Android Cookbook Examples

This repo is among the largest collections of Android code samples anywhere; it contains around a hundred and fifty compilable source code examples from the O’Reilly Android Cookbook, a great source of tutorial material for the Android Developer. Not all recipes in the book or online have code accompanying them; this repo features code that was either linked by the contributor, or in some cases, re-constructed as a New Project by the editor for your convenience.

Further note that not all programs used in the book/online appear here; some of the examples in the book/online are only program fragments taken from other programs that can’t be included. And of course some code is drawn from existing projects that are hosted elsewhere.

Each Directory comprises its own project, and has a name that is cited at the end of the corresponding Recipe, under the "Source Code Download" section.

NOTE There are two styles of projects:

1. Eclipse projects with the newer Eclipse Andmore;

2. Android Studio projects (most of them complete with their extraneous "app" subdirectory).

If you have used the old Google ADT, you will need to update your Eclipse config by removing ADT, then replace it with AndMore from the Eclipse Marketplace Client.

Most of the Eclipse projects also have configuration files to allow them to be opened in Android Studio.

Many of the Eclipse projects have been Mavenized; a few have not.

Most of the Gradle projects will also build with Android Studio; there may be a few that will not.

The table List of Projects shows which projects are set up for which build tools.

TL;DR: Build Most Projects with Apache Maven

Prerequisites: Java 7 or 8 SDK, Android SDK including "Google Maven Repository" for compat stuff, git, Maven

1. git clone https://github.com/mosabua/maven-android-sdk-deployer

2. cd maven-android-sdk-deployer

3. mvn install -P 6.0 # at least

4. mvn install -P 7.0 # also needed

5. cd ..

6. git clone https://github.com/IanDarwin/Android-Cookbook-Examples

7. cd Android-Cookbook-Examples

8. mvn -fae package android:install android:run Include android:install and android:run only if you actually want to run them all, and have a device or emulator with some good free space; else just do 'package')

9. Fix up any that didn’t work, and send pull requests!

Eclipse Issue

If you get Eclipse-Maven projects failing with this message: org.codehaus.plexus.archiver.jar.Manifest.write(java.io.PrintWriter)

then you need to update your "M2E Connector for Android" to at least 0.17.2.20060614

Maven Build: More Details

About two thirds of these projects were initially developed using Eclipse ADT, and migrated to Maven for automatic building. Obviously Google has spoken and we will eventually have to migrate kicking and screaming to Android Studio and Gradle, but for now, we are keeping those projects in "bilingual" or "either-IDE mode".

If you import the entire repo in Eclipse with eGit, be sure to check the Import all projects checkbox. If you want to keep these mini-projects separate from your "regular" work, you may want to use the Git repo as an Eclipse workspace (use File→Switch Workspace→Other→Browse). This directory is already set up to be an Eclipse workspace if you want it to (the .metadata directory exists and is already in .gitignore).

Note: As part of the move to Gradle, Google stopped pushing Android releases to Maven Central; their last version was 4.1.1.4, thus Lollipop, Marshmallow, and "N" have been left high-and-dry. And worse, their SDK license prohibits re-distribution of binaries, so nobody else can step in and upload these files to Maven Central. But of course there is a solution. To compile these projects with Maven you will need to download the amazing maven-android-sdk-deployer, which repackages files from the SDK - after you download it using the Android tools, thus nobody is redistributing it - into your local .m2/repository so that Maven can find it. This is the function of the first few steps in the numbered list above.

Note that projects using official releases use e.g. com.google.android:android:4.1.1.4 whereas projects deployed using the sdk-deployer use e.g android:android:6.0_r3.

You can download AndroidCookbookExamples as a Zip file from GitHub, but then you won’t get updates, and it will be hard to collaborate with the other contributors. If you’re not familiar with Git and Github, see the getting started page on GitHub and read up on how to collaborate. You can either send diff/patch files or send a pull request. Remember that GitHub is a free service for public projects!

Many of the projects may (depending on your version of Eclipse) give you some noise when you first open them due to bin and/or gen being missing. The Eclipse plug-in will usually create them but not notify that it’s done so, meaning you just have to do Refresh (F5), failing that, close and re-open the project. Does not happen with current Eclipse, last I tried.

There is neither a Wiki or a Tracker for this Github repository. If a project won’t open, or won’t build, we’d prefer that you fix it and sent a pull request. Bugs and suggestions about code samples can be made on the Android Cookbook web site (http://androidcookbook.com/). Bugs or suggesions on the published edition of the book should go to http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920038092.do; you can also purchase the book there (which helps fund my continued work on this code base).

Notes for the First Edition of the book

The current version of this repo has been reorganized in preparation for the second edition of the book. There have been quite a few projects added since the first published edition of the book, and a few renamed, so if you have the printed edition from 2012 you should rummage around here before re-typing anything that looks like a full example.

If you want this repo to correspond to the last minor revision of the first edition, use git to checkout the tag Book-1.0.

DELETED PROJECTS

JpsTrack and the ToDo applications have graduated to their own github projects, up one level from here on Github.

List of Projects

The following list is generated (periodically) from the project folders. In the Builds With column, E for Eclipse, M for Maven, S for Android Studio, G for Gradle.

Table 1. List of projects with description and build tools

Project	Builds With	Function	Notes
AboutBoxDemo	GS	A re-usable About dialog.	-
AboutInfo	EMGS	Info about device and screen	-
ActionBarCompat	GS	Simple ActionBar demo(s)	-
AddContact	EMG	Add a contact	Shows ContactsContract, content provider
AdMobDemo	GS	Using AdMob with interstitial (inter-Activity) ads.	-
AndroidPlot	EMG	Graphing	-
AndroidRss	EMG	RSS Reader	Works under Maven; Eclipse fails w/ Maven Configuration Problem
AppDownloader	MGS	Installs another app	Downloading, package management
AppSingleton	GS	Compilable example of the Application Singleton pattern recipe.	-
AutocompleteTextViewContacts	EMG	Contact picker with autocomplete	-
AutoUpdater	EMG	App can update itself	see AppDownloader
BackupManager	EMG	Use Android Backup scheme.	-
BluetoothDemo	EMG	Bluetooth Connection	-
CalAdder	EMG	Add appointment to Calendar	Calendar via Content Provider
CallFaker	EMG	Pretend a call happened, for testing	-
CallInterceptorIncoming	EGS	Intercept an incoming phone call.	-
CallInterceptorOutgoing	EG	Intercept outgoing phone calls.	Compiles and runs, but doesn’t intercept the call.
CameraIntent	GS	CameraIntent - get the camera to take a picture, by startActivityForResult()	-
CardDemo	GS	Demonstation of Card widget.	-
CheckBoxRadioButton	EMG	GUI demo	name says it
ContentProviderBookmarks	EMG	List of bookmarks from Bookmarks Content Provider	Browser ContentProvider
ContentProviderList	EMG	List of ContentProviders	-
ContentProviderSample	EMG	Implement a ContentProvider	-
ContentProviderTest	EMG	Test it	-
CountDownTimerExample	EMG	Time-based activity	-
CurrentMoodWidget	EMG	Application Widget	-
CursorLoaderDemo	EMG	How to load data properly using CursorLoader	-
CustomMenu	EMG	Menu	-
CustomSubMenu	GS	Submenu, created programmatically	-
CustomToast	EMG	Toast	-
DatabaseFromFile	EMG	Create a database from an SQLite .db file in 'assets'.	-
DataToCursor	EMG	Fake up a Cursor from a list of files	-
DateFormatDemo	GS	Example of various DateFormat usages.	-
DialogDemos	EMG	Dialogs	-
DragDropDemo	EG	A simple Drag-and-drop example.	-
DreamsDemo	EMG	Demo of "Dreams" (4.x screensaver)	-
EmailTextView	EMG	Send contents of EditText via email	-
EmailWithAttachments	EMG	Attach file to email	-
EpochJSCalendar	EMG	Java + JavaScript Epoch Calendar	-
EventListenersDemo	M	5 Ways to Wire an Event Listener.	-
FacebookSdk	EMG	Access FB API	-
FaceFinder	EMG	Face locator API in photos	-
FileProviderDemo	GS	Demo of FileProvider.	-
FilesystemDemos	MGS	Internal and external files.	-
FindMeX	EG	Find Me X	IllegalArgumentException: Incomplete location object, missing timestamp or accuracy, Progress:334
FloatingActionButtonSnackbarDemo	GS	Demo of 'fab' Floating Abstract Button	-
FontDemo	EMG	Using a custom font	You need to provide the font file! Example uses Iceberg font…​
FragmentsDemos	GS	Simple Fragment and List-Detail Fragments in one project	-
Gallery	EMG	Simple Photo Gallery example.	Deprecated
GcmClient	EMG	Google Cloud Messaging - receiver	-
GcmMockServer	EMG	Google Cloud Messaging - sender	-
GeneralPrompter	EG	A program that shows the Storage Facility to prompt for all files.	-
HapticFeedback	GS	Haptic Feedback recipe.	-
HelloCommandLine	EMAG	HelloWorld	SDK
HelloEclipse	EMG	HelloWorld	Eclipse ADT
HelloEspressoTesting	GS	HelloWorld of EspressoTesting	-
HelloGradle	GS	Hello World with Gradle but NOT Studio.	-
HelloMaven	EMG	HelloWorld using Maven with android-maven-plugin.	-
HelloStudioTesting	GS	HelloWorld of StudioTesting	-
HelloTestingTarget	EMAG	ADT Testing - subject	-
HelloTestingTestProject	EMAG	ADT Testing - Tests	-
HomeAppListView	EMG	A Home Application	Shows running a program
IconizedListView	EMG	List View with Icon	-
IntentsDemo	EMG	Intents	-
IPCDemo	GS	IPC - Inter-Process Communication, simplified demo (2 versions, alas).	-
IpcServiceDemo	GS	IPC - Inter-Process Communication, simplified demo (2 versions, alas).	-
JavascriptDataDemo	EMG	Getting data from Java to JavaScript and back.	-
JavaTimeDemo	MGS	Demos of java.time date/time API	Actually JSR-310 API; almost same but different package
JSONParsing	EG	Simple example of JSON parsing using built-in JSONObject.	-
LayoutBorder	G	Layout Border Demo Project Source for Android	-
ListViewAdvanced	EMG	ListView	-
ListViewDemos	EMGS	ListView	-
ListViewEmpty	EMGS	ListView with empty list: don’t show blank screen!	-
ListViewSectionHeader	EMG	ListView with section headers	-
LocalBroadcastDemo	EMG	Local Broadcast Receiver	-
MapDemosV2	EMG	This is the Google API Maps V2 Demo.	-
MapsV2AddToProject	GS	Adding a Google Maps V2 MapActivity to a project	You must ask for permission from Google (get and provide your own Google API key).
MarketSearch	EMG	Search the Play Store	-
MaterialDemos	EMG	MaterialDesign demos	-
MediaPlayerDemo	EMG	Play media	-
MediaPlayerInteractive	EG	Media Player demo from Marco Dinacci, thanks.	-
MediaRecorderDemo	EMG	Simple sound recorder	-
MenuAction	EMG	Menu Action Handling	-
NdkDemo	EMG	Native Development Kit	C Code
NotificationDemo	EMG	Notifications	-
NumberPickers	EMG	UI for picking numbers	-
OAuth2Demo	GS	Demo of OAuth2 to Google Tasks.	-
OpenGlDemo	EMG	OpenGL graphics	-
OrientationChanges	EMG	Rotation	-
OSMIntro	EMG	Basic OSM map app demo.	Builds with Maven, not with Eclipse. Maybe m2e aar support, isn’t, yet.
OSMOverlay	EMG	OSM Map with a map marker overlay	Compiles, runs, doesn’t load map tiles; needs upgrading to osmdroid-android 5.5
OSMTouchEvents	EMG	OSM Map with touch event handling.	Builds with Maven, not with Eclipse. Maybe m2e aar support, isn’t, yet.
PdfShare	EMG	Create and share a PDF	-
PermissionRequest	G	Shows asking for permissions at runtime, i.e,. "the new way"	-
PhoneGapDemo	EMG	HTML5 app using phonegap/cordova	-
PinchAndZoom	GS	Pinch-and-zoom graphics demo	-
PreferencesDemo	EMG	Preferences	-
ProgressDialogDemo	GS	Demo of a pop-up indefinite progress dialog.	-
RangeGraphDemo	EMG	Using a graphing library	-
RatingBarDemo	EGS	Show use of 5-star RatingBar as used in rankings, surveys, &c.	-
Rebooter	EMG	How to reboot, and why you can’t	-
RecipeList	EMGS	= RecipeList - use an AsyncTask to download data over the 'net via HTTP.	-
RecyclerViewDemo	GS	Demo of RecyclerView, the faster ListView.	-
RemoteSystemsTempFiles	EM	This folder is created automatically by Eclipse and can be ignored.	-
RGraphDemo	EMG	Using a graphing library	-
RuntimeLog	EMG	A simpe runtime log facility	-
ScanBarcode	GS	Scan barcode using ZXing app via Intent	-
SecondScreen	M	Trivial example of one Activity (screen) starting another.	-
SendSMS	EMG	Sends an SMS	-
SensorShakeDetection	GS	Use Accellerometer to detect if the user has shaken the device.	-
SensorUpOrDown	GS	Code for r2051, Checking Whether a Device Is Facing Up or Down	-
ShareActionProviderDemo	EMG	ICS "Share" action	-
ShellCommand	EG	Run a Unix/Linux command via Runtime.exec, capture the output.	-
SimpleAccountAndSyncDemo	EMG	User account on device	-
SimpleCalendar	EMG	Calendar	-
SimpleJumper	EG	Common code for flixel-gdx-based gaming demo.	Game starts, can move left-right only, no scenery. Fails on Intel phone/emulator
SimplePool	EG	Start of a pool/billiards game using AndEngine.	-
SimpleTorchLight	EMG	Simple Torchlight/Flashlight example.	(Most devices now have a built-in control for this)
SlidingDrawer-Topdown	EMG	The main code is from the "Sliding Drawer - Top Down" recipe	-
SMSReceive	EG	Receive an incoming SMS.	-
SnackBarDemo	EMG	Snackbar (bottom message text) demo	-
SoapDemo	EMG	XML SOAP Web Service	-
SoftKeyboardEnterNext	GS	Change the Enter key to "Next" on one-line text fields.	-
SoundRec	EMG	Sound Recorder	-
Speaker	EMG	Text To Speech (TTS)	-
SpeechRecognizerDemo	GS	Speech Recognizer.	-
SpinnerDemo	EMG	Drop-down Spinner Demos	-
SpinningCubeDemo	EG	OpenGL Spinning Cube, from Marco Dinacci	-
SplashDialog	EMG	Splash screen	-
SQLiteDemos	EMG	SQLite demos	-
StandardDrawables	EMG	Use Existing Drawables	-
StaticFileRead	EMG	StaticFileRead - read a file from the application	-
StringsXML	G	Demos for "Nuances of Strings.xml" recipe.	-
TabHostDemo	EMGS	TabHost Demo: Demo of the TabHost widget, in a Dialog.	-
TabSwipeDemo	EMG	Tabbable and swipeable layout	-
TeleCorder	EMG	Telephone call recorder (in progress!)	-
TelephonyManager	EMG	Displays phone info	-
Tipster	EMGS	Full app: compute and show restaurant bill with tip	-
UniqueId	EMG	Find device’s unique ID	-
Vibrate	EMG	Make the device vibrate	-
ViewPagerDemo	EMG	Swipe among views	-
VolleyDemo	EMGS	Demo of Volley networking library	-
WheelPickerDemo	GS	Apple-style Wheel Picker Demo	-
WindowBackgroundDemo	EMG	Graphical window background	-

Contributions

We welcome contributions of code, and encourage you to accompany them with a new recipe on the Android Cookbook site.

The editor’s decision is final on accepting or rejecting pull requests, though :-)

We follow the CCCC, the Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct.