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Android how to program (3rd ed.)
Deitel P., Deitel H., Pearson, London, UK, 2016. 848 pp. Type: Book (978-0-134444-30-7)
Date Reviewed: Apr 11 2017

There are many “learn Android” books on the market. What distinguishes this book from the rest is how it guides readers in creating complete apps that can be run on phones and tablets. The sample apps include a calculator, weather, Twitter searches, an address book, and so on. The core of Android programming is the Java programming language. The book ends with a complete introduction to Java, in over 300 pages, explaining everything from basics to object-oriented programming concepts like methods, classes, polymorphism, and inheritance. This introduction is meant for readers who are not at all familiar with Java.

Android is evolving; at the time of writing this review, the current version is 7.0 Nougat. The book explains Android through the 6.0 release. The author leads users through practical graphical screen shots and a concrete set of steps. The app requirements are laid out clearly at the beginning of the chapters through screen shots. This is broken down into smaller chunks and programmatically explained. It takes quite some time to comprehend if you are new to app development, but the authors make sure readers get enough help and reference materials. The chapters also have review examples and assignments. Each chapter has several dozen programming assignments with clear requirements. These can be attempted as combined or individual projects for students. Java code sample fragments are given throughout, and full source codes for apps are provided.

For any aspiring app developer, this book will be of great help for jump-starting Android. This edition uses the JetBrains Android Studio integrated development environment (IDE) for explaining the development process. Once one gets the nuances of app development, any creative idea can be converted to apps by developers. Monetization techniques using the Google Play app and advertisement networks are explained in great detail. A reader could create an app and be on the way to making a lot of money if the app succeeds in a big way. Creating an app takes a lot of effort. An app like Facebook has thousands of people behind it. Other apps are created by one-person shops. This book will get readers started in the wonderful world of app development and pave the way for powerful app creations requiring complex interactions. The book takes one through an entire life cycle, that is, design, implementation, Android application package (APK) packaging, signing, and app store deployment. The book handles debugging very well and includes testing scenarios. On the other hand, the purpose of the book is not to address next-level issues like scaling and performance.

The book expects readers to know programming basics. Knowing the fundamentals of data structures will help in reading and understanding this book in a frustration-free way. A novice understanding of data structure concepts will be adequate. The entire source code in a zipped file is available from the publisher’s website, and instructors can get further information like slides and solutions to assignments.

More reviews about this item: Amazon

Reviewer:  Naga Narayanaswamy Review #: CR145184 (1706-0333)
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