Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009

Google Android
Mobile Computing
Based on android-sdk_1.6-r1
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Android is part of the build a
better phone process
Open Handset Alliance produces
Android
Comprises handset manufacturers,
software firms, mobile operators, and
other manufactures and funding
companies
http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/

Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Android is growing
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Small, 1% of online
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Bigger, 10% of
online web requests
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Android makes mobile Java easier
http://code.google.com/android/goodies/index.html
Well, sort of
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Android applications are written
in Java
package com.google.android.helloactivity;

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

public class HelloActivity extends Activity {
public HelloActivity() {
}
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle icicle) {
super.onCreate(icicle);
setContentView(R.layout.hello_activity);
}
}
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Android applications are
compiled to Dalvik bytecode
Write app in Java
Compiled in Java
Transformed to Dalvik bytecode
Linux OS
Loaded into Dalvik VM
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
The Dalvik runtime is optimised
for mobile applications
Run multiple VMs efficiently
Each app has its own VM
Minimal memory footprint
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Android has many components
Bluetooth and USB drivers now gone from kernel
XMPP gone from application framework
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Android has a working emulator
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
All applications are written in
Java and available to each other
Android designed to enable reuse of
components in other applications
Each application can publish its
capabilities which other apps can use
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Android applications have
common structure
Views such as
lists, grids, text
boxes, buttons,
and even an
embeddable web
browser
Content
Providers that
enable
applications to
access data from
other applications
(such as
Contacts), or to
share their own
data
A Resource Manager,
providing access to non-
code resources such as
localized strings,
graphics, and layout files
A Notification Manager
that enables all apps to
display custom alerts in the
status bar
An Activity Manager that
manages the life cycle of
applications and provides
a common navigation
backstack
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Android applications have
common structure
Broadcast
receivers can
trigger intents that
start an application
Data storage
provide data for
your apps, and
can be shared
between apps
database, file,
and shared
preferences
(hash map) used
by group of
applications
Services run in the
background and have
no UI for the user
they will update data,
and trigger events
Intents specify what
specific action should be
performed
Activity is the presentation
layer of your app: there will
be one per screen, and the
Views provide the UI to the
activity
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
There is a common file structure
for applications
code
images
files
UI layouts
constants
Autogenerated
resource list
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Standard components form
building blocks for Android apps
Other applications
Has life-cycle
screen
App to handle content
Background app
Like music player
Views
manifest
Activity
Intents
Service
Notifications
ContentProviders
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
The AndroidManifest lists
application details
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.my_domain.app.helloactivity">
<application android:label="@string/app_name">
<activity android:name=".HelloActivity">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN"/>
<category
android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Activity is one thing you can do
From fundamentals page in sdk
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Intent provides late running
binding to other apps
It can be thought of as the glue between
activities. It is basically a passive data
structure holding an abstract description of
an action to be performed.
Written as action/data pairs such as:
VIEW_ACTION/ACTION content://contacts/1
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Services declared in the manifest
and provide support
Services run in the background:
Music player providing the music playing in
an audio application
Intensive background apps, might need to
spawn their own thread so as to not block
the application
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Notifications let you know of
background events
This way you know that an SMS arrived,
or that your phone is ringing, and the
MP3 player should pause
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
ContentProviders share data
You need one if your application shares data
with other applications
This way you can share the contact list with the
IM application
If you dont need to share data, then you can
use SQLlite database
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
UI layouts are in Java and XML
setContentView(R.layout.hello_activity); //will load the XML UI file
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
Security in Android follows
standard Linux guidelines
Each application runs in its own process
Process permissions are enforced at user
and group IDs assigned to processes
Finer grained permissions are then
granted (revoked) per operations
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.google.android.app.myapp" >
<uses-permission id="android.permission.RECEIVE_SMS" />
</manifest>
Bruce Scharlau, University of Aberdeen, 2009
There are lots of sources of
information
The sdk comes with the API references,
sample applications and
docs/resources/bootcamp.pdf
There are Google news groups
There is http://www.anddev.org
There is Google search