The Pragmatic Programmers is publishing a "getting started" book on Google Android development. Ed Burnette's Hello, Android covers all the basics of the Linux/Java mobile stack, from creating user interfaces to building location-based services, and concludes with coding an Android Sudoku game, says the publisher.

( Click for larger view of the cover of Hello, Android )

According to The Pragmatic Progammers, readers of Hello, Android: Introducing Google's Mobile Development Platform, do not need access to an Android phone such as HTC's G1 , being offered by T-Mobile and Google (which sells an unlocked developer's version ). Instead, all that is required is a desktop computer on which to install the Android software development kit (SDK) and the phone emulator that comes with it. Although aimed at Android beginners, the book appears to require some coding experience.

HTC G1
(Click for details) 

After walking readers through a “Hello, World” type quickie app, Burnette gradually builds up to the more substantial Android Sudoku game example. Topics include interface issues such as touch, D-pad, and keyboard input, as well as location-based services (LBS) features such as GPS and cell-tower triangulation. It also addresses working with the accelerometer and compass sensors. In addition, Burnette covers multimedia audio and video, 2D and 3D OpenGL graphics, web services, and SQLite storage.

The author, Ed Burnette, is a professional developer and author living in Cary, North Carolina, and a senior researcher at the SAS Advanced Computing Lab.

Availability

The Pragmatic Programmers sells the 200-page Hello, Android (Dec. 2008) for $22 for the PDF, $33 for the paperback, or $42 for both versions. The publisher has posted three PDF extracts: the preface, here , the UI chapter, here , and a chapter on exploring 2D graphics, here .

More information on the book may be found here .


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