Introduction to Android Application Development, Android Essentials,

Fifth Edition

Chapter 1

Presenting Android

Chapter 1 Overview

The Android Open Source Project (AOSP)

The Open Handset Alliance

Android Platform Uniqueness

The Android Platform

Android beyond the OHA and GMS

The Android Open Source Project

(AOSP)

An initiative led by Google

– Makes the source code of the Android OS available for all

• Read, review, and modify the code to your liking

You may make contributions of your own code

– For everyone, if you so desire

The main goals of the AOSP

– Provide a set of compatibility guidelines—for OEMs and

device manufacturers—for porting Android to custom devices

– Build accessories that comply with Android’s open accessory

standard

• Allows OEMs and manufacturers to deliver a standard

experience

The Android Open Source Project

(AOSP)

Anyone is free to fork the Android OS source code.

Maintaining a consistent OS experience is important.

– Making radical changes to that experience

introduces fragmentation in the marketplace and in

competing Android distributions.

To learn more about the AOSP see:

– https://source.android.com/index.html

The Open Handset Alliance

Google Goes Mobile First

What Would It Take to Build a Better Mobile

Phone?

Introducing the Open Handset Alliance (OHA)

– Formed in November 2007

– Business alliance composed of mobile players

• Chip makers

• Handset manufacturers

• Software developers

• Service providers

The Open Handset Alliance

(Cont’d)

Android, Inc.

– Created by Andy Rubin.

– Acquired by Google in 2005.

OHA began developing open standards based on

Android, Inc., technologies.

– The result is the Android project.

Google provided the initial code.

Google provides online documentation, tools,

forums, and SDK.

Joining the Open Handset

Alliance

The AOSP provides the entire source code for the Android OS as

well as instructions for meeting device compatibility requirements.

It does not include the source code for many of Google’s

proprietary suite of applications.

The benefits of joining the Open Handset Alliance include the

ability to license Google Mobile Services (GMS), which include

proprietary Google applications such as Google Play, YouTube,

Google Maps, Gmail, and many other Google branded

applications and services.

GMS is not included in the AOSP and must be licensed directly

from Google.

Becoming part of the OHA allows you to bundle GMS on Android

compatible devices.

Manufacturers: Designing

Android Devices

Samsung

Motorola

Dell

Sony Ericsson

HTC

LG

Amazon

Intel

Texas Instruments

ARM

NVIDIA

Qualcomm

Manufacturers: Designing

Android Devices (Cont’d)

T-Mobile G1 by HTC:

– Released October 2008.

– First to ship Android handset.

By Q4 2010, Android dominated the smartphone

market.

As of May 2015:

– Android devices shipped to more than 130 countries.

– Google Play had more than 1 billion active users.

– Google Play had 50 billion app installs in the previous 12

months.

Mobile Operators: Delivering

the Android Experience

Android adoption drivers

– Device subsidies

– Samsung

• 73.2 million smartphones shipped worldwide in second

quarter of 2015

– Google Nexus branded devices

• Nexus 4 and 5 (LG)

• Nexus 6 (Motorola)

• Nexus 7 and Nexus Player (Asus)

• Nexus 9 (HTC)

• Nexus 10 (Samsung)

– HTC, LG, Asus, and more

Apps Drive Device Sales:

Developing Android Apps

Android’s first killer apps

– Email

– Browser

– Google Play store (formerly Android Market)

As of May 2015

– Fifty billion installations in previous 12 months

– Not including other Android marketplaces

– Not including Web applications

Apps Drive Device Sales:

Developing Android Apps

(Cont’d)

The Google Play store has received a significant

redesign.

Games are a growing focus.

– Released Google Play Game Services SDK

Google Play’s focus is on content.

Taking Advantage of All

Android Has to Offer

Android’s open platform has been embraced by much of the mobile

development community. It extends far beyond the members of the OHA.

Many mobile operators and device manufacturers have jumped at the

chance to sell Android devices to their subscribers. This is Especially true

given the cost benefits compared to the older proprietary platforms.

The Android platform’s open standard has resulted in reduced operator

costs in licensing and royalties, and we are now seeing a migration to

more open devices.

The market has cracked wide open and new types of users are able to

consider smartphones for the first time.

Android is well suited to fill this demand.

The Android Marketplace:

Where We Are Now

Competitive hardware and software feature

upgrades

Expansion beyond smartphones

– Tablets

– Watches

– TVs

– Automobile dashboards

– IoT

– Video game consoles

Improved user-facing features

Android Platform Differences

“The first complete, open, and free mobile

platform”

– Complete

• Secure OS

• Robust framework

– Open

• Android provided under open source licensing

– Free

• Applications free to develop

Android: The Code Names

Cupcake (Android 1.5)

Donut (Android 1.6)

Éclair (Android 2.0/2.1)

Froyo (Android 2.2)

Gingerbread (Android 2.3)

Honeycomb (Android 3.0/3.1/3.2)

Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0)

Jelly Bean (Android 4.1/4.2/4.3)

KitKat (Android 4.4)

Lollipop (Android 5.0/5.1)

Marshmallow (Android 6.0)

Nougat (Android 7.0)

Free and Open Source

Developers and device manufacturers pay no

royalties or license fees

Licensed under GNU General Public License

Version 2 (GPLv2)

– Strong “copyleft”

Framework distributed under Apache Software

License (ASL/Apache2)

No need for developers to provide improvements

to the open source community

Familiar and Inexpensive

Development Tools

Software Development Kit available for free

Familiar programming language

Familiar development environment

– Android Studio is the official IDE and is bundled with the

Android SDK tools

Familiar and Inexpensive

Development Tools (Cont’d)

Develop using the following operating systems:

– Windows XP (32-bit)

– Windows 2003

– Windows Vista (32-bit or 64-bit)

– Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit)

– Windows 8 (32-bit or 64-bit)

– Mac OS X 10.8.5 (up to 10.9)

– Linux GNOME or KDE desktops

• Tested on Ubuntu Linux 14.04 64-bit

Reasonable Learning Curve for

Developers

Native programming in Java

Traditional programming constructs

– Threads and processes

– Data structures for encapsulation

Familiar class libraries

– java.net, java.text, etc.

Specialty libraries

– OpenGL ES

– SQLite

Enabling Development of

Powerful Applications

No distinction between native and third-party apps

All apps have access to the same APIs

Unprecedented access to the underlying hardware

Ability to extend or replace existing apps

Rich, Secure Application

Integration

One of Android’s compelling features is its well-

designed application integration.

– Developers can leverage core functionality and seamlessly

create new experiences.

– Applications can also become content providers and securely

share their information with other apps.

No Costly Obstacles for

Development

No testing and certification programs required

One-time, low-cost $25 distribution fee using the

Google Play store

No real costs other than time

Requirements

– Computer

– Good idea

– Understanding of Java

– This book

A “Free Market” for

Applications

Developers are

Free to choose the revenue model

Free to create applications for any size

demographic

Free to choose distribution methods

– Google Play store

– Amazon Appstore

– Other third-party stores

– Developers’ own distribution methods

Free to choose payment mechanisms

A Growing Platform

Constant SDK improvements

Continuously evolving Android tools

Great documentation

Stable market

Expanding device support

Some growing pains to be expected

Android’s Underlying

Architecture

Linux Operating System – Handles core system services

– Acts as hardware abstraction layer (HAL)

– Enforcement of application permissions and security

– Low-level memory management

– Process management and threading

– Network stack

– Display, keypad input, camera, Wi-Fi, Flash memory, audio, binder

(IPC), and power-management driver access

Android Runtime (ART) – Each app runs in its own Dalvik virtual machine (VM) in a separate

process

– Dalvik based on the Java VM optimized for mobile

Android’s Underlying

Architecture (Cont’d)

Securities and Permissions

Security measures help to ensure data security

and prevent malware

Applications as operating system users

SELinux Kernel Security Module

Explicitly defined application permissions

Application signing for trust relationships

Multiple users and restricted profiles

Google Play developer registration

Exploring Android Applications

Extensive Android SDK and APIs provided

Android Programming language choices – Java

– C/C++

– WebView (HTML, CSS, JS)

– Adobe AIR

– Scripting Layer for Android (SL4A)

No distinction between native and third-party apps – Provided they have appropriate permissions, all apps have access to

the same code libraries and underlying hardware interfaces.

Commonly Used Packages

UI controls (buttons, spinners, text, input)

UI layouts (tables, tabs, lists)

Integration capabilities (notifications, widgets)

Secure networking and Web browsing (SSL, WebKit)

XML support (DOM, SAX, XML Pull Parser)

Storage and databases (App Preferences, SQLite)

2D and 3D graphics (SGL, OpenGL ES, RenderScript)

Multimedia (MediaPlayer, JetPlayer, SoundPool,

AudioManager)

Media formats (MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG)

Hardware (GPS, USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, sensors)

Android Application Framework

Framework key components

– Activities are functions the application performs.

– Fragments are reusable and modular sections of activities.

– Loaders are for loading data asynchronously into fragments or

activities.

– Groups of views define the app’s layout.

– Intents inform the system of an app’s plans.

– Services allow background processing without user

interaction.

– Notifications alert users when something happens.

– Content providers facilitate data transmission among different

apps.

Android Platform Services

Apps interact with the OS and hardware using

managers. – LocationManager

– ViewManager

– WindowManager

– AccessibilityManager

– ClipboardManager

– DownloadManager

– FragmentManager

– AudioManager

There are also other managers.

Google Services

Google APIs for Google Services

– Maps

– Places

– Play Game Services

– Google Sign-In

– In-app Billing and Subscriptions

– Google Cloud Messaging

– Mobile App Analytics SDK

– AdMob ads

Android beyond the OHA and

GMS

One of the primary benefits for device manufacturers becoming

members of the OHA is the ability to license the GMS suite of

Google branded applications such as Google Play.

GMS provides features and capabilities not found on devices

without GMS.

There are other popular versions of Android not associated with

the OHA and therefore they do not have access to GMS without

resorting to aftermarket installations.

Just because a device based on a custom fork of Android is not

part of the OHA and does not include GMS or Google Play, does

not mean you should overlook supporting your applications on

those devices.

The next few slides show some areas of interest that involve

Android’s custom forks.

Amazon Fire OS

Amazon has created its own version of Android named Fire OS.

– Fire OS is a fork of the AOSP that is installed on all Amazon Fire branded

devices, such as the Fire Phone, Fire Tablet, and Fire TV.

– Amazon released the Fire OS 5 developer preview, which is based on Android

Lollipop.

According to a report by Strategy Analytics, Inc., there are close to 4.5 million

Amazon Fire TVs that have shipped since launch.

– http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amazon-fires-to-the-top-of-the-us-

digital-media-streamer-market-says-strategy-analytics-300094475.html

With millions of devices available, supporting your Android applications on

Amazon Fire OS is definitely worth consideration.

You can learn more about the Amazon Fire OS version of Android here:

– https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/platforms/android-fireos

Cyanogen OS and

CyanogenMod

Cyanogen OS is based on the CyanogenMod project, which is a

community-driven fork of the Android OS, without GMS.

– There are aftermarket instructions and tools provided by the

user community for installing apps such as Google Play.

The Cyanogen, Inc. blog boasts having over 50 million users in

more than 190 countries who run different versions of

CyanogenMod.

– https://cyngn.com/blog/an-open-future

CyanogenMod is classified as replacement firmware that requires

manual installation by a user to replace the stock firmware that

comes bundled when purchasing a device.

Cyanogen OS and

CyanogenMod

Cyanogen OS is stock firmware that will come preinstalled on

Android devices.

Cyanogen, Inc., the company behind Cyanogen OS, is working to

create an Android ecosystem to compete with that of Google.

Currently, Cyanogen, Inc. has received $80 million in venture

capital financing from investors such as Qualcomm Incorporated,

Twitter Ventures, Rupert Murdoch, Andreesen Horowitz, and

Tencent, to name just a few.

Learn more about CyanogenMod here:

– http://www.cyanogenmod.org

Learn more about Cyanogen OS here:

– https://cyngn.com

Maker Movement and Open

Source Hardware

Another area to keep an eye on is the “Maker Movement.” This is

a community of do-it-yourself technology hobbyists, often referred

to as “Makers.”

A subculture of this community involves projects that are based

on open source hardware.

Similar to the beginnings of the open source software movement,

the hardware industry has been experiencing similar open source

trends among enthusiasts, mainly in the area of electronics and

printed circuit board (PCB) design.

The barriers to entry for designing sophisticated electronic

devices, such as computers, laptops, tablets, or devices for IoT,

seem to be limited to one’s imagination and the desire to

innovate.

Maker Movement and Open

Source Hardware

Major hardware component companies that have traditionally

guarded electronic PCB designs are now realizing the potential

for innovation by open sourcing some designs.

Processor manufacturers such as Intel, as well as other

companies that license and manufacture components based on

the ARM processor, have been releasing open source PCB

designs and providing full PCB schematics with the list of required

components for completing the circuit.

There is an incentive for component manufacturers to provide

working PCB designs to help drive sales of those components.

Maker Movement and Open

Source Hardware

Quite a few companies that manufacture ARM processors have

developed open source PCBs, for devices like tablets, with

Android as the OS.

This makes designing a sophisticated device, such as a tablet

running Android, accessible to anyone capable of working with a

PCB design.

PCB software design tools, such as Altium Designer, are used for

working with PCB designs.

Powerful tools combined with open source PCB designs and the

AOSP, may bring about new generations of devices that we are

not yet capable of envisioning.

The future for Android application development certainly looks

bright and the possibility for developing innovative applications for

Android seem nearly limitless.

Maintaining Awareness

Although this book is about developing Android applications, we

wanted to provide background for the overall Android

ecosystem—as we see it.

We think it is always a good idea to maintain awareness about

what is occurring in the ever-expanding Android ecosystem, as

these events affect everyone involved in development.

Today, there are many exciting advancements for Android

development that are worth following, and hopefully there will be

many more to come.

Chapter 1 Summary

We learned about the history of mobile software

development.

We learned what the Open Handset Alliance is

and why it was formed.

We learned how Android is different from other

platforms.

We also took a first look at the Android

platform.

References and More

Information

Android Development:

– http://d.android.com/index.html

Android Open Source Project:

– https://source.android.com/index.html

Open Handset Alliance:

– http://www.openhandsetalliance.com

Official Android Developers Blog:

– http://android-developers.blogspot.com

This book’s blog:

– http://introductiontoandroid.blogspot.com

Intel Open Source: Android on Intel Platforms

– https://01.org/android-IA

ARM Connected Community: Android Community

– http://community.arm.com/groups/android-community

Altium Designer

– http://www.altium.com/altium-designer/overview

Wikipedia: Maker Culture

– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maker_culture