Xamarin Mobile Application Development for Android

Book Description

Learn to develop full featured Android apps using your existing C# skills with Xamarin.Android

Overview

• Gain an understanding of both the Android and Xamarin platforms
• Build a working multi-view Android app incrementally throughout the book
• Work with device capabilities such as location sensors and the camera

In Detail

Technology trends come and go, but few have generated the excitement, momentum, or long-term impact that mobile computing has. Mobile computing impacts people’s lives at work and at home on a daily basis. Many companies and individual developers are looking to become a part of the movement but are unsure how to best utilize their existing skills and assets. The Xamarin suite of products provides new opportunities to those who already have a significant investment in C# development skills and .NET code bases, and would like to enter into this new, exciting world.

This example-oriented guide provides a practical approach to quickly learning the fundamentals of Android app development using C# and Xamarin.Android. It will lead the readers through building an Android app step-by-step with steadily increasing complexity.

This book begins with an overview of the Android and Xamarin platforms to provide you with a solid understanding of the environment you will be working in. You will then be gradually walked through building and testing an Android app using C# and the Xamarin.Android product. You will learn the basics of interacting with some of the more interesting aspects of Android devices including location services, the camera, and maps. You will also be given the opportunity to work with three different layout managers to gain an understanding of the various options available for arranging controls and content. The book ends with a discussion on the final steps involved in preparing apps for deployment to the various Android app stores.

In a relatively short period of time, developers familiar with C# and rich client technologies such as WPF and Silverlight will be effectively developing, testing, and delivering Android apps.

What you will learn from this book

• Build a multi-view Android application with navigation
• Utilize the ActionBar for app actions
• Create a simple JSON-based persistent service to save data locally on the device
• Lay out content using the LinearLayout, RelativeLayout, and TableLayout layout managers
• Use a ListView (AdapterView) and Adapter to build a view that is populated by dynamic data
• Capture the current location of a device and determine the street address
• Integrate with the map app to display a point of interest
• Capture and save a photo
• Test, debug, and deploy an Android app

Approach

A step-by-step tutorial that follows the development of a simple Android app from end to end, through troubleshooting, and then distribution. The language used assumes a knowledge of basic C#.

Who this book is written for

If you are a C# developer with a desire to develop Android apps and want to enhance your existing skill set, then this book is for you. It is assumed that you have a good working knowledge of C#, .NET, and object-oriented software development. Familiarity with rich client technologies such as WPF or Silverlight is also helpful, but not required.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Anatomy of an Android App
Chapter 2: Xamarin.Android Architecture
Chapter 3: Creating the Points of Interest App
Chapter 4: Creating a Data Storage Mechanism
Chapter 5: Adding a List View
Chapter 6: Adding a Detail View
Chapter 7: Making POIApp Location Aware
Chapter 8: Adding Camera App Integration
Chapter 9: Deploying Your App

中文：

书名：Xamarin Mobile Application Development for Android

学习使用Xamarin.Android使用现有的C#技能开发全功能的Android应用程序

Overview

• 了解Android和Xamarin平台
• 在整本书中逐步构建一个工作的多视图Android应用程序
• 使用位置传感器和摄像头等设备功能

In Detail

技术趋势来来去去，但很少有人像移动计算那样产生兴奋、动力或长期影响。移动计算每天都在影响着人们的工作和家庭生活。许多公司和个人开发人员都希望成为这场运动的一部分，但不确定如何最好地利用他们现有的技能和资产。Xamarin产品套件为那些已经在C#开发技能和.NET代码库方面进行了大量投资并希望进入这个新的、令人兴奋的世界的人提供了新的机会。

这本面向示例的指南提供了一种实用的方法，可以快速学习使用C#和Xamarin.Android开发Android应用程序的基础知识。它将引导读者逐步构建一个Android应用程序，并稳步增加复杂性。

本书从Android和Xamarin平台的概述开始，让您对将要工作的环境有一个坚实的了解。然后，您将逐步完成使用C#和Xamarin.Android产品构建和测试Android应用程序。您将学习与Android设备的一些更有趣的方面进行交互的基础知识，包括位置服务、相机和地图。您还将有机会与三个不同的布局管理器一起工作，以了解可用于安排控件和内容的各种选项。该书最后讨论了为部署到各种Android应用商店准备应用程序所涉及的最后步骤。

在相对较短的时间内，熟悉C#和富客户端技术(如WPF和Silverlight)的开发人员将有效地开发、测试和交付Android应用程序。

What you will learn from this book

• 构建具有导航功能的多视图Android应用程序
• Utilize the ActionBar for app actions
• 创建一个简单的基于JSON的持久服务，将数据保存在本地设备上
• 使用LinearLayout、RelativeLayout和TableLayout布局管理器来布局内容
• 使用ListView(AdapterView)和Adapter构建由动态数据填充的视图
• Capture the current location of a device and determine the street address
• 与地图应用程序集成以显示兴趣点
• 捕获并保存照片
• Test, debug, and deploy an Android app

Approach

这是一个循序渐进的教程，从头到尾跟踪一个简单的Android应用程序的开发，通过故障排除，然后分发。所使用的语言假定具备基本的C#知识。

这本书是为谁写的

如果你是一名C#开发人员，想要开发Android应用程序，并想提高你现有的技能，那么这本书是为你而写的。假设您对C#、.NET和面向对象的软件开发有很好的应用知识。熟悉WPF或Silverlight等富客户端技术也很有帮助，但不是必需的。

Table of Contents

第1章：Android应用程序剖析
第2章：Xamarin。Android架构
Chapter 3: Creating the Points of Interest App
第4章：创建数据存储机制
第5章：添加列表视图
第6章：添加局部视图
第7章：让POIApp感知位置
第8章：添加摄像头应用集成
第9章：部署您的应用程序