Android UI Design ii

Android UI Design ii

1 Android UI Overview 1
Introduction.........................................................................................................................................................................................1
Android App Structure and UI patterns...............................................................................................................................................1
Top level view 2
Detail view 3
Action Bar 3
Standard components...........................................................................................................................................................................3
Multiple devices support.....................................................................................................................................................................7

2 Android UI: Understanding Views 10

Overview 10
Views 10
TextView component........................................................................................................................................................................12
ImageView component......................................................................................................................................................................14
Input controls 16
UI Events and Listeners.....................................................................................................................................................................22
UI Development................................................................................................................................................................................24
View and Adapters............................................................................................................................................................................27
Handling ListView events.................................................................................................................................................................32
Custom Adapter and View Holder pattern........................................................................................................................................34
Download the Source Code...............................................................................................................................................................37

3 Android UI: Layouts with View Groups and Fragments 38

Overview 38
Layout overview................................................................................................................................................................................38
LinearLayout 39
TableLayout 44
RelativeLayout 50
FrameLayout 55
GridLayout 55
Layout and multiple screen support..................................................................................................................................................55
Fragments 55
Fragment lifecycle 59
How to use fragments........................................................................................................................................................................61
FrameLayout and FragmentManager................................................................................................................................................64
Fragment Activity communication....................................................................................................................................................64
Inter fragment communication..........................................................................................................................................................66
Multiple screen support using fragments..........................................................................................................................................66
Android UI Design iv

Download the Source Code...............................................................................................................................................................71

4 Android UI: Adding Multimedia to an App 72

Overview 72
Multimedia API.................................................................................................................................................................................72
Using Android Camera......................................................................................................................................................................74
Graphics 77
Drawable 82
Shape drawable 83
State list 88
Nine-patch 91
Download the Source Code...............................................................................................................................................................95

5 Android UI: Themes and Styles 96

Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................................................96
Style definition..................................................................................................................................................................................97
Inheritance 97
Style properties 97
Creating and applying themes.........................................................................................................................................................100
Themes and platforms.....................................................................................................................................................................108
Conclusion 108
Download the Source Code.............................................................................................................................................................108

6 Android UI: Full Sample App 109

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................................................109
App structure...................................................................................................................................................................................109
Item List with ListView and Object Model.....................................................................................................................................112
Multi-device support and layout considerations..............................................................................................................................116
Add item user interface layout........................................................................................................................................................118
Tag Color/Priority Spinner..............................................................................................................................................................120
Date and Time picker......................................................................................................................................................................122
Main Activity 125
Action bar 126
Styling the app.................................................................................................................................................................................129
Conclusion 132
Download the Source Code 132