Android Development Essential Training: The User Interface with Kotlin

Course details

A stylish, compelling user interface can quickly turn new users into fans. In this installment of the Android Development Essential Training series, jump-start your Android development journey by learning how to design a simple user interface in a native Android application. Android developer and instructor David Gassner shares tips and tricks he picked up in his own career, covering how to define screens with layout files, use ViewGroup components, and define visual styles and themes. Plus, he shares a variety of techniques you can leverage to display images, ensure that your app looks great on a variety of different devices, and more.

Learning objectives
Defining screens with layout files
Using ViewGroup components
Displaying views programmatically
Defining and using string resources
Displaying images
Creating icons in Android Studio
Defining visual styles and themes
Supporting styles on older devices
Supporting multiple devices and screens

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Elements of an Android user interface
02 - What you should know
03 - Configure Android Studio for this course

1. Define Screens with Layout Files

04 - Load an XML layout file at runtime
05 - View and ViewGroup components
06 - Display View components in a ViewGroup
07 - Convert a project to AndroidX packages
08 - Units of measurement in Android

2. Using ViewGroup Components

09 - Position views with LinearLayout
10 - Manage view positions with constraints
11 - Distribute views with constraint chains
12 - Display views programmatically
13 - Get view references with findViewById()

3. Display and Collect Text

14 - Manage string values as resources
15 - Manage data entry with EditText
16 - Manage data entry with TextInputLayout
17 - Use string resources with placeholders
18 - Display Snackbar messages

4. Display Images

19 - Display image resources
20 - Load image resources at runtime
21 - Reduce file size with WebP images
22 - Display images from the assets directory
23 - Use XML-based VectorDrawable images
24 - Create icons in Android Studio

5. Create Themes and Styles

25 - Define visual styles and themes
26 - Support styles on older devices
27 - Configure Material Design theme colors

6. Support Multiple Devices and Screens

28 - Create alternative resource directories
29 - Create alternative bitmap resources

Conclusion

30 - Next steps