Picked up an HTC Eris from Go Wireless in Fargo, ND about a week and a half before Christmas 2009. Had a lot of fun playing with it and figured that I really *need* to start making my own stuff for it. Did some Googling and found out Java is the language of choice for this Android based platform. So, I picked Head First Java from Barnes & Noble and ordered two Android-specific books off of Amazon.com: Pro Android (PA) and Android Wireless Application Development (AWAD).
Spent the majority of the Christmas break diving into Java. I've got prior C++ experience and found a lot of the concepts and syntax to be very familiar. That was definitely cool.
When the two Amazon books arrived after Christmas, I decided to hit Pro Android first. I had read a review that the book's price was worth just the OpenGL ES chapter alone. It may be, but I abandoned it after hitting the Content Provider chapter. Either the chapter order is borked or they just figured too many assumptions for the Android newb. I'm sure I'll revisit it as I get more experience, but it's not a very good book for those starting out.
So, I switched over to Android Wireless Application Development. Excellent book! I'm currently at Chapter 5 and am learning a great deal. Chapter 5 deals with resources and describes how to build the XML files that comprise your resources and also how to do things programmatically from the Java side of things. Very useful and very helpful examples. I'm pretty stoked about what I'm learning.
No comments:
Post a Comment