Asynchronous Android Programming

Unlock the power of multi-core mobile devices to build responsive and reactive Android applications

About This Book

• Construct scalable and performant applications to take advantage of multi-thread asynchronous techniques
• Explore the high-level Android asynchronous constructs available on the Android SDK
• Choose the most appropriate asynchronous technique to implement your next outstanding feature

Who This Book Is For

This book is for Android developers who want to learn how to build multithreaded and reliable Android applications using high-level and advanced asynchronous techniques and concepts. No prior knowledge of concurrent and asynchronous programming is required. This book will also be great for Java experts who are new to Android.

What You Will Learn

• Get familiar with the android process model and low-level concurrent constructs delivered by the Android SDK
• Use AsyncTask and loader framework to load data in the background, delivering progress results in the meantime
• Create services that interact with your activity without compromising the UI rendering
• Learn the working of Android concurrency on the Native Layer
• Interact with nearby devices over Bluetooth and WiFi communications channels
• Create and compose tasks with RxJava to execute complex asynchronous work in a predictable way
• Get accustomed to the use of the Android Loader construct to deliver up-to-date results

In Detail

Asynchronous programming has acquired immense importance in Android programming, especially when we want to make use of the number of independent processing units (cores) available on the most recent Android devices.

To start with, you will get to know the details of the Android Process model and the Java low level concurrent framework delivered by Android SDK. Following this, we will guide you through the high-level Android-specific constructs available on the SDK: Handler, AsyncTask, and Loader. Next, we will guide you through the creation of IntentServices, Bound Services, and External Services, that can run in the background even when the user is not interacting with it. Next, you will discover the AlarmManager and the JobScheduler APIs, used to schedule and defer work without sacrificing the battery life. In a more advanced phase, you will create background tasks that are able to execute CPU-intensive tasks in the Java native layer, making use of the Android NDK. Finally, we will introduce you to RxJava, a popular asynchronous Java framework used to compose work in a concise and consistent way. Asynchronous Android Programming will help you to build well-behaved applications with smooth, responsive user interfaces that delight users with speedy results and data that's always fresh.

Helder Vasconcelos is Software Engineer based on Dublin, Ireland, with more than 10 years of experience designing and developing real-time/multithreaded Java and C++ applications for the telecommunications and aviation industry. Apart from his day-to-day job, he occupies his spare time building native Android applications for Bearstouch Software and other third-party companies. He graduated with a degree in Electronic & Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Aveiro in January 2006. During his career, he has worked as a Software Engineer for companies such as PT Inovacao (Portugal), Airtel ATN (Dublin, Ireland) and Axway (Dublin, Ireland).