In the last article, Android: Your first Android Application, we created a simple login screen, but didn’t had time to go in deeper in the UI XML structure. In this article I will explain the basics of creating an UI via XML resource. I’ll use the XML file from previous example here.

Continue Reading »
Android: Creating XML UIs

A few days ago, Apple was awarded with the patent #7,479,949, titled "Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics". In other words, this means that there won’t be any handsets with Multi-Touch devices out of there other than Apple devices, at least in the U.S. This is especially also a bad day for Google and their Android OS, as it was one of the most promising competitors to Apples iPhone on the handset market.

The patent is a long and detailed description of the technology and was filled on April 11, 2008:

A computer-implemented method for use in conjunction with a computing device with a touch screen display comprises: detecting one or more finger contacts with the touch screen display, applying one or more heuristics to the one or more finger contacts to determine a command for the device, and processing the command. The one or more heuristics comprise: a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a one-dimensional vertical screen scrolling command, a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a two-dimensional screen translation command, and a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a command to transition from displaying a respective item in a set of items to displaying a next item in the set of items.

This can also mean the end of the Palm Pre which supports swiping and pinching.

Originally at World of Apple.

So, you finally want to make you first Android Applications. But don’t be scared, we won’t start with the "Hello, World!" application usually used to introduce you into a programming language, but will start with something more useful: A login screen.

If you haven’t setup the SDK & Eclipse yet, you should first read my previous "Android: Installing the SDK" post and then come back.

First we create a new project by selecting the File menu -> New -> Android Project or right-clicking the Package Explorer -> New -> Android Project.

Continue Reading »
Android: Your first Android Application

Before getting started, you first need to download and install the Android SDK. But first, if you meet the requirements.

In order to use the Android SDK, you need to have JDK 5 or JDK 6 installed on your system (JRE alone won’t do it!). Next you’ll need an IDE (it’s optional, but makes developing much much easier than writing all your code in a simple text editor). I suggest using Eclipse 3.4 together with the Android Development Tools for Eclipse.

Continue Reading »
Android: Installing the SDK