Getting Started with Android
To get started with Android, please read the following sections first:
- Installing the SDK and
Plugin
- How to install the Android SDK and Eclipse plugin.
- Developing and Debugging
- An introduction to developing and debugging Android applications in Eclipse,
plus information on using other IDEs.
- Hello Android
- Writing your first Android Application, the ever popular Hello World,
Android style.
- Anatomy of an App
- A guide to the structure and architecture of an Android
Application. This guide will help you understand the pieces that make up
an Android app.
- Notepad Tutorial
- This tutorial document will lead you through
constructing a real Android Application: A notepad which can create, edit
and delete notes, and covers many of the basic concepts with practical
examples.
- Development Tools
- The
command line tools included with the SDK, what they do, and how to use
them.
- Application Model
- A guide to Applications, Tasks, Processes, and Threads.
These are the elements that define the way your application is run by the
system and presented to the user.
- Application Life Cycle
- The important life-cycle details for
Applications and the Activities running inside of them.
Other Introductory Material
After reading the sections above, the following Getting Started information is also very useful:
Core Packages
These are the basic packages that make up the Android SDK for writing
applications. The packages are organized as layers, listed here from
lowest-level to highest.
- android.util
- contains various low-level utility classes, such
as specialized container classes, XML utilities, etc.
- android.os
- provides basic operating system services, message
passing, and inter-process communication.
- android.graphics
- is the core rendering package.
- android.text, android.text.method, android.text.style, and android.text.util
- supply a rich set of
text processing tools, supporting rich text, input methods, etc.
- android.database
- contains low-level APIs for working with
databases.
- android.content
- provides various services for accessing data
on the device: applications installed on the device and their associated
resources, and content providers for persistent dynamic data.
- android.view
- is the core user-interface framework.
- android.widget
- supplies standard user interface elements
(lists, buttons, layout managers, etc) built from the view package.
- android.app
- provides the high-level application model,
implemented using Activities.
Other Notable Packages
These packages provide additional domain-specific features of the Android
platform. They are not necessary for basic application development.
- android.provider
- contains definitions for various standard
content providers included with the platform.
- android.telephony
- provides APIs for interacting with the
device's phone stack.
- android.webkit
- includes various APIs for working with
web-based content.