Android App Development For Dummies

I do love the "for Dummies" books! Before you buy this though, pay attention to page 2, Foolish Assumptions part in the sample available on the product page here on Amazon. I didn't. If I had, I would have bought a Java Programming for Dummies and an XML for Dummies at the same time. Live and learn.

I have only just started to read this book and gave 4 stars as I like the ease of the flow of content so far. Indeed, a book for dummy like me :) I came to give this review as I spotted this one mistake on page 33. The command line in Navigating the Android SDK section is <b> cd "\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Android\android-studio\sdk" </b> whereas it actually is <b> cd "\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Android\sdk" </b>. I ran the command as given an got an error in prompt saying the filepath doesn't exist. But I already had the studio up and have worked on multiple basic apps. Picked up this book cuz now I want to develop a more advanced app and want to clear my fundamentals before that. It was tiny bit annoying when having thought that there might be an issue I uninstalled the SDK. Good thing is that projects are saved independently so no harm there. Just wanted the publisher or author to notice this (and maybe correct it if possible). Otherwise, good experience thus far and hopefully this book gives me the kind of knowledge I need to build my dream project.

I've only read the Table of Contents and the First Chapter, but I have quite a bit of confidence that this book will put me on a solid path to App. Development. Chapter 2 promises to provide me with the information to download all the software I will need from Google for free. Dummies books always provide dependable, and expert information. I'm sure that this one will be no different.

This book makes it easy learning development for android . It has several features into small pieces , allowing a better understanding.

I have been trying to learn Android programming and purchased this book to help guide me and my feelings are mixed. Just to be clear, I have a background in programming with knowledge of Python, basic C and very basic Java.When I read a programming book, I want to see examples of what we are doing and clear explanations of why we are doing it. For example, if it says "write this code", I like to understand exactly why I am writing it and what it means. I guess I am anal, but I really want to understand because I believe that this is how you learn best.In the case of this book, I feel like it is too focused on building specific apps and the steps required. It is does not provide much insight into exactly "why" you perform certain steps, and for me this is the frustration. I really want the why and this book feels light in this area. As a result, I feel like the book clearly explains how to build certain apps, but misses the target on helping people understand Android development.I think that the question comes down to what you want to accomplish. If you are looking for a book that walks through the development of certain apps then this book is for you. If your interest is really about learning Android programming then I would advise that you look elsewhere.

This book starts strong until chapter 6 and then quickly weakens. Forget about getting the code samples, featured in the book, to compile. You will find the guidance and instructions woefully inadequate. Following the author's directions will not produce the same results for you as the results appear in the book. The author omits relevant pointers and thorough step-by-step instructions for typing the code into Android Studio editors. On one occasion I simply tried to make simple changes specified by the author and got errors like "Error: Default Activity Not Found" after the application failed to launch. I would expect sometime *VERY* soon Android App Development for Dummies 4th Edition available free of charge to anyone that purchased this 3rd edition.

All good

Surprisingly bad book. I purchased after briefly reading the reviews. After reading parts of the book I could not believe it has this many great reviews. Going back and looking in detail I see almost all the reviews are plant. Either the person has only done one review in their life or they are a hired reviewer that only gives 5 star reviews. Next time I will be more careful.The book starts well. In standard "for dummies" fashion the first chapter is introduction, terminology, and the like. Good and useful. The second chapter is setting up the development environment. It is up to date and focuses on Android Studio rather than Eclipse like most of the other Android books. I was able to successfully the development environment. Chapter three is a Hello World application and an explanation of all the build files. Again, useful. I was able to build the app and launch in an emulator. The book starts going downhill with Chapter 4 about the User Interface. It does not take the time to give the big picture and instead dives in with do this and change this without telling why. Typos and incomplete explanations abound. I looked on the book website for an errata sheet but found none. I spend a couple of hours trying to work my way through and gave up. The information as presented does not work.Frustrated I gave up on the book and wrote this review. Too bad. The book had a good start.