I have a chapter in one of my books, Ubuntu Unleashed, that gives an introduction to using Ubuntu as a foundation for developing for Android. The information in that chapter barely scratches the surface of the topic. As a response to those who are interested in learning more and who ask me for book recommendations, I am writing this review.
Android Programming Unleashed is part of the same series as my book. I’m stating that right up front so that everyone knows that I have a potential conflict of interest. Read my review with that in mind. I’m trying to be unbiased, and I have no direct financial or editorial interest in Android Programming Unleashed, but I am the author of a book in the same series. So, now that that is out of the way, let’s dig in.
Android Programming Unleashed is written by B.M. Harwani. It contains more than 650 well-written pages of useful information written by someone who clearly has experience teaching others. The book is structured in four parts, each of which contain several chapters.
The first part, Fundamentals of Android Development, starts like most development and programming books, with information about installation and a general introduction to the platform, tools, and getting started. It also includes a chapter on the basic widgets used in an Android application, including some standard classes, layouts, controls, and events.
The second part dives in deeper. Building Blocks for Android Application Design contains four chapters that each cover an important aspect like laying out controls, utilizing resources and media, using selection widgets and debugging, and displaying and fetching information using dialogs and fragments.
The third part, Building Menus and Storing Data, completes the basics that are needed for most useful applications. Here you learn how to create interactive menus and various useful options for those menus as well as how to use databases in Android applications.
The fourth part gives you additional information that will enable you to create more complex and interesting applications. Advanced Android Programming: Internet, Entertainment, and Services contains six chapters that cover a wide range of topics. Here you learn about implementing drawing and animation, displaying web pages and maps, communicating with SMS and email, creating and using content providers, creating and consuming services, and publishing Android applications to the Google Play store.
The book is clearly written and complete. It uses the standard tools for Android development, so the installation instructions include information for developing on the Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. The figures and illustrations are clear and useful and the book contains numerous code samples. The code samples are also available for download using instructions given in the book’s introduction.
So, whether my book or something else whetted your appetite to code up some apps for Android, this is the book I recommend you take a look at.
Disclosure: I was given my copy of this book by the publisher as a review copy. See also: Are All Book Reviews Positive?