Discover new kitchen selections
Buy used:
$12.00
FREE delivery April 24 - 29. Details
Used: Very Good | Details
Sold by ThriftBooks-Phoenix
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comment: May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Mark Murphy
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development Print on Demand (Paperback) – January 1, 2009

by Mark L. Murphy (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
Android, the next-generation open mobile platform from Google and the Open Handset Alliance, is poised to become a significant player in the mobile device market. The Android platform gives developers a fair bit of control while still supporting a familiar programming language. However, the frameworks, GUI widgets, and development model is different than any other mobile platform out there. That's where this book comes in.

Spanning 466 pages, The Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development covers a wide range of Android capabilities and APIs, from creating simple user interfaces, to supporting long-running background processes, through the advanced location tracking and mapping features. Along the way, it covers how to embed the WebKit Web browser in your application, how to have your application use data from other installed applications (and vice versa!) or off the Internet, and how to integrate with the built-in on-device search engine. It will help you more quickly climb the Android learning curve, so you can create the "killer app" you've dreamed of...or perhaps just a quick-and-dirty application for you and your friends.

The new Version 2.0 includes over 60 pages of new material, including updates to everything for the Android 1.0r2 SDK.

Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    468 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    CommonsWare, LLC
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2009
  5. Dimensions
    9.29 x 7.44 x 0.98 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0981678009
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0981678009
Next slide of product details
The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Editorial Reviews

Review

"extremely well written and easy to follow" --GoogleAndBlog.com (Dec 8, 2008)

Review

"It's a really good book for beginners; it sure beats reading the Google Android SDK docs and trying to make some sense of them...It was enjoyable reading this book, and all the examples are concise and to the point. The author does a great job conveying convoluted concepts simply, and that's the true value of this book, especially to a beginner."

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CommonsWare, LLC; Revised & enlarged edition (January 1, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print on Demand (Paperback) ‏ : ‎ 468 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0981678009
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0981678009
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.29 x 7.44 x 0.98 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Mark Murphy

Mark Murphy

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Mark Murphy is the founder of CommonsWare and the author of the Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development and other books on Android application development. He is active in supporting the Android developer community, from answering questions on StackOverflow to publishing sample code and reusable components as open source.

A three-time entrepreneur, his experience ranges from consulting on open source and collaborative development for the Fortune 500 to application development on just about anything smaller than a mainframe. He has been a software developer for over 25 years, from the TRS-80 to the latest crop of mobile devices. A polished speaker, Mr. Murphy has delivered conference presentations and training sessions on a wide array of topics internationally.

Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
21 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Matt G.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable
    Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2011
    In the last year I have gone from no programming knowledge to writing decent Android applications. I am learning Java as well as Android, SQLite, XML and other technologies. I bring this up because I want to tell people just how awesome all of Mark Murphy's Android books are. I literally have dozens of books on Java and Android including the ones other reviewers have mentioned such as "Hello Android" and "Wrox Professional Android Development". Those books are great but some of the logic -especially in "Hello Android" is a bit above my head at this time, thats not to say others won't do well with it It's just not the best for me. None have come close to teaching me as well as the "Busy Coder's" Books. I recommend using the first "Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development" in conjunction with the "Android Programming Tutorials" book and if your pocketbook can manage spring for all three - the Advanced book as well, To me they are worth their weight in gold. I am a green programming student and I have written apps that are very powerful with the help of these books. -Quest Graves
    Helpful
     Report
  • Stalker
    1.0 out of 5 stars Obsolete
    Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I was too fast for this purchase, though it hung in my wish list for about a year and price drop from $1000 to just 3$. This is obsolete book with targeted SDK version 1.0 whether. There is no use of it.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Paul Schmidt
    2.0 out of 5 stars Not that great
    Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    This book is better than wading through the online docs, but not by a lot. I didn't like the author's informal voice, and the index is pretty bad. Instead, I'd suggest Professional Android Application Development (Wrox Programmer to Programmer), which I rely on heavily.
    10 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • David L. Anderson
    4.0 out of 5 stars A busy coders guide to Android development
    Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    For a technical book, it is entertaining to read! The writer's style makes normally boring material interesting. The information presented appears to be accurate.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Kami
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book on Android
    Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2010
    I have been using Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development when I want to reference how to implement certain features in Android. I read the relevant chapter and sometimes look at the source code that goes with the chapter. The book is well written and much easier to understand than the reference material at the Google Android website.

    I highly recommend this book for anyone trying to learn Android.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Greg Marsh
    3.0 out of 5 stars Booked switched to electronic distribution, version 5.2 is available for free evaluation download (can save as PDF)
    Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2016
    I noticed the price was over a $100 for an out of date Android book. I checked the publisher CommonsWare website and found distribution has been switched to an electronic format including PDF. Also, the Four-to-free section of the website provides versions older than fours years for download. At the time of this review, version 5.2 is available for free evaluation download (can save as PDF). I consider the content of the book very good, but lowered the rating of this version due to being out of date.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Dave
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, gentile introduction to Android
    Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2008
    If you're new to mobile development or new to cell phone development, The Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development will get you started fast. It covers all of the basics, and gets you far enough to be able to be productive using Google's documentation. What more could you ask?
    6 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • S. Lawson
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but sparse in some areas
    Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2010
    I ordered the online subscription, and have to say that the CommonsWare Android books are the most straightforward Android books I have seen. The writing style is good, and the examples are presented very well. I would definitely recommend these to anyone starting out with Android development.

    However, one of the main reasons I purchased the books was because I was not sure how to properly handle threading, and background tasks within an Activity, and could not find any sufficient material online. Do I use a Handler, AsyncTask, etc? When do I use one over the other? Now while this is covered in chapter 15, I still feel as though I did not get all my answers, or enough to even make an educated decision. The chapter mentions how the AsyncTask uses three data types, but then proceeds to use null for two of those, thereby not giving me any clue as to how to use them properly.

    Also, the discussion of Handlers mentions that both messages and Runnable objects can be used, but only covers Runnables in one small paragraph.

    Additionally, the examples used are not realistic at all. I would love to see an example to do a common task, like periodically polling a URL in the background thread and updating the UI.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Amazon Customer
    1.0 out of 5 stars 賞味期限切れ
    Reviewed in Japan on July 8, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    2nd Editionではありますが、Android 1.0の解説本です。
    400ページ程あり、分厚いのですが、半分ぐらいLayoutとWidgetの使い方説明ですので、
    Widgetの具体的な動きを「本を読むことで」理解したいという場合には良いかもしれません
    Report