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Pro Android is a detailed look at (java based) application development on Google's Mobile OS published by APress. The book is written by Sayed Hashimi and Satya Komatineni. I am later of the two. This book covers the Android API all the way to its current public release which is 1.5.
We have covered most aspects of the extensive java based Android API. The books gives you a consolidated experience of the Android API in a single place. The book is critically reviewed by Vikram Goyal and Douglas Pundick. We have gone through multiple rewrites to make sure the content is streamlined and valuable to the reader. We have Vikram and Douglas to thank for this strength.
We think the book has also strengths where it really counts. For example intents, resources and content providers are very new concepts introduced to the programming community through Android OS. We think we have covered these topics really well in the book both from a programming perspective and also from an architecture perspective.
The SDK documentation on animation, although available, is somewhat incoherent. We have really streamlined animation capabilities so that it reads really well in a single sitting.
The SDK documentation on OpenGL is almost non existent in both 1.0 and 1.5 APIs. We have gone to great lenghts in the book to give you a starting point for OpenGL for Java programmers that have very little OpenGL background. We have covered how things are done in 1.0 and also in 1.5.
We have also included a detailed chapter on LiveFolders and how to work with them effectively.
You can also use the book to discover many aspects of developing the mobile features that Android enables including the complexities of timers, services, and multimedia playback.
By reading the book you will also understand how location based services, which are becoming more and more important in the mobile world, work.
We will also show you how to utilize Google's powerful Map tool.
We have a detailed chapter on understanding network connectivity in the mobile world.
We believe the book is written with Java developers in mind that want a single source that they can use as a learners guide and a reference as they go through the Android development.
With that here is a brief overview of the authors.
Sayed Y. Hashimi is a consultant and trainer in Jacksonville, Florida. Sayed has worked for startups and Fortune 100 companies. He has developed large-scale distributed applications with a variety of programming languages and platforms, including C++, Java, and .NET. Sayed has published in major software journals on topics ranging from low-level programming techniques to high-level architecture concepts.
You can find his website at http://www.sayedhashimi.com.
Satya komatineni has been programming for too long, frankly, (over 20 years) in the IT and Web space. He has worked with Assembly, C, C++, Rexx, Java, C#, Lisp, Html, Javascript, CSS, Relational databases, Object databases and related technologies. He has published over 30 articles touching many of these areas in a number of gullible print and online magazines. The primary list of articles are available at http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/241. Satya has also managed to confuse O'Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON) organizers a few times in the past couple of years to be a speaker at OSCON on a number of obscure concepts.
He went on to start an outfit that he named Active Intellect, Inc., based on the same quixotic concepts surrounding web based presence, computing, and individual productivity. You will find him more than often at his site that is developed using the same underlying technologies at http://www.satyakomatineni.com. You can find a bit more detailed but probably an ancient resume here.
While closely working with Indent, inc., he was involved in a number of projects funded by Small Business Innovative Research program. One of the programs developed is an early javascript and SVG based drawing program that works like a mini-visio on the web. He has also helped Indent to optimize J2EE portals for rapid development and deployment of websites.
Satya holds a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, India, 1986, and a Bachelors degree in electrical engineering from Andhra University, India, 1984. Although he thoroughly enjoyed the subject of Electrical Engineering the value is primarily nostalagic.
You can find his website at http://www.satyakomatineni.com
Our book has the following table of contents
1. You can browse source code online for some of the chapters here. This is handy to cut and paste some code snippets and examples. I have also posted the eclipse projects for some of the chapters. Click here to access these projects.. I have also posted corrections to the book. Click here to see the corrections.
2. You can also download the entire source code for the book from the Apress site here. This is handy to cut and paste some code snippets and examples.
3. Here are some articles and notes I am keeping on Android 1.5 and 2.0 This is my research source for 1.5. I will be posting frequently based on my work on Android. This is my resource. Hopefully this will help you as well.
4. Here are some articles and notes I am keeping on Android OpenGL This is my research source for Android OpenGL. I will be posting frequently based on my work on Android OpenGL. This is my resource. Hopefully this will help you as well.
You can always reach me directly at satya.komatineni at gmail.com