1page.title=Android 4.0 APIs
2excludeFromSuggestions=true
3sdk.platform.version=4.0
4sdk.platform.apiLevel=14
5@jd:body
6
7<div id="qv-wrapper">
8<div id="qv">
9
10<h2>In this document</h2>
11<ol>
12  <li><a href="#api">API Overview</a></li>
13  <li><a href="#Honeycomb">Previous APIs</a></li>
14  <li><a href="#api-level">API Level</a></li>
15</ol>
16
17<h2>Reference</h2>
18<ol>
19<li><a
20href="{@docRoot}sdk/api_diff/14/changes.html">API
21Differences Report &raquo;</a> </li>
22</ol>
23
24</div>
25</div>
26
27
28<p><em>API Level:</em>&nbsp;<strong>{@sdkPlatformApiLevel}</strong></p>
29
30<p>Android 4.0 ({@link android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES#ICE_CREAM_SANDWICH})
31is a major platform release that adds a variety of new features for users and app
32developers. Besides all the new features and APIs discussed below, Android 4.0 is an important
33platform release because it brings the extensive set of APIs and Holographic themes from Android 3.x
34to smaller screens. As an app developer, you now have a single platform and unified API framework
35that enables you to develop and publish your application with a single APK that provides an
36optimized user experience for handsets, tablets, and more, when running the same version of
37Android&mdash;Android 4.0 (API level 14) or greater.</p>
38
39<p>For developers, the Android {@sdkPlatformVersion} platform is available as a
40downloadable component for the Android SDK. The downloadable platform includes
41an Android library and system image, as well as a set of emulator skins and
42more. To get started developing or testing against Android {@sdkPlatformVersion},
43use the Android SDK Manager to download the platform into your SDK.</p>
44
45<h2 id="api">API Overview</h2>
46
47<p>The sections below provide a technical overview of new APIs in Android 4.0.</p>
48
49<div class="toggle-content closed">
50
51  <p><a href="#" onclick="return toggleContent(this)">
52    <img src="{@docRoot}assets/images/styles/disclosure_down.png"
53class="toggle-content-img" alt="" />
54    <strong>Table of Contents</strong>
55  </a></p>
56
57  <div class="toggle-content-toggleme" style="padding: 5px 18px">
58    <ol>
59      <li><a href="#Contacts">Social APIs in Contacts Provider</a></li>
60      <li><a href="#Calendar">Calendar Provider</a></li>
61      <li><a href="#Voicemail">Voicemail Provider</a></li>
62      <li><a href="#Multimedia">Multimedia</a></li>
63      <li><a href="#Camera">Camera</a></li>
64      <li><a href="#AndroidBeam">Android Beam (NDEF Push with NFC)</a></li>
65      <li><a href="#WiFiDirect">Wi-Fi P2P</a></li>
66      <li><a href="#Bluetooth">Bluetooth Health Devices</a></li>
67      <li><a href="#A11y">Accessibility</a></li>
68      <li><a href="#SpellChecker">Spell Checker Services</a></li>
69      <li><a href="#TTS">Text-to-speech Engines</a></li>
70      <li><a href="#NetworkUsage">Network Usage</a></li>
71      <li><a href="#RenderScript">RenderScript</a></li>
72      <li><a href="#Enterprise">Enterprise</a></li>
73      <li><a href="#Sensors">Device Sensors</a></li>
74      <li><a href="#ActionBar">Action Bar</a></li>
75      <li><a href="#UI">User Interface and Views</a></li>
76      <li><a href="#Input">Input Framework</a></li>
77      <li><a href="#Properties">Properties</a></li>
78      <li><a href="#HwAccel">Hardware Acceleration</a></li>
79      <li><a href="#Jni">JNI Changes</a></li>
80      <li><a href="#WebKit">WebKit</a></li>
81      <li><a href="#Permissions">Permissions</a></li>
82      <li><a href="#DeviceFeatures">Device Features</a></li>
83    </ol>
84  </div>
85</div>
86
87
88
89
90
91<h3 id="Contacts">Social APIs in Contacts Provider</h3>
92
93<p>The contact APIs defined by the {@link android.provider.ContactsContract} provider have been
94extended to support new social-oriented features such as a personal profile for the device owner and
95the ability for users to invite individual contacts to social networks that are installed on the
96device.</p>
97
98
99<h4>User Profile</h4>
100
101<p>Android now includes a personal profile that represents the device owner, as defined by the
102{@link android.provider.ContactsContract.Profile} table.  Social apps that maintain a user identity
103can contribute to the user's profile data by creating a new {@link
104android.provider.ContactsContract.RawContacts} entry within the {@link
105android.provider.ContactsContract.Profile}. That is, raw contacts that represent the device user do
106not belong in the traditional raw contacts table defined by the {@link
107android.provider.ContactsContract.RawContacts} Uri; instead, you must add a profile raw contact in
108the table at {@link android.provider.ContactsContract.Profile#CONTENT_RAW_CONTACTS_URI}. Raw
109contacts in this table are then aggregated into the single user-visible profile labeled "Me".</p>
110
111<p>Adding a new raw contact for the profile requires the
112android.Manifest.permission#WRITE_PROFILE permission. Likewise, in order to read from the profile
113table, you must request the android.Manifest.permission#READ_PROFILE permission. However,
114most apps should not need to read the user profile, even when contributing data to the
115profile. Reading the user profile is a sensitive permission and you should expect users to be
116skeptical of apps that request it.</p>
117
118
119<h4>Invite Intent</h4>
120
121<p>The {@link android.provider.ContactsContract.Intents#INVITE_CONTACT} intent action allows an app
122to invoke an action that indicates the user wants to add a contact to a social network. The app
123receiving the app uses it to invite the specified contact to that
124social network. Most apps will be on the receiving-end of this operation. For example, the
125built-in People app invokes the invite intent when the user selects "Add connection" for a specific
126social app that's listed in a person's contact details.</p>
127
128<p>To make your app visible as in the "Add connection" list, your app must provide a sync adapter to
129sync contact information from your social network. You must then indicate to the system that your
130app responds to the {@link android.provider.ContactsContract.Intents#INVITE_CONTACT} intent by
131adding the {@code inviteContactActivity} attribute to your app’s sync configuration file, with a
132fully-qualified name of the activity that the system should start when sending the invite intent.
133The activity that starts can then retrieve the URI for the contact in question from the intent’s
134data and perform the necessary work to invite that contact to the network or add the person to the
135user’s connections.</p>
136
137<p>See the <a href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/SampleSyncAdapter/index.html">Sample Sync
138Adapter</a> app for an example (specifically, see the <a
139href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/SampleSyncAdapter/res/xml-v14/contacts.html">contacts.xml</a>
140file).</p>
141
142
143<h4>Large photos</h4>
144
145<p>Android now supports high resolution photos for contacts. Now, when you push a photo into a
146contact record, the system processes it into both a 96x96 thumbnail (as it has previously) and a
147256x256 "display photo" that's stored in a new file-based photo store (the exact dimensions that the
148system chooses may vary in the future). You can add a large photo to a contact by putting a large
149photo in the usual {@link android.provider.ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Photo#PHOTO} column of a
150data row, which the system will then process into the appropriate thumbnail and display photo
151records.</p>
152
153
154<h4>Contact Usage Feedback</h4>
155
156<p>The new {@link android.provider.ContactsContract.DataUsageFeedback} APIs allow you to  help track
157how often the user uses particular methods of contacting people, such as how often the user uses
158each phone number or e-mail address. This information helps improve the ranking for each contact
159method associated with each person and provide better suggestions for contacting each person.</p>
160
161
162
163
164
165<h3 id="Calendar">Calendar Provider</h3>
166
167<p>The new calendar APIs allow you to read, add, modify and delete calendars, events, attendees,
168reminders and alerts, which are stored in the Calendar Provider.</p>
169
170<p>A variety of apps and widgets can use these APIs to read and modify calendar events. However,
171some of the most compelling use cases are sync adapters that synchronize the user's calendar from
172other calendar services with the Calendar Provider, in order to offer a unified location for all the
173user's events. Google Calendar events, for example, are synchronized with the Calendar Provider by
174the Google Calendar Sync Adapter, allowing these events to be viewed with Android's built-in
175Calendar app.</p>
176
177<p>The data model for calendars and event-related information in the Calendar Provider is
178defined by {@link android.provider.CalendarContract}. All the user’s calendar data is stored in a
179number of tables defined by various subclasses of {@link android.provider.CalendarContract}:</p>
180
181<ul>
182<li>The {@link android.provider.CalendarContract.Calendars} table holds the calendar-specific
183information. Each row in this table contains the details for a single calendar, such as the name,
184color, sync information, and so on.</li>
185
186<li>The {@link android.provider.CalendarContract.Events} table holds event-specific information.
187Each row in this table contains the information for a single event, such as the
188event title, location, start time, end time, and so on. The event can occur one time or recur
189multiple times. Attendees, reminders, and extended properties are stored in separate tables and
190use the event’s {@code _ID} to link them with the event.</li>
191
192<li>The {@link android.provider.CalendarContract.Instances} table holds the start and end time for
193occurrences of an event. Each row in this table represents a single occurrence. For one-time events
194there is a one-to-one mapping of instances to events. For recurring events, multiple rows are
195automatically generated to correspond to the multiple occurrences of that event.</li>
196
197<li>The {@link android.provider.CalendarContract.Attendees} table holds the event attendee or guest
198information. Each row represents a single guest of an event. It specifies the type of guest the
199person is and the person’s response for the event.</li>
200
201<li>The {@link android.provider.CalendarContract.Reminders} table holds the alert/notification data.
202Each row represents a single alert for an event. An event can have multiple reminders. The number of
203reminders per event is specified in {@code MAX_REMINDERS}, which is set by the sync adapter that
204owns the given calendar. Reminders are specified in number-of-minutes before the event is
205scheduled and specify an alarm method such as to use an alert, email, or SMS to remind
206the user.</li>
207
208<li>The {@link android.provider.CalendarContract.ExtendedProperties} table hold opaque data fields
209used by the sync adapter. The provider takes no action with items in this table except to delete
210them when their related events are deleted.</li>
211</ul>
212
213<p>To access a user’s calendar data with the Calendar Provider, your application must request
214the {@link android.Manifest.permission#READ_CALENDAR} permission (for read access) and
215{@link android.Manifest.permission#WRITE_CALENDAR} (for write access).</p>
216
217
218<h4>Event intent</h4>
219
220<p>If all you want to do is add an event to the user’s calendar, you can use an {@link
221android.content.Intent#ACTION_INSERT} intent with the data defined by {@link
222android.provider.CalendarContract.Events#CONTENT_URI Events.CONTENT_URI} in order to start an
223activity in the Calendar app that creates new events. Using the intent does not require any
224permission and you can specify event details with the following extras:</p>
225
226<ul>
227  <li>{@link android.provider.CalendarContract.EventsColumns#TITLE Events.TITLE}: Name for the
228event</li>
229  <li>{@link
230android.provider.CalendarContract#EXTRA_EVENT_BEGIN_TIME CalendarContract.EXTRA_EVENT_BEGIN_TIME}:
231Event begin time in milliseconds from the
232epoch</li>
233  <li>{@link
234android.provider.CalendarContract#EXTRA_EVENT_END_TIME CalendarContract.EXTRA_EVENT_END_TIME}: Event
235end time in milliseconds from the epoch</li>
236  <li>{@link android.provider.CalendarContract.EventsColumns#EVENT_LOCATION Events.EVENT_LOCATION}:
237Location of the event</li>
238  <li>{@link android.provider.CalendarContract.EventsColumns#DESCRIPTION Events.DESCRIPTION}: Event
239description</li>
240  <li>{@link android.content.Intent#EXTRA_EMAIL Intent.EXTRA_EMAIL}: Email addresses of those to
241invite</li>
242  <li>{@link android.provider.CalendarContract.EventsColumns#RRULE Events.RRULE}: The recurrence
243rule for the event</li>
244  <li>{@link android.provider.CalendarContract.EventsColumns#ACCESS_LEVEL Events.ACCESS_LEVEL}:
245Whether the event is private or public</li>
246  <li>{@link android.provider.CalendarContract.EventsColumns#AVAILABILITY Events.AVAILABILITY}:
247Whether the time period of this event allows for other events to be scheduled at the same time</li>
248</ul>
249
250
251
252
253<h3 id="Voicemail">Voicemail Provider</h3>
254
255<p>The new Voicemail Provider allows applications to add voicemails to the
256device, in order to present all the user's voicemails in a single visual presentation. For instance,
257it’s possible that a user has multiple voicemail sources, such as
258one from the phone’s service provider and others from VoIP or other alternative voice
259services. These apps can use the Voicemail Provider APIs to add their voicemails to the device. The
260built-in Phone application then presents all voicemails to the user in a unified presentation.
261Although the system’s Phone application is the only application that can read all the voicemails,
262each application that provides voicemails can read those that it has added to the system (but cannot
263read voicemails from other services).</p>
264
265<p>Because the APIs currently do not allow third-party apps to read all the voicemails from the
266system, the only third-party apps that should use the voicemail APIs are those that have voicemail
267to deliver to the user.</p>
268
269<p>The {@link android.provider.VoicemailContract} class defines the content provider for the
270Voicemail Provder. The subclasses {@link android.provider.VoicemailContract.Voicemails} and {@link
271android.provider.VoicemailContract.Status} provide tables in which apps can
272insert voicemail data for storage on the device. For an example of a voicemail provider app, see the
273<a href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/VoicemailProviderDemo/index.html">Voicemail Provider
274Demo</a>.</p>
275
276
277
278
279
280<h3 id="Multimedia">Multimedia</h3>
281
282<p>Android 4.0 adds several new APIs for applications that interact with media such as photos,
283videos, and music.</p>
284
285
286<h4>Media Effects</h4>
287
288<p>A new media effects framework allows you to apply a variety of visual effects to images and
289videos. For example, image effects allow you to easily fix red-eye, convert an image to grayscale,
290adjust brightness, adjust saturation, rotate an image, apply a fisheye effect, and much more. The
291system performs all effects processing on the GPU to obtain maximum performance.</p>
292
293<p>For maximum performance, effects are applied directly to OpenGL textures, so your application
294must have a valid OpenGL context before it can use the effects APIs. The textures to which you apply
295effects may be from bitmaps, videos or even the camera. However, there are certain restrictions that
296textures must meet:</p>
297<ol>
298<li>They must be bound to a {@link android.opengl.GLES20#GL_TEXTURE_2D} texture image</li>
299<li>They must contain at least one mipmap level</li>
300</ol>
301
302<p>An {@link android.media.effect.Effect} object defines a single media effect that you can apply to
303an image frame. The basic workflow to create an {@link android.media.effect.Effect} is:</p>
304
305<ol>
306<li>Call {@link android.media.effect.EffectContext#createWithCurrentGlContext
307EffectContext.createWithCurrentGlContext()} from your OpenGL ES 2.0 context.</li>
308<li>Use the returned {@link android.media.effect.EffectContext} to call {@link
309android.media.effect.EffectContext#getFactory EffectContext.getFactory()}, which returns an instance
310of {@link android.media.effect.EffectFactory}.</li>
311<li>Call {@link android.media.effect.EffectFactory#createEffect createEffect()}, passing it an
312effect name from @link android.media.effect.EffectFactory}, such as {@link
313android.media.effect.EffectFactory#EFFECT_FISHEYE} or {@link
314android.media.effect.EffectFactory#EFFECT_VIGNETTE}.</li>
315</ol>
316
317<p>You can adjust an effect’s parameters by calling {@link android.media.effect.Effect#setParameter
318setParameter()} and passing a parameter name and parameter value. Each type of effect accepts
319different parameters, which are documented with the effect name. For example, {@link
320android.media.effect.EffectFactory#EFFECT_FISHEYE} has one parameter for the {@code scale} of the
321distortion.</p>
322
323<p>To apply an effect on a texture, call {@link android.media.effect.Effect#apply apply()} on the
324{@link
325android.media.effect.Effect} and pass in the input texture, it’s width and height, and the output
326texture. The input texture  must be bound to a {@link android.opengl.GLES20#GL_TEXTURE_2D} texture
327image (usually done by calling the {@link android.opengl.GLES20#glTexImage2D glTexImage2D()}
328function). You may provide multiple mipmap levels. If the output texture has not been bound to a
329texture image, it will be automatically bound by the effect as a {@link
330android.opengl.GLES20#GL_TEXTURE_2D} and with one mipmap level (0), which will have the same
331size as the input.</p>
332
333<p>All effects listed in {@link android.media.effect.EffectFactory} are guaranteed to be supported.
334However, some additional effects available from external libraries are not supported by all devices,
335so you must first check if the desired effect from the external library is supported by calling
336{@link android.media.effect.EffectFactory#isEffectSupported isEffectSupported()}.</p>
337
338
339<h4>Remote control client</h4>
340
341<p>The new {@link android.media.RemoteControlClient} allows media players to enable playback
342controls from remote control clients such as the device lock screen. Media players can also expose
343information about the media currently playing for display on the remote control, such as track
344information and album art.</p>
345
346<p>To enable remote control clients for your media player, instantiate a {@link
347android.media.RemoteControlClient} with its constructor, passing it a {@link
348android.app.PendingIntent} that broadcasts {@link
349android.content.Intent#ACTION_MEDIA_BUTTON}. The intent must also declare the explicit {@link
350android.content.BroadcastReceiver} component in your app that handles the {@link
351android.content.Intent#ACTION_MEDIA_BUTTON} event.</p>
352
353<p>To declare which media control inputs your player can handle, you must call {@link
354android.media.RemoteControlClient#setTransportControlFlags setTransportControlFlags()} on your
355{@link android.media.RemoteControlClient}, passing a set of {@code FLAG_KEY_MEDIA_*} flags, such as
356{@link android.media.RemoteControlClient#FLAG_KEY_MEDIA_PREVIOUS} and {@link
357android.media.RemoteControlClient#FLAG_KEY_MEDIA_NEXT}.</p>
358
359<p>You must then register your {@link android.media.RemoteControlClient} by passing it to {@link
360android.media.AudioManager#registerRemoteControlClient MediaManager.registerRemoteControlClient()}.
361Once registered, the broadcast receiver you declared when you instantiated the {@link
362android.media.RemoteControlClient} will receive {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_MEDIA_BUTTON}
363events when a button is pressed from a remote control. The intent you receive includes the {@link
364android.view.KeyEvent} for the media key pressed, which you can retrieve from the intent with {@link
365android.content.Intent#getParcelableExtra getParcelableExtra(Intent.EXTRA_KEY_EVENT)}.</p>
366
367<p>To display information on the remote control about the media playing, call {@link
368android.media.RemoteControlClient#editMetadata editMetaData()} and add metadata to the returned
369{@link android.media.RemoteControlClient.MetadataEditor}. You can supply a bitmap for media artwork,
370numerical information such as elapsed time, and text information such as the track title. For
371information on available keys see the {@code METADATA_KEY_*} flags in {@link
372android.media.MediaMetadataRetriever}.</p>
373
374<p>For a sample implementation, see the <a
375href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/RandomMusicPlayer/index.html">Random Music Player</a>, which
376provides compatibility logic such that it enables the remote control client on Android 4.0
377devices while continuing to support devices back to Android 2.1.</p>
378
379
380<h4>Media player</h4>
381
382<ul>
383<li>Streaming online media from {@link android.media.MediaPlayer} now requires the {@link
384android.Manifest.permission#INTERNET} permission. If you use {@link android.media.MediaPlayer} to
385play content from the Internet, be sure to add the {@link android.Manifest.permission#INTERNET}
386permission to your manifest or else your media playback will not work beginning with Android
3874.0.</li>
388
389<li>{@link android.media.MediaPlayer#setSurface(Surface) setSurface()} allows you define a {@link
390android.view.Surface} to behave as the video sink.</li>
391
392<li>{@link android.media.MediaPlayer#setDataSource(Context,Uri,Map) setDataSource()} allows you to
393send additional HTTP headers with your request, which can be useful for HTTP(S) live streaming</li>
394
395<li>HTTP(S) live streaming now respects HTTP cookies across requests</li>
396</ul>
397
398
399<h4>Media types</h4>
400
401<p>Android 4.0 adds support for:</p>
402<ul>
403<li>HTTP/HTTPS live streaming protocol version 3 </li>
404<li>ADTS raw AAC audio encoding</li>
405<li>WEBP images</li>
406<li>Matroska video</li>
407</ul>
408<p>For more info, see <a href="{@docRoot}guide/appendix/media-formats.html">Supported Media
409Formats</a>.</p>
410
411
412
413
414
415<h3 id="Camera">Camera</h3>
416
417<p>The {@link android.hardware.Camera} class now includes APIs for detecting faces and controlling
418focus and metering areas.</p>
419
420
421<h4>Face detection</h4>
422
423<p>Camera apps can now enhance their abilities with Android’s face detection APIs, which not
424only detect the face of a subject, but also specific facial features, such as the eyes and mouth.
425</p>
426
427<p>To detect faces in your camera application, you must register a {@link
428android.hardware.Camera.FaceDetectionListener} by calling {@link
429android.hardware.Camera#setFaceDetectionListener setFaceDetectionListener()}. You can then start
430your camera surface and start  detecting faces by calling {@link
431android.hardware.Camera#startFaceDetection}.</p>
432
433<p>When the system detects one or more faces in the camera scene, it calls the {@link
434android.hardware.Camera.FaceDetectionListener#onFaceDetection onFaceDetection()} callback in your
435implementation of {@link android.hardware.Camera.FaceDetectionListener}, including an array of
436{@link android.hardware.Camera.Face} objects.</p>
437
438<p>An instance of the {@link android.hardware.Camera.Face} class provides various information about
439the face detected, including:</p>
440<ul>
441<li>A {@link android.graphics.Rect} that specifies the bounds of the face, relative to the camera's
442current field of view</li>
443<li>An integer betwen 1 and 100 that indicates how confident the system is that the object is a
444human face</li>
445<li>A unique ID so you can track multiple faces</li>
446<li>Several {@link android.graphics.Point} objects that indicate where the eyes and mouth are
447located</li>
448</ul>
449
450<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> Face detection may not be supported on some
451devices, so you should check by calling {@link
452android.hardware.Camera.Parameters#getMaxNumDetectedFaces()} and ensure the return
453value is greater than zero. Also, some devices may not support identification of eyes and mouth,
454in which case, those fields in the {@link android.hardware.Camera.Face} object will be null.</p>
455
456
457<h4>Focus and metering areas</h4>
458
459<p>Camera apps can now control the areas that the camera uses for focus and for metering white
460balance
461and auto-exposure. Both features use the new {@link android.hardware.Camera.Area} class to specify
462the region of the camera’s current view that should be focused or metered. An instance of the {@link
463android.hardware.Camera.Area} class defines the bounds of the area with a {@link
464android.graphics.Rect} and the area's weight&mdash;representing the level of importance of that
465area, relative to other areas in consideration&mdash;with an integer.</p>
466
467<p>Before setting either a focus area or metering area, you should first call {@link
468android.hardware.Camera.Parameters#getMaxNumFocusAreas} or {@link
469android.hardware.Camera.Parameters#getMaxNumMeteringAreas}, respectively. If these return zero, then
470the device does not support the corresponding feature.</p>
471
472<p>To specify the focus or metering areas to use, simply call {@link
473android.hardware.Camera.Parameters#setFocusAreas setFocusAreas()} or {@link
474android.hardware.Camera.Parameters#setMeteringAreas setMeteringAreas()}. Each take a {@link
475java.util.List} of {@link android.hardware.Camera.Area} objects that indicate the areas to consider
476for focus or metering. For example, you might implement a feature that allows the user to set the
477focus area by touching an area of the preview, which you then translate to an {@link
478android.hardware.Camera.Area} object and request that the camera focus on that area of the scene.
479The focus or exposure in that area will continually update as the scene in the area changes.</p>
480
481
482<h4>Continuous auto focus for photos</h4>
483
484<p>You can now enable continuous auto focusing (CAF) when taking photos. To enable CAF in your
485camera app, pass {@link android.hardware.Camera.Parameters#FOCUS_MODE_CONTINUOUS_PICTURE}
486to {@link android.hardware.Camera.Parameters#setFocusMode setFocusMode()}. When ready to capture
487a photo, call {@link android.hardware.Camera#autoFocus autoFocus()}. Your {@link
488android.hardware.Camera.AutoFocusCallback} immediately receives a callback to indicate whether
489focus was achieved. To resume CAF after receiving the callback, you must call {@link
490android.hardware.Camera#cancelAutoFocus()}.</p>
491
492<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> Continuous auto focus is also supported when capturing
493video, using {@link android.hardware.Camera.Parameters#FOCUS_MODE_CONTINUOUS_VIDEO}, which was
494added in API level 9.</p>
495
496
497<h4>Other camera features</h4>
498
499<ul>
500<li>While recording video, you can now call {@link android.hardware.Camera#takePicture
501takePicture()} to save a photo without interrupting the video session. Before doing so, you should
502call {@link android.hardware.Camera.Parameters#isVideoSnapshotSupported} to be sure the hardware
503supports it.</li>
504
505<li>You can now lock auto exposure and white balance with {@link
506android.hardware.Camera.Parameters#setAutoExposureLock setAutoExposureLock()} and {@link
507android.hardware.Camera.Parameters#setAutoWhiteBalanceLock setAutoWhiteBalanceLock()} to prevent
508these properties from changing.</li>
509
510<li>You can now call {@link android.hardware.Camera#setDisplayOrientation
511setDisplayOrientation()} while the camera preview is running. Previously, you could call this
512only before beginning the preview, but you can now change the orientation at any time.</li>
513</ul>
514
515
516<h4>Camera broadcast intents</h4>
517
518<ul>
519<li>{@link android.hardware.Camera#ACTION_NEW_PICTURE Camera.ACTION_NEW_PICTURE}:
520This indicates that the user has captured a new photo. The built-in Camera app invokes this
521broadcast after a photo is captured and third-party camera apps should also broadcast this intent
522after capturing a photo.</li>
523<li>{@link android.hardware.Camera#ACTION_NEW_VIDEO Camera.ACTION_NEW_VIDEO}:
524This indicates that the user has captured a new video. The built-in Camera app invokes this
525broadcast after a video is recorded and third-party camera apps should also broadcast this intent
526after capturing a video.</li>
527</ul>
528
529
530
531
532
533<h3 id="AndroidBeam">Android Beam (NDEF Push with NFC)</h3>
534
535<p>Android Beam is a new NFC feature that allows you to send NDEF messages from one device to
536another (a process also known as “NDEF Push"). The data transfer is initiated when two
537Android-powered devices that support Android Beam are in close proximity (about 4 cm), usually with
538their backs touching. The data inside the NDEF message can contain any data that you wish to share
539between devices. For example, the People app shares contacts, YouTube shares videos, and Browser
540shares URLs using Android Beam.</p>
541
542<p>To transmit data between devices using Android Beam, you need to create an {@link
543android.nfc.NdefMessage} that contains the information you want to share while your activity is in
544the foreground. You must then pass the {@link android.nfc.NdefMessage} to the system in one of two
545ways:</p>
546
547<ul>
548<li>Define a single {@link android.nfc.NdefMessage} to push while in the activity:
549<p>Call {@link android.nfc.NfcAdapter#setNdefPushMessage setNdefPushMessage()} at any time to set
550the message you want to send. For instance, you might call this method and pass it your {@link
551android.nfc.NdefMessage} during your activity’s {@link android.app.Activity#onCreate onCreate()}
552method. Then, whenever Android Beam is activated with another device while the activity is in the
553foreground, the system sends the {@link android.nfc.NdefMessage} to the other device.</p></li>
554
555<li>Define the {@link android.nfc.NdefMessage} to push at the time that Android Beam is initiated:
556<p>Implement {@link android.nfc.NfcAdapter.CreateNdefMessageCallback}, in which your
557implementation of the {@link
558android.nfc.NfcAdapter.CreateNdefMessageCallback#createNdefMessage createNdefMessage()}
559method returns the {@link android.nfc.NdefMessage} you want to send. Then pass the {@link
560android.nfc.NfcAdapter.CreateNdefMessageCallback} implementation to {@link
561android.nfc.NfcAdapter#setNdefPushMessageCallback setNdefPushMessageCallback()}.</p>
562<p>In this case, when Android Beam is activated with another device while your activity is in the
563foreground, the system calls {@link
564android.nfc.NfcAdapter.CreateNdefMessageCallback#createNdefMessage createNdefMessage()} to retrieve
565the {@link android.nfc.NdefMessage} you want to send. This allows you to define the {@link
566android.nfc.NdefMessage} to deliver only once Android Beam is initiated, in case the contents
567of the message might vary throughout the life of the activity.</p></li>
568</ul>
569
570<p>In case you want to run some specific code once the system has successfully delivered your NDEF
571message to the other device, you can implement {@link
572android.nfc.NfcAdapter.OnNdefPushCompleteCallback} and set it with {@link
573android.nfc.NfcAdapter#setOnNdefPushCompleteCallback setNdefPushCompleteCallback()}. The system will
574then call {@link android.nfc.NfcAdapter.OnNdefPushCompleteCallback#onNdefPushComplete
575onNdefPushComplete()} when the message is delivered.</p>
576
577<p>On the receiving device, the system dispatches NDEF Push messages in a similar way to regular NFC
578tags. The system invokes an intent with the {@link android.nfc.NfcAdapter#ACTION_NDEF_DISCOVERED}
579action to start an activity, with either a URL or a MIME type set according to the first {@link
580android.nfc.NdefRecord} in the {@link android.nfc.NdefMessage}. For the activity you want to
581respond, you can declare intent filters for the URLs or MIME types your app cares about. For more
582information about Tag Dispatch see the <a
583href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/connectivity/nfc/index.html#dispatch">NFC</a> developer guide.</p>
584
585<p>If you want your {@link android.nfc.NdefMessage} to carry a URI, you can now use the convenience
586method {@link android.nfc.NdefRecord#createUri createUri} to construct a new {@link
587android.nfc.NdefRecord} based on either a string or a {@link android.net.Uri} object. If the URI is
588a special format that you want your application to also receive during an Android Beam event, you
589should create an intent filter for your activity using the same URI scheme in order to receive the
590incoming NDEF message.</p>
591
592<p>You should also pass an “Android application record" with your {@link android.nfc.NdefMessage} in
593order to guarantee that your application handles the incoming NDEF message, even if other
594applications filter for the same intent action. You can create an Android application record by
595calling {@link android.nfc.NdefRecord#createApplicationRecord createApplicationRecord()}, passing it
596your application’s package name. When the other device receives the NDEF message with the
597application record and multiple applications contain activities that handle the specified intent,
598the system always delivers the message to the activity in your application (based on the matching
599application record). If the target device does not currently have your application installed, the
600system uses the Android application record to launch Google Play and take the user to the
601application in order to install it.</p>
602
603<p>If your application doesn’t use NFC APIs to perform NDEF Push messaging, then Android provides a
604default behavior: When your application is in the foreground on one device and Android Beam is
605invoked with another Android-powered device, then the other device receives an NDEF message with an
606Android application record that identifies your application. If the receiving device has the
607application installed, the system launches it; if it’s not installed, Google Play opens and takes
608the user to your application in order to install it.</p>
609
610<p>You can read more about Android Beam and other NFC features in the <a
611href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/connectivity/nfc/nfc.html">NFC Basics</a> developer guide. For some example code
612using Android Beam, see the <a
613href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/AndroidBeamDemo/src/com/example/android/beam/Beam.html">Android
614Beam Demo</a>.</p>
615
616
617
618
619
620<h3 id="WiFiDirect">Wi-Fi P2P</h3>
621
622<p>Android now supports Wi-Fi peer-to-peer (P2P) connections between Android-powered devices and
623other device types (in compliance with the Wi-Fi Alliance's <a href=
624"http://www.wi-fi.org/discover-and-learn/wi-fi-direct" class="external-link">Wi-Fi Direct&trade;</a>
625certification program) without a hotspot or Internet connection. The Android framework provides a
626set of Wi-Fi P2P APIs that allow you to discover and connect to other devices when each device
627supports Wi-Fi P2P, then communicate over a speedy connection across distances much longer than a
628Bluetooth connection.</p>
629
630
631<p>A new package, {@link android.net.wifi.p2p}, contains all the APIs for performing peer-to-peer
632connections with Wi-Fi. The primary class you need to work with is {@link
633android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager}, which you can acquire by calling {@link
634android.app.Activity#getSystemService getSystemService(WIFI_P2P_SERVICE)}. The {@link
635android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager} includes APIs that allow you to:</p>
636<ul>
637<li>Initialize your application for P2P connections by calling {@link
638android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager#initialize initialize()}</li>
639
640<li>Discover nearby devices by calling {@link android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager#discoverPeers
641discoverPeers()}</li>
642
643<li>Start a P2P connection by calling {@link android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager#connect
644connect()}</li>
645<li>And more</li>
646</ul>
647
648<p>Several other interfaces and classes are necessary as well, such as:</p>
649<ul>
650<li>The {@link android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager.ActionListener} interface allows you to receive
651callbacks when an operation such as discovering peers or connecting to them succeeds or fails.</li>
652
653<li>{@link android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager.PeerListListener} interface allows you to receive
654information about discovered peers. The callback provides a {@link
655android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pDeviceList}, from which you can retrieve a {@link
656android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pDevice} object for each device within range and get information such as
657the device name, address, device type, the WPS configurations the device supports, and more.</li>
658
659<li>The {@link android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager.GroupInfoListener} interface allows you to
660receive information about a P2P group. The callback provides a {@link
661android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pGroup} object, which provides group information such as the owner, the
662network name, and passphrase.</li>
663
664<li>{@link android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager.ConnectionInfoListener} interface allows you to
665receive information about the current connection. The callback provides a {@link
666android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pInfo} object, which has information such as whether a group has been
667formed and who is the group owner.</li>
668</ul>
669
670<p>In order to use the Wi-Fi P2P APIs, your app must request the following user permissions:</p>
671<ul>
672<li>{@link android.Manifest.permission#ACCESS_WIFI_STATE}</li>
673<li>{@link android.Manifest.permission#CHANGE_WIFI_STATE}</li>
674<li>{@link android.Manifest.permission#INTERNET} (although your app doesn’t technically connect
675to the Internet, communicating to Wi-Fi P2P peers with standard java sockets requires Internet
676permission).</li>
677</ul>
678
679<p>The Android system also broadcasts several different actions during certain Wi-Fi P2P events:</p>
680<ul>
681<li>{@link android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager#WIFI_P2P_CONNECTION_CHANGED_ACTION}: The P2P
682connection state has changed. This carries {@link
683android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager#EXTRA_WIFI_P2P_INFO} with a {@link
684android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pInfo} object and {@link
685android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager#EXTRA_NETWORK_INFO} with a {@link android.net.NetworkInfo}
686object.</li>
687
688<li>{@link android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager#WIFI_P2P_STATE_CHANGED_ACTION}: The P2P state has
689changed between enabled and disabled. It carries {@link
690android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager#EXTRA_WIFI_STATE} with either {@link
691android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager#WIFI_P2P_STATE_DISABLED} or {@link
692android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager#WIFI_P2P_STATE_ENABLED}</li>
693
694<li>{@link android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager#WIFI_P2P_PEERS_CHANGED_ACTION}: The list of peer
695devices has changed.</li>
696
697<li>{@link android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager#WIFI_P2P_THIS_DEVICE_CHANGED_ACTION}: The details for
698this device have changed.</li>
699</ul>
700
701<p>See the  {@link android.net.wifi.p2p.WifiP2pManager} documentation for more information. Also
702look at the <a href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/WiFiDirectDemo/index.html">Wi-Fi P2P Demo</a>
703sample application.</p>
704
705
706
707
708
709<h3 id="Bluetooth">Bluetooth Health Devices</h3>
710
711<p>Android now supports Bluetooth Health Profile devices, so you can create applications that use
712Bluetooth to communicate with health devices that support Bluetooth, such as heart-rate monitors,
713blood meters, thermometers, and scales.</p>
714
715<p>Similar to regular headset and A2DP profile devices, you must call {@link
716android.bluetooth.BluetoothAdapter#getProfileProxy getProfileProxy()} with a {@link
717android.bluetooth.BluetoothProfile.ServiceListener} and the {@link
718android.bluetooth.BluetoothProfile#HEALTH} profile type to establish a connection with the profile
719proxy object.</p>
720
721<p>Once you’ve acquired the Health Profile proxy (the {@link android.bluetooth.BluetoothHealth}
722object), connecting to and communicating with paired health devices involves the following new
723Bluetooth classes:</p>
724<ul>
725<li>{@link android.bluetooth.BluetoothHealthCallback}: You must extend this class and implement the
726callback methods to receive updates about changes in the application’s registration state and
727Bluetooth channel state.</li>
728<li>{@link android.bluetooth.BluetoothHealthAppConfiguration}: During callbacks to your {@link
729android.bluetooth.BluetoothHealthCallback}, you’ll receive an instance of this object, which
730provides configuration information about the available Bluetooth health device, which you must use
731to perform various operations such as initiate and terminate connections with the {@link
732android.bluetooth.BluetoothHealth} APIs.</li>
733</ul>
734
735<p>For more information about using the Bluetooth Health Profile, see the documentation for {@link
736android.bluetooth.BluetoothHealth}.</p>
737
738
739
740
741
742<h3 id="A11y">Accessibility</h3>
743
744<p>Android 4.0 improves accessibility for sight-impaired users with new explore-by-touch mode
745and extended APIs that allow you to provide more information about view content or
746develop advanced accessibility services.</p>
747
748
749<h4>Explore-by-touch mode</h4>
750
751<p>Users with vision loss can now explore the screen by touching and dragging a finger across the
752screen to hear voice descriptions of the content. Because the explore-by-touch mode works like a
753virtual cursor, it allows screen readers to identify the descriptive text the same way that screen
754readers can when the user navigates with a d-pad or trackball&mdash;by reading information provided
755by {@link android.R.attr#contentDescription android:contentDescription} and {@link
756android.view.View#setContentDescription setContentDescription()} upon a simulated "hover" event. So,
757consider this is a reminder that you should provide descriptive text for the views in your
758application, especially for {@link android.widget.ImageButton}, {@link android.widget.EditText},
759{@link android.widget.ImageView} and other widgets that might not naturally contain descriptive
760text.</p>
761
762
763<h4>Accessibility for views</h4>
764
765<p>To enhance the information available to accessibility services such as screen readers, you can
766implement new callback methods for accessibility events in your custom {@link
767android.view.View} components.</p>
768
769<p>It's important to first note that the behavior of the {@link
770android.view.View#sendAccessibilityEvent sendAccessibilityEvent()} method has changed in Android
7714.0. As with previous version of Android, when the user enables accessibility services on the device
772and an input event such as a click or hover occurs, the respective view is notified with a call to
773{@link android.view.View#sendAccessibilityEvent sendAccessibilityEvent()}. Previously, the
774implementation of {@link android.view.View#sendAccessibilityEvent sendAccessibilityEvent()} would
775initialize an {@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityEvent} and send it to {@link
776android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityManager}. The new behavior involves some additional callback
777methods that allow the view and its parents to add more contextual information to the event:
778<ol>
779  <li>When invoked, the {@link
780android.view.View#sendAccessibilityEvent sendAccessibilityEvent()} and {@link
781android.view.View#sendAccessibilityEventUnchecked sendAccessibilityEventUnchecked()} methods defer
782to {@link android.view.View#onInitializeAccessibilityEvent onInitializeAccessibilityEvent()}.
783  <p>Custom implementations of {@link android.view.View} might want to implement {@link
784android.view.View#onInitializeAccessibilityEvent onInitializeAccessibilityEvent()} to
785attach additional accessibility information to the {@link
786android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityEvent}, but should also call the super implementation to
787provide default information such as the standard content description, item index, and more.
788However, you should not add additional text content in this callback&mdash;that happens
789next.</p></li>
790  <li>Once initialized, if the event is one of several types that should be populated with text
791information, the view then receives a call to {@link
792android.view.View#dispatchPopulateAccessibilityEvent dispatchPopulateAccessibilityEvent()}, which
793defers to the {@link android.view.View#onPopulateAccessibilityEvent onPopulateAccessibilityEvent()}
794callback.
795  <p>Custom implementations of {@link android.view.View} should usually implement {@link
796android.view.View#onPopulateAccessibilityEvent onPopulateAccessibilityEvent()} to add additional
797text content to the {@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityEvent} if the {@link
798android.R.attr#contentDescription android:contentDescription} text is missing or
799insufficient. To add more text description to the
800{@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityEvent}, call {@link
801android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityEvent#getText()}.{@link java.util.List#add add()}.</p>
802</li>
803  <li>At this point, the {@link android.view.View} passes the event up the view hierarchy by calling
804{@link android.view.ViewGroup#requestSendAccessibilityEvent requestSendAccessibilityEvent()} on the
805parent view. Each parent view then has the chance to augment the accessibility information by
806adding an {@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityRecord}, until it
807ultimately reaches the root view, which sends the event to the {@link
808android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityManager} with {@link
809android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityManager#sendAccessibilityEvent
810sendAccessibilityEvent()}.</li>
811</ol>
812
813<p>In addition to the new methods above, which are useful when extending the {@link
814android.view.View} class, you can also intercept these event callbacks on any {@link
815android.view.View} by extending {@link
816android.view.View.AccessibilityDelegate AccessibilityDelegate} and setting it on the view with
817{@link android.view.View#setAccessibilityDelegate setAccessibilityDelegate()}.
818When you do, each accessibility method in the view defers the call to the corresponding method in
819the delegate. For example, when the view receives a call to {@link
820android.view.View#onPopulateAccessibilityEvent onPopulateAccessibilityEvent()}, it passes it to the
821same method in the {@link android.view.View.AccessibilityDelegate}. Any methods not handled by
822the delegate are given right back to the view for default behavior. This allows you to override only
823the methods necessary for any given view without extending the {@link android.view.View} class.</p>
824
825
826<p>If you want to maintain compatibility with Android versions prior to 4.0, while also supporting
827the new the accessibility APIs, you can do so with the latest version of the <em>v4 support
828library</em> (in <a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/index.html">Compatibility Package, r4</a>)
829using a set of utility classes that provide the new accessibility APIs in a backward-compatible
830design.</p>
831
832
833
834
835<h4>Accessibility services</h4>
836
837<p>If you're developing an accessibility service, the information about various accessibility events
838has been significantly expanded to enable more advanced accessibility feedback for users. In
839particular, events are generated based on view composition, providing better context information and
840allowing accessibility services to traverse view hierarchies to get additional view information and
841deal with special cases.</p>
842
843<p>If you're developing an accessibility service (such as a screen reader), you can access
844additional content information and traverse view hierarchies with the following procedure:</p>
845<ol>
846<li>Upon receiving an {@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityEvent} from an application,
847call the {@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityEvent#getRecord(int)
848AccessibilityEvent.getRecord()} to retrieve a specific {@link
849android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityRecord} (there may be several records attached to the
850event).</li>
851
852<li>From either {@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityEvent} or an individual {@link
853android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityRecord}, you can call {@link
854android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityRecord#getSource() getSource()} to retrieve a {@link
855android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityNodeInfo} object.
856  <p>An {@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityNodeInfo} represents a single node
857of the window content in a format that allows you to query accessibility information about that
858node. The {@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityNodeInfo} object returned from {@link
859android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityEvent} describes the event source, whereas the source from
860an {@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityRecord} describes the predecessor of the event
861source.</p></li>
862
863<li>With the {@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityNodeInfo}, you can query information
864about it, call {@link
865android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityNodeInfo#getParent getParent()} or {@link
866android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityNodeInfo#getChild getChild()} to traverse the view
867hierarchy, and even add child views to the node.</li>
868</ol>
869
870<p>In order for your application to publish itself to the system as an accessibility service, it
871must declare an XML configuration file that corresponds to {@link
872android.accessibilityservice.AccessibilityServiceInfo}. For more information about creating an
873accessibility service, see {@link
874android.accessibilityservice.AccessibilityService} and {@link
875android.accessibilityservice.AccessibilityService#SERVICE_META_DATA
876SERVICE_META_DATA} for information about the XML configuration.</p>
877
878
879<h4>Other accessibility APIs</h4>
880
881<p>If you're interested in the device's accessibility state, the {@link
882android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityManager} has some new APIs such as:</p>
883<ul>
884  <li>{@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityManager.AccessibilityStateChangeListener}
885is an interface that allows you to receive a callback whenever accessibility is enabled or
886disabled.</li>
887  <li>{@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityManager#getEnabledAccessibilityServiceList
888    getEnabledAccessibilityServiceList()} provides information about which accessibility services
889    are currently enabled.</li>
890  <li>{@link android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityManager#isTouchExplorationEnabled()} tells
891  you whether the explore-by-touch mode is enabled.</li>
892</ul>
893
894
895
896
897
898
899<h3 id="SpellChecker">Spell Checker Services</h3>
900
901<p>A new spell checker framework allows apps to create spell checkers in a manner similar to the
902input method framework (for IMEs). To create a new spell checker, you must implement a service that
903extends
904{@link android.service.textservice.SpellCheckerService} and extend the {@link
905android.service.textservice.SpellCheckerService.Session} class to provide spelling suggestions based
906on text provided by the interface's callback methods. In the {@link
907android.service.textservice.SpellCheckerService.Session} callback methods, you must return the
908spelling suggestions as {@link android.view.textservice.SuggestionsInfo} objects. </p>
909
910<p>Applications with a spell checker service must declare the {@link
911android.Manifest.permission#BIND_TEXT_SERVICE} permission as required by the service.
912The service must also declare an intent filter with {@code <action
913android:name="android.service.textservice.SpellCheckerService" />} as the intent’s action and should
914include a {@code <meta-data>} element that declares configuration information for the spell
915checker. </p>
916
917<p>See the sample <a href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/SpellChecker/SampleSpellCheckerService/index.html">
918Spell Checker Service</a> app and
919sample <a href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/SpellChecker/HelloSpellChecker/index.html">
920Spell Checker Client</a> app for example code.</p>
921
922
923
924
925<h3 id="TTS">Text-to-speech Engines</h3>
926
927<p>Android’s text-to-speech (TTS) APIs have been significantly extended to allow applications to
928more easily implement custom TTS engines, while applications that want to use a TTS engine have a
929couple new APIs for selecting an engine.</p>
930
931
932<h4>Using text-to-speech engines</h4>
933
934<p>In previous versions of Android, you could use the {@link android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech} class
935to perform text-to-speech (TTS) operations using the TTS engine provided by the system or set a
936custom engine using {@link android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech#setEngineByPackageName
937setEngineByPackageName()}. In Android 4.0, the {@link
938android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech#setEngineByPackageName setEngineByPackageName()} method has been
939deprecated and you can now specify the engine to use with a new {@link
940android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech} constructor that accepts the package name of a TTS engine.</p>
941
942<p>You can also query the available TTS engines with {@link
943android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech#getEngines()}. This method returns a list of {@link
944android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech.EngineInfo} objects, which include meta data such as the engine’s
945icon, label, and package name.</p>
946
947
948<h4>Building text-to-speech engines</h4>
949
950<p>Previously, custom engines required that the engine be built using an undocumented native header
951file. In Android 4.0, there is a complete set of framework APIs for building TTS engines. </p>
952
953<p>The basic setup requires an implementation of {@link android.speech.tts.TextToSpeechService} that
954responds to the {@link android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech.Engine#INTENT_ACTION_TTS_SERVICE} intent. The
955primary work for a TTS engine happens during the {@link
956android.speech.tts.TextToSpeechService#onSynthesizeText onSynthesizeText()} callback in a service
957that extends {@link android.speech.tts.TextToSpeechService}. The system delivers this method two
958objects:</p>
959<ul>
960<li>{@link android.speech.tts.SynthesisRequest}: This contains various data including the text to
961synthesize, the locale, the speech rate, and voice pitch.</li>
962<li>{@link android.speech.tts.SynthesisCallback}: This is the interface by which your TTS engine
963delivers the resulting speech data as streaming audio. First the engine must call {@link
964android.speech.tts.SynthesisCallback#start start()} to indicate that the engine is ready to deliver
965the audio, then call {@link android.speech.tts.SynthesisCallback#audioAvailable audioAvailable()},
966passing it the audio data in a byte buffer. Once your engine has passed all audio through the
967buffer, call {@link android.speech.tts.SynthesisCallback#done()}.</li>
968</ul>
969
970<p>Now that the framework supports a true API for creating TTS engines, support for the native code
971implementation has been removed. Look for a blog post about a compatibility layer
972that you can use to convert your old TTS engines to the new framework.</p>
973
974<p>For an example TTS engine using the new APIs, see the <a
975href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/TtsEngine/index.html">Text To Speech Engine</a> sample app.</p>
976
977
978
979
980
981
982<h3 id="NetworkUsage">Network Usage</h3>
983
984<p>Android 4.0 gives users precise visibility of how much network data their applications are using.
985The Settings app provides controls that allow users to manage set limits for network data usage and
986even disable the use of background data for individual apps. In order to avoid users disabling your
987app’s access to data from the background, you should develop strategies to use the data
988connection efficiently and adjust your usage depending on the type of connection available.</p>
989
990<p>If your application performs a lot of network transactions, you should provide user settings that
991allow users to control your app’s data habits, such as how often your app syncs data, whether to
992perform uploads/downloads only when on Wi-Fi, whether to use data while roaming, etc. With these
993controls available to them, users are much less likely to disable your app’s access to data when
994they approach their limits, because they can instead precisely control how much data your app uses.
995If you provide a preference activity with these settings, you should include in its manifest
996declaration an intent filter for the {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_MANAGE_NETWORK_USAGE}
997action. For example:</p>
998
999<pre>
1000&lt;activity android:name="DataPreferences" android:label="@string/title_preferences"&gt;
1001    &lt;intent-filter&gt;
1002       &lt;action android:name="android.intent.action.MANAGE_NETWORK_USAGE" /&gt;
1003       &lt;category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" /&gt;
1004    &lt;/intent-filter&gt;
1005&lt;/activity&gt;
1006</pre>
1007
1008<p>This intent filter indicates to the system that this is the activity that controls your
1009application’s data usage. Thus, when the user inspects how much data your app is using from the
1010Settings app, a “View application settings" button is available that launches your
1011preference activity so the user can refine how much data your app uses.</p>
1012
1013<p>Also beware that {@link android.net.ConnectivityManager#getBackgroundDataSetting()} is now
1014deprecated and always returns true&mdash;use  {@link
1015android.net.ConnectivityManager#getActiveNetworkInfo()} instead. Before you attempt any network
1016transactions, you should always call {@link android.net.ConnectivityManager#getActiveNetworkInfo()}
1017to get the {@link android.net.NetworkInfo} that represents the current network and query {@link
1018android.net.NetworkInfo#isConnected()} to check whether the device has a
1019connection. You can then check other connection properties, such as whether the device is
1020roaming or connected to Wi-Fi.</p>
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029<h3 id="Enterprise">Enterprise</h3>
1030
1031<p>Android 4.0 expands the capabilities for enterprise application with the following features.</p>
1032
1033<h4>VPN services</h4>
1034
1035<p>The new {@link android.net.VpnService} allows applications to build their own VPN (Virtual
1036Private Network), running as a {@link android.app.Service}. A VPN service creates an interface for a
1037virtual network with its own address and routing rules and performs all reading and writing with a
1038file descriptor.</p>
1039
1040<p>To create a VPN service, use {@link android.net.VpnService.Builder}, which allows you to specify
1041the network address, DNS server, network route, and more. When complete, you can establish the
1042interface by calling {@link android.net.VpnService.Builder#establish()}, which returns a {@link
1043android.os.ParcelFileDescriptor}. </p>
1044
1045<p>Because  a VPN service can intercept packets, there are security implications.  As such, if you
1046implement {@link android.net.VpnService}, then your service must require the {@link
1047android.Manifest.permission#BIND_VPN_SERVICE} to ensure that only the system can bind to it (only
1048the system is granted this permission&mdash;apps cannot request it). To then use your VPN service,
1049users must manually enable it in the system settings.</p>
1050
1051
1052<h4>Device policies</h4>
1053
1054<p>Applications that manage the device restrictions can now disable the camera using {@link
1055android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#setCameraDisabled setCameraDisabled()} and the {@link
1056android.app.admin.DeviceAdminInfo#USES_POLICY_DISABLE_CAMERA} property (applied with a {@code
1057<disable-camera />} element in the policy configuration file).</p>
1058
1059
1060<h4>Certificate management</h4>
1061
1062<p>The new {@link android.security.KeyChain} class provides APIs that allow you to import and access
1063certificates in the system key store. Certificates streamline the installation of both client
1064certificates (to validate the identity of the user) and certificate authority certificates (to
1065verify server identity). Applications such as web browsers or email clients can access the installed
1066certificates to authenticate users to servers. See the {@link android.security.KeyChain}
1067documentation for more information.</p>
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075<h3 id="Sensors">Device Sensors</h3>
1076
1077<p>Two new sensor types have been added in Android 4.0:</p>
1078
1079<ul>
1080  <li>{@link android.hardware.Sensor#TYPE_AMBIENT_TEMPERATURE}: A temperature sensor that provides
1081the ambient (room) temperature in degrees Celsius.</li>
1082  <li>{@link android.hardware.Sensor#TYPE_RELATIVE_HUMIDITY}: A humidity sensor that provides the
1083relative ambient (room) humidity as a percentage.</li>
1084</ul>
1085
1086<p>If a device has both {@link android.hardware.Sensor#TYPE_AMBIENT_TEMPERATURE} and  {@link
1087android.hardware.Sensor#TYPE_RELATIVE_HUMIDITY} sensors, you can use them to calculate the dew point
1088and the absolute humidity.</p>
1089
1090<p>The previous temperature sensor, {@link android.hardware.Sensor#TYPE_TEMPERATURE}, has been
1091deprecated. You should use the {@link android.hardware.Sensor#TYPE_AMBIENT_TEMPERATURE} sensor
1092instead.</p>
1093
1094<p>Additionally, Android’s three synthetic sensors have been greatly improved so they now have lower
1095latency and smoother output. These sensors include the gravity sensor ({@link
1096android.hardware.Sensor#TYPE_GRAVITY}), rotation vector sensor ({@link
1097android.hardware.Sensor#TYPE_ROTATION_VECTOR}), and linear acceleration sensor ({@link
1098android.hardware.Sensor#TYPE_LINEAR_ACCELERATION}). The improved sensors rely on the gyroscope
1099sensor to improve their output, so the sensors appear only on devices that have a gyroscope.</p>
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105<h3 id="ActionBar">Action Bar</h3>
1106
1107<p>The {@link android.app.ActionBar} has been updated to support several new behaviors. Most
1108importantly, the system gracefully manages the action bar’s size and configuration when running on
1109smaller screens in order to provide an optimal user experience on all screen sizes. For example,
1110when the screen is narrow (such as when a handset is in portrait orientation), the action bar’s
1111navigation tabs appear in a “stacked bar," which appears directly below the main action bar. You can
1112also opt-in to a “split action bar," which places all action items in a separate bar at the bottom
1113of the screen when the screen is narrow.</p>
1114
1115
1116<h4>Split action bar</h4>
1117
1118<p>If your action bar includes several action items, not all of them will fit into the action bar on
1119a narrow screen, so the system will place more of them into the overflow menu. However, Android 4.0
1120allows you to enable “split action bar" so that more action items can appear on the screen in a
1121separate bar at the bottom of the screen. To enable split action bar, add {@link
1122android.R.attr#uiOptions android:uiOptions} with {@code "splitActionBarWhenNarrow"} to either your
1123<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/application-element.html">{@code <application>}</a>
1124tag or
1125individual <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/activity-element.html">{@code
1126<activity>}</a> tags
1127in your manifest file. When enabled, the system will add an additional bar at the bottom of the
1128screen for all action items when the screen is narrow (no action items will appear in the primary
1129action bar).</p>
1130
1131<p>If you want to use the navigation tabs provided by the {@link android.app.ActionBar.Tab} APIs,
1132but don’t need the main action bar on top (you want only the tabs to appear at the top), then enable
1133the split action bar as described above and also call {@link
1134android.app.ActionBar#setDisplayShowHomeEnabled setDisplayShowHomeEnabled(false)} to disable the
1135application icon in the action bar. With nothing left in the main action bar, it
1136disappears&mdash;all that’s left are the navigation tabs at the top and the action items at the
1137bottom of the screen.</p>
1138
1139
1140<h4>Action bar styles</h4>
1141
1142<p>If you want to apply custom styling to the action bar, you can use new style properties {@link
1143android.R.attr#backgroundStacked} and {@link android.R.attr#backgroundSplit} to apply a background
1144drawable or color to the stacked bar and split bar, respectively. You can also set these styles at
1145runtime with {@link android.app.ActionBar#setStackedBackgroundDrawable
1146setStackedBackgroundDrawable()} and {@link android.app.ActionBar#setSplitBackgroundDrawable
1147setSplitBackgroundDrawable()}.</p>
1148
1149
1150<h4>Action provider</h4>
1151
1152<p>The new {@link android.view.ActionProvider} class allows you to create a specialized handler for
1153action items. An action provider can define an action view, a default action behavior, and a submenu
1154for each action item to which it is associated. When you want to create an action item that has
1155dynamic behaviors (such as a variable action view, default action, or submenu), extending {@link
1156android.view.ActionProvider} is a good solution in order to create a reusable component, rather than
1157handling the various action item transformations in your fragment or activity.</p>
1158
1159<p>For example, the {@link android.widget.ShareActionProvider} is an extension of {@link
1160android.view.ActionProvider} that facilitates a “share" action from the action bar. Instead of using
1161traditional action item that invokes the {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_SEND} intent, you can
1162use this action provider to present an action view with a drop-down list of applications that handle
1163the {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_SEND} intent. When the user selects an application to use
1164for the action, {@link android.widget.ShareActionProvider} remembers that selection and provides it
1165in the action view for faster access to sharing with that app.</p>
1166
1167<p>To declare an action provider for an action item, include the {@code android:actionProviderClass}
1168attribute in the <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/resources/menu-resource.html#item-element">{@code
1169<item>}</a> element for your activity’s options menu, with the class name of the action
1170provider as the value. For example:</p>
1171
1172<pre>
1173&lt;item android:id="@+id/menu_share"
1174      android:title="Share"
1175      android:showAsAction="ifRoom"
1176      android:actionProviderClass="android.widget.ShareActionProvider" /&gt;
1177</pre>
1178
1179<p>In your activity’s {@link android.app.Activity#onCreateOptionsMenu onCreateOptionsMenu()}
1180callback method, retrieve an instance of the action provider from the menu item and set the
1181intent:</p>
1182
1183<pre>
1184public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
1185    getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.options, menu);
1186    ShareActionProvider shareActionProvider =
1187          (ShareActionProvider) menu.findItem(R.id.menu_share).getActionProvider();
1188    // Set the share intent of the share action provider.
1189    shareActionProvider.setShareIntent(createShareIntent());
1190    ...
1191    return super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu);
1192}
1193</pre>
1194
1195<p>For an example using the {@link android.widget.ShareActionProvider}, see <a
1196href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/ApiDemos/src/com/example/android/apis/app/ActionBarShareActionProviderActivity.html"
1197>ActionBarShareActionProviderActivity</a> in ApiDemos.</p>
1198
1199
1200<h4>Collapsible action views</h4>
1201
1202<p>Action items that provide an action view can now toggle between their action view state and
1203traditional action item state. Previously only the {@link android.widget.SearchView} supported
1204collapsing when used as an action view, but now you can add an action view for any action item and
1205switch between the expanded state (action view is visible) and collapsed state (action item is
1206visible).</p>
1207
1208<p>To declare that an action item that contains an action view be collapsible, include the {@code
1209“collapseActionView"} flag in the {@code android:showAsAction} attribute for the <a
1210href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/resources/menu-resource.html#item-element">{@code
1211<item>}</a> element in the menu’s XML file.</p>
1212
1213<p>To receive callbacks when an action view switches between expanded and collapsed, register an
1214instance of {@link android.view.MenuItem.OnActionExpandListener} with the respective {@link
1215android.view.MenuItem} by calling {@link android.view.MenuItem#setOnActionExpandListener
1216setOnActionExpandListener()}. Typically, you should do so during the {@link
1217android.app.Activity#onCreateOptionsMenu onCreateOptionsMenu()} callback.</p>
1218
1219<p>To control a collapsible action view, you can call {@link
1220android.view.MenuItem#collapseActionView()} and {@link android.view.MenuItem#expandActionView()} on
1221the respective {@link android.view.MenuItem}.</p>
1222
1223<p>When creating a custom action view, you can also implement the new {@link
1224android.view.CollapsibleActionView} interface to receive callbacks when the view is expanded and
1225collapsed.</p>
1226
1227
1228<h4>Other APIs for action bar</h4>
1229<ul>
1230<li>{@link android.app.ActionBar#setHomeButtonEnabled setHomeButtonEnabled()} allows you to specify
1231whether the icon/logo behaves as a button to navigate home or “up" (pass “true" to make it behave as
1232a button).</li>
1233
1234<li>{@link android.app.ActionBar#setIcon setIcon()} and {@link android.app.ActionBar#setLogo
1235setLogo()} allow you to define the action bar icon or logo at runtime.</li>
1236
1237<li>{@link android.app.Fragment#setMenuVisibility Fragment.setMenuVisibility()} allows you to enable
1238or disable the visibility of the options menu items declared by the fragment. This is useful if the
1239fragment has been added to the activity, but is not visible, so the menu items should be
1240hidden.</li>
1241
1242<li>{@link android.app.FragmentManager#invalidateOptionsMenu
1243FragmentManager.invalidateOptionsMenu()}
1244allows you to invalidate the activity options menu during various states of the fragment lifecycle
1245in which using the equivalent method from {@link android.app.Activity} might not be available.</li>
1246</ul>
1247
1248
1249
1250
1251
1252
1253
1254
1255<h3 id="UI">User Interface and Views</h3>
1256
1257<p>Android 4.0 introduces a variety of new views and other UI components.</p>
1258
1259
1260<h4>GridLayout</h4>
1261
1262<p>{@link android.widget.GridLayout} is a new view group that places child views in a rectangular
1263grid. Unlike {@link android.widget.TableLayout}, {@link android.widget.GridLayout} relies on a flat
1264hierarchy and does not make use of intermediate views such as table rows for providing structure.
1265Instead, children specify which row(s) and column(s) they should occupy (cells can span multiple
1266rows and/or columns), and by default are laid out sequentially across the grid’s rows and columns.
1267The {@link android.widget.GridLayout} orientation determines whether sequential children are by
1268default laid out horizontally or vertically. Space between children may be specified either by using
1269instances of the new {@link android.widget.Space} view or by setting the relevant margin parameters
1270on children.</p>
1271
1272<p>See <a
1273href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/ApiDemos/src/com/example/android/apis/view/index.html">ApiDemos</a
1274>
1275for samples using {@link android.widget.GridLayout}.</p>
1276
1277
1278
1279<h4>TextureView</h4>
1280
1281<p>{@link android.view.TextureView} is a new view that allows you to display a content stream, such
1282as a video or an OpenGL scene. Although similar to {@link android.view.SurfaceView}, {@link
1283android.view.TextureView} is unique in that it behaves like a regular view, rather than creating a
1284separate window, so you can treat it like any other {@link android.view.View} object. For example,
1285you can apply transforms, animate it using {@link android.view.ViewPropertyAnimator}, or
1286adjust its opacity with {@link android.view.View#setAlpha setAlpha()}.</p>
1287
1288<p>Beware that {@link android.view.TextureView} works only within a hardware accelerated window.</p>
1289
1290<p>For more information, see the {@link android.view.TextureView} documentation.</p>
1291
1292
1293<h4>Switch widget</h4>
1294
1295<p>The new {@link android.widget.Switch} widget is a two-state toggle that users can drag to one
1296side or the other (or simply tap) to toggle an option between two states.</p>
1297
1298<p>You can use the {@code android:textOn} and {@code android:textOff} attributes to specify the text
1299to appear on the switch when in the on and off setting. The {@code android:text} attribute also
1300allows you to place a label alongside the switch.</p>
1301
1302<p>For a sample using switches, see the <a
1303href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/ApiDemos/res/layout/switches.html">switches.xml</a> layout file
1304and respective <a
1305href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/ApiDemos/src/com/example/android/apis/view/Switches.html">Switches
1306</a> activity.</p>
1307
1308
1309<h4>Popup menus</h4>
1310
1311<p>Android 3.0 introduced {@link android.widget.PopupMenu} to create short contextual menus that pop
1312up at an anchor point you specify (usually at the point of the item selected). Android 4.0 extends
1313the {@link android.widget.PopupMenu} with a couple useful features:</p>
1314<ul>
1315<li>You can now easily inflate the contents of a popup menu from an XML <a
1316href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/resources/menu-resource.html">menu resource</a> with {@link
1317android.widget.PopupMenu#inflate inflate()}, passing it the menu resource ID.</li>
1318<li>You can also now create a {@link android.widget.PopupMenu.OnDismissListener} that receives a
1319callback when the menu is dismissed.</li>
1320</ul>
1321
1322
1323<h4>Preferences</h4>
1324
1325<p>A new {@link android.preference.TwoStatePreference} abstract class serves as the basis for
1326preferences that provide a two-state selection option. The new {@link
1327android.preference.SwitchPreference} is an extension of {@link
1328android.preference.TwoStatePreference} that provides a {@link android.widget.Switch} widget in the
1329preference view to allow users to toggle a setting on or off without the need to open an additional
1330preference screen or dialog. For example, the Settings application uses a {@link
1331android.preference.SwitchPreference} for the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings.</p>
1332
1333
1334
1335<h4>System themes</h4>
1336
1337<p>The default theme for all applications that target Android 4.0 (by setting either <a
1338href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#target">{@code targetSdkVersion}</a> or
1339<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#min">{@code minSdkVersion}</a> to
1340{@code “14"} or higher) is now the
1341"device default" theme: {@link android.R.style#Theme_DeviceDefault Theme.DeviceDefault}. This may be
1342the dark Holo theme or a different dark theme defined by the specific device.</p>
1343
1344<p>The {@link android.R.style#Theme_Holo Theme.Holo} family of themes are guaranteed to not change
1345from one device to another when running the same version of Android. If you explicitly
1346apply any of the {@link android.R.style#Theme_Holo Theme.Holo} themes to your activities, you can
1347rest assured that these themes will not change character on different devices within the same
1348platform version.</p>
1349
1350<p>If you wish for your app to blend in with the overall device theme (such as when different OEMs
1351provide different default themes for the system), you should explicitly apply themes from the {@link
1352android.R.style#Theme_DeviceDefault Theme.DeviceDefault} family.</p>
1353
1354
1355<h4>Options menu button</h4>
1356
1357<p>Beginning with Android 4.0, you'll notice that handsets no longer require a Menu hardware button.
1358However, there's no need for you to worry about this if your existing application provides an <a
1359href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/ui/menus.html#options-menu">options menu</a> and expects there to be a
1360Menu button. To ensure that existing apps continue to work as they expect, the system provides an
1361on-screen Menu button for apps that were designed for older versions of Android.</p>
1362
1363<p>For the best user experience, new and updated apps should instead use the {@link
1364android.app.ActionBar} to provide access to menu items and set <a
1365href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#target">{@code targetSdkVersion}</a> to
1366{@code "14"} to take advantage of the latest framework default behaviors.</p>
1367
1368
1369
1370<h4 id="SystemUI">Controls for system UI visibility</h4>
1371
1372<p>Since the early days of Android, the system has managed a UI component known as the <em>status
1373bar</em>, which resides at the top of handset devices to deliver information such as the carrier
1374signal, time, notifications, and so on. Android 3.0 added the <em>system bar</em> for tablet
1375devices, which resides at the bottom of the screen to provide system navigation controls (Home,
1376Back, and so forth) and also an interface for elements traditionally provided by the status bar.  In
1377Android 4.0, the system provides a new type of system UI called the <em>navigation bar</em>. You
1378might consider the navigation bar a re-tuned version of the system bar designed for
1379handsets&mdash;it provides navigation controls
1380for devices that don’t have hardware counterparts for navigating the system, but it leaves out the
1381system bar's notification UI and setting controls. As such, a device that provides the navigation
1382bar also has the status bar at the top.</p>
1383
1384<p>To this day, you can hide the status bar on handsets using the {@link
1385android.view.WindowManager.LayoutParams#FLAG_FULLSCREEN} flag. In Android 4.0, the APIs that control
1386the system bar’s visibility have been updated to better reflect the behavior of both the system bar
1387and navigation bar:</p>
1388<ul>
1389<li>The {@link android.view.View#SYSTEM_UI_FLAG_LOW_PROFILE} flag replaces the {@code
1390STATUS_BAR_HIDDEN} flag. When set, this flag enables “low profile" mode for the system bar or
1391navigation bar. Navigation buttons dim and other elements in the system bar also hide. Enabling
1392this is useful for creating more immersive games without distraction for the system navigation
1393buttons.</li>
1394
1395<li>The {@link android.view.View#SYSTEM_UI_FLAG_VISIBLE} flag replaces the {@code
1396STATUS_BAR_VISIBLE} flag to request the system bar or navigation bar be visible.</li>
1397
1398<li>The {@link android.view.View#SYSTEM_UI_FLAG_HIDE_NAVIGATION} is a new flag that requests
1399the navigation bar hide completely. Be aware that this works only for the <em>navigation bar</em>
1400used by some handsets (it does <strong>not</strong> hide the system bar on tablets). The navigation
1401bar returns to view as soon as the system receives user input. As such, this mode is useful
1402primarily for video playback or other cases in which the whole screen is needed but user input is
1403not required.</li>
1404</ul>
1405
1406<p>You can set each of these flags for the system bar and navigation bar by calling {@link
1407android.view.View#setSystemUiVisibility setSystemUiVisibility()} on any view in your activity. The
1408window manager combines (OR-together) all flags from all views in your window and
1409apply them to the system UI as long as your window has input focus. When your window loses input
1410focus (the user navigates away from your app, or a dialog appears), your flags cease to have effect.
1411Similarly, if you remove those views from the view hierarchy their flags no longer apply.</p>
1412
1413<p>To synchronize other events in your activity with visibility changes to the system UI (for
1414example, hide the action bar or other UI controls when the system UI hides), you should register a
1415{@link android.view.View.OnSystemUiVisibilityChangeListener} to be notified when the visibility
1416of the system bar or navigation bar changes.</p>
1417
1418<p>See the <a
1419href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/ApiDemos/src/com/example/android/apis/view/OverscanActivity.html">
1420OverscanActivity</a> class for a demonstration of different system UI options.</p>
1421
1422
1423
1424
1425
1426<h3 id="Input">Input Framework</h3>
1427
1428<p>Android 4.0 adds support for cursor hover events and new stylus and mouse button events.</p>
1429
1430<h4>Hover events</h4>
1431
1432<p>The {@link android.view.View} class now supports “hover" events to enable richer interactions
1433through the use of pointer devices (such as a mouse or other devices that drive an on-screen
1434cursor).</p>
1435
1436<p>To receive hover events on a view, implement the {@link android.view.View.OnHoverListener} and
1437register it with {@link android.view.View#setOnHoverListener setOnHoverListener()}. When a hover
1438event occurs on the view, your listener receives a call to {@link
1439android.view.View.OnHoverListener#onHover onHover()}, providing the {@link android.view.View} that
1440received the event and a {@link android.view.MotionEvent} that describes the type of hover event
1441that occurred. The hover event can be one of the following:</p>
1442<ul>
1443<li>{@link android.view.MotionEvent#ACTION_HOVER_ENTER}</li>
1444<li>{@link android.view.MotionEvent#ACTION_HOVER_EXIT}</li>
1445<li>{@link android.view.MotionEvent#ACTION_HOVER_MOVE}</li>
1446</ul>
1447
1448<p>Your {@link android.view.View.OnHoverListener} should return true from {@link
1449android.view.View.OnHoverListener#onHover onHover()} if it handles the hover event.  If your
1450listener returns false, then the hover event will be dispatched to the parent view as usual.</p>
1451
1452<p>If your application uses buttons or other widgets that change their appearance based on the
1453current state, you can now use the {@code android:state_hovered} attribute in a <a
1454href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/resources/drawable-resource.html#StateList">state list drawable</a> to
1455provide a different background drawable when a cursor hovers over the view.</p>
1456
1457<p>For a demonstration of the new hover events, see the <a
1458href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/ApiDemos/src/com/example/android/apis/view/Hover.html">Hover</a> class in
1459ApiDemos.</p>
1460
1461
1462<h4>Stylus and mouse button events</h4>
1463
1464<p>Android now provides APIs for receiving input from a stylus input device such as a digitizer
1465tablet peripheral or a stylus-enabled touch screen.</p>
1466
1467<p>Stylus input operates in a similar manner to touch or mouse input.  When the stylus is in contact
1468with the digitizer, applications receive touch events just like they would when a finger is used to
1469touch the display.  When the stylus is hovering above the digitizer, applications receive hover
1470events just like they would when a mouse pointer was being moved across the display when no buttons
1471are pressed.</p>
1472
1473<p>Your application can distinguish between finger, mouse, stylus and eraser input by querying the
1474“tool type" associated with each pointer in a {@link android.view.MotionEvent} using {@link
1475android.view.MotionEvent#getToolType getToolType()}.  The currently defined tool types are: {@link
1476android.view.MotionEvent#TOOL_TYPE_UNKNOWN}, {@link android.view.MotionEvent#TOOL_TYPE_FINGER},
1477{@link android.view.MotionEvent#TOOL_TYPE_MOUSE}, {@link android.view.MotionEvent#TOOL_TYPE_STYLUS},
1478and {@link android.view.MotionEvent#TOOL_TYPE_ERASER}.  By querying the tool type, your application
1479can choose to handle stylus input in different ways from finger or mouse input.</p>
1480
1481<p>Your application can also query which mouse or stylus buttons are pressed by querying the “button
1482state" of a {@link android.view.MotionEvent} using {@link android.view.MotionEvent#getButtonState
1483getButtonState()}.  The currently defined button states are: {@link
1484android.view.MotionEvent#BUTTON_PRIMARY}, {@link android.view.MotionEvent#BUTTON_SECONDARY}, {@link
1485android.view.MotionEvent#BUTTON_TERTIARY}, {@link android.view.MotionEvent#BUTTON_BACK}, and {@link
1486android.view.MotionEvent#BUTTON_FORWARD}. For convenience, the back and forward mouse buttons are
1487automatically mapped to the {@link android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_BACK} and {@link
1488android.view.KeyEvent#KEYCODE_FORWARD} keys.  Your application can handle these keys to support
1489mouse button based back and forward navigation.</p>
1490
1491<p>In addition to precisely measuring the position and pressure of a contact, some stylus input
1492devices also report the distance between the stylus tip and the digitizer, the stylus tilt angle,
1493and the stylus orientation angle.  Your application can query this information using {@link
1494android.view.MotionEvent#getAxisValue getAxisValue()} with the axis codes {@link
1495android.view.MotionEvent#AXIS_DISTANCE}, {@link android.view.MotionEvent#AXIS_TILT}, and {@link
1496android.view.MotionEvent#AXIS_ORIENTATION}.</p>
1497
1498<p>For a demonstration of tool types, button states and the new axis codes, see the <a
1499href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/ApiDemos/src/com/example/android/apis/graphics/TouchPaint.html">TouchPaint
1500</a> class in ApiDemos.</p>
1501
1502
1503
1504
1505
1506
1507<h3 id="Properties">Properties</h3>
1508
1509<p>The new {@link android.util.Property} class provides a fast, efficient, and easy way to specify a
1510property on any object that allows callers to generically set/get values on target objects. It also
1511allows the functionality of passing around field/method references and allows code to set/get values
1512of the property without knowing the details of what the fields/methods are.</p>
1513
1514<p>For example, if you want to set the value of field {@code bar} on object {@code foo}, you would
1515previously do this:</p>
1516<pre>
1517foo.bar = value;
1518</pre>
1519
1520<p>If you want to call the setter for an underlying private field {@code bar}, you would previously
1521do this:</p>
1522<pre>
1523foo.setBar(value);
1524</pre>
1525
1526<p>However, if you want to pass around the {@code foo} instance and have some other code set the
1527{@code bar} value, there is really no way to do it prior to Android 4.0.</p>
1528
1529<p>Using the {@link android.util.Property} class, you can declare a {@link android.util.Property}
1530object {@code BAR} on class {@code Foo} so that you can set the field on instance {@code foo} of
1531class {@code Foo} like this:</p>
1532<pre>
1533BAR.set(foo, value);
1534</pre>
1535
1536<p>The {@link android.view.View} class now leverages the {@link android.util.Property} class to
1537allow you to set various fields, such as transform properties that were added in Android 3.0 ({@link
1538android.view.View#ROTATION}, {@link android.view.View#ROTATION_X}, {@link
1539android.view.View#TRANSLATION_X}, etc.).</p>
1540
1541<p>The {@link android.animation.ObjectAnimator} class also uses the {@link android.util.Property}
1542class, so you can create an {@link android.animation.ObjectAnimator} with a {@link
1543android.util.Property}, which is faster, more efficient, and more type-safe than the string-based
1544approach.</p>
1545
1546
1547
1548
1549
1550
1551<h3 id="HwAccel">Hardware Acceleration</h3>
1552
1553<p>Beginning with Android 4.0, hardware acceleration for all windows is enabled by default if your
1554application has set either <a
1555href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#target">{@code targetSdkVersion}</a> or
1556<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#min">{@code minSdkVersion}</a> to
1557{@code “14"} or higher. Hardware acceleration generally results in smoother animations, smoother
1558scrolling, and overall better performance and response to user interaction.</p>
1559
1560<p>If necessary, you can manually disable hardware acceleration with the <a
1561href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/activity-element.html#hwaccel">{@code hardwareAccelerated}</a>
1562attribute for individual <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/activity-element.html">{@code
1563<activity>}</a> elements or the <a
1564href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/application-element.html">{@code <application>}</a>
1565element. You can alternatively disable hardware acceleration for individual views by calling {@link
1566android.view.View#setLayerType setLayerType(LAYER_TYPE_SOFTWARE)}.</p>
1567
1568<p>For more information about hardware acceleration, including a list of unsupported drawing
1569operations, see the <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/graphics/hardware-accel.html">Hardware
1570Acceleration</a> document.</p>
1571
1572
1573
1574<h3 id="Jni">JNI Changes</h3>
1575
1576<p>In previous versions of Android, JNI local references weren’t indirect handles; Android used
1577direct pointers. This wasn't a problem as long as the garbage collector didn't move objects, but it
1578seemed to work because it made it possible to write buggy code. In Android 4.0, the system now uses
1579indirect references in order to detect these bugs.</p>
1580
1581<p>The ins and outs of JNI local references are described in “Local and Global References" in <a
1582href="{@docRoot}guide/practices/jni.html">JNI Tips</a>. In Android 4.0, <a
1583href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2011/07/debugging-android-jni-with-checkjni.html">
1584CheckJNI</a> has been enhanced to detect these errors. Watch the <a
1585href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/">Android Developers Blog</a> for an upcoming post
1586about common errors with JNI references and how you can fix them.</p>
1587
1588<p>This change in the JNI implementation only affects apps that target Android 4.0 by setting either
1589the <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#target">{@code
1590targetSdkVersion}</a> or <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#min">{@code
1591minSdkVersion}</a> to {@code “14"} or higher. If you’ve set these attributes to any lower value,
1592then JNI local references behave the same as in previous versions.</p>
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598<h3 id="WebKit">WebKit</h3>
1599<ul>
1600<li>WebKit updated to version 534.30</li>
1601<li>Support for Indic fonts (Devanagari, Bengali, and Tamil, including the complex character support
1602needed for combining glyphs) in {@link android.webkit.WebView} and the built-in Browser</li>
1603<li>Support for Ethiopic, Georgian, and Armenian fonts in {@link android.webkit.WebView} and the
1604built-in Browser</li>
1605<li>Support for <a
1606href="http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2009/05/introducing-webdriver.html">WebDriver</a> makes
1607it easier for you to test apps that use {@link android.webkit.WebView}</li>
1608</ul>
1609
1610
1611<h4>Android Browser</h4>
1612
1613<p>The Browser application adds the following features to support web applications:</p>
1614<ul>
1615<li>Updated V8 JavaScript compiler for faster performance</li>
1616<li>Plus other notable enhancements carried over from <a
1617href="{@docRoot}about/versions/android-3.0.html">Android
16183.0</a> are now available for handsets:
1619<ul>
1620<li>Support for fixed position elements on all pages</li>
1621<li><a href="http://dev.w3.org/2009/dap/camera/">HTML media capture</a></li>
1622<li><a href="http://dev.w3.org/geo/api/spec-source-orientation.html">Device orientation
1623events</a></li>
1624<li><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-3d-transforms/">CSS 3D transformations</a></li>
1625</ul>
1626</li>
1627</ul>
1628
1629
1630
1631<h3 id="Permissions">Permissions</h3>
1632
1633<p>The following are new permissions:</p>
1634<ul>
1635<li>{@link android.Manifest.permission#ADD_VOICEMAIL}: Allows a voicemail service to add voicemail
1636messages to the device.</li>
1637<li>{@link android.Manifest.permission#BIND_TEXT_SERVICE}: A service that implements {@link
1638android.service.textservice.SpellCheckerService} must require this permission for itself.</li>
1639<li>{@link android.Manifest.permission#BIND_VPN_SERVICE}: A service that implements {@link
1640android.net.VpnService} must require this permission for itself.</li>
1641<li>android.Manifest.permission#READ_PROFILE: Provides read access to the {@link
1642android.provider.ContactsContract.Profile} provider.</li>
1643<li>android.Manifest.permission#WRITE_PROFILE: Provides write access to the {@link
1644android.provider.ContactsContract.Profile} provider.</li>
1645</ul>
1646
1647
1648
1649<h3 id="DeviceFeatures">Device Features</h3>
1650
1651<p>The following are new device features:</p>
1652<ul>
1653<li>{@link android.content.pm.PackageManager#FEATURE_WIFI_DIRECT}: Declares that the application
1654uses
1655Wi-Fi for peer-to-peer communications.</li>
1656</ul>
1657
1658
1659<div class="special" style="margin-top:3em">
1660<p>For a detailed view of all API changes in Android {@sdkPlatformVersion} (API Level
1661{@sdkPlatformApiLevel}), see the <a
1662href="{@docRoot}sdk/api_diff/{@sdkPlatformApiLevel}/changes.html">API Differences Report</a>.</p>
1663</div>
1664
1665
1666<h2 id="Honeycomb">Previous APIs</h2>
1667
1668<p>In addition to everything above, Android 4.0 naturally supports all APIs from previous releases.
1669Because the Android 3.x platform is available only for large-screen devices, if you've
1670been developing primarily for handsets, then you might not be aware of all the APIs added to Android
1671in these recent releases.</p>
1672
1673<p>Here's a look at some of the most notable APIs you might have missed that are now available
1674on handsets as well:</p>
1675
1676<dl>
1677  <dt><a href="android-3.0.html">Android 3.0</a></dt>
1678  <dd>
1679    <ul>
1680      <li>{@link android.app.Fragment}: A framework component that allows you to separate distinct
1681elements of an activity into self-contained modules that define their own UI and lifecycle. See the
1682<a href="{@docRoot}guide/components/fragments.html">Fragments</a> developer guide.</li>
1683      <li>{@link android.app.ActionBar}: A replacement for the traditional title bar at the top of
1684the activity window. It includes the application logo in the left corner and provides a new
1685interface for menu items. See the
1686<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/ui/actionbar.html">Action Bar</a> developer guide.</li>
1687      <li>{@link android.content.Loader}: A framework component that facilitates asynchronous
1688loading of data in combination with UI components to dynamically load data without blocking the
1689main thread. See the
1690<a href="{@docRoot}guide/components/loaders.html">Loaders</a> developer guide.</li>
1691      <li>System clipboard: Applications can copy and paste data (beyond mere text) to and from
1692the system-wide clipboard. Clipped data can be plain text, a URI, or an intent. See the
1693<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/text/copy-paste.html">Copy and Paste</a> developer guide.</li>
1694      <li>Drag and drop: A set of APIs built into the view framework that facilitates drag and drop
1695operations. See the
1696<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/ui/drag-drop.html">Drag and Drop</a> developer guide.</li>
1697      <li>An all new flexible animation framework allows you to animate arbitrary properties of any
1698object (View, Drawable, Fragment, Object, or anything else) and define animation aspects such
1699as duration, interpolation, repeat and more. The new framework makes Animations in Android
1700simpler than ever. See the
1701<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/graphics/prop-animation.html">Property Animation</a> developer
1702guide.</li>
1703      <li>RenderScript graphics and compute engine: RenderScript offers a high performance 3D
1704graphics rendering and compute API at the native level, which you write in the C (C99 standard),
1705providing the type of performance you expect from a native environment while remaining portable
1706across various CPUs and GPUs. See the
1707<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/renderscript/index.html">RenderScript</a> developer
1708guide.</li>
1709      <li>Hardware accelerated 2D graphics: You can now enable the OpenGL renderer for your
1710application by setting {android:hardwareAccelerated="true"} in your manifest element's <a
1711href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/application-element.html"><code>&lt;application&gt;</code></a>
1712element or for individual <a
1713href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/activity-element.html"><code>&lt;activity&gt;</code></a>
1714elements. This results
1715in smoother animations, smoother scrolling, and overall better performance and response to user
1716interaction.
1717      <p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> If you set your application's <a
1718href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#min">{@code minSdkVersion}</a> or <a
1719href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#target">{@code targetSdkVersion}</a> to
1720{@code "14"} or higher, hardware acceleration is enabled by default.</p></li>
1721      <li>And much, much more. See the <a href="android-3.0.html">Android 3.0 Platform</a>
1722notes for more information.</li>
1723    </ul>
1724  </dd>
1725
1726  <dt><a href="android-3.1.html">Android 3.1</a></dt>
1727  <dd>
1728    <ul>
1729      <li>USB APIs: Powerful new APIs for integrating connected peripherals with
1730Android applications. The APIs are based on a USB stack and services that are
1731built into the platform, including support for both USB host and device interactions. See the <a
1732href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/connectivity/usb/index.html">USB Host and Accessory</a> developer guide.</li>
1733      <li>MTP/PTP APIs: Applications can interact directly with connected cameras and other PTP
1734devices to receive notifications when devices are attached and removed, manage files and storage on
1735those devices, and transfer files and metadata to and from them. The MTP API implements the PTP
1736(Picture Transfer Protocol) subset of the MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) specification. See the
1737{@link android.mtp} documentation.</li>
1738      <li>RTP APIs: Android exposes an API to its built-in RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) stack,
1739which applications can use to manage on-demand or interactive data streaming. In particular, apps
1740that provide VOIP, push-to-talk, conferencing, and audio streaming can use the API to initiate
1741sessions and transmit or receive data streams over any available network. See the {@link
1742android.net.rtp} documentation.</li>
1743      <li>Support for joysticks and other generic motion inputs.</li>
1744      <li>See the <a href="android-3.1.html">Android 3.1 Platform</a>
1745notes for many more new APIs.</li>
1746    </ul>
1747  </dd>
1748
1749  <dt><a href="android-3.2.html">Android 3.2</a></dt>
1750  <dd>
1751    <ul>
1752      <li>New screens support APIs that give you more control over how your applications are
1753displayed across different screen sizes. The API extends the existing screen support model with the
1754ability to precisely target specific screen size ranges by dimensions, measured in
1755density-independent pixel units (such as 600dp or 720dp wide), rather than by their generalized
1756screen sizes (such as large or xlarge). For example, this is important in order to help you
1757distinguish between a 5" device and a 7" device, which would both traditionally be bucketed as
1758"large" screens. See the blog post, <a
1759href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2011/07/new-tools-for-managing-screen-sizes.html">
1760New Tools for Managing Screen Sizes</a>.</li>
1761      <li>New constants for <a
1762href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-feature-element.html">{@code <uses-feature>}</a> to
1763declare landscape or portrait screen orientation requirements.</li>
1764      <li>The device "screen size" configuration now changes during a screen orientation
1765change. If your app targets API level 13 or higher, you must handle the {@code "screenSize"}
1766configuration change if you also want to handle the {@code "orientation"} configuration change. See
1767<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/activity-element.html#config">{@code
1768android:configChanges}</a> for more information.</li>
1769      <li>See the <a href="android-3.2.html">Android 3.2 Platform</a>
1770notes for other new APIs.</li>
1771    </ul>
1772  </dd>
1773
1774</dl>
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779<h3 id="api-level">API Level</h3>
1780
1781<p>The Android {@sdkPlatformVersion} API is assigned an integer
1782identifier&mdash;<strong>{@sdkPlatformApiLevel}</strong>&mdash;that is stored in the system itself.
1783This identifier, called the "API level", allows the system to correctly determine whether an
1784application is compatible with the system, prior to installing the application. </p>
1785
1786<p>To use APIs introduced in Android {@sdkPlatformVersion} in your application, you need compile the
1787application against an Android platform that supports API level {@sdkPlatformApiLevel} or
1788higher. Depending on your needs, you might also need to add an
1789<code>android:minSdkVersion="{@sdkPlatformApiLevel}"</code> attribute to the
1790<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html">{@code <uses-sdk>}</a>
1791element.</p>
1792
1793<p>For more information, read <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels">What is API
1794Level?</a></p>
1795