The document provides an overview of mobile development concepts and technologies. It discusses the history of mobile development from early phones in the 1980s to modern platforms like iOS and Android. It then covers concepts for modern mobile development like model-view-controller architecture and languages like Objective-C and Java. Finally, it discusses mobile development in the public sector and provides some statistics on mobile usage.

1. Mobile Development
A primer
Giuseppe Sollazzo
National Audit Office
25/7/2014

2. #0
The obligatory intro

3. Goals
● Understanding mobile development
● Exploring alternative technologies
● Brainstorming apps
● Get some first-hand experience

4. Outline
AM
● A quick history of mobile development
● Concepts of modern development
● Simple code examples
PM
● Practical exercises

5. Me
● Senior Systems Analyst at St George’s, University
of London
● Freelance Developer
● Open Data & Government Geek

6. #1
The Mobile Scenario

7. #1.1
A lifetime of mobile development

8. 2006: my first app

9. 2012: on the press

10. Sony Ericsson P990i
Symbian OS 9.1 - UIQ 3
ARM9 208MHz
RAM 64MB (OS: 48MB, User: 16MB)
Resolution 240x320
Java Micro Edition
iPhone 4
iOS
ARM Cortex ~1GHz
RAM 512MB
Resolution 960x640
Objective-C / Cocoa

11. 29 June 2007 Image CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 by Stijn Vogels https://www.flickr.
com/photos/stijnvogels/351867946/

12. But it started much earlier!
● 1G phones have been out since the 80s
○ lack of apps capabilities
● 2G phones (GSM) reach critical mass in early 90s
○ dominated by Nokia
○ limited features and memory
○ small monochromatic screen
○ pre-installed games
■ no easy way to install extra apps

13. Snake!
(1998)
Image CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 by Utku Kalı https://www.flickr.com/photos/utku/6799941621

14. WAP
(1997)
Image CC BY-NC 2.0 by Esko Kurvinen https://www.flickr.com/photos/ekurvine/853687173

15. WAP
● Protocol suite for data transfer on wireless devices
● Wap PUSH
● Wireless Markup Language
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE wml PUBLIC "-//WAPFORUM//DTD WML 1.1//EN"
"http://www.wapforum.org/DTD/wml_1.1.xml" >
<wml>
<card id="main" title="First Card" >
<p mode="wrap">This is a sample WML page. </p>
</card>
</wml>

16. WAP
● Deck = WML document
● Deck structured in cards (=pages)
● Wap 2.0 (2002): cut-down version of XHTML/HTTP

17. But it didn’t work
● Hard to type URL with numeric keypad
● Limited screen -> limited applications
● Extremely slow connections
● Users accustomed to full web pages
● No authoring tools, no content providers

18. i-Mode (1999)
● Created by DoCoMo, paid-for service
● Similar to WAP but
○ C-HTML on HTTP clone
○ 12K official sites (supervised by DoCoMo)
○ 100K unofficial sites
○ 80M subscribers
● Licensed in the UK by O2, it never took off

19. BlackBerry
● BB 850: 2-way pager launched in Munich (1999)
● Focus on e-mail
● Evolution in 2003 with convergent services
○ push email, telephone, SMS, …
● Inconsistent developer support
○ Java SDK for BlackBerry OS 7
○ Today: BB 10, BB PlayBook, BB OS

20. Psion Revo (1999)
Image CC BY-NC 2.0 by Modrak https://www.flickr.com/photos/modrak/239348772

21. Psion EPOC
● Graphical OS
● PDAs with apps
● EPOC16: Open Programming Language
PROC main:
PRINT "Hello World!"
PAUSE 40
ENDP
● EPOC32 (1997): C++ but mostly closed
● EPOC32 becomes Symbian (1998)

22. Palm Zire
(2002)
Image CC BY 3.0 by Soxred93 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zirepalm.JPG

23. Palm OS
● Launched in 1996 and still alive!
○ Now called WebOS
● C/C++/Pascal
● Java was briefly available
● No drivers for DBMS
○ developers need to use middleware
● First system to provide emulators

24. Symbian
● A long and troubled story...
● 1998: Psion becomes Symbian Ltd.
○ participation by Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia
● 2008: Nokia acquires Symbian Ltd.
○ establishment of Symbian Foundation
○ most Nokia devices run Symbian
○ licensing issues
● 2011: Nokia partners with Microsoft. Symbian dies.

25. Symbian
● S60 = Native graphics toolkit (for Nokia, 2001)
● QT framework (Symbian 3, 2010)
● Development in
○ Java MIDP
○ C++
○ Python
○ Flash

26. Symbian
● One (major) weakness: platform fragmentation
source: Wikipedia “S_60”

27. J2ME / Java ME
● Stripped down version of Java
● Foundation standards
○ CLDC 1.0, 1.1, … (defines basic set of libraries)
○ MIDP 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 (defines APIs)
■ apps are called “midlets”
● Extensions, e.g.
○ JSR #82 Bluetooth
○ JSR #179 Location API

28. J2ME / Java ME
● Modern framework
○ Provides configurable simulators
○ Coding of application lifecycle
● Relatively successful
○ 2.1B Java ME enabled mobile phones
● Problems
○ memory footprint
○ device fragmentation

29. J2ME / Java ME
import javax.microedition.midlet.*;
import javax.microedition.lcdui.*;
public class HelloWorld extends MIDlet implements CommandListener {
private Command exitCommand;
private TextBox tbox;
public HelloWorld() {
exitCommand = new Command("Exit", Command.EXIT, 1);
tbox = new TextBox("Hello world MIDlet", "Hello World!", 25, 0);
tbox.addCommand(exitCommand);
tbox.setCommandListener(this);
}
protected void startApp() {
Display.getDisplay(this).setCurrent(tbox);
}
protected void pauseApp() {
}
protected void destroyApp(boolean bool) {
}
public void commandAction(Command cmd, Displayable disp)
{
if (cmd == exitCommand) {
destroyApp(false);
notifyDestroyed();
}
}
}

30. J2ME / Java ME
import javax.microedition.midlet.*;
import javax.microedition.lcdui.*;
public class HelloWorld extends MIDlet implements CommandListener {
private Command exitCommand;
private TextBox tbox;
public HelloWorld() {
exitCommand = new Command("Exit", Command.EXIT, 1);
tbox = new TextBox("Hello world MIDlet", "Hello World!", 25, 0);
tbox.addCommand(exitCommand);
tbox.setCommandListener(this);
}
protected void startApp() {
Display.getDisplay(this).setCurrent(tbox);
}
protected void pauseApp() {
}
protected void destroyApp(boolean bool) {
}
public void commandAction(Command cmd, Displayable disp)
{
if (cmd == exitCommand) {
destroyApp(false);
notifyDestroyed();
}
}
}

31. Opera Mini
(2007)
Image CC BY 2.0 by Johan Larsson https://www.flickr.com/photos/johanl/4424185115

32. Opera Mini
● Mobile-oriented web browser
● Reformats web pages to a “compressed” version
○ all content goes through proxy server
● Pilot project started in 2004, launched 2007
● Growing interest in mobile web standards

33. HTC Dream
(2008)
Image GPL by Akela NDE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HTC_Dream_Orange_FR.jpeg

34. Android
● Founded in 2003, acquired by Google in 2005
● Based on Linux
● Open Handset Alliance (2007)
○ HTC, Sony, Samsung, T-Mobile, Texas
Instruments, etc…
● Nexus devices
○ Nexus One (2010)

35. iOS
● iPhone launched in 2007 with iOS 1.x
○ iPod Touch and iPad follow
● Developers not welcome until March 2008
○ iPhone SDK released (iPhone OS)
○ iOS was “a version of OS X” before then
● Apple did not want an “app economy”
○ issues with control, market submission, etc…

36. iOS
● Controversies with developers and suppliers
● Java and Flash originally not allowed
● Competition wars
○ Sun agrees with Apple and Java gets in
○ Adobe discontinues Flash mobile (2011)

37. HP Jornada 680
(1998)
Image CC BY 2.0 by Noah (ax0n) https://www.flickr.com/photos/kc-bike/2532722221

38. Windows Mobile
● Microsoft joined the market early
○ Windows CE (1996)
○ Pocket PC (2000)
○ Windows Mobile 2003
○ Windows Mobile 5, 6 (2005)
○ Windows Phone 7, 8 (2010)
● Windows 8 unifies desktop & mobile platforms

39. Windows Mobile
● Development with Microsoft tools
● From Windows Phone 7, also web technologies
● Windows Mobile lost momentum

40. #1.2
In the public sector...

41. We are not ‘appy...
● (Tom Loosemore, GDS, 2013)
Stand-alone mobile apps will only be considered once the core web service works well on mobile
devices, and if specifically agreed with the Cabinet Office.
(GDS Strategy, Action 6)
● Gov.Uk doesn’t have apps
○ website adapts to mobile screens
○ use of CSS3 technologies, media queries

42. ...but we are!
● Tracy Green, UK Parliament (2013)
○ 11% traffic to site from mobile
○ of which 90% from iPad
● 400+ MPs have iPads
○ demand for native apps “because they work
better”

43. Image CC BY-NC 2.0 by IDEO https://www.flickr.com/photos/ideopostcards/6334836459/
The PM wanted an app

44. Number 10 Dashboard
● (No one has ever seen it)
● iPad app (maybe)
● Purpose-built for the PM
● By Adzuna (according to the FT)
● Intranet front-end (according to The Register)
○ presumably a custom front-end to data.gov.uk
● Dashboard of stats and data visualisation

45. HMRC Tax Calculator
● Native iOS/Android app

46. ParliQuiz
● Developed with “PugPig”
○ publishing system
○ £4K per year per single app

47. MyConstituency
● Hybrid app
○ iPad only vs any Android
○ not the same version

48. Some suggestions...
● ONS developed a case study about “MyConstituency”
○ It meets the needs of MPs and their staff
○ It engages with the general public
○ Mini-tender: no big procurement drive!
○ Tips
■ internal resources to handover app after project
■ be specific about API / web service
■ allow for flexibility

49. #1.3
Some stats

50. <Stats slides omitted from SlideShare due to licensing. Contact me for details>

51. #2
Modern mobile development
concepts

52. In this module...
● iOS, Windows 8 Phone, Android, and more
● For each platform:
○ system architecture
○ development model
○ languages
○ data storage
○ UI building
● Markets

53. #2.1
iOS

54. Assumptions
Focus on iOS 7
● released in September 2013
● it runs on iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later
● 87% of iOS devices (6/4/2014)
● iOS 8 / Swift are currently beta

55. Basics
● Layered system architecture
● MVC model
● Objective-C
● Interface Builder
● Apps are object (of type UIApplication)
● Mac OS X required
● XCode: iOS SDK + iOS Simulator

56. Tools: Xcode + iOS SDK

57. Tools: iOS Simulator

58. System Architecture: Abstraction Layers
Core OS
Core Services
Media
Cocoa Touch
These layers provide “Frameworks” to
be added to any iOS project to provide
certain functionalities

59. System Architecture: Abstraction Layers
Core OS
Core Services
Media
Cocoa Touch
Low-level features: security, communications, I/O,
maths, networking, etc...

60. System Architecture: Abstraction Layers
Core OS
Core Services
Media
Cocoa Touch
System Services: Core Foundation, Foundation,
iCloud, Automatic Reference Counting (ARC),
Grand Central Dispatch (GCD), in-App Purchase,
SQLite, Core Data, Core Location, etc...

61. System Architecture: Abstraction Layers
Core OS
Core Services
Media
Cocoa Touch
UIKit, Core Graphics, Core Animation, Core Audio,
Core Media, AV Foundation, etc...

62. System Architecture: Abstraction Layers
Core OS
Core Services
Media
Cocoa Touch Storyboards, Push & Local Notifications, Gesture
Recognisers, iAd, etc...

63. Model View Controller (MVC)
● Software Design Pattern
● Separation of Data, UI, Logic
○ Model encapsulates data
○ View displays user interface
○ Controller ties model to the view
● We will see this at work in the next session

64. Model View Controller (MVC)
Model
The Model is about Data
● data functions
● data objects
● data classes
● i.e. data store + procedures that can access it

65. Model View Controller (MVC)
Model
View
The View is about User Interface
● UI elements: buttons, sliders, text fields
● object / classes / functions
● (or Storyboards / Interface Builder)

66. Model View Controller (MVC)
Model
View
The Model knows nothing about the UI

67. Model View Controller (MVC)
Model
View
Controller
The Controller is about bi-directional Orchestration
● it intercepts user actions on the UI (View)
● modifies the data accordingly (Model)
or
● it detects data changes (Model)
● modifies the UI accordingly (View)

68. Model View Controller (MVC)
Model
View
Controller

69. Model View Controller (MVC)
Model
View
Controller
user action
data change

70. Model View Controller (MVC)
Model
View
Controller
UI update
data change
notification

71. Model View Controller (MVC)
To accomplish communications we use links
● Outlets
○ from the controller to the view
○ to access info of an UI element
■ e.g. access the text typed in a text field
● Actions
○ from the view to the controller
○ they announce an action on the UI
■ e.g. detect a button click, perform an action

72. Objective-C
● Object-oriented
○ strict superset of C
○ object syntax from Smalltalk
● Message passing to object instances
○ i.e. not method calling
● Used on Mac OS X (Cocoa) and iOS (Cocoa Touch)

73. Objective-C: Message Passing
C++
Object* obj;
obj->method(argument);
Java
Object obj;
obj.method(argument);
Objective-C
Object* obj;
[obj method:argument];

74. Objective-C: Hello, world!
/* hello.h */
# import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
@interface Hello : NSObject
-(void)sayHello:(char*)name;
@end

75. Objective-C: Hello, world!
/* hello.m */
# import "hello.h"
@implementation Hello
-(void)sayHello:(char*)name {
printf("Hello, %s! n", name);
}
@end

76. Objective-C: Hello, world!
/* app.m */
# import "hello.h"
int main() {
Hello* myhello = [Hello new];
char* name = "Joe";
[myhello sayHello:name];
}
To compile:
$ clang -lobjc -o app app.m hello.m

77. Objective-C: Protocols
● Add set of expected behaviours to an object
○ or, in official speak, define messaging contracts
● An object can conform to a protocol
● In practice: methods to be implemented
○ some required, some optional

78. Objective-C: Protocols
/* politehello.h */
#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
@protocol PoliteHello <NSObject>
-(void)helloFriend ;
-(void)helloColleague ;
-(void)helloPrimeMinister ;
@end

79. Objective-C: Protocols
/* hello.h */
#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
#import "politehello.h"
@interface Hello : NSObject < PoliteHello>
-(void)sayHello:(char*)name;
@end

80. Objective-C: Protocols
/* hello.m */
# import "hello.h"
@implementation Hello
-(void)sayHello:(char*)name {
printf("Hello, %s! n", name);
}
-(void)helloFriend {
printf("Hey!n");
}
-(void)helloColleague {
printf("How was your weekend? n");
}
-(void)helloPrimeMinister {
printf("Good morning, sir n");
}
@end

81. Delegation
● Software pattern, Obj-C protocol
● Let an object control another object
● Use a central object to customize the behaviour of
several others
● Delegating object A keeps reference to delegate
object B
● A sends a message to B
● B reacts by updating UI/state

82. Data Source
● Similar to a Delegate
● Delegated control of data
● Outlet held by View objects
● Implemented via Obj-C protocol

83. Table Data Source

84. Table Data Source

85. Table Delegate

86. Table Delegate

87. Application Delegate
● Most important delegate in an iOS project
● Delegate for the UIApplication object
● Starting point for coding
● Startup/shutdown tasks
○ e.g. initialise database, verify license, etc...
● App-wide tasks
○ e.g. handle push notifications, support window
orientation, etc...

88. Application Delegate

89. Interface Builder
“UI Drawing” tool included in XCode
● Add Window object
● Add Content View*
● Add UI Controls (buttons, text fields, etc…)
● Add basic navigation between views (Storyboards)
(*) Views are hierarchical
○ i.e. they are containers for other subviews

90. Interface Builder

91. Storyboards
● Interface Builder on steroids
● Define navigation relationships among Scenes
● Each Scene has an associated view hierarchy
● Scenes are connected by segues or relationships
○ segue = transition between two view controllers
■ push, modal, custom, unwind
○ relationship = hierarchy

92. Storyboards

93. Auto Layout
● Define relationships between UI elements
● Mathematical constraints
● UI reacts dynamically to changes
○ screen size, orientation, localization, etc...

94. Auto Layout

95. Navigation Controllers
● To manage a stack of view controllers
● To provide a drill-down interface for hierarchical
content
● Several types, according to context & device type
○ Tab Bar
○ Page View
○ Split View
○ etc…

96. Data Storage
● Preferences (key/value)
● File system (for large files)
● SQLite
○ a lightweight relational database
○ de facto industry standard for embedded apps
● CoreData Framework
○ object oriented wrapper
○ infrastructure for search, save, restore, etc…
● iCloud (and other cloud storage providers)

97. #2.2
Windows 8 Phone

98. Assumptions
Focus on Windows 8.1 Phone
● released in October 2013
● it runs on several architectures
○ IA-32, x64, ARMv7
● marketed as “update” for Windows
● development overlaps with Windows 8 desktop
○ Windows Store and Windows Phone Store apps
are converging into Windows Runtime apps

99. Windows 8 (desktop)
Used with Permission from Microsoft

100. Windows 8 (phone)
Used with Permission from Microsoft

101. ● One architecture, several development options
○ flow control languages
○ UI definition language
● Windows 8.1 + Visual Studio Express 2013
Basics

102. Languages
Used with Permission from Microsoft

103. Differences
● Each language has a corresponding app model
○ i.e. a set of files, design patterns, app entry point
● Certain languages more suitable to certain apps
○ e.g. C++ / DirectX are good for 3D games
● Otherwise, philosophy is: use what you know
● For this course, our choice is JavaScript / HTML5

104. Windows Runtime
● Often referred to as WinRT
● Successor of Win32 API
○ Based on COM/.NET
● Platform-homogenous app architecture for Win 8
○ unifies Windows 8 and Windows 8 Phone
● Supports several languages

105. Tools: Visual Studio 2013 Express
Used with Permission from Microsoft

106. Used with Permission from Microsoft
Tools: Emulator

107. UI definition
● In standard HTML5...
● ...plus “Microsoft Phone WinJS” libraries
<script src=”//Microsoft.Phone.WinJS.2.1/js/base.js”
></script>
<script src=”//Microsoft.Phone.WinJS.2.1/js/ui.js”></script>
● these libraries cover UI controls and behaviours

108. Application Entry Point
● method called by the system to start the app
● onactivated() in js/default.js
● main UI defined in default.html
● allows to detect how the app was started
○ i.e. from launch, suspension, etc...

109. Application Entry Point
var app = WinJS.Application;
var activation = Windows.ApplicationModel.Activation;
app.onactivated = function (args) {
if (args.detail.kind === activation.ActivationKind.launch) {
if (args.detail.previousExecutionState !== activation.ApplicationExecutionState.terminated) {
// TODO: This application has been newly launched. Initialize
// your application here.
} else {
// TODO: This application has been reactivated from suspension.
// Restore application state here.
}
args.setPromise(WinJS.UI.processAll());
}
};

110. Application Lifecycle
Not Running Suspended
Running
Activated
Resuming
Suspending

111. Application Entry Point
var app = WinJS.Application;
var activation = Windows.ApplicationModel.Activation;
app.onactivated = function (args) {
if (args.detail.kind === activation.ActivationKind.launch) {
if (args.detail.previousExecutionState !== activation.ApplicationExecutionState.terminated) {
// TODO: This application has been newly launched. Initialize
// your application here.
} else {
// TODO: This application has been reactivated from suspension.
// Restore application state here.
}
args.setPromise(WinJS.UI.processAll());
}
};

112. UI.processAll()
● scans default.html for WinJS Controls
○ if it finds any, it initialises them
● enclosed in setPromise to display splash screen until
UI loading is complete

113. JavaScript
● Standard JavaScript
● Win JS = Open Source JavaScript library
○ helpers that expose the Windows Runtime
○ provides page control, promises, data-binding
○ allows Windows UI controls in HTML
■ using data binding and templating

114. Asynchronous Programming
● CommonJS Promises “A”
● Promise = eventual result from an async operation
● Object with “future value” is returned
● then() function
● In lay terms
○ when you finish task X, perform Y
○ promise is Y’s result handler

115. Asynchronous Programming
● Promise object offers methods to deal with result
● then()and done() functions
WinJS.Promise.timeout(1500, WinJS.xhr({ url: "http://www.microsoft.com" })
.then(function complete(result) {
WinJS.log && WinJS.log( "Downloaded the page" );
},
function error(error){
// ...
WinJS.log && WinJS.log( "Got error: " + error.statusText);
}
));

116. UI
● Standard HTML controls
<button id="helloButton">Say "Hello"</button>
● WinJS controls
<div
id="toggleControlDiv"
data-win-control="WinJS.UI.ToggleSwitch"
data-win-options="{title: 'Greeting Color'}">
</div>

117. UI actions
● by event handling
○ register an event listener
○ in app.onactivated(), after args.setPromise()
var helloButton = document.getElementById("helloButton");
helloButton.addEventListener("click", buttonHandler, false);

118. UI actions
● buttonHandler() is a standard JavaScript function
function buttonHandler(eventInfo) {
var inputString = document.getElementById("input").value;
document.getElementById("output").innerText = inputString;
}

119. ● done in CSS3
● defaults for dark and light UI themes are provided
● add in /css/default.css
● e.g.
.toggle-on {
color:blue;
}
UI styling

120. ● Effective way to add data into HTML/WinJS control
● Define UI control, define data, bind data to control
○ if data change, UI control is updated
○ e.g. useful with lists
Data Binding

121. Define binding for UI element:
<span id="namespan" data-win-bind="innerText: name"></span>
Then, in the Javascript:
var person = { name: "Fran" };
…
var personSpan = document.querySelector('#nameSpan');
WinJS.Binding.processAll(personSpan, person);
Data Binding

122. ● It’s HTML, so we can use linking
● Single-page Navigation
○ Microsoft-recommended
○ There are still multiple files
○ Better for transferring app context
○ One “central” PageControl object loads other files
Navigation

123. ● Several navigation patterns can be combined
○ due to HTML, developer has maximum freedom
● Typical examples
○ List with drill-down
○ Central app hub (panoramic view)
○ App tabs
○ Page shuffle
Navigation Patterns

124. Navigation Example: List with drill-down
Used with Permission from Microsoft

125. Navigation Example: Page Shuffle
Used with Permission from Microsoft

126. Navigation Example: Central app hub
Used with Permission from Microsoft

127. Navigation Example: Central app hub
Used with Permission from Microsoft

128. ● User Data: document, files, etc…
○ File system
○ One Drive
○ HTML5 File API
Data Storage

129. ● App Data: state, configuration, preferences, etc…
○ App Data API for WinRT
○ IndexdDB (ISAM)
○ Extensible Storage Engine (ISAM)
○ HTML5 Web Storage
○ WinJS.Application.sessionState, local, roaming
Data Storage

130. #2.3
Android

131. Assumptions
● Android 4.4 “KitKat”
○ released in October 2013
● 13.6% of android installs
○ Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” is at 14.9%
○ Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” 12.3%
● Android versions have had a complicated history...

132. Basics
● App lifecycle + MVC model
● Java (Dalvik VM) + Native C Code (Bionic)
● XML-based UI design
● Android = software stack
○ OS based on Linux kernel
○ Middleware, Core Applications, SDK
● Eclipse, Android SDK, ADT, Simulator
○ on PC, Mac, Windows, …

133. Architecture
CC-BY-SA 3.0 by Smieh

134. Manifest
● Synoptic view of an application
○ Lists activities
○ Adds permissions
○ Register intents
○ and more...

135. Activities
● Apps are collections of Activities
○ Activities are Java objects
○ Activities provide a screen
● Each Activity is the base for UI
○ They can use Views and Fragments
■ Views = widgets (buttons, fields, etc…)
■ Fragments = components with encapsulated
code

136. Activity Lifecycle
Image: Apache License from developer.google.com

137. Activity Code
Code: Apache License from developer.google.com
public class ExampleActivity extends Activity {
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
}
@Override
protected void onStart() {
super.onStart();
}
@Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
}
@Override
protected void onPause() {
super.onPause();
}
@Override
protected void onStop() {
super.onStop();
}
@Override
protected void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
}
}

138. Intents
Image: Apache License from developer.google.com

139. Intents
● Runtime binding between code in different apps
● Mostly used to launch activities
● Explicit
○ specify exact class to be run
● Implicit
○ include information to help the system “decide”
○ concept of Intent Resolution

140. Intents
● Activities can register Intent Filters in the Manifest
● Intents are used intra-app and between apps
<activity class=".NotesList">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
</intent-filter>
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<action android:name="android.intent.action.PICK" />
<data android:mimeType="vnd.android.cursor.dir/vnd.google.note" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
Code: Apache License from developer.google.com

141. Intents
● Programmatically, switch to a different activity
Intent intent = new Intent(this, DisplayMessageActivity.
class);
String message = “Hello”;
intent.putExtra(EXTRA_MESSAGE, message);
startActivity(intent);
Code: Apache License from developer.google.com

142. Intents
● Programmatically, switch to a different activity
Intent intent = new Intent(this, DisplayMessageActivity.
class);
String message = “Hello”;
intent.putExtra(EXTRA_MESSAGE, message);
startActivity(intent);
Code: Apache License from developer.google.com
Data sharing

143. UI
● “Roughly” MVC
● Views are defined programmatically or in XML
○ Layout Inflater
● Activity: setContentView()
○ views are nested
● Hierarchy of Views grouped in View Groups
○ views are single UI widgets
○ groups define how the views are laid out

144. XML Layout
main_layout.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical" >
<TextView android:id="@+id/text"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Hello, I am a TextView" />
<Button android:id="@+id/button"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="Hello, I am a Button" />
</LinearLayout>
Code: Apache License from developer.google.com

145. XML Layout
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main_layout);
}
Code: Apache License from developer.google.com

146. XML Layout
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main_layout);
}
Code: Apache License from developer.google.com

147. Resources & R
● All resources are under a folder called “res”
○ drawables
○ layouts
○ localised strings
● Android exposes them through the R class
○ R.layout.main_layout
○ Smart system for localisation
■ values -> R.values.string
■ values-en -> R.values.string

148. Resources & R
● All resources are under a folder called “res”
○ drawables
○ layouts
○ localised strings
● Android exposes them through the R class
○ R.layout.main_layout
○ Smart system for localisation
■ values -> R.values.string
■ values-en -> R.values.string

149. Images
● R.drawable.<image> makes access easy but…
● ...there is massive diversity in device capabilities
○ drawable-hdpi
○ drawable-ldpi
○ drawable-mdpi
○ etc…
● Screen support is a major pain

150. Images
Image & Text: Apache License from developer.google.com

151. Data Storage
● Shared Preferences
○ key-value pairs of primitive types
● Internal and External File Storage
● SQLite Database

152. UI Actions
● 2 options: define onClick function...
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Button xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:id="@+id/button_send"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/button_send"
android:onClick="sendMessage" />
public void sendMessage(View view) {
// Do something in response to
button click
}
Code: Apache License from developer.google.com

153. UI Actions
● ...or create event listener
Button button = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button_send);
button.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View v) {
// Do something in response to button click
}
});
Code: Apache License from developer.google.com

154. Asynchronous Programming
● Unresponsive apps trigger the “ANR” dialog
● Implement AsyncTask to run in background
Image: Apache License from developer.google.com

155. Asynchronous Programming
● Define Task...
private class DownloadFilesTask extends AsyncTask <URL, Integer, Long> {
protected Long doInBackground (URL... urls) {
int count = urls.length;
long totalSize = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
totalSize += Downloader .downloadFile (urls[i]);
publishProgress ((int) ((i / (float) count) * 100));
// Escape early if cancel() is called
if (isCancelled ()) break;
}
return totalSize ;
}
// This is called each time you call publishProgress()
protected void onProgressUpdate (Integer... progress ) {
setProgressPercent (progress [0]);
}
protected void onPostExecute (Long result) {
showNotification ("Downloaded " + result + " bytes" );
}
}

156. Asynchronous Programming
● launch and continue with other activities
● at the end, onPostExecute() will update with results
new DownloadFilesTask().execute(url1, url2, url3);

157. #2.4
Alternatives

158. What else?
● Cross-platform native development
● 100% Mobile Web
● UI Frameworks
○ CSS libraries
○ MVC-based

159. Apache Cordoba/PhoneGap
● Set of APIs to access native functions from JavaScript
○ camera, geolocation, etc...
● Develop mobile apps in HTML, CSS, Javascript
○ combine with UI framework
■ jQuery Mobile, Dojo Mobile, Sencha Touch, ...
● “Package” it in a native app using the platform SDK
● Supports: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone,
Palm WebOS, Bada, Symbian (in future: Firefox OS)

160. Mobile Web
● “Apps are overrated”
● Make web sites mobile-ready
● HTML5, jQuery, JavaScript
● Use Open Standards
● Easier for accessibility

161. Sencha Touch
● HTML5 framework
● Provides themes for most mobile platforms
● Based on MVC pattern

162. jQuery Mobile
● HTML5-based UI system
● Responsive web sites
● Based on jQuery
● Provides
○ Ajax navigation
○ Touch events
○ Widgets

163. <Stats on cross-platform framework omitted due to licensing. Contact me for details.>

164. What lies ahead?
● Firefox OS
● IndiePhone
● FairPhone
● ...and many others

165. #2.5
App Distribution & conclusions

166. Markets
● Publicly available app-stores
○ “Private apps” with authentication
● Android & Windows allow direct sideloading
○ Recommended in Windows, not in Android
● Enterprise app distribution
○ in iOS (£299/year)
○ in Android (no extra cost)

167. The screen size war
Android iOS
Images source: OpenSignal

168. The screen size war
● Fragmentation is predominant in the Android market
○ Good for users
○ Bad for developers
● Tablets are less affected
○ Once you get past 7”, difference not that important

169. #3
Hello, World!

170. #3.1
iOS

191. #3.2
Windows 8 Phone

197. Press the “play” button

198. Keep an eye on the console

200. #4
Let’s get some practice

201. Exercise 0: Hello, World!
● Display a static “hello” string
● iOS
○ view controllers, storyboards, outlets
● Windows
○ simple html

202. Exercise 1: Basic interaction
● Display a dynamic “hello” string
○ text and push a button
● iOS
○ outlets & actions
● Windows
○ event handlers

203. Exercise 2: Populate a table
● Display a table with some data from an array
● iOS
○ table view, data source
● Windows
○ list view, data-binding

204. Exercise 3: Pie Chart
● Display a simple pie chart
● iOS
○ core plot
● Windows
○ Raphael.js

205. Exercise 4: Line Chart
● Display a simple pie chart
● iOS
○ core plot
● Windows
○ Raphael.js

206. Exercise 5 (optional): Navigation
● Play with building a navigation framework
● iOS
○ storyboards
● Windows
○ page control tutorial

207. And more...
● Let’s put this all together
● Display data from the Guardian?

208. Fin.