Supporting Billions of entities/rows for Mobile – Android Series - Part 8–Writing an Android Client to consume RESTful data from Azure (Microsoft Cloud)

Past Posts in this Series

Blog Post Link Part 1 - Why Scale Matters https://blogs.msdn.com/b/brunoterkaly/archive/2011/09/27/supporting-billions-of-entities-rows-for-mobile-android-series-part-1-why-scale-matters.aspx Part 2 - What are some high level cloud offerings? https://blogs.msdn.com/b/brunoterkaly/archive/2011/09/27/supporting-billions-of-entities-rows-for-mobile-android-series-part-2-what-are-some-high-level-cloud-offerings.aspx Part 3–Architecture and Data Options https://blogs.msdn.com/b/brunoterkaly/archive/2011/09/28/supporting-billions-of-entities-rows-for-mobile-android-series-part-3-architecture-and-data-options.aspx Part 4–Building a Cloud-based RESTful service for our Android, iOS, and Windows Phone 7 Clients https://blogs.msdn.com/b/brunoterkaly/archive/2011/09/28/supporting-billions-of-entities-rows-for-mobile-android-series-part-4-building-a-cloud-based-restful-service-for-our-android-ios-and-windows-phone-7-clients.aspx Part 5–Using the Portal and Setting up your Azure Account (Microsoft Cloud) https://blogs.msdn.com/b/brunoterkaly/archive/2011/10/05/supporting-billions-of-entities-rows-for-mobile-android-series-part-5-using-the-portal-and-setting-up-your-azure-account-microsoft-cloud.aspx Part 6–Reading and Writing to Windows Azure (Cloud-based) Tables using standard HTTP and Fiddler https://blogs.msdn.com/b/brunoterkaly/archive/2011/10/05/supporting-billions-of-entities-rows-for-mobile-android-series-part-6-reading-and-writing-to-windows-azure-cloud-based-tables-using-standard-http-and-fiddler.aspx Part 7–Migrating your Azure (Cloud RESTful Service) to be Hosted in a Microsoft Data Center https://blogs.msdn.com/b/brunoterkaly/archive/2011/10/07/supporting-billions-of-entities-rows-for-mobile-android-series-part-7-migrating-your-azure-cloud-restful-service-to-be-hosted-in-a-microsoft-data-center.aspx Part 8 (This Post) –Writing an Android Client to consume RESTful data from Azure (Microsoft Cloud) https://blogs.msdn.com/b/brunoterkaly/archive/2011/10/10/supporting-billions-of-entities-rows-for-mobile-android-series-part-8-writing-an-android-client-to-consume-restful-data-from-azure-microsoft-cloud.aspx You will need to download the Azure 90-day free trial. Click the image to the right.

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This Post is About Android Client

Finally, we are ready to talk about Android development. Yes, that means we are going to take out the Eclipse IDE and code in Java. Our Android client will make JSON calls against cloud data.

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Setting up Eclipse and Android for Development

You obviously need to setup your Android development environment. These links will get your started. You will need to learn about downloading and installing Eclipse, the Android SDK, the Java runtime, etc.   Everything that follows here assumes you have a properly configured Eclipse environment and associated Android tooling. Download Link Download the Android SDK https://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html Setting up Eclipse and Android https://insanitydesign.com/wp/projects/nehe-android-ports/setting-up-eclipse-and-android/ Installing the SDK https://developer.android.com/sdk/installing.html Setting up your Android Environment https://fyi.oreilly.com/2009/02/setting-up-your-android-develo.html

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Creating the Android Project in Eclipse

Select File / New / Android Project. Fill in the following information: 1. Project Name 2. Build Target 3. Application Name 4. Package name 5. The rest will auto-fill

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CloudClientActivity.java

We are now ready to start adding our java code. Notice we have already been provided CloudClientActivty.java. Replace the existing code in CloudClientActivity.java with the following:              package com.bruno.cloudclient;import java.io.IOException;import com.bruno.cloudclient.R;import android.app.Activity;import android.app.Dialog;import android.content.Context;import android.content.SharedPreferences;import android.graphics.LightingColorFilter;import android.os.Bundle;import android.view.Gravity;import android.view.KeyEvent;import android.view.LayoutInflater;import android.view.View;import android.view.ViewGroup;import android.widget.AdapterView;import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;import android.widget.Button;import android.widget.EditText;import android.widget.ImageView;import android.widget.ListView;import android.widget.TextView;import android.widget.Toast;import android.widget.AdapterView.OnItemClickListener;public class CloudClientActivity extends Activity { /** Called when the activity is first created. */ ArrayAdapter<String> adapter = null; // String listName; SharedPreferences settings; /*************************************************************** * Purpose - Startup routine. Configures view and accesses * xml file that is your view. Set the file system * sharing mode. ****************************************************************/ @Override public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { try { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.main); // Set file sharing mode to private settings = getPreferences(Context.MODE_PRIVATE); listName = settings.getString("listName", "Bruno"); // Get some data. Create an adapter and attach to our listview // control. final Data data = new Data(); // This is a key call. It retrieves the dat from the web service. // The data is in JSON originally, then converted to simple strings. adapter = new ArrayAdapter<String>(this, R.layout.list_item, R.id.listItem, data.getItems(listName)); // Attach the data to the ListView final ListView myList = (ListView) findViewById(R.id.list); myList.setAdapter(adapter); // Create an "Add" button. This button will allow users to // add data stored in web service. Button btnAdd = (Button) findViewById(R.id.btnAdd); // Manage button color for a black screen btnAdd.getBackground().setColorFilter( new LightingColorFilter(0xFFFFFFFF, 0xFFAA0000)); // Add a textbox the user can use to enter new data to be added // to the web service. final EditText txtItem = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.txtItem); // Setup the button listener btnAdd.setOnClickListener(new Button.OnClickListener() { public void onClick(View v) { settings = getPreferences(Context.MODE_PRIVATE); listName = settings.getString("listName", "Bruno"); // Passing true to modifyData, which will add a new record // in the cloud data.modifyItem(listName, txtItem.getText().toString(), true); // Clear the textbox txtItem.setText(""); try { refresh(); } catch (IOException e) { // TODO Auto-generated catch block e.printStackTrace(); } } }); // If you click on a ListItem in the ListBox you will // pass "false" to modifyItem() which will delete // a record in the cloud myList.setOnItemClickListener(new OnItemClickListener() { public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> a, View v, int position, long id) { String s = myList.getItemAtPosition(position).toString(); settings = getPreferences(Context.MODE_PRIVATE); listName = settings.getString("listName", "Bruno"); data.modifyItem(listName, s, false); try { refresh(); // Refresh the listbox to reflect the deleted entry } catch (IOException e) { // TODO Auto-generated catch block e.printStackTrace(); } // Notify user that record was just deleted makeToast(s); } }); } catch (Exception e) { e.printStackTrace(); } } /*************************************************************** * Purpose - Notify user that we just deleted a record * Pops a little message ****************************************************************/ public void makeToast(String item) { LayoutInflater inflater = getLayoutInflater(); View layout = inflater.inflate(R.layout.toast_layout, (ViewGroup) findViewById(R.id.toast_layout_root)); ImageView image = (ImageView) layout.findViewById(R.id.image); image.setImageResource(R.drawable.icon); TextView text = (TextView) layout.findViewById(R.id.text); text.setText(item + " deleted."); Toast toast = new Toast(getApplicationContext()); toast.setGravity(Gravity.CENTER_VERTICAL, 0, 0); toast.setDuration(Toast.LENGTH_SHORT); toast.setView(layout); toast.show(); } /*************************************************************** * Purpose - Get latest data. Fill the view, attach view and * adapter, tell adapter to refresh view. ****************************************************************/ public void refresh() throws IOException { Data d = new Data(); settings = getPreferences(Context.MODE_PRIVATE); listName = settings.getString("listName", "Bruno"); adapter = new ArrayAdapter<String>(this, R.layout.list_item, R.id.listItem, d.getItems(listName)); // Attach adapter and view, then refresh with the // notifyDataSetChanged event ListView myList = (ListView) findViewById(R.id.list); myList.setAdapter(adapter); adapter.notifyDataSetChanged(); }}

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Data.java

Add a java module and insert code. Call it Data.java. You should see this: You will need to take note of the URL for your Azure service. See “YOUR_AZURE_SERVICE” below. It should correspond to: Open Data.java and insert this code:         package com.bruno.cloudclient;import java.io.BufferedInputStream;import java.io.IOException;import java.io.InputStream;import java.net.HttpURLConnection;import java.net.MalformedURLException;import java.net.URL;import java.net.URLConnection;import java.util.ArrayList;import org.apache.http.HttpEntity;import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;import org.apache.http.client.ClientProtocolException;import org.apache.http.client.HttpClient;import org.apache.http.client.methods.HttpDelete;import org.apache.http.client.methods.HttpGet;import org.apache.http.client.methods.HttpPost;import org.apache.http.entity.ByteArrayEntity;import org.apache.http.impl.client.DefaultHttpClient;import org.json.JSONArray;import android.os.AsyncTask;public class Data { private ArrayList<String> items; /*************************************************************** * Purpose - Populate or list view control. Makes a call * the web service using a hard-coded address. * * **************************************************************** * Assumptions - RESTful service available with data * **************************************************************** * Effects - none, simply reads data * **************************************************************** * Inputs - A list (represents an android user) to * that is looked up from the RESTful service **************************************************************** * Returns - A populated array (will fill the adapter * which is mapped to our listbox * ****************************************************************/ public ArrayList<String> getItems(String listName) throws IOException { // ArrayList will be populated from the JSON data coming from // the web server items = new ArrayList<String>(); JSONArray ja = new GetShoppingListData() .doInBackground("https://fastmotorcycleservice.cloudapp.net/FastMotorcycleListService.svc/list/"+listName); // Loop through json array and return results to be used in // the listbox via the adapter object for (int i = 0; i < ja.length(); i++) { try { items.add(ja.getString(i)); } catch (Exception e) { e.printStackTrace(); } } return items; } /*************************************************************** * Purpose - Does a delete or add asynchronously. If pass * true, then an add is done. Else do delete. ****************************************************************/ public void modifyItem(String listName, String item, boolean operation) { if (operation == true) { HttpResponse response = new AddShoppingListData() .doInBackground( "https://YOUR_AZURE_SERVICE.cloudapp.net/FastMotorcycleListService.svc/list/"+listName, item); } else { HttpResponse response = new DeleteShoppingListData() .doInBackground( "https://YOUR_AZURE_SERVICE.cloudapp.net/FastMotorcycleListService.svc/list/"+listName, item); } } /*************************************************************** * Purpose - A private class to allow: * Asynchronously retrieve data from the RESTful * service hosted in the cloud **************************************************************** * Assumptions - RESTful service up and and running * **************************************************************** * Inputs - A url to look up data * **************************************************************** * Returns - A JSON array full of data * ****************************************************************/ private class GetShoppingListData extends AsyncTask<String, Void, JSONArray> { @Override protected JSONArray doInBackground(String... urls) { // HttpClient used to talk to web service. HttpClient httpclient = new DefaultHttpClient(); // This will be the array we need to convert. We // get the data from the web service. JSONArray listItems = null; String jason = null; // Setup the RESTful call to 'GET' the data HttpGet request_http_get = new HttpGet(urls[0]); // Read the JSON data and return try { // Fill a response object using a request HttpResponse response_http_get = httpclient.execute(request_http_get); // Length represents the number of data items returned // by RESTful service long length = response_http_get.getEntity().getContentLength(); // "entity" ends up being the data coming back from web server. HttpEntity entity = response_http_get.getEntity(); // Read the bytes, one byte at a time. InputStream stream = entity.getContent(); // Allocate a series of bytes byte[] buffer = new byte[(int) length]; // Read bytes from RESTful service. // After this loop, we end up with -> ["busa","gxr1000","ninja250"] for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) { buffer[i] = (byte) stream.read(); } // The string "buffer" looks something // like this -> ["busa","gxr1000","ninja250"] jason = new String(buffer); // Convert to Json array for Android ListBox. // This ends up being a 3 element json array (see "busa" above) listItems = new JSONArray(jason); } catch (Exception e) { System.out.println(e); } return listItems; } } /*************************************************************** * Purpose - A class used to Post data to the RESTful service (Microsoft * cloud, Azure) using Http 'POST' **************************************************************** * Inputs - (1) The service address * (2) The data to be posted (what the user types in) **************************************************************** * Comments - (1) Using HttpPost for "Add" operations * (2) Using UTF8 because default Android is UTF-16 ****************************************************************/ private class AddShoppingListData extends AsyncTask<String, Void, HttpResponse> { HttpResponse response_http; @Override protected HttpResponse doInBackground(String... params) { HttpClient httpclient = new DefaultHttpClient(); HttpPost request_add = new HttpPost(params[0]); try { request_add.addHeader("Content-Type", "application/json"); String postData = "\"" + params[1] + "\""; request_add.setEntity(new ByteArrayEntity(postData.getBytes("UTF8"))); response_http = httpclient.execute(request_add); } catch (ClientProtocolException e) { // TODO } catch (IOException e) { // TODO } return response_http; } } /*************************************************************** * Purpose - A class used to Post data to the RESTful service (Microsoft * cloud, Azure) using Http 'POST' **************************************************************** * Inputs - (1) The service address * (2) The data to be posted (what the user types in) **************************************************************** * Comments - (1) Using HttpPost for "Delete" operations * (2) Fixing up spaces with s.replace() ****************************************************************/ private class DeleteShoppingListData extends AsyncTask<String, Void, HttpResponse> { @Override protected HttpResponse doInBackground(String... params) { HttpClient httpclient = new DefaultHttpClient(); String s = params[1]; // Fix up spaces String charEscaped = s.replace(" ", "%20"); HttpDelete request_delete = new HttpDelete(params[0] + "/" + charEscaped); HttpResponse response_delete = null; try { // Do the RESTful delete command response_delete = httpclient.execute(request_delete); } catch (ClientProtocolException e) { e.printStackTrace(); } catch (IOException e) { e.printStackTrace(); } return response_delete; } }}

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Main.xml

The next 4 files represent the user interface. Lets start with Main.xml. It is already provided. Open the text editor. Right-mouse click and choose Open With / Text Editor. Insert the following xml code:         <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><RelativeLayout xmlns:android="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent"> <ListView android:layout_alignParentTop="true" android:id="@+id/list" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent"> </ListView> <LinearLayout android:layout_below="@+id/ListView01" android:id="@+id/LinearLayout01" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"> <EditText android:id="@+id/txtItem" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_weight="1" android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"> </EditText> <Button android:id="@+id/btnAdd" android:layout_alignRight="@id/txtItem" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_weight="1" android:text="Add" android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"> </Button> </LinearLayout></RelativeLayout>

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Dialog.xml

Add a new xml file by right-mouse clicking on layout. Choose New / Android XML File. Insert the following xml code:    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><LinearLayout xmlns:android="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:id="@+id/layout_root" android:orientation="horizontal" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:padding="10dp"> <EditText android:id="@+id/listName" android:layout_width="100dp" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:layout_marginRight="10dp"/> <Button android:id="@+id/btnCreateList" android:layout_width="100dp" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:textColor="#FFF"/></LinearLayout>

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list_item.xml

Add a new xml file by right-mouse clicking on layout. Choose New / Android XML File. Insert the following xml code:         <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><LinearLayout xmlns:android="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:id="@+id/layout_root" android:orientation="horizontal" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:padding="10dp"> <EditText android:id="@+id/listName" android:layout_width="100dp" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:layout_marginRight="10dp"/> <Button android:id="@+id/btnCreateList" android:layout_width="100dp" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:textColor="#FFF"/></LinearLayout>

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toast_layout.xml

Add a new xml file by right-mouse clicking on layout. Choose New / Android XML File. Insert the following xml code:         <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><LinearLayout xmlns:android="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content"> <TextView xmlns:android="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:padding="10dp" android:textSize="16sp" android:id="@+id/listItem"> </TextView></LinearLayout>

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Modify AndroidManifest.xml

We need to tell the application that an connecting to the internet is possible from within the application. This is done by modifying the XML inside of AndroidManifest.xml. We need to add the following line: <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" /> This is what AndroidManifest.xml should look like:         <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><manifest xmlns:android="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" package="com.bruno.cloudclient" android:versionCode="1" android:versionName="1.0"> <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="10" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" /> <application android:icon="@drawable/icon" android:label="@string/app_name"> <activity android:name=".CloudClientActivity" android:label="@string/app_name"> <intent-filter> <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" /> <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" /> </intent-filter> </activity> </application></manifest>

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Ready to compile and run !

Close your Android emulators, if they are open. Save and close all the java and xml files. Select the following command: Project / Clean. There should be no errors. We are ready to run our Android application. Right-mouse click on the CloudClient project and choose Run As / Android Application. Unlock the client. If everything was coded correctly (and assuming you used Azure Storage Explorer to add data), you should see the following: This corresponds to our Azure Storage Explorer version of the data:

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Conclusion

This concludes this 8-part series on constructing a RESTful Azure (Microsoft Cloud) and performing CRUD operations from an Android client application. This has demonstrated the whole process from start to end, complete with source code. Hope you found value in it! -Bruno