14 DAY TRIAL // Last week Google unveiled to the world the newest iteration of its Android operating system, namely Android 2.1, and now we learn that it also provided support for those who want to build applications for it. The Android Developers Team announced the availability of Android 2.1 with the Android SDK, so that application developers can make sure that their solutions work flawlessly with the new platform flavor too. Developers of applications for the Android platform should know already that the Android 2.1 platform, just like other previously released flavors of the OS, can be downloaded via the Android SDK and AVD Manager tool.
“Android 2.1 is a minor platform release deployable to Android-powered handsets starting in January 2010. This release includes new API changes and bug fixes. For developers, the Android 2.1 platform is available as a downloadable component for the Android SDK. The downloadable platform includes a fully compliant Android library and system image, as well as a set of emulator skins, sample applications, and more. The downloadable platform includes no external libraries,” the Android Developers Team states. The system image developers will download comes with built-in applications, built-in locales, a set of emulator skins, and a new USB driver with support for Nexus One.
A series of changes were made to the application framework API: “The Android 2.1 API is assigned an integer identifier – 7 - that is stored in the system itself. This identifier, called the "API Level", allows the system to correctly determine whether an application is compatible with the system, prior to installing the application,” the Android developers note. At the same time, they add that those who want to include Android 2.1 in their apps will have “to set the proper value, "7", in the attributes of the <uses-sdk> element” in their application's manifest.
The most notable changes in the framework APIs for the new platform version include APIs for the development of animated wallpapers (android.service.wallpaper package, WallpaperInfo class, and updated WallpaperManager), new views (isOpaque() and onDrawScrollBars(Canvas), RemoteViews - addView(int, RemoteViews) and removeAllViews(int), ViewGroup - isChildrenDrawingOrderEnabled() and setChildrenDrawingOrderEnabled(boolean)), or new SignalStrength class with info on the handset's current network signal (onSignalStrengthsChanged(SignalStrength) callback) and new onDataConnectionStateChanged(int, int) callback.
The release notes for the platform show that new APIs for the WebKit are also there: - New WebStorage methods to manipulate web storage databases. - New GeolocationPermissions methods to get Geolocation permissions from, and set them on the WebView. - New WebSettings methods to manage settings for app cache, web storage, and zooming based on screen density. - New WebChromeClient methods for handling video, browsing history, custom Views, app cache limits, and more.
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