Unit 2  Installation of Android Studio,

 Application components (activities, services, Broadcast receivers,

content providers).
 First sample application,
 Basic App anatomy,
 deploying the app to an emulator or a device.
 Adding Libraries to module gradle file.
 Creating various layouts using XML and Layout Editor,
 Working with Constraint Layout, Data binding basics.
 Creating Fragments, Defining Nav Host Fragment,
 Navigation Graphs,
 Navigational paths.
 Creating Navigational Drawer.
 Starting an External Activity.

Unit-2:

1. Installation of Android Studio

Definition: Android Studio is the official Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for
developing Android applications. It provides tools for writing code, designing user interfaces,
and testing Android apps.

Steps:

 Download: Visit the Android Studio website and download the installer for your
operating system (Windows, Mac, Linux).
 Install: Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
 Setup: After installation, launch Android Studio and configure it. This includes setting up
the Android SDK (Software Development Kit), which is essential for building Android
apps.
 Create a New Project: Once set up, you can start a new project by selecting the type of
app you want to build.

Example: If you're building an Android weather app, you would open Android Studio, create a
new project, select a template (like an empty activity), and start coding.

2. Application Components

Definition: Application components are the essential building blocks of an Android application.
They define the functionality of the app and allow it to interact with users and other applications.
These components are:
  Activities
 Services
 Broadcast Receivers
 Content Providers

Each component plays a unique role in how the app functions.

3. Activities

Definition: An Activity is a single screen in an Android application. It represents a user interface

(UI) where users can interact with the app.

Example: In a social media app, an Activity could be the screen where you view your news feed
or the screen where you compose a new post.

Types:

 Main Activity: The entry point of an app where the app begins when opened.
 Sub Activity: Other screens or pages within the app that can be accessed from the main
activity.
 Dialog Activity: A smaller window that pops up over an activity for interactions like
alerts or notifications.

4. Services

Definition: A Service is a component that runs in the background to perform long-running

operations, like playing music, downloading files, or performing network requests.

Example: If you're downloading a file in the background, the download continues even if you
switch to another app. The service is handling the download.

Types:

 Foreground Service: Performs operations that the user is actively aware of (like playing
music).
 Background Service: Works without direct user interaction (like syncing data).
 Bound Service: A service that is bound to a component, and the component can
communicate with it to perform specific tasks.

5. Broadcast Receivers

Definition: Broadcast Receivers are components that listen for system-wide or app-specific
messages (called broadcasts). These broadcasts can be from the Android system or other apps.
When a broadcast occurs, the receiver responds by performing a task.
Example: A broadcast receiver might listen for changes in network connectivity (e.g., when the
device connects to Wi-Fi) and take action, like notifying the user.

Types:

 System Broadcast Receivers: These listen to system-level broadcasts like battery low,
screen on/off, etc.
 Custom Broadcast Receivers: These are used to listen for broadcasts sent by other apps
or within the same app.

6. Content Providers

Definition: A Content Provider allows data from one app to be shared with another app in a
structured manner. They define a way to manage and access data (like contacts, files, or
databases).

Example: If an app wants to access contacts from the phone's contact book, it will use a content
provider to retrieve that data.

Types:

 Standard Content Providers: Provided by Android to access common data types (like
contacts, media files).
 Custom Content Providers: Created by developers to allow access to custom app data
(like a custom database).

These components work together to build a fully functional Android application. Each one has
its specific role in handling the app’s UI, background tasks, communication, and data
management.

Sure! Here's a detailed explanation of each heading:

7. First Sample Application:

 Definition: This is the first app you build when learning Android development, often
used as a starting point to understand the core concepts and structure of an Android app.
 Example: A "Hello World" app, which displays a simple greeting text on the screen.
 Purpose: This helps you get familiar with how Android Studio works, how an app runs,
and how to view the output on an emulator or device.

8. Basic App Anatomy:

 Definition: The basic structure of an Android app, including essential components like
activities, layouts, resources, and manifest files.
 Components:
 o Activity: The entry point of an Android app, where the user interacts with the
app. Each screen in an app is usually represented by an activity.
o Layout: Defines the UI (User Interface) of the app, typically written in XML.
o Manifest File: A file that declares app components, permissions, and other
configurations.
o Resources: Files like strings, images, and colors used by the app.
 Example: An app might have an activity that contains a button, which when clicked,
opens another activity.

9. Deploying the App to an Emulator or a Device:

 Definition: Deploying refers to running and testing the app on either a virtual Android
device (emulator) or a physical Android device.
 Steps:
1. Connect your Android device or start an emulator.
2. Select your deployment target in Android Studio.
3. Click on the "Run" button to launch the app on the device/emulator.
 Purpose: To test your app in a real environment and make sure it works as expected.
 Example: You write some code for a button click, and after deploying the app, you click
the button on the device to see if it performs the desired action.

10. Adding Libraries to Module Gradle File:

 Definition: Gradle is the build automation system for Android. Libraries are external
tools or pre-built code that you can use to extend the functionality of your app. These
libraries are added to the build.gradle file.
 Steps:
1. Open the build.gradle file in your project.
2. Add the library dependencies under the dependencies block.
3. Sync the project to download and integrate the libraries.
 Example: If you want to use a library for image loading like Picasso, you would add:
 dependencies {
 implementation 'com.squareup.picasso:picasso:2.71828'
 }
 Purpose: To use third-party libraries for tasks like image loading, network requests, etc.

11. Creating Various Layouts Using XML and Layout Editor:

 Definition: In Android, the layout of the app is typically defined using XML (Extensible
Markup Language). The Layout Editor is a visual tool in Android Studio that allows you
to design the layout by dragging and dropping UI components (like buttons, text fields)
on a canvas.
 Steps:
1. Open the res/layout folder.
2. Create a new XML file for your layout or edit an existing one.
 3. Use the Layout Editor to drag elements onto the screen, or directly edit the XML
to define components.
 Example: A simple layout might contain a TextView to display text and a Button that
the user can press.
 <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/textView"
 android:layout_width="wrap_content"
 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
 android:text="Hello World!" />

 <Button
 android:id="@+id/button"
 android:layout_width="wrap_content"
 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
 android:text="Click Me" />
 </LinearLayout>
 Purpose: To visually design the app’s UI and manage how users interact with the app.

12. Working with Constraint Layout:

 Definition: A ConstraintLayout is a flexible layout manager in Android that allows

you to create complex layouts with a flat hierarchy. It works by defining relationships
(constraints) between UI components to position them relative to each other.
 Steps:
1. Use the Layout Editor to drag and drop views (such as buttons, text fields) into
the ConstraintLayout.
2. Set constraints for each view to define its position relative to others (e.g., top,
bottom, left, right).
3. Adjust the layout to ensure proper placement across different screen sizes.
 Example: A ConstraintLayout might have a button constrained to the bottom of the
screen, and a text view aligned to the center horizontally.
 <androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
 android:layout_width="match_parent"
 android:layout_height="match_parent">

 <TextView
 android:id="@+id/textView"
 android:layout_width="wrap_content"
 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
 android:text="Hello World"
 app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
  app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent" />

 <Button
 android:id="@+id/button"
 android:layout_width="wrap_content"
 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
 android:text="Click Me"
 app:layout_constraintBottom_toTopOf="@id/textView"
 app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent" />

 </androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>
 Purpose: To create flexible and adaptive layouts that work well across various screen
sizes and resolutions without deep view hierarchies.

These headings cover important aspects of Android app development, from building a basic app
to deploying it, and designing responsive layouts.

Here’s a simple and detailed explanation of each heading:

Data Binding Basics:

Definition: Data binding is a technique in Android that allows you to link UI components (like
text, buttons, etc.) in your app directly to the data sources (like variables or properties in your
code). This means, instead of writing Java or Kotlin code to update the UI when data changes,
you can simply use bindings to automatically update UI components when data changes.

Example:
If you have a TextView that should display a user's name, instead of setting the text
programmatically, you can bind the TextView to the user’s name in the layout XML file.

<TextView android:text="@{user.name}" />

In the corresponding Kotlin or Java file, the data (user.name) will be automatically reflected in
the TextView.

Creating Fragments:

Definition: Fragments are reusable portions of an Android activity's user interface or behavior.
They allow you to divide an activity into smaller, more manageable pieces. A fragment can be
added, removed, or replaced within an activity dynamically at runtime.

Example:
To create a fragment, you create a subclass of Fragment and override its lifecycle methods such
as onCreateView(), where you define the UI of the fragment.

class MyFragment : Fragment(R.layout.fragment_my) {

// Fragment logic here
}

You can then add this fragment to an activity through XML or programmatically.

Defining Nav Host Fragment:

Definition: The NavHostFragment is the container in which different fragments can be swapped
in and out in response to navigation events. It helps manage fragment transactions in a way that
allows for easy handling of navigation in the app. It’s used with the navigation architecture
component to implement simple and consistent navigation patterns.

Example:
In your activity’s layout, you would add a NavHostFragment to host the fragments based on the
navigation path.

<androidx.fragment.app.FragmentContainerView
android:id="@+id/nav_host_fragment"
android:name="androidx.navigation.fragment.NavHostFragment"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
app:defaultNavHost="true"
app:navGraph="@navigation/nav_graph" />

This NavHostFragment will host fragments defined in the nav_graph.

Navigation Graphs:

Definition: A Navigation Graph is an XML resource file that defines all the possible destinations
(fragments or activities) in your app and how to navigate between them. It helps organize the
flow of navigation in the app, making it easy to manage and update routes.

Example:
In the navigation graph XML, you define the fragments and specify the navigation actions
between them.

<navigation xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="@+id/nav_graph"
android:label="app_name"
app:startDestination="@id/fragment_home">

<fragment
android:id="@+id/fragment_home"
android:name="com.example.app.HomeFragment"
android:label="Home" />

<fragment
android:id="@+id/fragment_details"
android:name="com.example.app.DetailsFragment"
android:label="Details" />
</navigation>
Navigational Paths:

Definition: Navigational paths are the routes or actions defined in the navigation graph to move
from one fragment to another. These actions define what happens when a user interacts with
certain UI elements (like buttons, list items, etc.) to navigate through the app.

Example:
You can define an action in the navigation graph that links a button click from HomeFragment to
DetailsFragment.

<action
android:id="@+id/action_home_to_details"
app:destination="@id/fragment_details" />

Then, you can trigger the navigation programmatically like this:

findNavController().navigate(R.id.action_home_to_details)

Creating Navigation Drawer:

Definition: A Navigation Drawer is a UI component that slides in from the side of the screen and
provides a menu for navigating between different sections or activities of your app. It’s
commonly used for app-wide navigation in Android.

Example:
In your activity's layout file, you define a DrawerLayout as the root view, and inside it, you put
the main content (like a FrameLayout for the fragments) and a NavigationView that will
contain the menu items.

<androidx.drawerlayout.widget.DrawerLayout
android:id="@+id/drawer_layout"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">

<!-- Main content -->

<FrameLayout
android:id="@+id/nav_host_fragment"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent" />

<!-- Navigation menu -->

<com.google.android.material.navigation.NavigationView
android:id="@+id/nav_view"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_gravity="start"
app:menu="@menu/drawer_menu" />
</androidx.drawerlayout.widget.DrawerLayout>

You then set up the navigation logic to respond to item clicks in the drawer.
Starting an External Activity:

Definition: In Android, an external activity refers to an activity that is not part of your app, but is
launched by your app (like opening the phone dialer, a browser, or a camera app). You can start
an external activity using an Intent.

Example:
To open the phone dialer, you can use an Intent like this:

val intent = Intent(Intent.ACTION_DIAL)

intent.data = Uri.parse("tel:123456789")
startActivity(intent)

This will open the phone’s dialer with the number pre-filled.