Details: Written by Nam Ha Minh; Last Updated on 15 March 2020 | Print Email

Android OS has become the leading platform for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers in recent years. The demand for Android applications and skilled Android developers continues rising significantly and jobs for Android development are still hot for the years to come. If you are a Java developer and want to join the trend, then you have a good background because Android programming is based on Java. A good start is to pick a good book and stick to it. Here are the options we recommend:

1. Learn Java for Android Development (2nd edition)

Author: Jeff Friesen

Publisher: Apress

Published Date: February 20^th 2013

Paperback: 780 pages

Content Coverage:

- Getting Started with Java
- Learning Language Fundamentals
- Discovering Classes and Objects
- Discovering Inheritance, Polymorphism, and Interfaces
- Mastering Advanced Language Features Part 1
- Mastering Advanced Language Features Part 2
- Exploring the Basic APIs Part 1
- Exploring the Basic APIs Part 2
- Exploring the Collections Framework
- Exploring Additional Utility APIs
- Performing Classic I/O
- Accessing Networks
- Migrating to New I/O
- Accessing Databases

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2. Android Application Development for Java Programmers

Author: James C. Sheusi

Publisher: Cengage Learning PTR

Published Date: January 30^th 2012

Paperback: 320 pages

Content Coverage:

- Installation and Configuration of Your Development Platform
- Starting an Android Application Project
- Application Design
- Controls and the User Interface
- Basic Graphics by Extending the View Class
- Find a Location with Google Maps
- Multiscreen Applications
- Working with Images
- Text Files, Data Tables, and XML
- Client-Server Applications
- Publishing Your Application
- Applying the Principles

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3. Android Application Development For Dummies (2nd edition)

Author: Micheal Burton, Donn Felker

Publisher: For Dummies

Published Date: October 23^th 2012

Paperback: 408 pages

Content Coverage:

- The Nuts and Bolts of Android

- - Developing Spectacular Android Applications
  - Prepping Your Development Headquarters

- Building and Publishing Your First Android Application

- - Your First Android Project
  - Designing the User Interface
  - Coding Your Application
  - Understanding Android Resources
  - Turning Your Application into a Home Screen Widget
  - Publishing Your App to the Google Play Store

- Creating a Feature-Rich Application

- - Designing the Task Reminder Application
  - Going a la Carte with Your Menu
  - Handling User Input
  - Getting Persistent with Data Storage
  - Reminding the User with AlarmManager
  - Updating the Android Status Bar
  - Working with Android’s Preferences Framework

- Tablets

- - Developing for Tablets
  - Porting Your App to Android Tablets
  - Moving beyond Google

- The Part of Tens

- - Ten Free Sample Applications and SDKs
  - Ten Tools to Simplify Your Development Life

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4. Android Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide

Author: Bill Phillips, Brian Hardy

Publisher: Big Nerd Ranch Guides

Published Date: April 07^th 2013

Paperback: 580 pages

Content Coverage:

- Your First Android Application
- Android and Model-View-Controller
- The Activity Life Cycle
- Debugging Android Apps
- Your Second Activity
- Android SDK Versions and Compatibility
- UI Fragments and the Fragment Manager
- Creating User Interface with Layouts and Widgets
- Displaying Lists with ListFragment
- Using Fragment Arguments
- Using ViewPager
- Dialogs
- Audio Playback Using Media Player
- Retained Fragments
- Localization
- The Action Bar
- Saving and Loading Local Files
- Context Menu and Contextual Action Mode
- Camera I: Viewfinder
- Camera II: Taking Pictures and Handling Images
- Implicit Intents
- Two-Pane Master-Detail Interfaces
- More About Intents and Tasks
- Styles and Includes
- XML Drawables and 9-Patches
- HTTP & Background Tasks
- Loopers, Handlers, and HandlerThread
- Search
- Background Services
- Broadcast Intents
- Browsing the Web & WebView
- Custom Views and Touch Events
- Tracking the Device’s Location
- Local Databases with SQLite
- Loading Asynchronous Data with Loaders
- Using Maps

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5. Programming Android: Java Programming for the New Generation of Mobile Devices (2nd edition)

Author: Zigurd Mednieks, Laird Dornin, G. Blake Meike, Masumi Nakamura

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Published Date: October 19^th 2012

Paperback: 566 pages

Content Coverage:

- Part 1: Tools and Basics:

- - Installing the Android SDK and Prerequisites
  - Java for Android
  - Getting Your Application into Users’ Hands
  - Eclipse for Android Software Development

- Part 2: About the Android Framework:

- - Building a View
  - Fragments and Multiplatform Support
  - Drawing 2D and 3D Graphics
  - Handling and Persisting Data

- Part 3: A Skeleton Application for Android:

- - A Framework for Well-Behaved Application
  - Building a User Interface
  - Using Content Providers
  - A Content Provider as a Façade for RESTful Web Service

- Part 4: Advanced Topics:

- - Search
  - Location and Mapping
  - Multimedia
  - Sensors, NFC, Speech, Gestures, and Accessibility
  - Communication, Identity, Sync, and Social Media
  - The Android Native Development Kit (NDK)

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About the Author:

Nam Ha Minh is certified Java programmer (SCJP and SCWCD). He began programming with Java back in the days of Java 1.4 and has been passionate about it ever since. You can connect with him on Facebook and watch his Java videos on YouTube.