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Android Printing Framework is used to print content from within Android applications. While subsequent chapters will explore in more detail the options for adding printing support to your applications, this chapter will focus on the various printing options now available in Android and the steps involved in enabling those options. The chapter will then provide…

When Google introduced a map service many years ago, it is hard to say whether or not they ever anticipated having a version available for integration into mobile applications. When the first web-based version of what would eventually be called Google Maps was introduced in 2005, the iPhone had yet to ignite the smartphone revolution,…

Direct reply is an Android feature that allows the user to enter text into a notification and send it to the app associated with that notification. This allows the user to reply to a message in the notification without launching an activity within the app. This chapter will build on the knowledge gained in the…

Notifications provide a way for an app to convey a message to the user when the app is either not running or is currently in the background. For example, a messaging app might notify the user that a new message has arrived from a contact. Notifications can be categorized as being either local or remote.…

This chapter will provide an overview of the MediaRecorder class and explain how this class can be used to record audio or video. The use of the MediaPlayer class to play back audio will also be covered. Having covered the basics, an example application will be created to demonstrate these techniques. In addition to looking…

In several of the example projects created in preceding chapters, changes have been made to the AndroidManifest.xml file to request permission for the app to perform a specific task. In a couple of instances, for example, internet access permission has been requested to allow the app to download and display web pages. In each case…

Following the previous chapters, this chapter will take the existing VideoPlayer project and enhance it to add Picture-in-Picture support, including detecting PiP mode changes and adding a PiP action designed to display information about the currently running video. Adding Picture-in-Picture Support to the Manifest The first step in adding PiP support to an Android app…

When multitasking in Android was covered in earlier chapters, Picture-in-picture (PiP) mode was mentioned briefly but not covered in any detail. Intended primarily for video playback, PiP mode allows an activity screen to be reduced in size and positioned at any location on the screen. While in this state, the activity continues to run, and…

One of the primary uses for smartphones and tablets is to provide access to online content. Video is a key form of content widely used, especially on tablet devices. The Android SDK includes two classes that make implementing video playback on Android devices extremely easy to implement when developing applications. This chapter will provide an…

This chapter will combine the knowledge gained in Using the Android Room Persistence Library with the initial project created in the previous chapter to provide a detailed tutorial demonstrating how to implement SQLite-based database storage using the Room persistence library. In keeping with the Android architectural guidelines, the project will use a view model and…