Android Concurrency

Write Apps for Maximum Performance and Responsiveness “Threading and concurrency are as important in mobile as they are in large, distributed systems. This book does an excellent job of re-introducing us to the basic concepts and describing how to apply them to the Android framework. Even the most experienced Android developer should pick up at least a few tricks from these pages.” —Dave Smith, PE, Google Developer Expert for Android Mastering concurrency is critical to developing software with superior performance and responsiveness. This is especially true for Android, where interruptions are frequent and abrupt, and in order to be correct, programs must be aware of component and process lifecycles in addition to being thread safe. You need a deep, Android-specific understanding of concurrency—and Android Concurrency delivers it. This guide in Addison-Wesley’s Android Deep Dive series for experienced Android developers helps you leverage today’s multi-core processors and heavily cached architectures, as well as major improvements built into Android 5 (Lollipop). Top Android developer and consultant Blake Meike strips the magic and mystery from concurrent programming and presents intensely practical solutions for everything from inter-thread communication to network communication. Meike introduces a simple but powerful architectural framework you can use to address new issues whenever they arise, and offers expert guidance for debugging even highly complex concurrency issues. Android Concurrency combines in-depth knowledge, proven patterns and idioms, and world-class insights for avoiding performance-killing mistakes. For serious Android developers, it will be an indispensable resource. You will • Gain new clarity about what concurrency really is, and how concurrent processes work • Master best practices for writing concurrent code that’s more robust and less susceptible to weird, hard-to-diagnose errors • Review the Java concurrency mechanisms Android’s constructs are built upon • Shape an approach to concurrency that reflects the unique characteristics of the Android environment • Avoid widespread misconceptions that lead Android developers into trouble • Make the most of AsyncTask—but only when it’s the right tool for the job • Leverage the powerful, lightweight Looper/Handler framework to support scheduled, asynchronous tasks and execute many message types • Use the Android Service component to separate business logic from UI • Understand the differences between started and bound services and use them effectively for intra- and inter-process communication • Perform scheduled tasks, including tasks requiring polling and explicit scheduling • Track down problems via static analysis, annotations, and assertions

Write Apps for Maximum Performance and Responsiveness “Threading and concurrency are as important in mobile as they are in large, distributed systems. This book does an excellent job of re-introducing us to the basic concepts and describing how to apply them to the Android framework. Even the most experienced Android developer should pick up at least a few tricks from these pages.” —Dave Smith, PE, Google Developer Expert for Android Mastering concurrency is critical to developing software with superior performance and responsiveness. This is especially true for Android, where interruptions are frequent and abrupt, and in order to be correct, programs must be aware of component and process lifecycles in addition to being thread safe. You need a deep, Android-specific understanding of concurrency—and Android Concurrency delivers it. This guide in Addison-Wesley’s Android Deep Dive series for experienced Android developers helps you leverage today’s multi-core processors and heavily cached architectures, as well as major improvements built into Android 5 (Lollipop). Top Android developer and consultant Blake Meike strips the magic and mystery from concurrent programming and presents intensely practical solutions for everything from inter-thread communication to network communication. Meike introduces a simple but powerful architectural framework you can use to address new issues whenever they arise, and offers expert guidance for debugging even highly complex concurrency issues. Android Concurrency combines in-depth knowledge, proven patterns and idioms, and world-class insights for avoiding performance-killing mistakes. For serious Android developers, it will be an indispensable resource. You will • Gain new clarity about what concurrency really is, and how concurrent processes work • Master best practices for writing concurrent code that’s more robust and less susceptible to weird, hard-to-diagnose errors • Review the Java concurrency mechanisms Android’s constructs are built upon • Shape an approach to concurrency that reflects the unique characteristics of the Android environment • Avoid widespread misconceptions that lead Android developers into trouble • Make the most of AsyncTask—but only when it’s the right tool for the job • Leverage the powerful, lightweight Looper/Handler framework to support scheduled, asynchronous tasks and execute many message types • Use the Android Service component to separate business logic from UI • Understand the differences between started and bound services and use them effectively for intra- and inter-process communication • Perform scheduled tasks, including tasks requiring polling and explicit scheduling • Track down problems via static analysis, annotations, and assertions

Developing applications for the Android mobile operating system can seem daunting, particularly if it requires learning a new programming language: Kotlin, now Androidâ??s officialdevelopment language. With this practical book, Android developers will learn how to make the transition from Java to Kotlin, including how Kotlin provides a true advantage for gaining control over asynchronous computations. Authors Pierre-Olivier Laurence, Amanda Hinchman-Dominguez, G. Blake Meike, and Mike Dunn explore implementations of the most common tasks in native Android development, and show you how Kotlin can help you solve concurrency problems. With a focus on structured concurrency, a new asynchronous programming paradigm, this book will guide you through one of Kotlin's most powerful constructs, coroutines. Learn about Kotlin essentials and the Kotlin Collections Framework Explore Android fundamentals: the operating system and the application container and its components Learn about thread safety and how to handle concurrency Write sequential, asynchronous work at a low cost Examine structured concurrency with coroutines, and learn how channels make coroutines communicate Learn how to use flows for asynchronous data processing Understand performance considerations using Android profiling tools Use performance optimizations to trim resource consumption

Concurrent Programming on Android is a step-by-step guide that builds a complete picture of the concurrency constructs available on the Android platform. This book is for Android developers who want to learn about the advanced concepts of Android programming. No prior knowledge of concurrency and asynchronous programming is required. This book is also targeted towards Java experts who are new to Android.

Learn how to do more with the Android SDK with this advanced Android Application guide which shows you how to make even better Android apps that users will love About This Book Learn how to design and build better Android apps to reach new users Explore the latest features and tools in the Android SDK that will help you become a better developer From concurrency to testing – through to adding adverts and billing, this book ties together every element to help you deliver a high-quality Android application on Google Play Who This Book Is For Mastering Android Application Development is intended for Android developers that want insight on and guidance through the steps they need to take to give their creations the edge in a competitive market. What You Will Learn Create an Android project with Android M features Design the basic navigation for our app using the UI components Set up a cloud-based platform and store data on it Implement programming patterns such as Singleton and Observer to maintain your project code for future use Display lists and grids using Android RecyclerView Implement user interface components and make your app look professional Handle, download, and store images along with memory management Create the database and content providers to perform read-write operations Add notifications to the app and analytics to track the user's usage Show a Google map view on your app Configure minify to obfuscate the code Add adverts and create products for purchase in your app In Detail There are millions of Android apps out there for people to download – how do you make sure yours has the edge? It's not always about innovation and ideas – the most successful apps are those that are able to satisfy customer demands – they're the ones that look the best, the fastest, and the easiest and most intuitive to use. This book shows you how to create Android applications that do precisely that – it has been designed help you consider and answer those questions throughout the development process, so you can create applications that stand out against the crowd. Learn how to create exemplary UIs that contribute to a satisfying user experience through the lens of Material Design, and explore how to harness the range of features within the Android SDK to help you. Dive deeper into complex programming concepts and discover how to leverage concurrency and navigate memory management and image handling. You'll also find further guidance on testing and debugging so you can guarantee that your application is reliable and robust for users. Beyond this you'll find out how to extend your app and add greater functionality, including notifications, location services, adverts and app billing (essential if you want to properly monetize your creation!). To make sure you have confidence at every stage in the process, the book also shows you how to release your app to the Play store – to make sure your maximising your efforts to create a popular Android application! Style and approach This is a step-by-step guide where theory and practice are merged in a way that helps you to put a new concept into practice with ease. By helping to focus on the end result, and showing all the technical steps you need to get there, you will be poised for development success!

Develop Android apps with Kotlin to create more elegant programs than the Java equivalent. This book covers the various aspects of a modern Android app that professionals are expected to encounter. There are chapters dealing with all the important aspects of the Android platform, including GUI design, file- and data-handling, coping with phone calls, multimedia apps, interaction with location and mapping services, monetizing apps, and much more. Pro Android with Kotlin is an invaluable source for developers wanting to build real-world state-of-the-art apps for modern Android devices. What You Will Learn Integrate activities, such as intents, services, toasts and more, into your Android apps Build UIs in Android using layouts, widgets, lists, menus, and action bars Deal with data in your Android apps using data persistence and cloud access Design for different Android devices Create multimedia apps in Android Secure, deploy, and monetize your Android apps Who This Book Is For Professional Android app developers.

Summary Android in Practice is a treasure trove of Android goodness, with over 90 tested, ready-to-use techniques including complete end-to-end example applications and practical tips for real world mobile application developers. Written by real world Android developers, this book addresses the trickiest questions raised in forums and mailing lists. Using an easy-to-follow problem/solution/discussion format, it dives into important topics not covered in other Android books, like advanced drawing and graphics, testing and instrumentation, building and deploying applications, and using alternative languages. About the Book It's not hard to find the information you need to build your first Android app. Then what? If you want to build real apps, you will need some how-to advice, and that's what this book is about. Android in Practice is a rich source of Android tips, tricks, and best practices, covering over 90 clever and useful techniques that will make you a more effective Android developer. Techniques are presented in an easy-to-read problem/solution/discussion format. The book dives into important topics like multitasking and services, testing and instrumentation, building and deploying applications, and using alternative languages. Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book. What's Inside Techniques covering Android 1.x to 3.x Android for tablets Working with threads and concurrency Testing and building Using location awareness and GPS Styles and themes And much more! This book requires a working knowledge of Java, but no prior experience with Android is assumed. Source Code can be found at https://code.google.com/p/android-in-​practice/ Table of Contents PART 1 BACKGROUND AND FUNDAMENTALS Introducing Android Android application fundamentals Managing lifecycle and state PART 2 REAL WORLD RECIPES Getting the pixels perfect Managing background tasks with Services Threads and concurrency Storing data locally Sharing data between apps HTTP networking and web services Location is everything Appeal to the senses using multimedia 2D and 3D drawing PART 3 BEYOND STANDARD DEVELOPMENT Testing and instrumentation Build management Developing for Android tablets

Learn Java for Android Development, Third Edition, is an update of a strong selling book that now includes a primer on Android app development (in Chapter 1 and Appendix C, which is distributed in the book’s code archive). This book teaches programmers the essential Java language skills necessary for effectively picking up and using the new Android SDK platform to build mobile, embedded, and even PC apps, especially game apps. Android development is hot, and many programmers are interested in joining the fun. However, because this technology is based on Java, you should first obtain a solid grasp of the Java language and its APIs in order to improve your chances of succeeding as an effective Android app developer. This book helps you do that. Each of the book’s 16 chapters provides an exercise section that gives you the opportunity to reinforce your understanding of the chapter’s material. Answers to the book’s more than 700 exercises are provided in an appendix. A second appendix provides a significant game-oriented Java application, which you can convert into an Android app. Once you complete this one-of-a-kind book written by Jeff Friesen, an expert Java developer and JavaWorld.com columnist, you should be ready to begin your indie or professional Android app development journey.

Developing applications for the Android mobile operating system can seem daunting, particularly if it requires learning a new programming language: Kotlin, now Androidâ??s officialdevelopment language. With this practical book, Android developers will learn how to make the transition from Java to Kotlin, including how Kotlin provides a true advantage for gaining control over asynchronous computations. Authors Pierre-Olivier Laurence, Amanda Hinchman-Dominguez, G. Blake Meike, and Mike Dunn explore implementations of the most common tasks in native Android development, and show you how Kotlin can help you solve concurrency problems. With a focus on structured concurrency, a new asynchronous programming paradigm, this book will guide you through one of Kotlin's most powerful constructs, coroutines. Learn about Kotlin essentials and the Kotlin Collections Framework Explore Android fundamentals: the operating system and the application container and its components Learn about thread safety and how to handle concurrency Write sequential, asynchronous work at a low cost Examine structured concurrency with coroutines, and learn how channels make coroutines communicate Learn how to use flows for asynchronous data processing Understand performance considerations using Android profiling tools Use performance optimizations to trim resource consumption

Concurrent Programming on Android is a step-by-step guide that builds a complete picture of the concurrency constructs available on the Android platform. This book is for Android developers who want to learn about the advanced concepts of Android programming. No prior knowledge of concurrency and asynchronous programming is required. This book is also targeted towards Java experts who are new to Android.