Introduction

to Android

Tuesday, December 4, 12
 Introduction to Android

• What is Android?
• Installation
• Getting Started
• Anatomy
Application
of an Android

• Life Cycle of an Android

Application

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 What is Android?
• Released in Nov. 2007 – rumored to be some kind of GPhone
• Open, free mobile platform with a complete software stack
• Operating system
• Middleware
• Key mobile applications
• Developed by the Open Handset Alliance
• Built on the open Linux kernel
• Custom Dalvik virtual machine for mobile environments
• Applications written in Java
• Open source; Apache v2 open source license
• Applications can access all core functionalities of a mobile device
• (Nearly) no differentiation between core and 3rd party applications
• Can be extended to incorporate new technologies

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 Open Handset Alliance
• Group of more than 30 technology and mobile
companies led by Google
• Mobile Operators, e.g. China Mobile, KDDI, NTT
DoCoMo, TMobile,
• Sprint Nextelk, Telefonica
• Semiconductor Companies, e.g. Broadcom, Intel,
Nvidia, Qualcomm, SiRF, Texas Instruments
• Handset Manufactureres, e.g. HTC, LG, Motorola,
Samsung
• Software Companies, e.g. eBay, Google,

• Goal: „to accelerate innovation in mobile and

offer consumers a richer, less expensive, and
better mobile experience “
• Android as the first project towards an open
and free mobile experience, but also
commercial deployment
• URL: www.openhandsetalliance.com

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 Open Handset Alliance
• Group of more than 30 technology and mobile
companies led by Google
• Mobile Operators, e.g. China Mobile, KDDI, NTT
DoCoMo, TMobile,
• Sprint Nextelk, Telefonica
• Semiconductor Companies, e.g. Broadcom, Intel,
Nvidia, Qualcomm, SiRF, Texas Instruments
• Handset Manufactureres, e.g. HTC, LG, Motorola,
Samsung
• Software Companies, e.g. eBay, Google,

• Goal: „to accelerate innovation in mobile and

offer consumers a richer, less expensive, and
better mobile experience “
• Android as the first project towards an open
and free mobile experience, but also
commercial deployment
• URL: www.openhandsetalliance.com

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 Android Features
• Application framework enabling reuse and replacement of components
• Dalvik virtual machine optimized for mobile devices (register based)
• Integrated browser based on the open source WebKit engine
• Optimized graphics powered by a custom 2D graphics library; 3D graphics
based on the OpenGL ES specification (hardware acceleration optional)
• SQLite for structured data storage
• Media support for common audio, video, and still image formats (MPEG4, H.
264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG, GIF)
• GSM Telephony (hardware dependent)
• Bluetooth, EDGE, 3G, WiFi, NFC (hardware dependent)
• Camera, GPS, compass, accelerometer, gyroscope (hardware dependent)
• Rich development environment including a device emulator, tools for
debugging, memory and performance profiling, and a plugin for the Eclipse IDE

Source: http://code.google.com/android/index.html

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 Android Architecture

Source: http://code.google.com/android/index.html

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 Android Architecture

Source: http://code.google.com/android/index.html

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 Android Architecture

Source: http://code.google.com/android/index.html

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 Android Architecture

Source: http://code.google.com/android/index.html

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 Linux Kernel
• Linux kernel version 2.6
• Abstraction layer between hardware and the
software stack
• Core services
• Memory management
Security
• Process management
• Network stack
• Driver model
•

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 Libraries
• C/C++ libraries used by various Android components
• Developers can use their capabilities through the
application framework
• Includes:
• WebKit/LibWebCore: web browser engine
Media Libraries: includes MPEG4, H.264, MP3, JPG, PNG,
• SQLite: relational database engine
• Libraries/engines for 2D and 3D graphics
•

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 Android Runtime

• Core libraries provide Java functionalities

• Dalvik virtual machine relies on Linux kernel for e.g.
threading or low-level memory management
• Devices can run multiple Dalvik VMs, every Android
application runs with its own instance of Dalvik VM
• VM executes optimized Dalvik Executable files (.dex)
• Dx-tool transforms compiled Java-files into dex-files

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 Applications /

• Core applications, e.g. contacts, mail, phone, browser,

calender, maps, …
• Full access to all framework APIs for core applications
• Simplified reuse of components
• Applications written in Java

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 Core Android Packages
• 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.

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 The Tasteful Android
Version History

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 2008
1.0
• Many elements where
there from the start
• No widgets yet
• Notification Bar
• No tasty name yet ;)

http://www.chip.de/bildergalerie/Android-Timeline-Alle-Versionen-alle-
Einfuehrungs-Handys-Galerie_53930690.html MMI2 13
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 2009
1.5 (Cupcake)

• Onscreen-Keyboard with
„Autocomplete“
• Screen switch Animations
• Videoupload

http://www.chip.de/bildergalerie/Android-Timeline-Alle-Versionen-alle-
Einfuehrungs-Handys-Galerie_53930690.html
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110428020146/uncyclopedia/
images/4/4b/Cupcake.jpg
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 2009
1.6 (Donut)

• Screenshots on the android

market
• Voice Search
• WVGA resolutions

http://www.chip.de/bildergalerie/Android-Timeline-Alle-Versionen-alle-
Einfuehrungs-Handys-Galerie_53930690.html
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120101131538/smosh/images/b/
b2/Pink_frosted_sprinkled_donut.jpg
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 2009
2.0 (Eclair)

• Speed improvements
• More screen resolutions
(dip)
• Camera flash support
• Live wallpapers
• Multitouch support

http://www.chip.de/bildergalerie/Android-Timeline-Alle-Versionen-alle-
Einfuehrungs-Handys-Galerie_53930690.html
http://gadgetsteria.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/eclair.jpg MMI2 16
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 2010
2.2 (FroYo)

• Speed and performance

increase
• Flash 10.1 support
• Installing apps on SD-Card
• Tethering

http://www.chip.de/bildergalerie/Android-Timeline-Alle-Versionen-alle-
Einfuehrungs-Handys-Galerie_53930690.html
http://www.talkandroid.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/FroYo.jpg?
3995d3
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 2010
2.3 (Gingerbread)

• Dual-Core-Unterstützung
• NFC
• HTML5
• bessere Garbage Collection

http://www.chip.de/bildergalerie/Android-Timeline-Alle-Versionen-alle-
Einfuehrungs-Handys-Galerie_53930690.html
http://www.exclusivelyfood.com.au/uploaded_images/
gingerbread7-744309.JPG
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 2011
3.X (Honeycomb)

• Tablet Optimized

http://www.chip.de/bildergalerie/Android-Timeline-Alle-Versionen-alle-
Einfuehrungs-Handys-Galerie_53930690.html
http://phandroid.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/honey-
comb-l.jpg
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 2011
4.X (Ice Cream
Sandwich)

• 2.x and 3.x to one version

• Face recognition
• Multitasking

http://www.chip.de/bildergalerie/Android-Timeline-Alle-Versionen-alle-
Einfuehrungs-Handys-Galerie_53930690.html
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/
2011/05/11x05101719.jpg
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 2012
4.1 (Jelly Bean)

• Performance and rendering

improvements
• Smoother UI (touch
anticipation, fixed
framerate @60fps)
• Gesture based (and
predictive) text entry
• Google Now (Siri-like)

http://www.chip.de/bildergalerie/Android-Timeline-Alle-Versionen-alle-
Einfuehrungs-Handys-Galerie_53930690.html
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VYTzIzPtI_o/TbD6WqeBNII/AAAAAAAABfo/
sKcKyGozpxg/s1600/jellybelly-flavor-guide.jpeg
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 Installing The SDK

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 Installing SDK

• Please follow instructions from the

Android doc
• Download and install the Android
SDK
• SDK includes documentation, tools
and examples
• Set up your IDE; Eclipse (Java EE)
recommended
• Install Eclipse Android
Development Tools (ADT) plugin,
connect it with the Android SDK
and Download your Platforms
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

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 Installing SDK

• Create an Android project

• Standard Eclipse procedure
• Automatically creates folders and a Manifest file
• Can also be used to create a demo project

• Set up a launch configuration

• Run application from menu or
• Define settings for run configuration (project, activity, emulator
options, …) from Run > Open Run Dialog >

• Run Android application in emulator

• Be Patient! The emulator takes while to boot up.
• Keep it open once it was started!

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 The Nexus One

Source: Wikimedia Commons

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 The Nexus One

Source: Wikimedia Commons

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 Hello World

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 Hello Android I

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 Hello Android II

Source: http://code.google.com/android/index.html

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 Hello Android III

Source: http://code.google.com/android/index.html

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 Hello Android IV

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 Hello World

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 Anatomy of an Android Application

• 4applications
main building blocks for Android

• Activity
• Intent Receiver
• Service
• Content Provider
• AndroidManifest.xml lists all components of
an application, their capabilities and
requirements

Source: http://code.google.com/android/index.html
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 Activity
• Single, focused thing or task
• Extends the Activity base class
• Refers to a single screen in a (multi-screen)
application
• Displays a UI, interacts with user, responds to
events
• •2 main methods:
onCreate(Bundle): initialization of activity, set UI,
…
• onPause(): leaving an activity

• Moving through screens by starting other

activities
• Activities managed by activity stack
• New activity put on top of the stack
• 4 states: active/running, paused, stopped,
killed/shut down
Source: http://code.google.com/android/index.html
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 Intents and Intent Filters
• •Intent
Abstract description of an operation/action to be performed
• Mostly used for launching activities; “glue between
activities”
• Action: general action to be performed, e.g. VIEW_ACTION,
EDIT_ACTION, MAIN_ACTION, …
• Data: data to operate on, expressed as a URI
• Example: VIEW_ACTION content://contacts/1

• •Intent Filter
Describes what Intents an activity can handle
• Activities publish Intent Filters describing their capabilities/
how they can handle certain Intents and their actions
• Navigating between screens is accomplished by resolving
Intents => system matches Intents and Intent Filters
• Activity calls method startActivity(myIntent)

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 Intent Receiver, Service, Content Provider

• Intent Receiver
• phone rings
Used to execute code upon an external event, e.g.

• Usually no UI; may use the NotificationManager

• Service
• Runs indefinitely, no UI, no interaction with user
Application component running in the background
• E.g. media player
•
• Content Provider
•
Used to share data with other applications

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 Life Cycle of an Android Application

• Each Android application runs in its own Linux

process
• Process’s lifetime not directly controlled by
application
• Determined by the system, depending on running
applications, their importance, available memory
• Components (Activity, Service, Intent Receiver)
impact the lifetime of the application’s process
• Importance hierarchy for killing processes based on
•
Components running in them
• The state of these components

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 Android’s Importance Hierarchy

1. Foreground Process
• Required for current user activities
• E.g. running an Activity at the top of the screen
2. Visible Process
• Activity is visible but not in the foreground (onPause())
• E.g. previous activity displayed behind a foreground dialog
3. Service Process
• Holds a Service, not directly visible (e.g. media player,
network up/download)
4. Background Process
• Holds an Activity that is currently not visible (onStop())
• Can be killed at any time to reclaim memory
5. Empty Process
• Holds no active application components

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 Fragen?

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