I e—F=, EE F—E__ _ ————_ E—E UNIT-1 a Introduction to Mobile Applications —wsw —_——————— Native and web applications - Mobile operating systems and applications - Mobile Databases. Android: History of Android - Android Features — OSS — OHA - Android Versions and compatibility - Android devices - Prerequisites to learn Android — Setting up software — IDE - XML. Android Architecture: Android Stack - Linux Kernel - Android Runtime - Dalvik VM - Application Framework - Android emulator - Android applications. 1.1 NATIVE MOBILE APPS Native apps are developed specifically for a particular mobile device and are installed directly onto the device itself. Users download the app via app stores such as Apple App Store, Google Play store, etc. Native apps are built for specific mobile operating system such as Apple iOS or Android OS. An app made for Apple iOS will not work on Android OS or Windows OS. So if you want your app to work across all major mobile operating systems, you must build separate apps for each operating system. This means more money and more effort (time, resources). Before deciding whether to build a native app, you need to know the Pros and Cons of such an approach.Mobite Application Developmen, Pros ai offline, which makes them faster to open ang © They es, the performance is faster because they store mchronize with the server after the user is done using the app. © Theyallowtheusertouse device-specifichand gestures. Android and iOS are gradually developing different conventions for interaction, and a native app responds the way its user expects, © Native apps get the approval of the app store they are intended ‘most of the time the user can be assured of for, which rove safety and security of the app. © They allow direct access to device hardware that is either more accelerometer, etc.) difficult or impossible with a mobile app (camera, Cons @ More expensive to develop, especially when the app needs to multiplying the development costs % Cost of app maintenance is higher (especially if this app supports more than one mobile platform). Getting the app approved for the various app stores can prove to be long and tedious for the developer % Use of the app is contingent on the user's willingness 10 download and install the app onto their mobile device compatible with multiple mobile operating systems, thus Introduction to Mobite Applications 13 4.2 MOBILE WEB APPS. Web Apps are basically inigrnet-enabled applications that are accessible via the mobile device's Web browser. Users don’t need to downloaded and install the app onto mobile device in order to access it ‘The app is written as web pages in HTML and CSS, with the interactive parts in Jquery, JavaScript or similar language. Meaning that single web app can be used on most devices capable of surfing the web, regardless ofthe operating system they use. Let's see what the Pros and Con’ of a mobile web app. Pros They are instantly accessible to users via a browser across a + range of devices (iPhone, Android, Windows, etc). ‘They are much easier to update or maintain by the developer. If ‘you want to change the design or content of a mobile web app, ‘you simply publish the update to the server and the changes are immediately visible. % They are much easier for users to discover since their pages can be displayed in search results and listed in common search engines such as Google or Bing. ~ Visitors to your regular website can be automatically sent to the mobile web app when they are on a handheld mobile device (using device detection). ~ Just like a standard website, mobile websites / web app can be developed as database-driven web applications that act very much like native apps.that are HOPE EO ener dove lper AS oe sony have Himited scope as FHF 38 aecessing ‘> Mobile WER APPT ues is concerned (devicespecifc hand ipoite device's fei ures, Senso, 6) any variations bet daclop sable webapp tat They are not listed in ‘App Stores’. So if someone foro hough such means. © Since there is no regularsed quality pps, users may not always be guaranteed safety and security of the app. 4 Web apps are unavailable when offline, even as a basic version So, which is berer-a native app ora web app? It depends on your «nd goals. If your goal i to establish a broad mobile presence, then you sto 10 fora mobile web app. If your goal isto provide an application that needs to work more lite «computer program than a website, rich with interaction, a native ‘mobile app would be the best choice Joven web browsers. and ces it challenging to rand phones that it makes it rer runs onal devioes WihOUt any looking ‘unable to discover it tr app inthe app store, they will be unabl control system for Web, Inirosuction ty Mobite Applications us ‘Considering a graduated approach from mobile web app to native app may make sense to many developers wanting to test the waters, is may limit the scope of what's intending to be built. 4.3. MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATION PLATFORMS. Mobile devices are evolving into increasingly sophisticated and general purpose computers and this has led to the development of a variety of platforms and operating systems in the mobile space. ‘Today the operating system lying inside your mobile device is equally important a the device manufacturer (OEM). The various features, GUI, processing speed and most importantly the applications available {or your device will depend on the underlying OS. ‘The jargons like Mobile operating system and Mobile application platforms give rise to doubts and I have tried in this article to address any such doubts. Mobile device manufacturers bring devices based on a variety of platforms and OS's to cater to various user segments giving rise to a number of Mobile OS and Application platforins. A Mobile OS manages the hardware and software resources of a mobile device similar to a computer OS. Some OS platforms cover the entire range of the software stack while others may only include the lower levels (ypically the kernel and middleware layers) and rely on additional software platforms to provide a user interface framework, Application development platforms, such as Brew, Symbian UIQ, Android, LIMO, ALP, Qtopia or WIPI provide programming resources for native and Java applications. Today's phones are expected to.run 1 growing range of software such as intemet browsers, navigation packages, games and music/video players. Application platforms are supposed to provide a ground for them, Application plattorms areoftware running mm ah a set oF application a or ay sss MT application rin = al ; tabi market, « mobile devslone i so mane he aT ing syste pa forms Dut thi a develop fr multiple operating a ed 4 time-consuming «sk @ ‘ie sige one sua : and files. gamers an ‘omimon! OS operations Lunoate oo. PD “is tion Platform sin t,t Ai onset) j/_-—— Tropetry mala AP "et OS API 6®@ Zid ua APL se mt Duss person Media Acceleration GPUDSPICPUS ‘Kernel Operating System ce Windows CF Renan 5, bit, NIE) Fig: 1.1 ‘There is variety of both, Mobile OS and the Mobile application platforms in mobile space with a few names enjoying most of the market share. Here is a of major mobile operating, systems and Application platforms. Examples of Mobile operating system with complete software stack are Windows Mobile and Android, introduction to Mobile Applications 17. 7.4 MOBILE (KERNEL) OPERATING SYSTEMS ‘Some Major Mobile Operating Systems (OS) used in smart phones 4.4.1 Symbian OS from the Symbian Foundation ‘symbian has the largest share in most markets worldwide, but tags behind other companies in the relatively small but highly visible North American market. It has been used by many major handset manufacturers, incuding BenQ, Fujitsu, LG, Mitsubishi, Motorola, Nokia, Samsuog, Sharp, and Sony Eriesson, Prior fo 2009 Symbian fupported multiple user interfaces ie. UIQ from UIQ Technologies, $60 ftom Nokia, and MOAP from NTT DOCOMO. As part of the formation of the Symbian platform in 2009 these three Uls were merged ino a single platform which is now fully open source. It has received some adverse press attention due to virus threats (namely “Trojan horses). Symbian has a microkemel architecture, which means that the minimum necessary is within the kernel to maximize robustness, availability and responsiveness. It consists of kernel and middleware components of the software stack. The upper layers are supplied by application platforms like $60, UIQ, and MOAPIt contains a scheduler, memory management and device drivers, but other services, like networking, telephony and file system support are placed in the (8 Services Layer or the Base Services Layer. The inclusion of device drivers means the kernel is not a true microkemel 1.4.2 RIM Blackberry OS Blackberry OS is the proprietary software platform, created by Research In Motion, for their Black Bey phones. OS is focused ‘on easy operation and was originally designed for business. The Blackberry operating system provides multitasking and supportsaay plato 48 pethaps best Known fOr its natyg tag types. and the deep nes tos infomation tobe passed between devigg ently, In the Android wor hat serve as the foundatony wyelopers can also write ay, nents in their website th {an important skill for Android developers. XMLi 3, ANDROID SDK SSD stands for Software Development Kit, which, though it may tre up images of briefease full of spy tools, is actually just ame for a set of pre-packaged code, The Android SDKs ar fe that give developers access to device function con modules of Java cod ike the camera and accelerometer, One key component of the Androt SDK isa library ealled Grade. Let's say that you want £0 integra Facebook with your app. You would download a code library (@ SDK) fom Facebook, and then tell Gradle that you’re using it, so tht “shen your eppicaion compiles, your code stays well organized, Nex Android developers will spend much oftheir time discovering how tt ‘arious SDKs for Android canbe pieced together indifferent ways put together an application. While this will take time, each Andie ‘SDK comes with many examples that ean be found in the offic ocumentation, making it easy to understand what each package des {nd how to plug it into your app. the application is alteag ¢ ntroduetion to Mobile Applications 123 [ANDROID STUDIO tthe integrated development environment (IDE) of choice for “Andeoid developers is called Android Studio, Android Studio is built ‘on top of the well-tespected Intell IDE, and it comes with great out- foftthe-box support For many of the most common Android SDKs, ‘Android Studioalso features many ofthe capabilities developers expect of a full-featured IDE. Code completion helps make auto-complete suggestions as you type. Code debuegers let you step through your ‘code to identify the souree of errors. There are even more advanced ols like memory and CPU monitors, helping developers make sure their code will maintain high performance on a mobile device. Android isa must have for the Android developer. 5. APIS ‘Asan Android developer, you'll likely want to interact with many other services. For example, you may want to allow your users to ‘access a calendar from a third party service, or check the stock market Many companies offer APIs, and will tll you exactly how to query them for data in a consistent, secure way. While you're free to interact with any existing API, Google also makes it very easy to connect to their own APIs from your Android app. For example, you ean easily use Google APIs to monitor the location of your users, let them search for local places, and reference a map from within your application ‘You'll want o get comfortable exploring the nuances of different APIs, and recognize that no two APIs are exactly alike. 6. DATABASES If your app handles large amounts of data, most of it probably won't live on your device at any given time. Instead, your app will likely interact with a database living outside of your phone. Cloud services like Firebase or Parse provide simple APIs to store data inication Developmen mobile A yICE? «the Android operating vt intended For Odile devi pications and idea pane abet PC, e-b00K reader pROID DE) advice that runs © ray of S0tt anand i ana 82 i oper spite device that reap a system spa oes anaadoid ceareet™ ‘peas yy be asa i ies an OS. te Open Handset Alliance, WHC is droid deviee manufacture, ricsson and Motorola, * developed b ine of the well-known Al ‘rc. Samsung, LG, Sony andrsid is ty Google. Som inslode Acct smartphones, tablets any ‘a limited number of otk the Binatone iHom, popular Android devices include rs. The Android OS is also built ino i portable musi players, devices, such as netbooks, ‘Phone and droid handheld game consoles. Android device developers and programmers can find informatie, athe Android website, which offers an Android software developmet sit vithina short pesod the Android platform Became so popular tha sed Windows Mobile and Symbian for anumber of application ‘Varous mobile device manufacturers embraced the Android platfon, due to its overwhelming popularity, The reasons behind this succes 2s follows: 4 Cutting-edge technology offered by Google. Extremely user friendly platform + Can be used in smartphones aswell as tablets. Any user ean do medication to the platform as the Ando SDK is open to users ‘% Availability of huge volume of applications. ITES ANDROID DEVELOPMENT Is you Need to be an Android ‘Android applications requires a deep knowledge of puilding immning and design. When approaching a new technology for the it often helps to break it down into pieces. If you're a web progr first times developer already. spat development will be analogous fo things you already know Mmough building apps for mobile devices often requires mastery Gea number of more muineed concepts. Mobile devices have smaller sereens, simpler processors, and ~ in the ease of Android ~ many Jfiferent manufacturers, meaning that developers need to keép code flexible and account fora variety of user scenarios ‘many of the concepts and technologies involved in ‘50 what does it take to become an Android developer? We asked ‘some of the brightest developers in our community here's what you need to know. 1, JAVA Java is the language that underpins all Android development. For those who have gained most oftheir eoding experience in languages like JavaScript and Ruby, there can bea learning curve when picking up Java forthe frst time. Java, like JavaScript and Ruby, is object-oriented, but it is also stricter about the way it handles datatypes. Developers have tobe much more thoughtful with their code, defining the types of data theie applications plan to work with, and more carefully allocating searce memory resources. “You can’t afford to have ambiguity in a ‘mobile environment, and Java makes sure that there's no confusion about what each component of your application is trying to do,” says James Traver, a seasoned Android developer who now teaches the Web Development Immersive at GA. “You end up writing less code, but your code is more elegant and precise.”ante poication Devetopren nt way 1 eo tf eng, up langsaee, Sh3Hng may : ognize the an Fans 2 rr ~ you may FECES amg re i IN ge he SSP iy ths inormatin Co be passed eT Ween dvieg etn eon god consistently. I the Android wor, ing ay tha on Beate ayouts tha serve a the foundatong re XML to ereate I + anda pplication. Developers ca as0 Fit ey vc fayout elements once the application iS alreag 3 developers use JavaScript to modi, the basics g developers uration cose that sod soit sae way tat WED as site at runtime, but masterin ‘element in their wet ws roid developers. {XML isan important skil for And 3, ANDROID SDK SDK stands for Software Development Kt, which, though itm conjure up images of a briefcase fll of spy tools, is actually jus fhney name for a set of pre-packaged code, The Android SDKs a ‘motuls of lava code tat give developers access to device function lik the camera and accelerometer. One key component ofthe Andra SDK is a library called Gradle. Let's say that you want to integra Facebook with your app. You would download a code library (e SDK) from Facebook, and then tell Gradle that you're using it, so hs ‘when your application compiles, your code stays well organized. New Android developers wil spend much of ther time discovering how th various SDKs for Android can be pieced together in different ways put together an application. While this will take time, each Android SDK comes with many examples that can be found in the offic ocumentation, making it easy to understand what each package dos ‘and how to plug it into your app. { nuroduction to Mobile Applications 123 3, ANDROID STUDIO ‘phe integrated development environment (IDE) of choice for “android developers is called Android Studio, Android Stadio is built ‘atop ofthe wellstespected Intell IDE, and it comes with great out- Gethe-box support for many of the most common Android SDKs. “android Studio also features many ofthe capabilities developers expect fa fal-eatured IDE, Code completion helps make auto-complete ‘suggestions as you type. Code debuggers let you step through your ode to identify the source of errors. There are even more advanced tools like memory and CPU monitors, helping developers make sure their code will maintain high performance on a mobile device. Android studio.is a must have for the Android developer. 5. APIS ‘Asan Android developer, you'll likely want to interact with many ‘other services. For example, you may want to allow your users to ‘access a calendar from a third party service, or check the stock market. ‘Many companies offer APIs, and will tell you exactly how to query them for data in a consistent, secure way. While you're free to interact with any existing API, Google also makes it very easy to connect to their own APIs from your Android app. For example, you can easily use Google APIs to monitor the location of your users let them search for local places, and reference a map from within your application. ‘You'll want to get comfortable exploring the nuances of different APIs, and recognize that no two APIs are exactly alike. 6. DATABASES If your app handles large amounts of data, most of it probably won't live on your device at any given time. Instead, your app will likely interact with a database living outside of your phone. Cloud services like Firebase or Parse provide simple APIs to store data in425 OL EE ee pe ay a inc Tos plants tte Mei tan lig ito YOU €DD, makin, New tes begin with the tutorials ‘Step 1 ~ Download Java Platform JDK) and instal it on your ie elo and ake it ares that YO ve ihe user's device. This syncing computer, Once completed, then proceed to the next step. Java is renee fa storage a remote dala important i yoy een bey reo tN WAY © oy, fmptant forthe finiosing of Android Si, ‘Roi’ built-in support for using SQL 7 . pe Sto. “ to handle data iy zee However you choose t fore and understand how database, often provide Java lit fr easy to cache some ofthe dats oF want to fot users use ata locally is through interat witha SQLite database ‘your application, you'll eed 1 ex query that data and se itn your app ‘work, and the ways (0 7. MATERIAL DESIGN in conrast to competitors like Apple, Google has not historical maintained a consistent design aesthetic cross thei products. In ret sears, that has changed. Google has released @ set of forward-thinking Jvc quidetne and standards called Material Design tht re being rts. Those standards include tps fo leo se he sean nd we Hy aa ows Yoav prbsby sen Material Desi in il xX windows fom the nti nae ° at ney Gangrene eset evniaas ae iyo application on mobil “Android developers use these guidelines asa foundation for their ow user interfaces. The documentation online provides a great foundations : Android Studio understanding of Material Design principles. 4.9 HOW TO INSTALL ANDROID STUDIO ON WINDOWS ‘The installation process can take a while, but itis very simple a straight forward. All you need (0 do is carefully read the on-sére= instructions and follow our guide as shown with screenshots. TH ‘Step 3 ~ Run the EXE setup file you just downloaded. You should ccurent version of Android Studio is v2.3.3 as of writing this tutoral ‘These same instructions can be followed for installiag Android Stuit ing Androi be greeted with a similar setup wizard screen as shown below. Click on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10. Next to begin!Introduction to Mobite Applications ‘Step 6 ~ This is where you select the installation location for ‘Step 4 — Keep the default components selected for installation, Android Studio and Android SDK. You may select another location Click Next. / drive that has the required space available. Click Next to continue, SS ee eee z a ‘Step 7 Yes, you would want to have to a Start menu folder. Just click Install to continue, Step § — We are sure you would not want to read through the ent ense agreement. Click I Agree.Mobile Application Develop 28 Amtroduction to Mobite Applications Step 10 Yep, this it, You Step 10 Ye. thsi. You areal eta launch Android the first time. Click Finishto proceed, now. This may take a while — Installation should begin siep§ 7 xcted and installed to your computer. all the files to be extra ‘This was easy so far, right? Well, this was just the installation part el of Android Studio, Next you need to configure your Android Studio Saat and install a few basic tools that are needed. vanoromgerens ees csarsteae eae Ifyou have any problems, comment below and we will get to you SE TST 1s soon as possible, 4.40 IDE (INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT) completed, click Next. “ Te [An IDE is a software development tool that is mainly used by the developers to write and test the programs or software. These are ‘Step 9 Once the installation is actually a migration form of primitive text editors to use of more full function technologies that might help you in editing code more quickly and efficiently. Generally the IDEs are complicated to leam, takes time to master. Why do we use them? For a professional software engineer to build a large seale systems he needs a technological support atthe point of typing the code. At thatnuraetion to Mobile Applications 131 “_Ineqrated stepwise execution, icin : pint IDE cones Ny erst © fecereterth af in IDE can anu dan & Reformat coding, software 9 ot tween @ code & not is difference Bet “sintn we? nes take you to a woe HEN cee tee hy the IDES take ok syping €0 while se code com - anda dap dwn in as @ Traverse a package hierarchy searching for all the instances of | hat sige Moreover during a specific sting sthecoding very in notepad or text-editor, xy them which makes ral 19 check error i & Helps in generating the UML diagram, 4.10.4 Some of the best IDEs 0.1 Features of IDE 7 sting by easy navigation through €04eS and Ecipse- particularly for Java, pT supports for coding by €83 4 Visual Studio- for programming languages like C, C++, CH. iris very easier to west and dobug # code in am integrate ment environment han the code editor. Android Studio- particularly for Android Java. © Oneofthe mos important usefl feature of an IDE is suppor Pycharm- Particularly for Python, for refacrng. i.e It helps programmes in differentiating be Rujbynfing-Particulaely for ruby on als. ames of class, variables, packages, ele. 4.11 XML-(EXTENSIBLE MARKUP LANGUAGE) % It provides support for IDE independent, cross platfom,, stsndardized by helping in compilation, testing, packaging and XML stands for Extensible Markup Language. XML is a markup sad gly adr, language much like HTML used to describe data, XML tags are not predefined in XML. We must define our own Tags. Xmas itself is well 1.10.2 Properties of IDE readable both by human and machine. Also itis scalable and simple to Pliage meee develop, In Android we use xml for designing our layouts because xml es : is lightweight language soit doesn’t make our layout heavy. % Project definition facilites, Integrated compilation,sroduction to Mobile Applications 133 ws ‘ndroid:orientation="vertical” android:layout_width="match_ parent” ferent a sh citer wits n child element a8 show ‘ViewGroup can sn he igo given BIO: “View Group (Relative Layou) i View aie) | View (Edit Text) Fig: 1.2 ViewGroup (Linear Layout) contains on and two View(Button and TextView) itText ) are nested inside Relat tis important to note that one | Jayout can be nested Here in above Diagram ‘ViewGroup (ie, Relative Layout) Further two more View (ie. 2 Bai LayoutViewGroup. in another layout. “The below code snippet will explain the above image in better way Paste it in actvity_main.xml: "> <2xmnl version="1,0" encoding="utf Comite ratte e + Diew Layouts Teampletindcdineayeisinnie EAM El erampleabhiandicidineatayoutindescrcig pO Natal Paes Stineaajout ei El drapable, [E]Tabletayout Ente Taleo tity, minamt Giatayout ae seh ‘FU Reativelayout wget 7 Pin Tein wo tageTet ‘BD Medium Text_obite Application Devel introduction to Mobile Applications 137 136 ——t code Basic Ley van te MED NEE igo se show activ Jow ae lx second TextView > _ee- ReltiveLayoutin wi — > incangide"npiichemssandoidcy andoiide"@ ident TexVew" android:padding="10dp” tools:contex andridlayoutheigh"Wwrap_content 1.12.2 Manifest xml File(Mainfest.xml) ‘android: layout_centerHorizontal="true eee ‘This xml is used to define all the components of our application. It includes the names of our application packages, our Activities, receivers, services and the permissions that our application needs For android:text="First Text View" Example — Suppose we need to use intemetin our app then we need to define temet permission inthis file android:padding="10dp" android:textColor="@color/white”Developmen, ss roid StU tion in A ieee manifests OIF cated inside PP projet Files nisl insidescrolh, ea eamleabhiandoidinestayout i > ample abiandaasineatoyounsides ro oy Cares oidManifest.xml ing Internet Permission in Ande jidMani pw we stow te Androidanistxml fle and define Bel Internet Permission in that fie an vesion="10" encoding="w-8"2> manifest xmlnsandroid="htp:(schemas.android.convapkces android” package~"example abhiandroid. MyApplication”> application android:allowBackup="true" ——— npoction 10 Mobite Applications 139 naroid-icon="@mipmapfic launcher” android:label="@string/app_name™ android:theme="@style/AppTheme”> 1--add your Activities, Reveivers, Services Names Here ~> activity android:name=” MainActvity” android:label="@string/app_name"> action android:name="androi <My Apion 1808 ting amotio ings >Setng n> string name="login">User Login lefine your strings here ~> “ 1.12.4 Styles xml File(styles.xml) This xml is used to define different styles and looks for the UIs _atbite Application Devetopney Inicoduction to Mobile Applications a Tocation in Android Studio g [terekanis| o 8 Ev Soe + Comantese eee 7o > ES eampleabhiondidineniys > ES eamplesbhiandiidtinenine y Gre Deeaabie > Bayo > Eimens > Eamigmap ¥ Byales ‘Beeclorst » Ehdimensaml 2) Beavingsamt a i 3 Scaptues Below we show the style.xml file. resources |- Base application theme. —>