Hello Android

One Minute Bottom Line

Review

Jumping right in, I really enjoyed the game that was chosen as an example project in this book. It draws attention to the technical details of implementation rather than distracting readers with nitty gritty game rules. It's not everyday that you get a running application from the very first chapter.

After being guided through the process of setting up a development environment, you move on to a quick rundown on necessary, easy-to-understand concepts. 

Next, you won't find a chapter without code and examples. In a hands-on approach, you'll gradually learn every element you need in order to complete an application. The sequence each topic follows is very logical, starting with the basics needed for any application and then moving on to more specialized elements.

Specifically, the basiscs are covered by the first section of the book, called Android Basics, which is composed of designing the user interface, 2D graphics and input handling, playing audio and video, and storing local data. The second section, Beyond the Basics, lets readers focus on interesting features not needed for every application, these include web browsing, sensor readings, SQLite and 3D Graphics.

Further material worth mention includes the the appendixes, which complements the book's content excellently. I also like the "Joe Asks" boxes, which address basic problems and doubts that might pop up as you read the book or as you go through the examples.

It is difficult to find too many bad things to say about this book, but one complaint I do have is that it did not include any examples for procedural design. Also, while the book does cover the two methods that may be used for designing user interfaces, as well as the recommendation from Google to use declarative XML, there’s not a practical comparison between the two.

Personally, I develop mobile applications as a hobby. In doing this have used several platforms and, consequently, have read several different books on the topic. It is important to me to choose a book light enough to reflect that this is just a hobby for me, but in-depth enough to keep me interested and learning new things. This book was a perfect fit!