How to Design Android UI elements

The Android UI element contains a lot of content. For example, the platform consists of the operating system, middleware, user interface, and application software. If an application needs to be liked by users, the UI can be different.

Android introduces some new terms for similar programming terms, which will be described in the following chapters:

◆ Views
View is a basic UI class in the visual interface element and a commonly known control or widget ). All the UI controls and layout classes are inherited from the View.

◆ ViewGroups
View Group is an extension of View. It can accommodate multiple sub-views. By extending the ViewGroup class, you can create a composite control composed of correlated sub-views. The ViewGroup class can also be extended as the layout manager, such as LinearLayout, to help you build the UI. ActivitiesActivity, which is described in detail in the previous chapter, represents a window or screen displayed to the user. Activity is the Form in Android. To display the UI, you only need to specify View or Layout for the Activity.

The Android UI element provides some general UI controls, widgets, and layout managers. Like most graphics applications, it is very likely that you need to extend and modify some standard controls-or create a combination or brand new controls-to provide your own functionality.

• Detailed explanation of skin formulation method of Android Simulator
• Android mobile operating system 2010 trend Outlook
• Details about how to use Android Components
• In-depth explanation of Android Application Performance
• Android DEX file description

As you can see from the increasing screen size, display resolution, and strong mobile processor, mobile apps are becoming more and more visual. When small screens pose a challenge to creating complex visual interfaces, the prevalence of mobile devices makes this challenge unacceptable. In this chapter, you will learn the basic Android UI elements and how to use Views, View Groups, and layouts to create a functional and intuitive UI for your Activity.

After learning some controls provided by the Android SDK, you will learn how to expand and customize them. You will see how to use View Groups to combine Views. Creates atomic, reusable UI elements consisting of child controls that interact with each other. You will also learn how to create your own Views to display data and interact with users.

Use the layout manager inherited from ViewGroup to organize a single element in the Android UI element to the screen. Correct use of layout is very important for creating a good UI. This chapter describes several layout classes and demonstrates how to use them and how to create your own layout.

Android applications and context menu systems provide the optimal way for modern touch devices. As a small test to check the Android UI mode, at the end of this chapter, we will take a look at how to create and use the Activity and menu system.