Internal updates for improved e-reader compatibility and consistency across platforms.
01 February 2012
P8.0
(Printing)
Replaced the Translate example with Suggest. Google pulled the plug on the free translation API we were using so the update uses a different webservice to demonstrate how to make calls to the network from Android apps.
Rewrote the Audio example to use on-screen buttons instead of the keyboard, and replaced all the sound effects with ones that don’t crash.
Updated the OpenGL and Wallpaper examples to work on Samsung phones, which have a different color depth than most others from HTC and Motorola.
Added code to the Graphics chapter showing how to use density- and scale-independent coordinates in Java. This was needed to make the text path example look good on all devices.
Ran Android Lint over all the samples and fixed a couple of issues it pointed out. Did you know uses-sdk is supposed to come before the application tag in AndroidManifest.xml?
Simplified the layout on the Sudoku opening screen based on reader feedback. Now it just has one level of LinearLayout.
Use a Build.VERSION.SDK check instead of catching VerifyError in the Touch example to demonstrate the current best practice for supporting old and new versions of Android in the face of API changes.
Updated setup directions and screenshots for the latest version of the Android platform tools, Java, Eclipse, and the Android Eclipse plug-in.
Updated all sample projects to target the Android 2.3.3 SDK version (API level 10). This is the version used by most Android devices on the market including the Kindle Fire(*). All examples were tested for forwards and backwards compatibility on a variety of devices and versions of Android from 1.5 to 4.0. *Note: the Kindle Fire does not support home screen widgets or wallpaper so those samples couldn’t be tested on the Fire.
Added advice for Java beginners on companion books. This gets asked a lot on the forum. Also revised Market advice on update frequency (do them less often) and alternative app stores (do them more often).
Numerous small fixes and improvements.
25 August 2011
P7.0
(Printing)
Seventh Printing
11 April 2011
P6.0
(Printing)
Sixth Printing
17 February 2011
P5.0
(Printing)
Fifth Printing
21 January 2011
P4.0
(Printing)
Fourth Printing
05 January 2011
P3.0
(Printing)
Third Printing
14 September 2010
P2.0
(Printing)
Second Printing
18 July 2010
P1.0
(Printing)
First Printing
15 June 2010
B7.0
Final beta before typesetting, all content complete.