When you are specifying the size of an element on an Android UI, you should
remember the following units of measurement.
Sr.No

Unit & description

dp
Density-independent pixel. 1 dp is equivalent to one pixel on a 160 dpi
screen.

sp
Scale-independent pixel. This is similar to dp and is recommended for
specifying font sizes.

pt
Point. A point is defined to be 1/72 of an inch, based on the physical
screen size.

757

Android

px
Pixel. Corresponds to actual pixels on the screen.

Screen Densities
Sr.No

Density & DPI

Low density (ldpi)


120 dpi

Medium density (mdpi)


160 dpi

High density (hdpi)


240 dpi

Extra High density (xhdpi)


320 dpi

Optimizing layouts
Here are some of the guidelines for creating efficient layouts.

Avoid unnecessary nesting

Avoid using too many Views

Avoid deep nesting

758

75. UI PATTERNS

Android

This chapter tells you the different UI Patterns which are available by android to
design apps that behave in a consistent and forseeable way.

UI Patterns components
A good android application should follow following UI patterns:

Action Bar

Confirming and Acknowledging

Settings

Help

Selection

Now we will discuss the above mentioned UI Patterns in detail.

Action Bar
The action bar is a dedicated bar at the top of each screen that is generally
persistent througout the app. It provides you several key function which are as
following:

Makes important actions prominent and accessible

Supports consistent navigation and view switching within apps

Reduces clutter by providing an action overflow for rarely used actions

Provides a dedicated space for giving your app an identity

Action Bar Components


Action Bar has four major components which can be seen in the following image.

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Android

These components name and functionality is disussed below:


Sr.No

Action Bar Components

App Icon
The app icon establishes your app's identity. It can be replaced with a
different logo or branding if you wish.

View control
If your app displays data in different views, this segment of the action
bar allows users to switch views.

Action buttons
Shows the most important actions of your app in the actions section.

Action overflow
Moves less often used actions to the action overflow.

Confirming and Acknowledging


When a user invokes an action on your app's UI, it is a good practice
to confirm oracknowledge that action through a toast or a dialog box.
There is a difference between Confirming and Acknowledging.

Confirming
When we ask the user to verify that they truly want to proceed with an action
that they just invoked, it is called confirming. As you can see in the following
image:

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Android

Acknowledging
When we display a toast to let the user know that the action they just invoked
has been completed, is called acknowledging, as you can see in the following
image:

Settings
The place in your app where users can indicate their preferences for how your
app should behave is called as Settings. The use of settings can benefit your
app's users in the following ways:

Settings help users to pre-determine what will happen in certain


situations.

Use of settings in your app help users to feel in control.

Placement of Settings
It is preferred by the android developers to always make "settings" option part
of action overflow which is mentioned above. As users did not frequently use this
options so the common practice is to place it below all other items except
"Help". As you can see in the following picture:

Help
Some of your app users may run into some difficulty while using your app and
they will be looking for some answers which they want within the app. So always
make "help" a part of your app.

761

Android

Placement of Help
Like "Settings" the standard design of placing "Help" option is in action
overflow. Always make it very last item in the menu and always label it "Help".
Even if your app screen has no other action overflow items, "Help" should
appear there. As you can see this in the following picture:

Selection
Android 3.0 version changed the long press gesture to the global gesture to
select data. The long press gesture is now used to select data, combining
contextual actions and selection management functions for selected data into a
new element called the contextual action bar (CAB).

Using Contextual Action Bar (CAB)


The selection CAB is a temporary action bar that overlays your app's current
action bar while data is selected. It appears after the user long presses on a
selectable data item. As you can see in the following picture:

From the CAB bar, user can perform following actions:

Select additional data items by touching them.

Triggers an action from the CAB that applies to all highlighted data items.

Dismiss the CAB via the navigation bar's Back button or the CAB's
checkmark button.

762

76. UI TESTING

Android

Android SDK provides the following tools to support automated, functional UI


testing on your application.

uiautomatorviewer

uiautomator

uiautomatorviewer
A GUI tool to scan and analyze the UI components of an Android application.
The uiautomatorviewer tool provides a convenient visual interface to inspect the
layout hierarchy and view the properties of the individual UI components that
are displayed on the test device. Using this information, you can later create
uiautomator tests with selector objects that target specific UI components to
test.
To analyze the UI components of the application that you want to test, perform
the following steps after installing the application given in the example.

Connect your Android device to your development machine.

Open a terminal window and navigate to /tools/

Run the tool with this command.


uiautomatorviewer

763

Android

You will see the following window appear. It is the default window of the UI
Automator Viewer.

Click on the devices icon at the top right corner. It will start taking the UI
XML snapshot of the screen currently opened in the device. It would be
something like this.

764

Android

After that, you will see


uiautomatorviewer window.

the

snapshot

of

your

device

screen

in

the

On the right side of this window, you will see two partitions. The upper partition
explains the Nodes structure, the way the UI components are arranged and
contained. Clicking on each node gives detail in the lower partition.
As an example, consider the below figure. When you click on the button, you can
see in the upper partition that Button is selected, and in the lower partition, its
details are shown. Since this button is clickable, its property of clickable is set to
true.

765

Android

UI Automator Viewer also helps you to examine your UI in different orientations.


For example, just change your device orientation to landscape, and again
capture the screenshot. It is shown in the figure below:

766

Android

uiautomator
Now you can create your own test cases and run it with uiautomatorviewer to
examine them. In order to create your own test case, you need to perform the
following steps:

From the Project Explorer, right-click on the new project that you created,
then select Properties > Java Build Path, and do the following:

Click Add Library > JUnit then select JUnit3 to add JUnit support.

Click Add External JARs... and navigate to the SDK directory. Under the
platforms directory, select the latest SDK version and add both the
uiautomator.jar and android.jar files.

Extend your class with UiAutomatorTestCase.

Right the necessary test cases.

Once you have coded your test, follow these steps to build and deploy
your test JAR to your target Android test device.

Create the required build configuration files to build the output JAR. To
generate the build configuration files, open a terminal and run the
following command:
<android-sdk>/tools/android create uitest-project -n <name> -t 1 -p
<path>
<name> is the name of the project that contains your uiautomator
test source files, and <path> is the path to the corresponding project
directory.

From the command line, set the ANDROID_HOME variable.


set ANDROID_HOME=<path_to_your_sdk>

Go to the project directory where your build.xml file is located and build
your test JAR.
ant build

Deploy your generated test JAR file to the test device by using the adb
push command.
adb push

/data/local/tmp/

Run your test by following command:


adb shell uiautomator runtest LaunchSettings.jar -c
com.uia.example.my.LaunchSettings
767

Android

Example
The below example demonstrates the use of UITesting. It creates a basic
application which can be used for uiautomatorviewer.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device and
then follow the uiautomatorviewer steps explained in the beginning.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Test under a package com.example.test. While creating this
project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add Activity code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main.xml add any GUI


component if required.

Create src/MainActivity2.java file to add Activity code.

Modify layout XML file res/layout/activity_main_activity2.xml add any


GUI component if required.

Modify res/values/string.xml
components.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

file

and

add

necessary

string

Here is the content of src/com.example.test/MainActivity.java.


package com.example.test;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
768

Android

import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}

public void activity2(View view){


Intent intent = new
Intent(this,com.example.test.MainActivity2.class);
startActivity(intent);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

}
Here is the content of src/com.example.test/MainActivity2.java.
package com.example.test;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Menu;
769

Android

import android.view.View;

public class MainActivity2 extends Activity {

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main_activity2);
}

public void activity1(View view){


Intent intent = new
Intent(this,com.example.test.MainActivity.class);
startActivity(intent);
}
@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main_activity2, menu);
return true;
}

}
Here is the content of activity_main.xml
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
770

Android

android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="87dp"
android:text="@string/test1"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_centerVertical="true"
android:onClick="activity2"
android:text="@string/go2" />
</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of activity_main_activity2.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity2" >
771

Android

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="125dp"
android:text="@string/test2"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_centerVertical="true"
android:onClick="activity1"
android:text="@string/go1" />
</RelativeLayout>
Here is the content of Strings.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">test</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="test1">This is activity 1</string>
<string name="test2">This is activity 2</string>
<string name="go1">Go to activity 1</string>
<string name="go2">Go to activity 2</string>
<string name="title_activity_main_activity2">MainActivity2</string>

</resources>
772

Android

Here is the content of AndroidManifest.xml.


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.test"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="14" />

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.test.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
<activity
android:name="com.example.test.MainActivity2"
android:label="@string/title_activity_main_activity2" >
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Let's try to run your UI Testing application. We assume, you have connected
your actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from
773

Android

Eclipse, open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the
toolbar. Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to
select an option where you want to run your Android application.

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display application screen. Now just follow the steps mentioned at the top
under the uiautomatorviewer section in order to perform uitesting on this
application.

774

77. WEBVIEW

Android

WebView is a view that display web pages inside your application. You can also
specify HTML string and can show it inside your application using WebView.
WebView turns your application to a web application.
In
order
to
add
WebView
to
your
application,
you
have
add <WebView> element to your xml layout file. Its syntax is as follows:
<WebView

to

xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"

android:id="@+id/webview"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
/>
In order to use it, you have to get a reference of this view in Java file. To get a
reference, create an object of the class WebView. Its syntax is:
WebView browser = (WebView) findViewById(R.id.webview);
In order to load a web url into the WebView, you need to call a
method loadUrl(String url) of the WebView class, specifying the required url.
Its syntax is:
browser.loadUrl("http://www.tutorialspoint.com");
Apart from just loading url, you can have more control over your WebView by
using the methods defined in WebView class. They are listed as follows:
Sr.No

Method & Description

canGoBack()
This method specifies whether the WebView has a back history item.

canGoForward()
This method specifies whether the WebView has a forward history
item.

clearHistory()

775

Android

This method clears the WebView forward and backward history.


4

destroy()
This method destorys the internal state of WebView.

findAllAsync(String find)
This method find all instances of string and highlight them.

getProgress()
This method gets the progress of the current page.

getTitle()
This method returns the title of the current page.

getUrl()
This method returns the url of the current page.

If you click on any link inside the webpage of the WebView, that page will not be
loaded inside your WebView. To do that you need to extend your class from
WebViewClient and override its method. Its syntax is:
private class MyBrowser extends WebViewClient {
@Override
public boolean shouldOverrideUrlLoading(WebView view, String url) {
view.loadUrl(url);
return true;
}
}

Example
Here is an example demonstrating the use of WebView Layout. It creates a basic
web application that will ask you to specify a url and will load this url website in
the WebView.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device on
which internet is running.

776

Android

Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as WebView under a package com.example.webview. While creating
this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add WebView code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Modify the AndroidManifest.xml to add the necessary permissions.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.webview/MainActivity.java.

add

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.webview;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.Window;
import android.webkit.WebSettings;
import android.webkit.WebView;
import android.webkit.WebViewClient;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.TextView;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

777

Android

private EditText field;


private WebView browser;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
field = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.urlField);
browser = (WebView)findViewById(R.id.webView1);
browser.setWebViewClient(new MyBrowser());
}

public void open(View view){


String url = field.getText().toString();
browser.getSettings().setLoadsImagesAutomatically(true);
browser.getSettings().setJavaScriptEnabled(true);
browser.setScrollBarStyle(View.SCROLLBARS_INSIDE_OVERLAY);
browser.loadUrl(url);

}
private class MyBrowser extends WebViewClient {
@Override
public boolean shouldOverrideUrlLoading(WebView view, String url) {
view.loadUrl(url);
return true;
}
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
778

Android

return true;
}

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/hello_world" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/urlField"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignTop="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:ems="10" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
779

Android

android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/urlField"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:onClick="open"
android:text="@string/browse" />

<WebView
android:id="@+id/webView1"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
android:layout_below="@+id/button1" />

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">WebView</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">URL:</string>
<string name="browse">Browse</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.webview"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

780

Android

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.webview.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>

</manifest>

781

Android

Let's try to run your WebView application. We assume, you have connected your
actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar.
Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to select
an option where you want to run your Android application.

782

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display your default screen:

783

Android

Now just specify a url on the url field and press the browse button that appears,
to launch the website. But before that please make sure that you are connected
to the internet. After pressing the button, the following screen would appear:

Note: By just changing the url in the url field, your WebView will open your
desired website.

784

78. WI-FI

Android

Android allows applications to view the access of the state of the wireless
connections at a very low level. Application can access almost all the information
of a wi-fi connection.
The information that an application can access includes connected network's link
speed, IP address, negotiation state, other networks information. Applications
can also scan, add, save, terminate and initiate Wi-Fi connections.
Android provides WifiManager API to manage all aspects of WIFI connectivity.
We can instantiate this class by calling getSystemService method. Its syntax is
given below:
WifiManager mainWifiObj;
mainWifiObj = (WifiManager) getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);
In order to scan a list of wireless networks, you also need to register your
BroadcastReceiver. It can be registered using registerReceiver method with
argument of your receiver class object. Its syntax is given below:
class WifiScanReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
public void onReceive(Context c, Intent intent) {
}
}
WifiScanReceiver wifiReceiver = new WifiScanReceiver();
registerReceiver(wifiReceiver, new
IntentFilter(WifiManager.SCAN_RESULTS_AVAILABLE_ACTION));
The wi-fi scan can be started by calling the startScan method of the
WifiManager class. This method returns a list of ScanResult objects. You can
access any object by calling the get method of list. Its syntax is given below:
List<ScanResult> wifiScanList = mainWifiObj.getScanResults();
String data = wifiScanList.get(0).toString();

785

Android

Apart from just Scanning, you can have more control over your WIFI by using
the methods defined in WifiManager class. They are listed as follows:
Sr.No

Method & Description

addNetwork(WifiConfiguration config)
This method adds a new network description to the set of configured
networks.

createWifiLock(String tag)
This method creates a new WifiLock.

disconnect()
This method disassociates from the currently active access point.

enableNetwork(int netId, boolean disableOthers)


This method allows a previously configured network to be associated
with.

getWifiState()
This method gets the Wi-Fi enabled state.

isWifiEnabled()
This method returns whether Wi-Fi is enabled or disabled.

setWifiEnabled(boolean enabled)
This method enables or disables Wi-Fi.

updateNetwork(WifiConfiguration config)
This method updates the network description of an existing configured
network.

Example
Here is an example demonstrating the use of WIFI. It creates a basic application
that scans a list of wirless networks and populate them in a list view.

786

Android

To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device on
which wi-fi is turned on.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as WIFI under a package com.example.wifi. While creating this
project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add WebView code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the AndroidManifest.xml to add the necessary permissions.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.wifi/MainActivity.java.

add

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.wifi;

import java.util.List;

import android.annotation.SuppressLint;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.BroadcastReceiver;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.IntentFilter;
import android.net.wifi.ScanResult;
import android.net.wifi.WifiManager;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;
import android.widget.ListView;
787

Android

import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

WifiManager mainWifiObj;
WifiScanReceiver wifiReceiver;
ListView list;
String wifis[];
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
list = (ListView)findViewById(R.id.listView1);
mainWifiObj = (WifiManager) getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);
wifiReceiver = new WifiScanReceiver();
mainWifiObj.startScan();
}

protected void onPause() {


unregisterReceiver(wifiReceiver);
super.onPause();
}

protected void onResume() {


registerReceiver(wifiReceiver, new IntentFilter(
WifiManager.SCAN_RESULTS_AVAILABLE_ACTION));
super.onResume();
}

class WifiScanReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {


@SuppressLint("UseValueOf")
public void onReceive(Context c, Intent intent) {
List<ScanResult> wifiScanList = mainWifiObj.getScanResults();
wifis = new String[wifiScanList.size()];
788

Android

for(int i = 0; i < wifiScanList.size(); i++){


wifis[i] = ((wifiScanList.get(i)).toString());
}

list.setAdapter(new
ArrayAdapter<String>(getApplicationContext(),
android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1,wifis));
}
}

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<ListView
android:id="@+id/listView1"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:drawSelectorOnTop="false"
android:background="@android:color/background_dark"
android:listSelector="@android:color/darker_gray" >

789

Android

</ListView>
</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.wifi"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="14"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE"
/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CHANGE_WIFI_STATE"
/>

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.wifi.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
<activity
790

Android

android:name="com.example.wifi.ListWifiActivity"
android:label="@string/title_activity_list_wifi" >
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>

Let's try to run your WIFI application. We assume, you have connected your
actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar.
Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to select
an option where you want to run your Android application.

791

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display your mobile screen filled with wireless networks around you. It is
shown below:

Note the information that has been returned to you. It contains much
information about each of the wireless network detected.

792

79. WIDGETS

Android

A widget is a small gadget or control of your android application placed on the


home screen. Widgets can be very handy as they allow you to put your favourite
applications on your home screen in order to quickly access them. You have
probably seen some common widgets, such as music widget, weather widget,
clock widget etc.
Widgets could be of many types such as information widgets, collection widgets,
control widgets and hybrid widgets. Android provides us a complete framework
to develop our own widgets.

Widget - XML file


In order to create an application widget, first thing you need is
AppWidgetProviderInfo object, which you will define in a separate widget XML
file. To do that, right click on your project and create a new folder called xml.
Now right click on the newly created folder and create a new XML file. The
resource type of the XML file should be set to AppWidgetProvider. In the xml
file, define some properties which are as follows:
<appwidget-provider
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:minWidth="146dp"
android:updatePeriodMillis="0"
android:minHeight="146dp"
android:initialLayout="@layout/activity_main">
</appwidget-provider>

Widget - Layout file


Now you have to define the layout of your widget in your default XML file. You
can drag components to generate auto xml.

Widget - Java file


After defining layout, now create a new JAVA file or use existing one, and extend
it with AppWidgetProvider class and override its update method as follows.
In the update method, you have to define the object of two classes which are
PendingIntent and RemoteViews. Its syntax is:
793

Android

PendingIntent pending = PendingIntent.getActivity(context, 0, intent, 0);


RemoteViews views = new RemoteViews(context.getPackageName(),
R.layout.activity_main);
In the end you have to call an update method updateAppWidget() of the
AppWidgetManager class. Its syntax is:
appWidgetManager.updateAppWidget(currentWidgetId,views);
A part from the updateAppWidget method, there are other methods defined in
this class to manipulate widgets. They are as follows:
Sr.No

Method & Description

onDeleted(Context context, int[] appWidgetIds)


This is called when an instance of AppWidgetProvider is deleted.

onDisabled(Context context)
This is called when the last instance of AppWidgetProvider is deleted

onEnabled(Context context)
This is called when an instance of AppWidgetProvider is created.

onReceive(Context context, Intent intent)


It is used to dispatch calls to the various methods of the class

Widget - Manifest file


You also have to declare the AppWidgetProvider class in your manifest file as
follows:
<receiver android:name="ExampleAppWidgetProvider" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.appwidget.action.APPWIDGET_UPDATE" />
</intent-filter>
<meta-data android:name="android.appwidget.provider"
android:resource="@xml/example_appwidget_info" />
</receiver>
794

Android

Example
Here is an example demonstrating the use of application Widget. It creates a
basic widget applications that will open this current website in the browser.
To experiment with this example, you need to run this on an actual device on
which internet is running.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as Widget under a package com.example.widget. While creating this
project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add widget code.

Modify the
components.

Create a new folder and xml file under res/xml/mywidget.xml to add


respective XML components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Modify the AndroidManifest.xml to add the necessary permissions.

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

res/layout/activity_main

to

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.widget/MainActivity.java.

add

respective

main

activity

XML

file

package com.example.widget;

import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.PendingIntent;
import android.appwidget.AppWidgetManager;
795

Android

import android.appwidget.AppWidgetProvider;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.webkit.WebView.FindListener;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.RemoteViews;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends AppWidgetProvider{

@Override
public void onUpdate(Context context, AppWidgetManager
appWidgetManager,
int[] appWidgetIds) {
for(int i=0; i<appWidgetIds.length; i++){
int currentWidgetId = appWidgetIds[i];
String url = "http://www.tutorialspoint.com";
Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
intent.setData(Uri.parse(url));
PendingIntent pending = PendingIntent.getActivity(context, 0,
intent, 0);
RemoteViews views = new RemoteViews(context.getPackageName(),
R.layout.activity_main);
views.setOnClickPendingIntent(R.id.button1, pending);
appWidgetManager.updateAppWidget(currentWidgetId,views);
Toast.makeText(context, "widget added", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
}
796

Android

Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.


<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:gravity="top"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:text="@string/website"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_marginLeft="18dp"
android:text="@string/app_name" />

</RelativeLayout>

797

Android

Following is the content of the res/xml/mywidget.xml.


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<appwidget-provider
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:minWidth="146dp"
android:updatePeriodMillis="0"
android:minHeight="146dp"
android:initialLayout="@layout/activity_main">
</appwidget-provider>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">Widget</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="website">TutorialsPoint.com</string>

</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.widget"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="10"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

798

Android

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<receiver android:name="MainActivity" >
<intent-filter>
<action
android:name="android.appwidget.action.APPWIDGET_UPDATE"
/>
</intent-filter>
<meta-data android:name="android.appwidget.provider"
android:resource="@xml/mywidget" />
</receiver>
</application>
</manifest>

Let's try to run your Widget application. We assume, you have connected your
actual Android Mobile device with your computer. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar.
Before starting your application, Eclipse will display following window to select
an option where you want to run your Android application.

799

Android

Select your mobile device as an option and then check your mobile device which
will display your default screen:
Go to your widget section and add your created widget to the dsktop or
homescreen. It would look something like this:

800

Android

Now just tap on the widget button that appears, to launch the browser. But
before that please make sure that you are connected to the internet. After
pressing the button, the following screen would appear:

801

Android

Note. By just changing the url in the java file, your widget will open your desired
website in the browser.

802

80. XML PARSER

Android

XML stands for Extensible Markup Language. XML is a very popular format and
commonly used for sharing data on the internet. This chapter explains how to
parse the XML file and extract necessary information from it.
Android provides three types of XML parsers which are DOM, SAX and
XMLPullParser. Among all of them android recommend XMLPullParser because
it is efficient and easy to use. So we are going to use XMLPullParser for parsing
XML.
The first step is to identify the fields in the XML data in which you are interested
in. For example, in the XML given below we are interested in getting
temperature only.
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<current>
<city id="2643743" name="London">
<coord lon="-0.12574" lat="51.50853"/>
<country>GB</country>
<sun rise="2013-10-08T06:13:56" set="2013-10-08T17:21:45"/>
</city>
<temperature value="289.54" min="289.15" max="290.15" unit="kelvin"/>
<humidity value="77" unit="%"/>
<pressure value="1025" unit="hPa"/>
</country>

XML - Elements
An xml file consist of many components. Here is the table defining the
components of an XML file and their description.
Sr.No

Component & description

Prolog
An XML file starts with a prolog. The first line that contains the
information about a file is prolog

Events
803

Android

An XML file has many events. Event could be like this. Document
starts, Document ends, Tag starts, Tag ends and Text etc.
3

Text
Apart from tags and events, and xml file also contains simple text.
Such as GB is a text in the country tag.

Attributes
Attributes are the additional properties of a tag such as value etc.

XML - Parsing
In the next step, we will create XMLPullParser object, but in order to create that
we will first create XmlPullParserFactory object and then call its newPullParser()
method to create XMLPullParser. Its syntax is given below:
private XmlPullParserFactory xmlFactoryObject =
XmlPullParserFactory.newInstance();
private XmlPullParser myparser = xmlFactoryObject.newPullParser();
The next step involves specifying the file for XmlPullParser that contains XML. It
could be a file or could be a Stream. In our case it is a stream. Its syntax is
given below:
myparser.setInput(stream, null);
The last step is to parse the XML. An XML file consist of events, Name, Text,
AttributesValue etc. So XMLPullParser has a seperate function for parsing each of
the component of XML file. Its syntax is given below:
int event = myParser.getEventType();
while (event != XmlPullParser.END_DOCUMENT)
{
String name=myParser.getName();
switch (event){
case XmlPullParser.START_TAG:
break;
case XmlPullParser.END_TAG:
if(name.equals("temperature")){
temperature = myParser.getAttributeValue(null,"value");
804

Android

}
break;
}
event = myParser.next();
}
The method getEventType returns the type of event that happens. e.g:
Document start, tag start etc. The method getName returns the name of the
tag and since we are only interested in temperature, so we just check in
conditional statement that if we get a temperature tag, we call the
method getAttributeValue to return us the value of temperature tag.
Apart from these methods, there are other methods provided by this class for
better parsing XML files. These methods are listed below:
Sr.No

Method & description

getAttributeCount()
This method just returns the number of attributes of the current start
tag.

getAttributeName(int index)
This method returns the name of the attribute specified by the index
value.

getColumnNumber()
This method returns the current column number, starting from 0.

getDepth()
This method returns the current depth of the element.

getLineNumber()
Returns the current line number, starting from 1.

getNamespace()
This method returns the namespace URI of the current element.

getPrefix()
805

Android

This method returns the prefix of the current element.


8

getName()
This method returns the name of the tag.

getText()
This method returns the text for that particular element.

10

isWhitespace()
This method checks whether the current TEXT event contains only
whitespace characters.

Example
Here is an example demonstrating the use of XMLPullParser class. It creates a
basic Weather application that allows you to parse XML from google weather api
and shows the result.
To experiment with this example, you can run this on an actual device or in an
emulator.
Steps

Description

You will use Eclipse IDE to create an Android application and name it
as XMLParser under a package com.example.xmlparser. While creating
this project, make sure you Target SDK and Compile With at the latest
version of Android SDK to use higher levels of APIs.

Modify src/MainActivity.java file to add necessary code.

Modify the
components.

Modify the res/values/string.xml to add necessary string components.

Create a new java file under src/HandleXML.java to fetch and parse


XML data.

Modify AndroidManifest.xml to add necessary internet permission.

res/layout/activity_main

to

add

respective

XML

806

Android

Run the application and choose a running android device and install
the application on it and verify the results.

Following
is
the
content
of
the
modified
src/com.example.xmlparser/MainActivity.java.

main

activity

file

package com.example.xmlparser;

import java.io.IOException;

import org.apache.http.HttpEntity;
import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;
import org.apache.http.ParseException;
import org.apache.http.client.ClientProtocolException;
import org.apache.http.client.methods.HttpPost;
import org.apache.http.impl.client.DefaultHttpClient;
import org.apache.http.util.EntityUtils;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private String url1 =


"http://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q=";
private String url2 = "&mode=xml";
private EditText location,country,temperature,humidity,pressure;
private HandleXML obj;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
807

Android

setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
location = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText1);
country = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText2);
temperature = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText3);
humidity = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText4);
pressure = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText5);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar
// if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}

public void open(View view){


String url = location.getText().toString();
String finalUrl = url1 + url + url2;
country.setText(finalUrl);
obj = new HandleXML(finalUrl);
obj.fetchXML();
while(obj.parsingComplete);
country.setText(obj.getCountry());
temperature.setText(obj.getTemperature());
humidity.setText(obj.getHumidity());
pressure.setText(obj.getPressure());

808

Android

Following is the content of src/com.example.xmlparser/HandleXML.java.


package com.example.xmlparser;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.net.HttpURLConnection;
import java.net.URL;

import org.apache.http.HttpEntity;
import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;
import org.apache.http.client.ClientProtocolException;
import org.apache.http.client.methods.HttpPost;
import org.apache.http.impl.client.DefaultHttpClient;
import org.apache.http.util.EntityUtils;
import org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParser;
import org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParserException;
import org.xmlpull.v1.XmlPullParserFactory;

import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class HandleXML {

private String country = "county";


private String temperature = "temperature";
private String humidity = "humidity";
private String pressure = "pressure";
private String urlString = null;
private XmlPullParserFactory xmlFactoryObject;
public volatile boolean parsingComplete = true;
public HandleXML(String url){
809

Android

this.urlString = url;
}
public String getCountry(){
return country;
}
public String getTemperature(){
return temperature;
}
public String getHumidity(){
return humidity;
}
public String getPressure(){
return pressure;
}

public void parseXMLAndStoreIt(XmlPullParser myParser) {


int event;
String text=null;
try {
event = myParser.getEventType();
while (event != XmlPullParser.END_DOCUMENT) {
String name=myParser.getName();
switch (event){
case XmlPullParser.START_TAG:
break;
case XmlPullParser.TEXT:
text = myParser.getText();
break;

case XmlPullParser.END_TAG:
if(name.equals("country")){
country = text;
}
else if(name.equals("humidity")){
810

Android

humidity = myParser.getAttributeValue(null,"value");
}
else if(name.equals("pressure")){
pressure = myParser.getAttributeValue(null,"value");
}
else if(name.equals("temperature")){
temperature =
myParser.getAttributeValue(null,"value");
}
else{
}
break;
}
event = myParser.next();

}
parsingComplete = false;
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}

}
public void fetchXML(){
Thread thread = new Thread(new Runnable(){
@Override
public void run() {
try {
URL url = new URL(urlString);
HttpURLConnection conn = (HttpURLConnection)
url.openConnection();
conn.setReadTimeout(10000 /* milliseconds */);
conn.setConnectTimeout(15000 /* milliseconds */);
conn.setRequestMethod("GET");
conn.setDoInput(true);
811

Android

conn.connect();
InputStream stream = conn.getInputStream();

xmlFactoryObject = XmlPullParserFactory.newInstance();
XmlPullParser myparser = xmlFactoryObject.newPullParser();

myparser.setFeature(XmlPullParser.FEATURE_PROCESS_NAMESPACES
, false);
myparser.setInput(stream, null);
parseXMLAndStoreIt(myparser);
stream.close();
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
});

thread.start();

}
Following is the modified content of the xml res/layout/activity_main.xml.
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >
812

Android

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_marginTop="15dp"
android:text="@string/location"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:ems="10" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_marginTop="68dp"
android:text="@string/country"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView2"
813

Android

android:layout_marginTop="19dp"
android:text="@string/temperature"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_marginTop="32dp"
android:text="@string/humidity"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView4"
android:layout_marginTop="21dp"
android:text="@string/pressure"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/textView3"
android:ems="10" >

<requestFocus />
</EditText>
814

Android

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText3"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView3"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText2"
android:ems="10" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText4"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_above="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText1"
android:ems="10" />

<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText5"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignBaseline="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_alignBottom="@+id/textView5"
android:layout_alignRight="@+id/editText4"
android:ems="10" />

<Button
android:id="@+id/button1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignLeft="@+id/editText2"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText1"
android:onClick="open"
815

Android

android:text="@string/weather" />

</RelativeLayout>
Following is the content of the res/values/string.xml.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

<string name="app_name">XMLParser</string>
<string name="action_settings">Settings</string>
<string name="hello_world">Hello world!</string>
<string name="location">Location</string>
<string name="country">Country:</string>
<string name="temperature">Temperature:</string>
<string name="humidity">Humidity:</string>
<string name="pressure">Pressure:</string>
<string name="weather">Weather</string>
</resources>
Following is the content of AndroidManifest.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.xmlparser"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >

<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
816

Android

android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.example.xmlparser.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />


</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Let's try to run our XMLParser application we just modified. We assume, you had
created your AVD while doing environment setup. To run the app from Eclipse,
open one of your project's activity files and click Run
icon from the toolbar.
Eclipse installs the app on your AVD and starts it and if everything is fine with
your setup and application, it will display following Emulator window:

817

Android

Now you need to enter any location in the location field. For example, we have
entered London. Press the weather button, when you enter the location. The
following screen would appear in you AVD:

818

Android

Now when you press the weather button, the application will contact the Google
Weather API and will request for your necessary XML location file and will parse
it. In case of London following file would be returned:

819

Android

Note: This temperature is in kelvin, so if you want to convert it into more


understandable format, you have to convert it into Celsius.

820

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