This book suffers from one major flaw: it slings code at you without bothering to explain what the code does. A good example of this is the main layout screen for sudoko in chapter 2. The author tells you that there are a few different layout containers that determine how user interface elements are laid out, and even goes so far as to give a basic run down of how each container places objects contained within them, which is nice, but then just slings a section of code at you that represents your main screen layout, without any further explanation as to what any of things you're typing actually mean. Another example is the settings menu example. It gets to the point where everything is just here type this and this is what happens.
The nice thing about the book is that you go from a to z in the creation of a complete game, but you're really going to need to keep the api docs and dev guide from [...] open so that you can use them to decipher what the author has you doing.
Don't go near this book unless you are comfortable reading api docs.
Author(s): Ed Burnette
Series: Pragmatic Programmers
Edition: 2nd
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 251
Hello, Android (November 2009) (ATTiCA)......Page 1
Contents......Page 5
Acknowledgments......Page 9
What Makes Android Special?......Page 10
Who Should Read This Book?......Page 11
What's New for Cupcake?......Page 12
Online Resources......Page 13
Fast-Forward >>......Page 14
Introducing Android......Page 15
Installing the Tools......Page 16
Running on the Emulator......Page 20
Running on a Real Phone......Page 23
Fast-Forward >>......Page 24
The Big Picture......Page 27
It's Alive!......Page 32
Building Blocks......Page 36
Using Resources......Page 37
Safe and Secure......Page 38
Fast-Forward >>......Page 39
Android Basics......Page 40
Introducing the Sudoku Example......Page 41
Designing by Declaration......Page 42
Creating the Opening Screen......Page 43
Using Alternate Resources......Page 51
Implementing an About Box......Page 54
Applying a Theme......Page 59
Adding a Menu......Page 60
Adding Settings......Page 63
Starting a New Game......Page 65
Debugging with Log Messages......Page 67
Exiting the Game......Page 68
Fast-Forward >>......Page 69
Learning the Basics......Page 70
Adding Graphics to Sudoku......Page 75
Handling Input......Page 84
The Rest of the Story......Page 90
Making More Improvements......Page 99
Fast-Forward >>......Page 100
Playing Audio......Page 101
Playing Video......Page 107
Adding Sounds to Sudoku......Page 112
Fast-Forward >>......Page 115
Adding Options to Sudoku......Page 116
Continuing an Old Game......Page 118
Remembering the Current Position......Page 120
Accessing the Internal File System......Page 122
Accessing SD Cards......Page 123
Fast-Forward >>......Page 124
Beyond the Basics......Page 125
The Connected World......Page 126
Browsing by Intent......Page 127
Web with a View......Page 131
From JavaScript to Java and Back......Page 136
Using Web Services......Page 143
Fast-Forward >>......Page 154
Location, Location, Location......Page 155
Set Sensors to Maximum......Page 161
Bird's-Eye View......Page 164
Fast-Forward >>......Page 170
Introducing SQLite......Page 171
SQL 101......Page 172
Hello, Database......Page 174
Data Binding......Page 182
Using a ContentProvider......Page 185
Implementing a ContentProvider......Page 188
Fast-Forward >>......Page 189
Understanding 3D Graphics......Page 191
Introducing OpenGL......Page 192
Building an OpenGL Program......Page 193
Rendering the Scene......Page 195
Building a Model......Page 199
Lights, Camera, .........Page 202
Applying Texture......Page 205
Peekaboo......Page 209
Measuring Smoothness......Page 210
Fast-Forward >>......Page 211
Appendixes......Page 212
Language Subset......Page 213
Standard Library Subset......Page 215
Third-Party Libraries......Page 216
Creating Your First Widget......Page 217
Calling All Widgets!......Page 219
Stretch to Fit......Page 220
The Rest of the Story......Page 221
Running the Widget......Page 222
Keeping Up to Date......Page 224
Go Wild......Page 226
Preparing......Page 227
Signing......Page 230
Publishing......Page 231
Closing thoughts......Page 233
Bibliography......Page 235
A......Page 236
D......Page 237
G......Page 238
J......Page 239
N......Page 240
P......Page 241
S......Page 242
T......Page 243
Z......Page 244
