Intermediate Java for Android Programming

Name: Intermediate Java for Android Programming
Author: Shad Sluiter

Learn for mobile functionality with this Intermediate Java for Android Programming course.

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 45 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

Hi. Welcome to this course, on building Android applications, using the Java programming language. In this video, I'm going to give you an overview of the lessons that we're about to encounter. My name is Shad Sluiter, and I teach software development at a university. And I'm glad to have you come along. The first application that we're going to make, is going to be called the Jokes app. You can see on the screen that we are going to use Android Studio. We're going to create a layout that has buttons on it. And places called a Text View, where you can display things. So this application will be very simple, we'll create buttons that have a joke on the face. And then when we click the button, the answer will appear. So we'll create things called click listeners, which will able to handle programmable events, such as a tap on the button. And so this will be the simplest of the apps. It'll introduce us to layouts, and how to arrange things in order on the screen, and how to do some simple events. So that'll be our first of the applications. The second one, we're going to call it Background tasks. So a background task is the ability to do something, in the background of the user interface. So this application, the purpose is to demonstrate how to create a parallel process. So that way you don't freeze up your application while something's being done in the background. And so that's why it's called a background task. That will lead us into the next application that we're going to call the Fast clicker app. Now, this also has a background task on it, which is why we did the previous tutorial. We're going to have a timer, and so that timer will tick off the seconds. And the new stuff that you'll learn on this application, is that we'll be able to disable a button, and enable the button. We'll be able to set the timer, and then across the screen, this green bar is called the progress bar. So we'll introduce some new controls, and we'll also do the timer in the background. So the fast clicker app will measure how many times you can click a button in 30 seconds. The last application that we're going to work on is called Rock paper scissors. And of course, you've probably seen that game. In this, the purpose is not to learn the game so much, but as to how to handle graphical resources. So we'll take some images, some free open source images, and modify them so that they fit nicely on our application. We'll import them into the project. And then as you play the game, the hand will change from one type of image to the other, depending on what the user clicks on. And then we'll also create a somewhat intelligent computer that will randomly pick an opposing hand. We'll keep score of how many times that you or the computer won. And then finally, we'll condense everything into a nice package called a game state. And so this final application, we'll review a few of the things that we've seen in the first couple of months. And then finally the graphics will be new. So if that's interesting to you, let's get started right away on the course here called building Android apps in Java.

Intermediate Provider : Shad Sluiter 6 chapters · 45 Lessons · 3h 1m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

In this tutorial, you will create a game that demonstrates several features of Android including, background tasks, timers, a progress bar and a game state class. The application shows two buttons that the user clicks as many times as possible in a 30-second time frame. The timer uses a runnable task. The progress bar displays the remaining time. The buttons are enabled and disabled to make the game work properly. The game state class is designed to encapsulate all the properties of the game including the remaining time and score.

What You'll Learn

Demonstrate the use of background tasks in an Android application
Set a timer and display the remaining time in a progress bar
Design a game state class to encapsulate multiple properties such as remaining time and score
Programmatically enable and disable buttons to control game flow
Create and manage string resources, button IDs, and arrays of button objects in Android Studio
Add click listeners, including a shared click listener handling multiple buttons

Key Takeaways

The course builds a game in which the user clicks two buttons as many times as possible within a 30-second time frame.
The timer is implemented using a runnable task, and the progress bar displays the remaining time.
Buttons are enabled and disabled to make the game work properly.
The game state class encapsulates all the properties of the game, including the remaining time and score.
The project is created and developed within Android Studio.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I build in this course?

You will create a game that shows two buttons the user clicks as many times as possible in a 30-second time frame, demonstrating Android features including background tasks, timers, a progress bar, and a game state class.

How does the game keep track of time and score?

The timer uses a runnable task, the progress bar displays the remaining time, and a game state class encapsulates all properties of the game including the remaining time and score.

What Android skills does this course cover?

It covers Android development, Android software development, Android Studio, Android UI, the Java Development Kit, and Java GUIs.

What specific techniques are taught?

You will learn to use background tasks, set a timer and display results in a progress bar, design a class to encapsulate multiple application properties, and programmatically enable and disable a button.

What tool is used to develop the application?

The application is built in Android Studio, where you create the project, manage string resources, set button properties, and create background threads.