Android Database Programming

We live in an increasingly data-centric and data-driven world. On top of that we live in a very mobile-centric world with the rise of Android smart phones andtablet devices and the surge in demand for the Androidplatform. Along with the demand for more data, there is a demand for efficient, “snappy” applications, and so developers need to have a strong understanding of when different data storage methods are appropriate and when they are not.

Mastering how to use these two fields to successfully create a powerful application will help you boost your knowledge and skills in this area.

“Android Database Programming” is designed to help developers create and design data-centric mobileapplications on Google’s Android platform. As the world goes increasingly mobile and as consumers’ demand for data-centric applications rises, knowing how to combine the two effectively will become an increasingly important asset to have as a developer. The book starts by looking at the various local data storage methods on Android, and finishes off by examining external databases and ways you can utilize them from within an Android application.

This book starts by looking at local data storage methods, focusing on writing SQLite databases for your application and also looking at ways to bind these databases to the user interface. The book, through its practical approach, strives to teach you by examples. Each chapter focuses on flushing out high level design concepts, before drilling down into different code examples.

As you continue you will look at external databases, primarily Google’s App Engine platform, and pull things together by helping you understand how you can request, cache, and display this data. The book then teaches the ways and techniques to utilize such external databases from within your application.

What you will learn from this book

• Learn about lighter forms of local data storage such as SharedPreferences
• Dive into SQLite databases and learn how to customize and extend them
• Examine various SQLite queries to efficiently query for your data
• Learn to safely expose your SQLite database to external applications
• Understand how to bind your SQLite database to the user interface
• Explore various external databases such as Google App Engine and learn how to store/query data on these external platforms
• Learn to make network requests to both post and get data from your external data store
• Learn to retrieve, parse, and/or cache the incoming web data on the Android application

Approach
This book is a practical tutorial approaching the topic with clear instructions and examples. With easy to understand examples and scenarios you can apply almost anywhere, this book walks you through both local and external data storage methods for the Android platform.

Who this book is for
“Android Database Programming” targets developers who are experienced with databases and other back-end design concepts, but who may want to see these concepts applied to mobile applications. Developers who are experienced with mobile applications and/or the Android platform, but who may not be as familiar with back-end systems and designing/implementing database schemas will find this tutorial equally useful.

Even if you are already experienced with both Android programming and database implementation, but want to further solidify concepts and see a broader scope of data storage methods on Android, this book is your perfect companion.