Hello, Android Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf 3th (third) edition Text Only

This is an excellent book that delivers exactly what it promises -- an introduction to the Android platform. Reading this book, I was able to get an application up and running leveraging many of the most frequently used elements in the API. This book is a very good first step in getting familiar with the platform and making real progress.This book is probably not for the beginning programmer, and whether or not its even for the beginning JAVA programmer might be debatable. If you're new to Java, but familiar with object oriented principles, you're probably in good shape. If both Java and Object Oriented Programming or foreign to you, you might be better served getting a primer on Java before you start reading this book. Of course, if you're an experienced Java programmer, you'll fly through this book with no problem.Once you get up to speed with the Android API and have been able to write some basic applications, you'll definitely want to explore the API beyond what this book will teach you, and there are many other really great books to choose from when you're ready. Until then, you'll be very happy with this title.

I'd been picking up Java on the side and a friend recommended this book to me when I mentioned an interest in Android apps. This has been a good book. Easy to read, easy to follow. I have a strong background in C and a few other programming languages from my time as a software developer and this has been a nice addition to my library. It's also a good reference to the Google Android docs/sites and to the various user groups. I would recommend this book. If only Kernighan and Ritchie had written "The C Programming Language" like Mr Burnette wrote this one, the K & R book would have been a much more entertaining read. db

I've found this an excellent introduction to Android for someone who already knows Java. Specifically, I've found the chapters building up a Sudoku application to be very useful. The classes and methods are clear, and the author generally provides the right amount of commentary. In the few cases where something isn't clear, one can go to the forum, where the author quickly responds to questions, making the book even more valuable. All of the code is available online, which I've found useful as well.I have some quibbles with the programming style, such as the embedding of magic numbers, but these are minor. Potential buyers should be aware that this is not a complete guide to Android. For example, there is very little about concurrency, with no mention of AsyncTask, for example. Still, I would recommend it as a very reasonably priced, well written, first book on Android.Update: I recommended this book to students when teaching an upper-division college course on mobile application development. Students found it so valuable that they told me I should make it required the next time I teach the course. I've never been told that about any other book.

Ed Burnette's book "Hello, Android" (HA) has been a popular choice for many Android "noobs". It is an interesting starter book like the title indicates, "hello". It covers all the areas relevant to building an application. Like designing forms, data binding, SQL, some graphics and deployment to market. But what you won't get is a detailed analysis and explanation of the structure of applications and the API.So, HA is an intermediate developers book with java experience. I did find it a little frustrating at times that there was not much detailed explanation of the code. Ed ramps up the complexity by chapter 4 considerably. You have to plough through code without much explanation at all. So, although I understand his intent, increasing the complexity so rapidly is not really the best way to go in my opinion. I managed to get through the code myself, and I am not java guru, so it is possible. I suppose he is trying to produce something engaging at the end.Seeing as Ed doesn't provide much detail, perhaps he should have chosen a less complex sample to help introduce the reader. Bit of an oxymoron, as it's supposed to be an introduction to Android, but the complexity is quite high which could distract from the high level concepts he is trying to convey. It seems that Ed is taking you through the process and broad structures, more than dealing with the detail of the code.You will have to use online resources to research specific classes and their respective API's if you really want to get indepth knowledge about it. After all the book is only 270-ish pages long. You can easily finish it in a week of evening hacking. The online download of the code I found a little frustrating as it's not structured in a way that is easy to install whilst going through the book. I think it would have been more helpful to provide the code versions according to chapters, (chptr02/src, chptr03/src) etc. Because if there is not much explanation and you get a "force close" sometimes you just want to get the working code and move on.The other aspect of this book is that you need to follow the entire book. You can't just open it up and start coding from any point. Again, this is not such an issue as the book is not that long. I would recommend that you follow the book, don't skip stuff or you will come un-stuck.HA is good if you just want some instruction on putting something together to see it run in the emulator. Ed shows a good way to structure your application and you should be able to adapt it to your own needs. An experienced developer can start to put things together conceptually themselves, there is no spoon feeding here. I would have appreciated a little more explanation of detail, or a less complex example to build. However, with some perseverance, I found by the end of the book I understood the structure of android applications and can take it further through other reading/experience. So Ed has accomplished his goal by empowering the reader by introducing Android to you.I recommend it if you just want to dive in and not be too concerned with light explanations.I would then recommend Professional Android 2 Application Development (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) after this one for heavier reading, and you will get through it faster by going via Ed's book first.

Onestamente non ho trovato il libro particolarmente soddisfacente.. probabilmente più adatto a chi non ha mai programmato, sebbene alla fine riesca comunque a spiegare alcuni aspetti dello sviluppo di app per Android.

Ya que se trata de una introducción o primer contacto con la materia podría decir que este libro está perfectamente ilustrado. ¿Buscan una guía paso a paso hasta tener acabada su aplicación Android? Parece que este libro es para ustedes, aprender mientras desarrollamos una aplicación de prueba es, a mi juicio, una manera óptima de recibir el primer soplo de esta corriente de conocimiento.

The book was brand new but the content was kind of old. I learned a new language and I am still learning it.

Ich habe das Buch vor kurzem gekauft und erst die ersten vier Kapitel gelesen, hat mir aber alles sehr gut gefallen. Ich war sofort in der Lage, ein Programm zu erstellen und auf dem Simulator laufen zu lassen. Das Sudoku-Programm wird Schritt für Schritt erweitert und der zusätzliche Code gut erklärt.Grundkenntnisse in der Programmierung sind eine Hilfe für das Verständnis der Dalvik Virtual Machine und der Entwicklungsumgebung.

Being an established software developer by trade, and deciding relatively recently to explore the world of Android development, I recently purchased Hello, Android (third edition).I absolutely recommend this book to anyone just beginning to dip their toes into the Android waters.By beginning with the installation and configuration of the Android SDK, as well as Eclipse toolset, then continuing to progress through the production of an Android application (in this case, a Sudoku game), this book ends with you having garnered a very comprehensive knowledge of Android development... from project structures, to producing layouts and the various XML schemas, to OpenGL graphics (2D and 3D), to debugging and final build/deployment on Android Market.You could not ask for a better introduction to Android development!Worth your money, worth your time, worth booking a day off work, or taking a day at the weekend, to learn and have fun.