Android Persistent Data Storage:

Introduction

Android Persistent Data Storage

Data Storage Options on Android

• Android offers several ways to store

data
• SQLite database
• Files
• SharedPreferences
2
Android Persistent Data Storage:
Overview of SQLite
Android Persistent Data Storage

Learning Objectives in this Part of the Module

• Understand what SQLite is & how to use it in Android
4
Android Persistent Data Storage

Android SQLite
• Android supports SQLite, which provides
a relational database for a mobile device
• i.e., it contains tables (consisting of
rows & columns), indexes, etc. that
form a “schema”

www.drdobbs.com/database/using-sqlite-on-android/232900584
5
Android Persistent Data Storage

Android SQLite
• Android supports SQLite, which provides
a relational database for a mobile device
• It’s designed to operate within a
small footprint (~350kB) within
a single cross-platform disk file

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQLite
6
Android Persistent Data Storage

Android SQLite
• Android supports SQLite, which provides
a relational database for a mobile device
• It’s designed to operate within a
small footprint (<300kB) within
a single cross-platform disk file
• Implements most of SQL92 &
supports so-called “ACID”
transactions
• Atomic, Consistent, Isolated, & Durable

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL-92
7
Android Persistent Data Storage

Android SQLite
• Android supports SQLite, which provides
a relational database for a mobile device
• It’s designed to operate within a
small footprint (<300kB) within
a single cross-platform disk file
• Implements most of SQL92 &
supports so-called “ACID”
transactions
• Access to an SQLite database typically
involves accessing the Android filesystem
• Database operations are typically
asynchronous since filesystem access
can be slow
• e.g., access is often made via AsyncTask,
AsyncQueryHandler, CursorLoader, etc.

www.vogella.com/articles/AndroidSQLite/article.html
8
Android Persistent Data Storage

SQLiteDatabase
• SQLiteDatabase is the base class
for working with a SQLite database
in Android
• It provides the insert(),
update(), & delete() methods

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html
9
Android Persistent Data Storage

SQLiteDatabase
• SQLiteDatabase is the base class
for working with a SQLite database
in Android
• It provides the insert(),
update(), & delete() methods
• It also provides the execSQL()
method that can execute an
SQL statement directly

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html
10
Android Persistent Data Storage

SQLiteDatabase
• SQLiteDatabase is the base class
for working with a SQLite database
in Android
• Queries can be created via
rawQuery() & query() methods or
via the SQLiteQueryBuilder class

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteQueryBuilder.html
11
 Android Persistent Data Storage

ContentValues
• The ContentValues object is used
by SQLiteDatabase to define
key/values
• The “key” represents the table
column identifier & the “value”
represents the content for the
table record in this column

developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentValues.html
12
 Android Persistent Data Storage

ContentValues
• The ContentValues object is used
by SQLiteDatabase to define
key/values
• ContentValues can be used for
inserts & updates of database
entries

developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentValues.html
13
Android Persistent Data Storage

SQLiteOpenHelper
• Recommended means of using
SQLiteDatabase is to subclass the
SQLiteOpenHelper class
• In constructor call the super()
method of SQLiteOpenHelper,
specifying database name &
current database version

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html
14
Android Persistent Data Storage

SQLiteOpenHelper
• Recommended means of using
SQLiteDatabase is to subclass the
SQLiteOpenHelper class
• In constructor call the super()
method of SQLiteOpenHelper,
specifying database name &
current database version
• Override onCreate(), which is
called by SQLite if the database
does not yet exist
• e.g., execute CREATE TABLE
command

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html
15
Android Persistent Data Storage

SQLiteOpenHelper
• Recommended means of using
SQLiteDatabase is to subclass the
SQLiteOpenHelper class
• In constructor call the super()
method of SQLiteOpenHelper,
specifying database name &
current database version
• Override onCreate(), which is
called by SQLite if the database
does not yet exist
• Override onUpgrade(), which is
called if the database version
increases in App code to allow
database schema updates

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html
16
Android Persistent Data Storage

SQLiteOpenHelper
• Recommended means of using
SQLiteDatabase is to subclass the
SQLiteOpenHelper class
• Use SQLiteOpenHelper methods to
open & return underlying database
• e.g., getReadableDatabase() &
getWriteableDatabase() to
access an SQLiteDatabase
object either in read or write
mode, respectively

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html
17
Android Persistent Data Storage

Opening an SQLite Database

public class ArtistDatabaseHelper extends SQLiteOpenHelper {
final private static String CREATE_CMD =
"CREATE TABLE artists ("
+ "_id" + " INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT, "
+ "name" + " TEXT NOT NULL)";
SQL commands to create a table of artists
public ArtistDatabaseHelper(Context context) {
super(context, "artists_db", null, 1);
}
Give a name to the table
public void onCreate(SQLiteDatabase db) {
db.execSQL(CREATE_CMD);
}
Create the SQL table
public void onUpgrade(SQLiteDatabase db,
int oldVersion, int newVersion) { /* ... */ }
... Support schema evolution

It’s common to create an SQLiteOpenHelper

18 subclass for each SQL table
Android Persistent Data Storage

Using an SQLite Database Via an Activity

public class DatabaseExampleActivity extends ListActivity {
final static String[] columns ={"_id", "name"};
static SQLiteDatabase db = null;

public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {

...
ArtistDatabaseHelper dbHelper =
new ArtistDatabaseHelper
(getActivity().getApplicationContext());
Make the SQLiteOpenHelper subclass instance

db = dbHelper.getWritableDatabase();
insertArtists();
deleteLadyGaga(); Create a read/write databse
Cursor c = readArtists();
displayArtists(c);
}
... Perform various operations

SQLiteDatabase is often put in an19

App singleton to simplify access
Android Persistent Data Storage

Inserting Values Into an SQLite Database

• Method for inserting a row into the database
public long insert (String table, String nullColHack, ContentValues values)
Parameters
table The table to insert the row into
nullColHack Optional (often null)
values Map containing initial col values for row; keys are col names

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html
20
#insert(java.lang.String, java.lang.String, android.content.ContentValues)
Android Persistent Data Storage

Inserting Values Into an SQLite Database

• Method for inserting a row into the database
public long insert (String table, String nullColHack, ContentValues values)

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html
21
#insert(java.lang.String, java.lang.String, android.content.ContentValues)
Android Persistent Data Storage

Inserting Values Into an SQLite Database

private void insertArtists() {
ContentValues values = new ContentValues();
“key” represents the table column identifier & the “value”
represents the content for the table record in this column

values.put("name", "Lady Gaga");

db.insert("artists", null, values);
values.clear();
values.put("name", "Johnny Cash");
db.insert("artists", null, values);
values.clear();
values.put("name", "Sting");
db.insert("artists", null, values);
...
}

22
Android Persistent Data Storage

Deleting a Row From an SQLite Database

• Method for deleting row(s) from the database
public int delete(String table, String whereClause, String[] whereArgs)
Parameters
table the table to delete from
whereClause optional WHERE clause to apply when deleting
whereArgs Passing null deletes all rows

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html
23
#delete(java.lang.String, java.lang.String, java.lang.String[])
Android Persistent Data Storage

Deleting a Row From an SQLite Database

• Method for deleting row(s) from the database
public int delete(String table, String whereClause, String[] whereArgs)

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html
24
#delete(java.lang.String, java.lang.String, java.lang.String[])
Android Persistent Data Storage

Deleting a Row From an SQLite Database

private int deleteLadyGaga() {

Remove Lady Gaga from the database of artists

return db.delete("artists",
"name" + "=?",
new String []
{"Lady Gaga"}); Note the use of
} the “whereArgs”

25
Android Persistent Data Storage

Querying an SQLite Database

• You can use rawQuery() or a query() on an SQLiteDatabase
public Cursor rawQuery(String sql, String[] selectionArgs)
Runs the provided SQL and returns a Cursor over the result set
Parameters

sql the SQL query. The SQL string must not be ; terminated
selectionArgs You may include ?’s in where clause in the query, which are
replaced by the values from selectionArgs (the values will be
bound as Strings)
Returns
A Cursor object, which is positioned before the first entry

Cursors aren’t synchronized, 26

see documentation for details
Android Persistent Data Storage

Querying an SQLite Database

• You can use rawQuery() or a query() on an SQLiteDatabase
public Cursor query(String table, String[] columns, String selection, String[]
selectionArgs, String groupBy, String having, String orderBy)
query() builds up a SQL SELECT statement from its component parts
Parameter
String table The table name to compile the query against
int[] columns A list of which table columns to return ("null" returns all columns)
String selection Where-clause filters for the selection of data (null selects all data)
String[] You may include ?s in the “selection” where-clause that get replaced
selectionArgs by the values from the selectionArgs array
String[] groupBy A filter declaring how to group rows (null means rows not grouped)
String[] having Filter for the groups (null means no filter)
String[] orderBy Table columns used to order the data (null means no ordering)

Returns
27 the first entry
A Cursor object, which is positioned before
Android Persistent Data Storage

Using Query() vs. rawQuery()

• Using rawQuery() on an SQLiteDatabase

private Cursor readArtists() {

// returns all rows
return db.rawQuery("SELECT _id, name FROM artists", null);
}

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html
28
#rawQuery(java.lang.String, java.lang.String[])
Android Persistent Data Storage

Using Query() vs. rawQuery()

• Using rawQuery() on an SQLiteDatabase

private Cursor readArtists() {

// returns all rows
return db.rawQuery("SELECT _id, name FROM artists", null);
}

• Using query() on an SQLiteDatabase

private Cursor readArtists() {

// returns all rows
return db.query("artists", new String [] {"_id", "name"},
null, null, null, null, null);
}

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html
#query(java.lang.String, java.lang.String[], java.lang.String, java.lang.String[],
java.lang.String, java.lang.String,
29 java.lang.String)
Android Persistent Data Storage

Cursor Iterators
• Query() returns a Cursor Iterator
that represents result of a query &
points to one row of query result
• This allows buffering of query
results efficiently since all data
needn’t be loaded into memory

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/Cursor.html
30
Android Persistent Data Storage

Cursor Iterators
• Query() returns a Cursor Iterator
that represents result of a query &
points to one row of query result
• getCount() returns # of elements
of the resulting query

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/Cursor.html
31
Android Persistent Data Storage

Cursor Iterators
• Query() returns a Cursor Iterator
that represents result of a query &
points to one row of query result
• getCount() returns # of elements
of the resulting query
• moveToFirst() & moveToNext()
move between individual data rows

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/Cursor.html
32
Android Persistent Data Storage

Cursor Iterators
• Query() returns a Cursor Iterator
that represents result of a query &
points to one row of query result
• getCount() returns # of elements
of the resulting query
• moveToFirst() & moveToNext()
move between individual data rows
• isAfterLast() checks if the end of
the query result has been reached

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/Cursor.html
33
Android Persistent Data Storage

Cursor Iterators
• Query() returns a Cursor Iterator
that represents result of a query &
points to one row of query result
• getCount() returns # of elements
of the resulting query
• moveToFirst() & moveToNext()
move between individual data rows
• isAfterLast() checks if the end of
the query result has been reached
• Provides typed get*() methods
• e.g., getLong(columnIndex) &
getString(columnIndex) to access
column data for current position
of result

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/Cursor.html
34
Android Persistent Data Storage

Cursor Iterators
• Query() returns a Cursor Iterator
that represents result of a query &
points to one row of query result
• getCount() returns # of elements
of the resulting query
• moveToFirst() & moveToNext()
move between individual data rows
• isAfterLast() checks if the end of
the query result has been reached
• Provides typed get*() methods
• Provides getColumnIndexOrThrow
(String) to get column index for a
column name of table

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/Cursor.html
35
Android Persistent Data Storage

Cursor Iterators
• Query() returns a Cursor Iterator
that represents result of a query &
points to one row of query result
• getCount() returns # of elements
of the resulting query
• moveToFirst() & moveToNext()
move between individual data rows
• isAfterLast() checks if the end of
the query result has been reached
• Provides typed get*() methods
• Provides getColumnIndexOrThrow
(String) to get column index for a
column name of table
• Must be closed via close()

developer.android.com/reference/android/database/Cursor.html
36
Android Persistent Data Storage

Displaying an SQLite Database

• The SimpleCursorAdapter class maps the
columns to the Views based on
the Cursor passed to it

private void displayArtists (Cursor c) {

setListAdapter(
new SimpleCursorAdapter
(this, R.layout.list_layout, c,
new String [] {"_id", "name"},
new int[] { R.id._id, R.id.name }));
}

developer.android.com/reference/android/widget/SimpleCursorAdapter.html
37
Android Persistent Data Storage

Examining an SQLite Database

• If your App creates a database it is saved by default in a directory file
/DATA/data/APP_NAME/databases/FILENAME
• DATA is the path that the Environment. getDataDirectory() method returns
• APP_NAME is your app name
• FILENAME is the name you specify in your application code for the
database

38
Android Persistent Data Storage

Examining an SQLite Database

• If your App creates a database it is saved by default in a directory file
• You can examine this database with sqlite3
# adb shell
# sqlite3 /data/data/com.android.launcher/databases/launcher.db

39
Android Persistent Data Storage

Summary

• SQLite is embedded into every Android device

• Using an SQLite database in Android does not require a setup procedure or
administration of the database

40
Android Persistent Data Storage

Summary

• SQLite is embedded into every Android device

• You only have to define the SQL statements for creating & updating the
database
• Afterwards the database is automatically managed for you by the Android
platform
41
Android Content Providers:
Introduction

Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Overview of Content Providers

• ContentProviders manage access to a central
repository of structured data & can make an
App’s data available to other Apps
developer.android.com/guide/topics/providers/content-providers.html
43
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Overview of Content Providers

• ContentProviders manage access to a central
repository of structured data & can make an
App’s data available to other Apps
• They encapsulate the data & provide
mechanisms for defining data security

developer.android.com/guide/topics/providers/content-providers.html
44
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Overview of Content Providers

• ContentProviders manage access to a central
repository of structured data & can make an
App’s data available to other Apps
• They encapsulate the data & provide
mechanisms for defining data security
• Content providers are the standard interface
that connects data in one process with code
running in another process

developer.android.com/guide/topics/providers/content-providers.html
45
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Overview of Content Providers

• ContentProviders manage access to a central
repository of structured data & can make an
App’s data available to other Apps
• They encapsulate the data & provide
mechanisms for defining data security
• Content providers are the standard interface
that connects data in one process with code
running in another process
• Content providers support database “CRUD”
operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete),
where “read” is implemented as “query”

developer.android.com/guide/topics/providers/content-providers.html
46
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Overview of Content Providers

• ContentProviders manage access to a central
repository of structured data & can make an
App’s data available to other Apps
• They encapsulate the data & provide
mechanisms for defining data security
• Content providers are the standard interface
that connects data in one process with code
running in another process
• Content providers support database “CRUD”
operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete),
where “read” is implemented as “query”
• Apps can provide Activities that allow
users to query & modify the data managed
by a provider

developer.android.com/guide/topics/providers/content-providers.html
47
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Example Android ContentProviders

• Android itself includes many Content
Providers that manage data for
• Browser – bookmarks, history
• Call log – telephone usage
• Contacts – contact data
• MMS/SMS – Stores messages sent
& received
• Media – media database
• UserDictionary – database for
predictive spelling
• Maps – previous searches
• YouTube – previous searches
• Many more

developer.android.com/reference/android/provider/package-summary.html
48
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

ContentProvider Data Model

• A content provider typically
presents data to external
Apps as one or more tables
• e.g., the tables found in
a relational SQL
database

49
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

ContentProvider Data Model

• A content provider typically
presents data to external One provider in Android is the
Apps as one or more tables user dictionary, which stores the
spellings of non-standard words
• A row represents an
that the user wants to keep
instance of some type of
data the provider collects
• Each column in a row word app id freq locale _ID
represents an individual mapreduce user1 100 en_US 1
piece of data collected
precompiler user14 200 fr_FR 2
for an instance
applet user2 225 fr_CA 3
const user1 255 pt_BR 4
int user5 100 en_UK 5

50
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Overview of ContentResolver
• ContentProvider never accessed
directly, but accessed indirectly
via a ContentResolver
• ContentProvider not created
until a ContentResolver tries
to access it

developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentResolver.html
51
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Overview of ContentResolver
• ContentProvider never accessed
directly, but accessed indirectly
via a ContentResolver
• ContentResolvers manage &
support ContentProviders
• Enables use of ContentProviders
across multiple Apps

developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentResolver.html
52
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Overview of ContentResolver
• ContentProvider never accessed
directly, but accessed indirectly
via a ContentResolver
• ContentResolvers manage &
support ContentProviders
• Enables use of ContentProviders
across multiple Apps
• Provides additional services, such
as change notification & IPC

developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentResolver.html
53
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Overview of ContentResolver
• ContentProvider never accessed
directly, but accessed indirectly
via a ContentResolver
• ContentResolvers manage &
support ContentProviders
• Context.getContentResolver()
accesses default ContentResolver
ContentResolver cr =
getContentResolver();

developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentResolver.html
54
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

ContentResolver vs. ContentProvider

• When you query data via a
ContentProvider, you don't
communicate with the provider
directly
• Instead, you use a
ContentResolver object to
communicate with the provider

www.androiddesignpatterns.com/2012/06/content-resolvers-and-content-providers.html
55
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

ContentResolver vs. ContentProvider

• When you query data via a
ContentProvider, you don't
communicate with the provider
directly
• A call to getContentResolver().
query() is made
• This method call invokes
ContentResolver.query(), not
ContentProvider.query()

www.androiddesignpatterns.com/2012/06/content-resolvers-and-content-providers.html
56
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

ContentResolver vs. ContentProvider

• When you query data via a
ContentProvider, you don't
communicate with the provider
directly
• A call to getContentResolver().
query() is made
• When this query method is
invoked, the Content Resolver
parses the uri argument & extracts
its authority
• The Content Resolver directs the
request to the content provider
registered with the (unique)
authority by calling the Content
Provider's query() method

www.androiddesignpatterns.com/2012/06/content-resolvers-and-content-providers.html
57
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

ContentResolver vs. ContentProvider

• When you query data via a
ContentProvider, you don't
communicate with the provider
directly
• A call to getContentResolver().
query() is made
• When this query method is invoked,
the Content Resolver parses the uri
argument & extracts its authority
• When the Content Provider's query()
method is invoked, the query is
performed & a Cursor is returned (or
an exception is thrown)
• The resulting behavior depends on
Content Provider's implementation

www.androiddesignpatterns.com/2012/06/content-resolvers-and-content-providers.html
58
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Content URIs
• Any URI that begins with the content://
scheme represents a resource served up
by a Content Provider

59
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Content URIs
• Any URI that begins with the content://
scheme represents a resource served up
by a Content Provider
• e.g., content://authority/path/id
• content - data is managed by a
ContentProvider

60
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Content URIs
• Any URI that begins with the content://
scheme represents a resource served up
by a Content Provider
• e.g., content://authority/path/id
• content - data is managed by a
ContentProvider
• authority – id for the content provider

61
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Content URIs
• Any URI that begins with the content://
scheme represents a resource served up
by a Content Provider
• e.g., content://authority/path/id
• content - data is managed by a
ContentProvider
• authority – id for the content provider
• path – 0 or more segments indicating
the type of data to access

62
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Content URIs
• Any URI that begins with the content://
scheme represents a resource served up
by a Content Provider
• e.g., content://authority/path/id
• content - data is managed by a
ContentProvider
• authority – id for the content provider
• path – 0 or more segments indicating
the type of data to access
• id – specific record being requested

63
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Content URIs
• Any URI that begins with the content://
scheme represents a resource served up
by a Content Provider
• e.g., content://authority/path/id
• ContentProviders are a façade that
offers data encapsulation via Content
Uri objects used as handles
• The data could be stored in a SQLite
database, in flat files, retrieved off a
device, be stored on some server
accessed over the Internet, etc.

64
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Inserting Data Via ContentResolver

• Use ContentResolver.insert() to insert data into a ContentProvider
public final Uri insert(Uri uri, ContentValues values)
• Inserts a row into a table at the given URI
• If the content provider supports transactions the insertion will be atomic
Parameters
• uri – The uri of the table to insert into
• values – The initial values for the newly inserted row, where the key is
the column name for the field (passing an empty ContentValues will
create an empty row)
Returns
• the URI of the newly created row

developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentProvider.html
65
#insert(android.net.Uri, android.content.ContentValues)
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Deleting Data Via ContentResolver

• Use ContentResolver.delete() to delete data from a ContentProvider
public final int delete(Uri uri, String where, String[] selectionArgs)
• Deletes row(s) specified by a content URI. If the content provider
supports transactions, the deletion will be atomic
Parameters
• uri – The uri of the row to delete
• where – A filter to apply to rows before deleting, formatted as an SQL
WHERE clause (excluding the WHERE itself)
• selectionArgs – SQL pattern args
Returns
• The number of rows deleted

developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentProvider.html
66
#delete(android.net.Uri, java.lang.String, java.lang.String[])
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Inserting/Deleting via applyBatch()

• ContentResolver.applyBatch() can insert (& delete) groups of data

public ContentProviderResult[] applyBatch (String authority,

ArrayList<ContentProviderOperation> operations)
• Applies each ContentProviderOperation object & returns array of results
• If all the applications succeed then a ContentProviderResult array with the
same number of elements as the operations will be returned
Parameters
• authority –authority of the ContentProvider to apply this batch
• operations – the operations to apply
Returns
• the results of the applications

developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentProvider.html
67
#applyBatch(java.util.ArrayList<android.content.ContentProviderOperation>)
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Querying a ContentResolver
• Use ContentResolver. query()
to retrieve data
• Returns a Cursor instance
for accessing results
• A Cursor is an iterator over
a result set

developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentProvider.html#query
68 java.lang.String[], java.lang.String)
(Uri, java.lang.String[], java.lang.String,
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

query() Parameters Compared to SQL Query

query() SELECT Notes
argument keyword/parameter
Uri FROM table_name Uri maps to the table in the provider
named table_name
projection col,col,col,... projection is an array of columns that
should be included for each row
retrieved
selection WHERE col =value selection specifies the criteria for
selecting rows
selectionArgs No exact equivalent in Selection arguments replace the ?
SQL placeholders in the selection clause

sortOrder ORDER BYcol,col,... sortOrder specifies the order in which

rows appear in the returned Cursor

69
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Summary
• A SQLite database is private to the
App which creates it
• If you want to share data with other
App you can use a content provider

70
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Summary
• A SQLite database is private to the
App which creates it
• A content provider allows App to
access data
• In most cases this data is stored
in an SQlite database

71
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Summary
• A SQLite database is private to the
App which creates it
• A content provider allows App to
access data
• While a content provider can be used
within an App to access data, its is
typically used to share data with other
App

72
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Summary
• A SQLite database is private to the
App which creates it
• A content provider allows App to
access data
• While a content provider can be used
within an App to access data, its is
typically used to share data with other
App
• App data is by default private, so a
content provider is a convenient to
share you data with other application
based on a structured interface

73
Developing Android Apps with Eclipse

Summary
• A SQLite database is private to the
App which creates it
• A content provider allows App to
access data
• While a content provider can be used
within an App to access data, its is
typically used to share data with other
App
• App data is by default private, so a
content provider is a convenient to
share you data with other application
based on a structured interface
• A content provider must be declared
in the AndroidManifest.xml file

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