Introduction to Android

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 Why Android?
Open-source
Customizable operating System

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Why Android?
Reduce cost of development and overall complexity
Larger community and developer reach
Inter app integration
Higher success ratio
Rich development environment – variety of apps can be developed

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 Android is an open-source operating system developed by Google,
based on the Linux kernel.
It is primarily designed for touchscreen devices like smartphones,
tablets, smart TVs, wearable devices, and even cars.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Features
❏ User Interface — The Android operating system provides a UI that is
associated with the activity and presented to the user.
❏ Messaging — It supports messaging services (SMS, MMS).

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Features
❏ Open Source — Android's source code is available under the
Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Developers and device
manufacturers can modify it to meet their needs.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Features
❏ User-Friendly Interface — Android provides an intuitive and
customizable interface, allowing manufacturers and users to
personalize the look and feel.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Features
❏ Web Browser — It is based on the open source WebKit layout engine, which is
coupled with Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine that supports HTML5 and CSS3.
❏ Connectivity — It has various connections such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GSM/EDGE,
CDMA, etc.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Features
❏ Storage — A light relational database, SQL (SQLite), is used for storage
purposes.
❏ Multi-touch — Android has native support for the multi-touch features.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Features
❏ Multi-tasking — Android supports multitasking where the user can perform
multiple tasks simultaneously.
❏ Multi-Language — It supports a single direction and bidirectional text features.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Features
❏ Wi-Fi Direct —Android supports a feature that lets apps discover and pair
directly over a high-bandwidth peer-to-peer connection.
❏ Android Beam —This feature is used to share instantly just by touching two
NFC enabled phones together.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Features
❏ Extensive App Ecosystem — Offers access to millions of applications on the
Google Play Store, covering a wide range of categories.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Features
❏ Diverse Hardware Support —Runs on devices with varied hardware
configurations, from budget phones to high-end devices

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Features
❏ Frequent Updates — Regular updates with new features,
performance improvements, and security patches.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Android API Levels
https://apilevels.com/

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 Android platform architecture

Android platform architecture is designed

to provide a smooth and secure operating
system for mobile devices.
It consists of several layers, each with a
specific role.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Linux Kernel (Foundation Layer)
It manages hardware
components like the
CPU, memory, and
devices (e.g., cameras,
sensors).

Provides core system

functionalities like
security, power
management, and
process management.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)
HAL acts as a bridge between the hardware and software.
It allows Android software to communicate with device hardware
without worrying about specific hardware details.
For example, it lets the operating system control the camera, Wi-Fi, or
Bluetooth through predefined interfaces.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Native Libraries
These are written in C/C++ and handle tasks like graphics rendering
(OpenGL), media playback, and database management (SQLite).

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Android Runtime (ART)
ART is the engine that runs Android apps.
It converts app code into machine code

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Application Framework (High-Level Layer)
provides APIs (tools) that developers use to create apps.
Includes features like:
Activity Manager: Manages app lifecycle and navigation.
Notification Manager: Handles notifications.
Location Manager: Accesses GPS/location services.
Content Providers: Share data between apps.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Applications (User Layer)
This is what users see and interact with — the apps like WhatsApp,
Instagram, or Google Maps.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 The Linux kernel manages hardware and resources.
The HAL allows the system to communicate with hardware in a
consistent way.
The Native Libraries and Android Runtime handle heavy processing and
run the apps.
The Application Framework provides tools for developers to build
user-friendly apps.
Finally, users interact with the apps that sit on top of the entire stack.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Setting Up Development Environment
• Install Java Development Kit (JDK)
• Download Android Studio
• It includes:
• A code editor with IntelliSense and debugging tools.
• An Android Emulator for testing.
• Tools for building APK files.
• Install Android SDK
• provides tools, libraries, and APIs for app development.
• Set Up an Emulator
• Use the AVD (Android Virtual Device) Manager in Android Studio to
create virtual devices (emulators) for testing apps on different Android
versions and screen sizes.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Dalvik Virtual Machine (DVM)
DVM is a Java-based virtual machine
developed by Google.
It is responsible for executing Android
application code, which is written in Java
and compiled into a format optimized for
the mobile environment.
Unlike the standard Java Virtual Machine
(JVM), which runs Java bytecode, the
Dan Bornstein
DVM executes Dalvik Executable (DEX)
bytecode.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Android apps are written in Java (or
Kotlin) and compiled into Java
bytecode (.class files) using the Java
compiler.
These .class files are then converted
into a single .dex (Dalvik Executable)
file using the Android tool dx.
This process optimizes the code for
the DVM to reduce memory
consumption and improve runtime
performance.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

With the release of Android 5.0 (Lollipop), ART replaced DVM.
ART uses Ahead-of-Time (AOT) Compilation, where apps are compiled during
installation, improving performance and reducing app launch time.
ART also introduced better debugging and profiling tools, as well as improved
garbage collection.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 .apk File Extension
The .apk (Android Package) file is the format used to distribute and
install applications on Android devices.
An APK file is essentially a compressed archive (similar to a .zip file)
containing all the components needed to run an app.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 An APK file consists of several key components:
1. DEX Files: Contains the compiled code of the app in Dalvik
Executable (DEX) format. DEX files are executed by the DVM or
ART.
2. AndroidManifest.xml: This file provides essential metadata about
the app, including App components, Required permissions,
Minimum and target API levels
3. Resources: UI elements, layouts, and graphics used in the app.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 4. META-INF Directory: Contains metadata about the APK, including
the app's signature for verifying authenticity and the certificate
used to sign the app.
5. LIB Directory: Contains compiled native code libraries for different
CPU architectures
6. Assets Directory: Contains app-specific, raw asset files (e.g., fonts,
custom datasets)

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 How is an APK File Created?
When developers build an Android
application in Android Studio:
Source code is compiled into DEX bytecode.
Resources are packaged.
All components are bundled into an APK
file using the Android build tools.
The APK is then digitally signed with a
certificate to ensure its integrity and
authenticity.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 How Does an APK File Work?
Users can download APK files from the Google Play Store or other
sources.
Android's Package Installer installs the APK, verifying its signature and
unpacking its contents.
When an app is launched:
The DEX code is executed by the Dalvik Virtual Machine (or ART in
modern devices).
Resources are loaded as specified in the AndroidManifest.xml file.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 AndroidManifest.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.myapp">

<!-- Permissions required by the app -->

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION"/>

<!-- Specifies the minimum and target SDK versions -->

<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="21" android:targetSdkVersion="34"/>

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 <application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
android:label="MyApp" Click Here
android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme">

<!-- Main activity declaration -->

<activity android:name=".MainActivity">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN"/>
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 Android Core Building Blocks

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Activity
An activity is a class that represents a single screen.
An application typically has multiple activities, and the user flips back
and forth among them.
Activity Manager is responsible for creating, destroying, and managing
activities.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Starting state: When an
activity doesn’t exist in
memory, it is in a starting
state.
Running state: The activity
in a running state is the
one that is currently on
the screen and interacting
with the user.
- such as typing,
touching the screen,
and clicking buttons

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Paused state: When an
activity is not in focus (i.e.,
not interacting with the
user) but still visible on the
screen, we say it’s in a
paused state.
Stopped state: When an
activity is not visible, but
still in memory, we say it’s
in a stopped state.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Destroyed state: A destroyed
activity is no longer in
memory.
- Before the activity is
destroyed, Activity
Manager can perform
certain actions, such as
save any unsaved
information.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Service
Service is a background process that can run for a
long time.
For example, you might want your music player to
play music even as you are flipping between other
applications.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Content Provider
Content Providers are used to share data between the
applications.
For example,
• Contacts Provider is a content provider that
exposes all user contact data to various
applications.
• Settings Provider exposes system settings to
various applications, including the built-in
Settings application.
• Media Store is responsible for storing and sharing
various media, such as photos and music, across
various applications.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 Broadcast Receivers
Broadcast Receivers simply respond to broadcast messages from other
applications or from the system.
Example: Receiving SMS, battery level changes.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Detailed Example: Music Player App
Activity: The main screen showing the list of songs.
Service: A background service playing the music.
BroadcastReceiver: Listens for headphone plug/unplug events to
pause/resume music.
Content Provider: Manages access to the music files stored on the
device.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 Notifications
A notification is a message that Android displays outside your app's UI
to provide the user with reminders,
communication from other people, or
other timely information from your app.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 Beginning with Android 5.0,
notifications can briefly appear in
a floating window called a
heads-up notification.
The heads-up notification
appears when your app issues
the notification.
It disappears after a moment,
but it remains visible in the
notification drawer as usual.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Beginning with Android 5.0,
notifications can appear on the
lock screen.
Starting with Android 8.0, users
can disable or enable lock screen
notifications for each notification
channel.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 In supported launchers on devices
running Android 8.0 (API level 26) and
higher, app icons indicate new
notifications with a colored badge
known as a notification dot on the
corresponding app launcher icon.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Starting in Android 7.0 (API level 24), you can add an action to reply to
messages or enter other text directly from the notification.
Starting in Android 10 (API level 29), the platform can automatically
generate action buttons with suggested intent-based actions.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Expandable notification

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 to deliver multiple
notifications, grouping the
separate notifications into a
group, was made available
on Android 7.0 and higher.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Starting in Android 8.0
(API level 26), all
notifications must be
assigned to a channel
or they don't appear.
This lets users disable
specific notification
channels for your app
instead of disabling all
your notifications.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Starting in Android 5.0 (API level 21), users can enable Do Not Disturb
mode, which silences sound and vibration for all notifications.

There are three levels available in Do Not Disturb mode:

Total silence: blocks all sounds and vibrations, including from alarms,
music, videos, and games.
Alarms only: blocks all sounds and vibrations, except from alarms.
Priority only: users can configure which system-wide categories can
interrupt them, such as only alarms, reminders, events, calls, or
messages. For messages and calls, users can filter based on sender or
caller.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 Post limits
Beginning with Android 8.1 (API level 27), apps can't make a
notification sound more than once per second.
If your app posts multiple notifications in one second, they all appear
as expected, but only the first notification per second makes a sound.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 1. Small icon: required; set using setSmallIcon().
2. App name: provided by the system.
3. Time stamp: provided by the system, but you can override it using
setWhen() or hide it using setShowWhen(false).
4. Large icon: optional; usually used only for contact photos. Don't
use it for your app icon. Set using setLargeIcon().
5. Title: optional; set using setContentTitle().
6. Text: optional; set using setContentText().
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 View
In Android, a View (public class Views) is the
basic building block for creating UI
components.
Each View is a fundamental element for
creating various types of interactive and
display components in an app.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Basic Views include:

TextView: used to display text to the user.

EditText: interactive TextView that allows

users to input and edit text. It’s commonly
used in forms, search bars, and messaging
apps.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Button: When a user taps a button, it
triggers an event in the app, allowing it to
respond to the user’s input.

ImageView: used for displaying images.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 CheckBox: multiple options that can
be either checked or unchecked

RadioButton: used for making a

single selection from a group of
options.

Switch: is a two-state toggle that

can select between two options,
often used in settings for turning a
feature on or off.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 ProgressBar: is used to display the progress of an
operation, providing visual feedback to the user.

SeekBar: is a type of ProgressBar that adds a

thumb to the progress line which a user can drag
to set a value within a predefined range. It’s often
used for settings like adjusting volume or screen
brightness.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 View Group
A View Group holds together other Views or even View Groups.
A View Group doesn’t display any content of its own but serves as a
container to organize and manage other Views.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Layouts
Layouts serve as the cornerstone for designing and arranging user
interfaces.
They can often include several View Groups and are the map that
dictates how different views and elements are organized on the screen.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Types of Layouts
LinearLayout: organizes Views in a linear order, horizontally or
vertically. This layout is particularly useful for creating forms, toolbars,
or any interface where a sequential arrangement of elements is
needed.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 GridView: displays items in a
two-dimensional, scrollable grid. GridView is
ideal for displaying a collection of images,
icons, or data in a uniform grid, like a photo
gallery or a settings menu.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 TableLayout: it arranges Views in a grid-like
format. This layout is beneficial when creating
calculators, timetables, or any interface with a
tabular structure.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 FrameLayout: It’s a simple container used to
display a single item, like an image or a piece of
text.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 ListView: displays a list of scrollable items,
automatically inserted into the list using an
Adapter. It’s efficient for displaying datasets that
scroll vertically, like a contact list or a menu.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 AbsoluteLayout: enables you to specify the exact
location of child Views. Due to its lack of
flexibility and the complexity of maintaining it
across various screen sizes, it’s generally avoided
in modern Android development.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 RelativeLayout: allows Views to be positioned
in relation to each other or to the parent
container.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 Constraint Layout: used in Android view in which we set various
constraints for various views with respect to screen or various views.
app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf:

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 In Android development, layouts as part of the general UI structure of
your app are defined by XML files.
XML layout files start with the <layout> tag followed by a root
ViewGroup, such as <LinearLayout>, <RelativeLayout>, etc.
Each View and ViewGroup in the layout has attributes. Ex:
android:text="Hello World!";

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >
<TextView android:id="@+id/text"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_margin="16dp"
android:padding="8dp"
android:text="Hello, I am a TextView" />
<Button android:id="@+id/button"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginTop="16dp"
android:paddingBottom="4dp"
android:paddingEnd="8dp"
android:paddingStart="8dp"
android:paddingTop="4dp"
android:text="Hello, I am a Button" />
</LinearLayout>

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

 First Sample Android Application

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
 Drawable Resource
A drawable resource is a general concept for a graphic that can be
drawn to the screen & which you can retrieve with APIs such as
getDrawable(int) or apply to additional XML resource with attributes
such as android:drawable & android:icon.

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in

Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in
Apoorva S., Asst. Prof., Dept of CS www.iadc.ac.in