Xamarin Mobile Application Development for Android - Second Edition

Table of Contents

Xamarin Mobile Application Development for Android Second Edition

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewers

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Free access for Packt account holders

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Downloading the example code

Downloading the color images of this book

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. The Anatomy of an Android App

The Android platform

Versions of Android

The Linux kernel

Native libraries

The Android runtime

The application framework

The application layer

The building blocks of the Android application

The Android packages (.apk)

The application manifest

Activities

The life cycle of an activity

The events of an activity

Fragments

The fragment life cycle

Services

Content providers

Broadcast receivers

Views and ViewGroups

Declarative versus programmatic View creation

User interface widgets

Common layouts

Adapter layouts

XML layout files

Element and attribute names

The View and layout identifiers

Using XML layouts from activities

Intents

Resources

The R.java file

Summary

2. The Xamarin.Android Architecture

Getting started with Xamarin

Why Xamarin.Android?

The benefits of using Xamarin.Android

The drawbacks of using Xamarin.Android

What is Mono?

Mono and Dalvik side by side

The Java Native Interface

Peer objects

Xamarin.Android application packaging

The Android bindings design

Design principles

C# properties

Delegates

Constants to enumerations

Development environments

Xamarin Studio

Xamarin for Visual Studio

IDE comparison

Compatibility

Summary

3. Creating the Points Of Interest App

The sample POIApp

Installing Xamarin.Android

Installing platforms and tools

Tools

The Android platform APIs

The Android platform Extras

Creating Android Virtual Devices

Cloning a virtual device

Speeding up the Android emulator

Using the x86 emulator

Third-party emulator solutions

The Xamarin Android Player

Genymotion

Creating the POI app

The Xamarin Studio IDE

The Project Options view

Understanding the project structure

The Xamarin Studio layout designer

The designer content layout

The Document Outline and Properties pads

Toolbox

Setting the target framework

Setting the app icon and package name

The launcher activity

Running and debugging the app

Debugging with an Android device

Enabling USB debugging

Installing a USB driver

Running apps on a device

Behind the scenes

The peer object

The AndroidManifest.xml file

Summary

4. Adding a List View

Creating the POI ListView layout

Creating POIListActivity

Creating the POI list row layout

Adding a RelativeLayout view group

Adding an ImageView widget

Adding a LinearLayout widget

Adding the name and address TextView classes

Adding the distance TextView

Creating the PointOfInterest apps entity class

Populating the ListView item

Creating POIListViewAdapter

Implementing a constructor

Implementing Count { get }

Implementing GetItemId()

Implementing the index getter method

Implementing GetView()

Reusing row Views

Populating row Views

Populating the list thumbnail image

Using UrlImageViewHelper

Adding Internet permissions

Hooking up POIListViewAdapter

Consuming the web service

An introduction to web services

Deploying the POI web service

Consuming REST web services asynchronously

Creating the POIService class

Asynchronous programming with async and await

Serializing and deserializing using Json.NET

Updating POIListActivity

Adding actions to ActionBar

Defining the menu XML file

Setting menus in OnCreateOptionsMenu()

Handling selection in OnOptionsItemSelected()

Handling the ListView click event

Handling no network condition

Toast

Summary

5. Adding a Details View

Creating the POIDetail layout

Understanding ScrollView

Using the TableLayout manager

Working with EditText's InputType

Creating POIDetailActivity

Adding navigation to POIDetailActivity

Navigation on the POIList item click

Receiving the data in POIDetailActivity

Binding variables to controls

Populating user interface widgets

Adding the save and delete actions

Disabling the delete action

Adding the save and delete actions in POIService

Consuming the web service to create or update a POI

Adding the CreateOrUpdatePOIAsync method to POIService

Consuming the web service to delete the POI

Adding the DeletePOIAsync method to POIService

Creating SavePOI()

Creating DeletePOI()

Adding validation

Using the EditText.Error property

Adding a delete confirmation prompt

Refreshing POIListActivity

Summary

6. Making Your App Orientation-aware

The Android behavior on configuration changes

Locking the Android application orientation

Dynamically requesting the orientation

Saving the activity state for configuration changes

Manually saving the activity state

Retaining the POI list scroll position

Building the orientation-aware layout

Manually handling the orientation behavior

Summary

7. Designing for Multiple Screen Sizes

An introduction to Android tablets

Creating an Android tablet emulator

An introduction to fragments

Creating a new fragment

Making POIApp compatible with Android tablets

Using fragments for displaying POIDetails

Creating the POIDetailsFragment layout

Creating the POIDetailFragment

Working with the save and delete actions

Adding the POIDetailFragment to POIDetailActivity

Modifying the POI details activity layout

Refactoring POIDetailActivity to add POIDetailFragment

Using the list fragment for displaying the POI list

Understanding ListFragment

Creating the POIListFragment layout

Creating the fragment to display the POI list using POIListFragment

Adding POIListFragment to POIListActivity

Modifying the POI list activity layout

Adding POIListFragment to POIListActivity

Creating a multi-pane layout for tablets

Updating the POIApp to support the multi-pane split layout

Working with DialogFragment

Fragments for older Android devices

Handling configuration changes with fragments

Summary

8. Creating Data Storage Mechanisms

Data storage in Android

Shared preferences

The SQLite database storage

Using the SQLite.net ORM component

Using attributes to mark POIApp to be persisted

Adding a database helper class

Creating or updating the POI record

Reading POI details from the database

Deleting the POI data from the database

Using the Xamarin.Android NUnitLite

Setting up for tests

Creating the test methods

The CreatePOI test

The DeletePOI test

Executing the tests

Implementing the caching logic to POIApp

Summary

9. Making POIApp Location Aware

Working with location services

Setting the app permissions

Configuring the emulator

Obtaining an instance of LocationManager

Requesting location change notifications

Implementing ILocationListener

Adding location services to POIApp

Adding location services to the POI list

Adding location services to POI details

Updating the user interface

Adding the code

Mocking location data for testing

Getting an address for a location

Keeping the user informed

Adding map integration

Navigating to the Map app

Checking for registered map apps

Summary

10. Adding the Camera App Integration

Picking an integration approach

Permissions and features

Configuring the emulator

Extending the data service

Implementing GetFileName()

Implementing GetImage()

Implementing DeleteImage()

Capturing an image from POIDetailFragment

Adding UI elements

Creating the camera Intent

Checking for registered camera apps

Providing additional information with the Intent

Providing a filename and location

Providing a size limit

Starting the Intent

Completing the NewPhotoClicked() method

Processing the results of the Intent

Upload an image using an HTTP multipart

Summary

11. Publishing an App to the App Store

Preparing the application for release

Disabling the debug mode

Configuring linking options

Side effects of linking

Selecting supported ABIs

Verifying the package name, icon, and app version

The package name

The application name and icon

The application versioning scheme

Review user permissions

Publishing a signed APK for uploading

Android keystores

Publishing from Xamarin.Android

Republishing the app

Different app distribution options

Self-publishing via website links or e-mails

Publishing on Google Play

Third-party app stores

Summary

Index

Xamarin Mobile Application Development for Android Second Edition

Xamarin Mobile Application Development for Android Second Edition

Copyright © 2015 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: January 2014

Second edition: August 2015

Production reference: 1200815

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place

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Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-78528-037-5

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Credits

Author

Nilanchala Panigrahy

Reviewers

Mart Roosmaa

Ed Snider

Adrian Stevens

Michael Williams

Commissioning Editor

Kunal Parikh

Acquisition Editor

Meeta Rajani

Content Development Editor

Arun Nadar

Technical Editor

Madhunikita Sunil Chindarkar

Copy Editor

Rashmi Sawant

Project Coordinator

Neha Bhatnagar

Proofreader

Safis Editing

Indexer

Hemangini Bari

Production Coordinator

Nitesh Thakur

Cover Work

Nitesh Thakur

About the Author

Nilanchala Panigrahy is a software developer, community speaker, and thought leader in the fusion of design and mobile technologies. Currently, he is employed as a lead application developer by Ness Technologies (http://www.ness-ses.com), a leading global technology services provider. He has over 8 years of experience in developing rich mobile applications in Java, C#, Android, Xamarin, HTML5, and PhoneGap.

Over the years, he has published 20 plus Android applications in the consumer and enterprise spaces and authored over 200 articles/tutorials on Android and Xamarin application development, which are freely available on the Web.

You can find more information about him on his blog at http://javatechig.com or contact him via his Twitter handle at, @npanigrahy.

Firstly, I'd like to thank Bibhu, whose love, patience, and understanding pushes me to a new high every time I take up new opportunities. Your support makes everything I do possible. A big thanks to my family for their love, encouragement, and belief.

Thanks to the entire editorial team at Packt Publishing, especially Arun and Meeta, who had to contend with many delays while I juggled between full-time application development and my book writing commitments.

A special thanks to all the technical reviewers of this book, who did an excellent job to ensure that the content of this book is up to date and the source code is error-free.

I would like to thank you all for choosing this book. I hope you will find all the information you seek.

About the Reviewers

Mart Roosmaa is a senior software consultant. He has worked with a wide range of technologies over the years, ranging from backend to embedded to desktop development, and most recently, mobile app development. He prefers to create Android applications with Xamarin/C#, as it allows him to deliver better results faster.

Ed Snider is a senior software developer at InfernoRed Technology, a speaker, and a Xamarin MVP based in the DC/Northern VA area. He has a passion for mobile development. He regularly speaks at local user groups and community events and is the organizer of the DC and Northern VA Mobile .NET Developers group. He is primarily focused on building mobile solutions on the Windows, iOS, and Android platforms for small and large organizations and has been working with .NET for over 10 years. He blogs at http://www.edsnider.net and can be found on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/edsnider.

Adrian Stevens has over 14 years of experience in developing mobile applications, specializing in C# and C++ cross-platform development. He founded and led a successful mobile consulting company.

Adrian is also an experienced author and instructor, having written several published articles on mobile and IoT development as well as authored the curriculum on cross-platform development.

Adrian's expertise includes wireless communication, architecture, data processing, and mathematics.

He is based out of Vancouver, Canada, and co-runs a C# cross-platform development Meetup community.

Michael Williams is a hybrid mobile architect. He is an insightful, result-driven IT professional with notable experience in creating his own business, developing mobile applications for IOS, Android, and Windows Phone. He also has experience in game development, directing a broad range of corporate IT initiatives, and participating in the planning, analysis, and implementation of solutions in support of business objectives. He has hands-on experience in all the stages of system development, including the requirements definition, design, architecture, testing, and support.

His previous employers include IBM, Sound Therapy International, and Bepoz. He currently works for DNS Technology, Radio DI, and Flush Arcade (his own company).

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Preface

Xamarin is built on top of Mono, an open source version of the .NET framework, based on the ECMA standards. Xamarin brings you a set of tools that includes its own C# compiler and a Common Language Runtime (CLR). The Mono framework source project is maintained by Xamarin, a San Francisco-based company (formerly by Novell and originally by Ximian). The prime intention of the Mono project was to make the .NET platform compatible with other non-Windows platforms such as Linux.

After Attachmate acquired Novell in April 2011, the future of the Mono platform was pushed into dark. A few months later, Miguel de Icaza, a former Novell employee, founded a company called Xamarin and declared to continue using the Mono platform for commercial software development. Since then, Xamarin has sponsored the Mono open source platform development and provided the commercial .NET stacks for both the iOS and Android platforms. The .NET for iOS is called MonoTouch, or Xamarin.iOS, and .NET for Android is called Mono for Android, or Xamarin.Android.

Xamarin frameworks enable developers to write cross-platform mobile applications targeting different platforms, including iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. Using Xamarin, you can develop a pure naive Android or iOS application using the C# programming language and share the application logic between the different platforms. This results in a faster development cycle and developers can leverage the existing C# and .NET programming skills, which helps reduce the learning curve to develop the mobile application.

This book is structured in a logical sequence to help C# and .NET developers to build Xamarin.Android applications from the ground up. It explains the widely used basic and advanced Android concepts, including a user interface, data storage, consuming web services, geolocation, map, camera, and the build distribution process.

This book provides the most comprehensive explanations of the basic and advanced Xamarin.Android concepts; you can precisely build with practical live examples to develop a complete working application. Over the course of this book, you will build a single application, the POIApp. With this application, we will cover all the fundamentals of Xamarin.Android to help you get stated with your own application development.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, The Anatomy of an Android App, provides an overview of the Android platform and what Android apps are composed of.

Chapter 2, The Xamarin.Android Architecture, provides an overview of the Xamarin platforms and describes how the Mono and Android runtime work together in order to allow developers to build Android apps using C#.

Chapter 3, Creating the Points of Interest App, walks you through how to set up the development environment, create a new Xamarin.Android app, and run the app in the Android emulator.

Chapter 4, Adding a List View, describes Android's AdapterView architecture and walks you through how to use ListView and create a custom adapter. This chapter also covers how to download the data asynchronously from a web service and display the response on a custom ListView.

Chapter 5, Adding a Details View, walks you through how to create a details view to display the details of POIApp, add navigation from ListView, and add actions to perform the save and delete web service operations.

Chapter 6, Making Your App Orientation-aware, walks you through how to detect the device orientation and handle application behaviors on the configuration changes.

Chapter 7, Designing for Multiple Screen Sizes, introduces you to the Android fragments and the different techniques used for managing the resources and layout to support multiple screen sizes, including Android tablets.

Chapter 8, Creating Data Storage Mechanisms, discusses a number of available data storage options in Xamarin.Android and stores the Point of Interest list fetched from a web service using the SQLite database engine to make the list accessible when a device is offline.

Chapter 9, Making POIApp Location Aware, discusses the various options that developers have in order to make their apps location-aware, and this chapter also covers how to add logic to determine a device's location, the address of a location, and display a location in the map app.

Chapter 10, Adding the Camera App Integration, discusses the various options for integrating with a device camera to capture a picture of POIApp and upload the captured photo to a web service using the HTTP multipart form upload.

Chapter 11, Publishing an App to the App Store, discusses the various options for distributing Android apps and also covers how to prepare a Xamarin.Android app for distribution.

What you need for this book

All the examples in this book can be completed using a 30-day trial version of Xamarin.Android. The examples were developed using Mac OS X (Yosemite), Xamarin Studio 5.9.3, and Xamarin.Android 5.1.3 (trial edition). Any later versions should work fine as long as they are valid Xamarin configurations. You can check the Xamarin website for specifics.

Xamarin.Android can also be used in other configurations, including Windows OS. In Windows OS, you can either use Xamarin Studio or the Visual Studio Xamarin plugin as an IDE of your choice. Using a different configuration from what was used while developing the examples of this book may result in slight variations in the screens or steps described in the book.

The examples provided in this book consume the REST web service developed in Java JAX-RS. You can deploy the web service code on your system to perform end-to-end testing, or alternatively, you can use the Apiary mock feed URLs provided in the code bundle. To deploy the web service code, you need MySQL and the Apache Tomcat™ application server.

Who this book is for

This book for C# and .NET developers with a desire to develop Android apps using their existing skill sets. This book includes a step-by-step approach to build an Android application using the Xamarin platform which will be valuable whether you're an experienced mobile developer or making your first push.

It is assumed that you have some experience in software development and are familiar with the basic object-oriented development concept and practices. An understanding of C# syntax is a requirement and a good working knowledge of C# is a distinct advantage, though it is strictly not necessary.

Conventions

In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.

Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: These constants are placed in a Java source file named R.java.

A block of code is set as follows:

public override bool OnCreateOptionsMenu(IMenu