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AnAndroidcheatsheet(mynotes,main
categories concepts)
ByAlvinAlexander.Lastupdated:July232016
alaska(25)
android(138)
Thispageisalittleunusual
bestpractices(63)
career(50) formeitsbasicallyaterse TableofContents
colorado(21) summaryofwhatIknow
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aboutAndroid.Icreatedit GettingstartedwithAndroid
design(33)
drupal(120)
becauseItendto(a)work MainAndroidconcepts
eclipse(6) withAndroidforafew
funny(3) weeksormonths,andthen Androidfilesandfolders
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(b)getawayfromitfor Activity
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UIComponents/Widgets
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Intents
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writtenalotmoreabout Codesnippets
programming(43) Android,andyoucan
ruby(56) followthislinktomy
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Androidtutorials,oryou
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technology(84) Android. TableofContents
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zen(47)
Gettingstartedwith
Android

ThebestwaytowriteAndroidcodetoday(2016)istouseAndroidStudio
asyourIDE
AndroidStudioisfree,andit'screated/maintainedbyGoogle
ThebestbookIvefoundisAndroidProgramming:TheBigNerdRanch
Guide.
TheBusyCoder'sGuidetoAndroidDevelopmentisalsouseful,butIthink
itshouldbemorelike$25
IfyouwanttocreateAndroidgames,TheBeginnersGuidetoAndroid
GameDevelopmentisanexcellentstarterbook
31DaysofAndroidbyChrisRisnerlookshelpful

MainAndroidconcepts

ThemainAndroidconceptsyouneedtograspare:

AndroidManifest.xmlyourappstartswiththemainmethodyou
declareinthisfile.Youalsoneedtodeclareallyouractivitieshere.
ActivityanActivityisaJavacontrollerclassthattypicallycorrespondsto
onescreeninyourapp

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FragmentaFragmentisJavacontrollerthattypicallycorrespondstoa
widgetinascreen(orpossiblythefullscreen)
IntentyoulaunchnewactivitieswithIntents
Servicebackgroundservices,likenotifications
ContentProviderstbd
BroadcastIntent,BroadcastReceivertbd
RclassgeneratedforyoubytheAndroidbuildprocess

Moreimportantconcepts

ViewwidgetslikeTextView,ImageView,Button...
ViewGroupcontainersforotherviews
Layouts:FrameLayout,LinearLayout,RelativeLayout,TableLayout,
ListView,GridView
Menus(ActionBar,Toolbar)
Notificationssendnotificationsfromyourapptotheuserstabletor
phonenotificationscanalsobeforwardedtoAndroidWeardevices
Understandingscreendensitiesandsizes

dp,sp(andpx,in,mm,pt)
ldpi,mdpi,hdpi,xhdpi,xxhdpi
goodAndroidui/designercheatsheet:
petrnohejl.github.io/AndroidCheatsheetForGraphic
Designers/

EvenmoreimportantAndroidconcepts

AsyncTask,Handler
Timer,TimerTask
MediaPlayer,WebView,GPS
SharedPreferences,PreferenceManager
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LocationManager
NeedtorequestpermissionsforcertainthingsinAndroidManifest.xml
Testingbestpractices(todo)
Nativecode(JNI)?
Ninepatchimages:astretchablebitmapimageAndroidautomatically
resizestoaccommodatetheviewsize
Themes:HoloLight,HoloDark,HoloLightwithdarkactionbar
Styles:youcancreatestylesandapplythemtowidgetsinamannersimilar
toCSS
Logging(Log.i,Log.e,etc.)
RESTservices,internetaccess
SQLdatabases(SQLite)

Androidfilesandfolders

AndroidManifest.xml

YoudescribeyourapplicationinAndroidManifest.xml
Asitsnameimplies,thisisanXMLconfigurationfile

FoldersinanAndroidproject

src
res/drawablestaticimages
res/layoutlayoutfiles
res/menumenulayoutfiles
res/valuesstrings.xml

Activity

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anActivityisacontrollerclass(intheMVCsense)
anActivitygenerallycorrespondstoanAndroidscreen
needtoaddeachActivitytoAndroidManifest.xml
youspecifythe"launcher"activityforyourclassinthe
AndroidManifest.xmlfile
allotheractivitiesarelaunchedwithIntents

TheActivitylifecycle

it'simportanttoknowtheAndroidAndroidlifecycle,i.e.,whichmethods
areavailable,andwhentheyarecalled
inmyownexperienceAndroidislikeDrupalorSenchainthatyou
implementpredefined"callback"methodstodoyourwork
anactivitycanbeinoneoffourstates(moreorless):

Activestarted,andrunningintheforeground
Pausedstarted,isrunningandvisible,butsomethingis
overlayingpartofthescreen
Stoppedstarted,running,buthiddenbyanotheractivity
theuserisusing
Deadactivitywasterminated,suchasduetoinsufficient
ram

Workingwithstatechanges

(Mostofthesenotescomefromthefreeversionofthebook,BusyCodersGuidetoAndroid
Development.)

Youneedtobeabletosaveyourapplicationinstancestatequicklyand
cheaply
Activitiescanbekilledoffatanytime,soyouhavetosavestatemoreoften
thanyoumightexpect

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Thinkofthisprocessas"establishingabookmark,"sowhentheuser
returnsthestatewillbeastheyleftit
SavinginstancestateishandledbyonSaveInstanceState(Bundle)
ThedefaultimplementationofonSaveInstanceStatewill(probably)save
thingslikethemutablestateofwidgetsthatarebeingdisplayed,likethe
textinaTextView(butitwon'tsavewhetherornotaButtonisenabledor
disabled,or,asi'velearned,abackgroundimageonawidget)
YoucangetthatinstancestateinonCreate(Bundle)and
onRestoreInstanceState(Bundle)
Insomeactivitiesyouwon'thavetoimplementonSaveInstanceStateat
allthisdependsonyouractivityandwhatdataitneeds,etc.

TheActivityonCreatemethod

onCreateiscalledwhenanActivityiscreated
OScallsthismethod"aftertheActivityinstanceiscreatedbutbeforeit's
putonascreen"
thingsyoucan/shoulddointhismethodinclude:

inflatewidgets
putwidgetsonscreen
getreferencestowidgets
setlistenersonwidgets
connecttoexternaldatamodels

note:nevercallonCreateyourself
onCreateiscalledinthreesituations:

whentheactivityisfirststarted,onCreateiscalledwitha
nullparameter
iftheactivitywasrunningandthenkilled,onCreatewillbe
invokedwiththeBundleyousavedwithacallto
onSaveInstanceState

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whenthedeviceorientationchangesandyouhave
accountedforthatwithdifferentlayouts

setContentViewmethod

youwilloftencallsetContentViewinyouronCreatemethods
setContentViewinflatesalayoutandputsitonscreen

onDestroy

TheonDestroymethodmaybecalled:

whentheactivityisshuttingdown,becausetheactivitycalledfinish()
onDestroyismostlyusedforcleanly/properlyreleasingresourcesyou
createdinonCreate
becauseAndroidshutitdown(suchaswhenneedingram)
note:onDestroymaynotgetcallediftheneedforramisurgent.

onStart,onRestart,onStop

onStartiscalled(a)whenanactivityisfirstlaunched,or(b)whenit's
broughtbacktotheforegroundafterhavingbeenhidden
onRestartiscalledwhentheactivityisstoppedandisnowrestarting(just
afteronStart)
onStopiscalledwhentheactivityisabouttobestopped

onPauseandonResume

onPause:

onPauseiscalledwhentheuseristakenawayfromyouractivity,suchas
thestartingofanotheractivity
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ifyouhaveresourceslockedup,releasethemhere(backgroundthreads,
camera,etc.).

onResume:

onResumeiscalledjustbeforeyouractivitycomestotheforeground,either
after:

initiallaunch
beingrestartedfromastoppedstate
afterapopupdialogwasshown

onResumeisagoodplacetorefreshtheUI,suchaswhenpollingaservice,
orifapopupdialogaffectstheview,etc.

Bundle

aBundleispassedintotheonCreatemethod
asyou'llsee,it'salsopassedintootherAndroidlifecyclemethods
aBundleisamap/dictionarydatastructurethatmapskeystovalues
(key/valuepairs)
aBundlecancontainthesavedstateofyourviews(amongotherthings)
youcansaveadditionaldatatoabundleandthenreaditbacklater
hasmethodslikeputInt,putSerializable,getInt,etc.

Fragmentclass

likeanActivity,aFragmentisacontrollerclass
fragmentswereintroducedinAndroid3.0whentheybegantosupport
tablets
tabletsrequiredmorecomplicated/flexiblelayouts,andfragmentswere
thesolution

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fragmentsletyoucreatesmallwidgetsthatyoucanplugintolargerviews
saidanotherway,fragmentshelpseparatetheuiintobuildingblocks
usuallyafragmentmanagesaui,orpartofaui
anactivity'sviewcontainsaplacewhereafragmentwillbeinserted

anactivityissaidto"host"afragmentbyprovidingaspot
initsviewwherethefragmentcanplaceitsview
anactivitymayhaveseveralplacesforfragments

anactivitycanreplaceonefragmentwithanotherfragment
theBigNerdbookoffersthisadvice:alwaysusefragments(AUF)
aFragmentcanusegetActivity()togetareferencetoitsActivity
fragmentsaremanagedbytheFragmentManagerofthehostingActivity

Layouts(Containers)

youcancreateyourUIviewsusingXMLorJavacode,butXMListhe
preferredapproach
ofcourseXMLlayoutsareverbose,butanicethingisthattheyworkwell
withtheAndroidStudiodesigner
AndroidStudioalsogivesyouhelpfulhintswhenyou'researchingfor
attributestocontrolyourviews(soit'snotlikeyouhavetomemorizeevery
possibleattribute)
widgetsinyourlayoutsaremanagedbyeitheranActivityoraFragment
Androidhasthefollowingtypesoflayouts(theremaybeafewmorei've
usedthesesofar):

LinearLayout
RelativeLayout
FrameLayout
ListView
GridView

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LinearLayout

inaLinearLayout,widgetsandchildcontainersarelinedupineithera
columnorarow,likeaFlowLayoutinSwing
aLinearLayouthasfivemaincontrols:

orientation
fillmodel
weight
gravity
padding

RelativeLayout

aRelativeLayoutlaysoutwidgetsbasedontheirrelationshiptoother
widgetsinthecontainer
RelativeLayouthasmanyconfigurationoptionsthatletyouposition
widgetsrelativetoeachother,includingthesebooleanvalues:

android:layout_alignParentTopthewidget'stop
shouldalignwiththetopofthecontainer
android:layout_alignParentBottomthewidget's
bottomshouldalignwiththebottomofthecontainer
android:layout_alignParentLeftthewidget'sleftside
shouldalignwiththeleftsideofthecontainer
android:layout_alignParentRightthewidget'sright
sideshouldalignwiththerightsideofthecontainer
android:layout_centerHorizontalthewidgetshould
bepositionedhorizontallyatthecenterofthecontainer
android:layout_centerVerticalthewidgetshouldbe
positionedverticallyatthecenterofthecontainer
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android:layout_centerInParentthewidgetshouldbe
positionedbothhorizontallyandverticallyatthecenterof
thecontainer

italsoletsyouspecifyawidget'spositionrelativetootherwidgets:

android:layout_abovethewidgetshouldbeplaced
abovethewidgetreferencedintheproperty
android:layout_belowthewidgetshouldbeplaced
belowthewidgetreferencedintheproperty
android:layout_toLeftOfthewidgetshouldbeplaced
totheleftofthewidgetreferencedintheproperty
android:layout_toRightOfthewidgetshouldbeplaced
totherightofthewidgetreferencedintheproperty

(therearemoreattributesthanthose.thosecamefromanoldversionofa
booktitled,"TheBusyCoder'sGuidetoAndroidDevelopment")

Commonattributesinlayouts

match_parenttheviewwillbeasbigasitsparent
wrap_contenttheviewwillbeasbigasitscontentsrequire
@+idtheactualidwillbeingen/R.java,insideapublicstaticfinal
classid{...
gravity
more(todo)...

UIComponents/Widgets

ActionBar
Dialogs
Toastsshortlivedpopupmessages

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Menusdon'tusetheseanymore,usetheActionBar

Standardwidgetsare:

Button
TextView
EditTextinputfield
Checkbox
RadioButton,RadioGroup
ToggleButton
Spinner...
Picker(DatePicker,TimePicker)

Toast

aToastisashortlivedmessagethatappearsinalittlepopupwindow.
CreateaToastlikethis:

Toast.makeText(getActivity(), "Click!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

youuseToaststoshowmessagestousers,suchasindicatingthat
somethingwassaved.
ialsouseToastsfortestingnewcode,likethis:

@Override
public void onListItemClick(ListView listView, View view, int position, long id) {
Crime crime = (Crime)(getListAdapter()).getItem(position);
Toast.makeText(getActivity(), "Click!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}

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youcansetthegravityonaToast:

...Toastt=Toast.makeText(getActivity(),"Click!",Toast.LENGTH_LONG)
t.setGravity(Gravity.TOP,0,0)t.show()...

ActionBar

theActionBarwasintroducedinAndroid3.0
itletsyouputbutton/iconcontrolsonyourviews.atypicalbuttonona
ListViewisan"add"button,toletyouaddanewitem
theActionBarisstillsupported,butithinkit'sbeingreplacedbyaToolbar
youusedtohavetouseanActionBarActivitytouseanActionBar,butyou
don'thavetodothatanymore(asofVersion?(todo))

Intents

youuseanIntenttolaunchotheractivities
here'sasimpleexample:

Intent i = new Intent(getActivity(), ImagePagerActivity.class);

startActivity(i);

here'sanotherexamplewhereipassan"extra"whenstartinganew
Activity:

Intent i = new Intent(getActivity(), ImagePagerActivity.class);

i.putExtra("POSITION", position);
startActivityForResult(i, 0);

Androidcommandline
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I'mprettyweakontheAndroidcommandlinerightnow,soI'lljustlistafewofthe
commandsIhaveused:

adb logcat
adb shell
adb push image1.jpg /data/data/com.alvinalexander.myapp/files

IseeAndroidStudiorunsomeofthefollowingcommands.Itusesacommandlikethisto
installanewversionofmyappontotheemulatororphysicaldeviceIusefortesting:

pm install -r "/data/local/tmp/com.bignerdranch.android.criminalintent09"

Codesnippets

ThiscodeshowshowtodeterminewhichiteminaListViewwasselected:

@Override
public void onListItemClick(ListView listView, View view, int position, long id) {
Crime crime = (Crime)(getListAdapter()).getItem(position);
Toast.makeText(getActivity(), "Click!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}

Asshown,thiscodeshowsonewaytoshowaToastmessage:

Toast.makeText(getActivity(), "Click!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

category: android
tags: toast summary notes fragment cheatsheet android activity

related

http://alvinalexander.com/android/androidcheatsheetmainconcepts 14/18
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AJavamethodtologAndroidmemoryuse

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Acceptingthejustthisofasituation

JoyfulDiscipline

Mastcellactivationdiseasevshistamineintolerance(differences)

MattCasseltalkingaboutBillBelichick

http://alvinalexander.com/android/androidcheatsheetmainconcepts 15/18
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