Big Nerd Ranch announces Android Bootcamp

ATLANTA, USA: Big Nerd Ranch Inc., provider of training classes for developers, system administrators and web developers, is taking the lead in offering the first class in the world on developing smartphone applications in Android, Sept. 15-19.

Android, Google's recent entry into the world of software development for mobile technology, has generated widespread excitement from the development community. The mobile market is poised to explode into the new arena of smartphones and Android is strategically placed to take the lead in that emerging market.

While the smartphone handsets are still in the early planning stages, developers are moving forward in the creation of dynamic and fully functional applications that will be consumer-ready when the smartphones are launched. The potential market in this new field expands the possibilities for developers who aren't afraid to think big.

Android Bootcamp is led by instructor Mark Murphy, an accomplished development trainer and the founder of CommonsWare. Mark has been involved with mobile development since the early days of the Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML) and is a frequent contributor to the Android support Google Groups.

"Android is significantly different from any other mobile development platform or Java-based environment," said class instructor, Mark Murphy.

He added, "This class will immerse you in the Android platform, leveraging your existing Java expertise, so you walk away able to build Android GUIs and related components. You will not only learn the basics of setting up activities and UI widgets, but the advanced capabilities that make Android compelling, such as GPS, mapping, Internet access, multimedia, and on-device search."

Students attending the class should be prepared to work hard, as the Android class covers a lot of territory. Participants are required to have experience in Java, with some background in developing graphical user interfaces (GUIs) helpful.

The syllabus includes:

    * Using XML and incorporating various widgets (fields, buttons, tabbed panes, progress bars, etc.) into the user interface

    * Embedding browsers into the GUI

    * Structuring the GUI to work with background threads, and understanding and controlling lifecycle events

    * Managing local databases using SQLite

    * Communicating via the internet using HTTP and JavaMail

    * Understanding intents and establishing and invoking activities

    * Mastering content providers and services

    * Integrating advanced features such as location-based services, Google Maps, multimedia, on- device search engines and telephony capabilities.

The Big Nerd Ranch incorporates intensive training classes for Unix and Mac OS X programmers in a retreat setting outside Atlanta, GA.