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Android Studio 2 Essentials
Android Studio 2 Essentials

Android Studio 2 Essentials: A fast-paced guide to get you up and running with Android application development using Android Studio 2 , Second Edition

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Android Studio 2 Essentials

Chapter 2. Starting a Project

Now that you have installed Android Studio, the next thing to do is to get familiar with its features. You need to understand the necessary fields and form factors when creating a project. Also, you may need to choose the activity type to create the main activity. How can you achieve this using Android Studio?

In this chapter, we will discuss how to create a new project with the basic content that is needed to start out. We will use the Android Studio wizard to create the project and go through the project configuration fields. We will also select one of the different kinds of activities available in the wizard as our main activity.

These are the topics we'll be covering in this chapter:

  • Creating a new project
  • Selecting the parameters
  • Choosing your main activity from different types of activities
  • Customizing your main activity

Creating a new project

To create a new project, click on the Start a new Android Studio project option from the welcome screen. If you are not in the welcome screen, then navigate to File | New Project. This opens the New Project wizard, as shown in the following screenshot:

Creating a new project

Configuring the project

The fields that will be shown on the New Project wizard are as follows:

  • Application name: This is the name shown in Google Play and the name that users see.
  • Company Domain: This is the company or domain name that is used to create the package name of your application.
  • Package name: This is the unique identifier of your application, usually in the com.company_name.app_name or reverse_company_domain.app_name form. This form reduces the risk of name conflicts with other applications. A default package name is proposed, based on the Company Domain and Application name fields. You can change the package name by clicking on Edit.
  • Project location: This is the directory in your system in which the project...

Customizing your activity

In the last step of the New Project wizard, you can customize a little bit of your activity. This customization is going to determine the names of some of your classes and resources files. You can also customize from this wizard the use of fragments or the navigation type.

The following screenshot shows the customization screen for an Empty Activity:

Customizing your activity

The basic customization for the activity has the following options:

  • Activity Name: Name of the main activity class.
  • Layout Name: You can create a layout for your activity if you check the Generate Layout File option. This field lets you specify the name of the layout associated with your main activity, which will be created in the resources folder.

Depending on the type of activity selected in the previous steps, you can customize more parameters. The following screenshot shows the customization of Basic Activity:

Customizing your activity

In addition to the activity and layout names, you can configure the following options:

  • Title: This will be used...

Summary

We have used the Android Studio wizard to create our first project and have filled the configuration fields. We also went through the different kinds of activities.

In the next chapter, we will go through the different elements of the structure of Android Studio. We will see how to create new classes, add and access libraries, and configure the project.

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Key benefits

  • Configure, build, and run Android projects with Android Studio 2
  • Test your apps using the Android emulator and learn how to manage virtual devices
  • Explore how Android Studio 2 can be made a part of your workflow to reduce the overall development time

Description

Android Studio 2, the official IDE for Android application development, dramatically improves your workflow by letting you quickly see changes running on your device or emulator. It gives developers a unique platform by making app builds and deployment faster. This book will get you up and running with all the essential features of Android Studio 2 to optimize your development workflow. Starting off with the basic installation and configuration of Android Studio 2, this book will help you build a new project by showing you how to create a custom launcher icon and guiding you to choose your project. You will then gain an insight into the additional tools provided in Android Studio, namely the Software Development Kit (SDK) Manager, Android Virtual Device (AVD) Manager, and Javadoc. You’ll also see how to integrate Google Play Services in an Android project. Finally, you’ll become familiar with the Help section in Android Studio, which will enable you to search for support you might require in different scenarios.

Who is this book for?

If you are an Android developer looking to quickly take advantage of Android Studio 2 and add it to your workflow, then this book is for you. It is assumed that you are familiar with the OOP paradigm and Java. You are recommended to have prior knowledge of the main characteristics of the Android mobile system to get the most out of this book.

What you will learn

  • Install Android Studio on your system and configure the Android Software Development Kit
  • Create your first project and explore its structure
  • Manage a project in Android Studio 2 with Gradle
  • Improve your productivity while programming by getting the best of the code editor
  • Design the user interface using layouts and see how to handle various user events
  • Integrate Google Play services into your project efficiently
  • Monitor your app while it s running and constantly improve its performance

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Jun 28, 2016
Length: 172 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781786460219
Vendor :
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Product Details

Publication date : Jun 28, 2016
Length: 172 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781786460219
Vendor :
Google
Category :
Languages :

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Table of Contents

11 Chapters
1. Installing and Configuring Android Studio Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Starting a Project Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Navigating a Project Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Using the Code Editor Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Creating User Interfaces Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Tools Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Google Play Services Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Debugging Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Preparing for Release Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
A. Getting Help Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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ArnY Jan 08, 2017
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Good book
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Amazon Customer Aug 23, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Either if you are new at Android development or an experienced Android engineer this book is a must in your (virtual) shelves. This book is a very good explanation of what Android Studio is and does, its tools and how to use them. The book goes from the basics (project structure, project and activity creation) to more advanced topics like debugging, Google Play APIs or release management. The main difference between this book and other IDE dedicated books that I have read are the examples, while other books usually contain a single big and hard to follow project example, each topic in this book contains its own atomic, complete and easy to understand example, making it easy to jump from chapter to chapter.This book has definitely improved my efficiency as Android developer. I found myself coming back from time to time looking for shortcuts, how to use a new Google API or signing an APK. If you are looking for an Android Studio reference book to exploit the huge potential of this IDE then this is your book.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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