Android Tutorial B4A Beginners Guide

This guide is obsolete ! It is no more updated.
Please use the B4X Booklets.

Here is a Beginner's Guide in pdf format.
The source code for the example programs is included.

All suggestions, remarks and typo reports are welcome.

To know what vesion you have, look at the lower right corner of the cover page there is an Edit number.
Latest version Edit 3.3

Best regards.


EDIT 2016.10.26 Edition 3.3
Updated with the new B4A V6.30 features.
A big thank you to widget who sent me a complete review with suggestions and typos.
Almost all suggestions have been added.

EDIT 2015.12.08 Edition 3.2
Updated with the new B4A V5.50 features.

EDIT 2015.10.14 Edition 3.1
Updated with the new B4A V5.20 features.

EDIT 2015.07.26 Edition 3.0
Updated with the new B4A V5.02 features.

EDIT 2014.06.04 Edition 2.9
Updated with the new B4A V3.80 features.
Amended some typos.

EDIT 2014.05.07 Edition 2.8
Updated with the new B4A V3.50 features.
Amended some typos.

EDIT 2014.02.05 Edition 2.7
Updated with the new B4A V3.20 features.

EDIT 2013.10.13 Edition 2.6
Updated with the new B4A V3.00 features.

EDIT 2013.05.19 Edition 2.5
Updated with more recent Android SDKs.
Updated to Basic4Android Version 2.70
Added some code snippets to B4A Code Snippets.

EDIT 2013.01.20 Edition 2.4
Minor update with the changes of B4A Version 2.5

EDIT 2012.12.27 Edition 2.3
Updated to Basic4Android 2.3
Updated some chapters

EDIT 2012.08.30 Edition 2.2
- Updated to B4A 2.02
- Removed chapters Keywords, Views and Collections moved them in a separate guide Keyword_Views.pdf
- Added Chapter 12. Tools
- Chapter 12 Example Programs becomes 13
- Chapter 13 Basic Language becomes 14
- Chapter 14 Basic Graphics / Drawing becomes 15
- Chapter 15 Keywords removed
- Chapter 16 Views removed
- Chapter 17 Collections rmoved
- Chapter 18 VB6 versus B4A becomes 16
- Chapter 19 FAQ's becomes 17
- Chapter 20 Glossary becomes 18
- Added new chapters to FAQ'schapter
- Chapter 17.39 not yet finished

Two new Guides have been added:
- Keyword / Views / Collections these chapters were in the Beginner's Guide before
- B4A Code Snippets, it's a collection of code snippets I took from the forum.

EDIT 2012.04.11 Edition 2.1
- Added chapter 5.3 Screen Orientations
- Added chapter 6.4 Exchanging files with PC
- Added chapter 8.9 Designer Script
- Added chapter 13.5.3 Calling a Sub from another module
- Added chapter 13.11 Lists
- Added chapter 13.12 Maps
- Added chapter 17 Collections
- Chapter 17 becomes 18
- Chapter 18 becomes 19
- Added chapter 19.25 Detect screen orientation
- Added chapter 19.26 Some functions don't work in Activity_Pause
- Added chapter 19.27 Calling internal Calculator
- Added chapter 19.28 Get the Alph / Red / Green / Blue values

EDIT 2012.03.11 Edition 2.0
- Amended some errors
- Updated to B4A version 1.8
New chapter
- Working with different screen sizes / number of layouts

Removed chapters
- SQL moved to the User's Guide
- GPS moved to the User's Guide

EDIT 2012.01.01 Edition 1.6
- Added the Widget tutorials.
- Amended some errors.

EDIT 2011.12.25 Edition 1.5
- Added the GPS Example program with some explanations of the code.
- Added some subchapters inspired by forum questions.

Edit: 2011.11.01 Version 1.4
New chapters:
- 8.7 The Abstract Designer
- 8.8 Adding views by code
- 12.5 GPS (a new GPS program will be added in the next update)
- 13.7 Basic Language / Events
- 13.10 Basic Language / Files
- 18.xx some new FAQ's

Edit: 2011.08.29 Version 1.3
New chapter:
- 18 FAQ's

Edit: 2011.08.15 Version 1.2
Above chapters have been added.

Edit: 2011.06.12 Version 1.1
Still missing chapters:
Modules
Example Programs
- ScrollView example
- Database example
Basic Language
- String manipulations
- Timers
Graphics

 

[Mitchboo]

Hi.

Encountering an issue with Number1 and Number2 in the first program of the Beginner's guide.

I followed everything carefully, but it seems Number1 and Number2 do not really behave as global.

Dim Number1, Number2 As Int

is in Sub Globals as instructed, but when the program kept telling me it was the wrong result, I added a MsgBox in CheckResult

Msgbox("Value", Number1 + Number2)

And I get 0 (zero).

If I set the value in a line just before, it does display it. It seems these variables do not keep their value between events.

What am I missing ?

TIA

 

[klaus]

I tested it and it works.
I thought that it should be Msgbox("Value", (Number1 + Number2))
But even Msgbox("Value", Number1 + Number2) works.
According to your code the number is displayed in the title !

Otherwise post you project as a zip file (IDE menu File / Export As Zip) and I'll have a look at it.

Sorry for answering only now, because today I was HERE.

 

[Mitchboo]

Thank you Klaus.

I just found what was wrong. I had forgotten to call New in Activity_Create

PS: You are in a superb area !

 

[klaus]

A new edition of the Beginner's Guide is now available.
Edition 3.0 2015.07.26
Updated with the new B4A V5.02 features.

 

[appie21]

Many thanks!

 

[Fergus Cheng]

that's great. thank you very much

 

[klaus]

A new edition of the Beginner's Guide is now available.
Edition 3.1 2015.10.13
Updated with the new B4A V5.20 features.

 

[Ferbis]

Thank you very much once more for this splendid job. You are the best!!!

 

[Sergey Kravchenko]

BG 3.1 !
Thanks a lot!

 

[klaus]

A new edition of the Beginner's Guide is now available.
Edition 3.2 2015.12.08
Updated with the new B4A V5.50 features

Link in my signature.

 

[Sergey Kravchenko]

A new edition of the Beginner's Guide is now available.
Edition 3.2 2015.12.08
Updated with the new B4A V5.50 features

Link in my signature.

I suggest in the book in the contents of notes with a marker [new] chapters are changed.

 

[klaus]

In the last update there are only minor changes, mainly images.

 

[BitsAndBytes]

Thank You Very Much!

 

[klaus]

A new edition of the Beginner's Guide is now available.
Edition 3.3 2016.10.26
Updated with the new B4A V6.30 features

Link in my signature.

 

[pjo12345]

There is a problem with the formatting in 4.1.1

 

[klaus]

Thank you for reporting this, it was due to the Word to pdf conversion.
A new pdf file is now on the site.

 

[MitchBu]

Page 41 of the Beginner's Guide, it is mentioned :

The project is available in the SourceCode folder:
SourceCode\SecondProgram\SecondProgram.b4a

Could not locate any SourceCode folder in the installation folder. It does not seem there is any archive anymore for download.

Would appreciate pointers.

TIA

 

[klaus]

When you download the guide from HERE or from my signature you get a zip file with the guide and the SourceCode folder.

 

[MitchBu]

Superb. Thank you Klaus

 

[MitchBu]

Well, it seems I have a knack to find missing things. In the same beginners guide, page 180, the tutorial goes :

Let us make an example based on the TestLayoutsAnchors project
(which can be found under the Guide\SourceCode\TestLayoutsAnchors directory):

And it is nowhere to be found

Search in the forum does not lead to any positive response, and even a Google search site:b4x.com "TestLayoutsAnchors" does not bring any result. I am starting to suspect that project has been abandonned long ago.