Android Development: Retrofit with Java

2hIntermediate2019-04-17

Authors

Jon-Luke West

Software Developer, Product Engineer, Inventor

Course details

Web integration is one of the foundational pillars of a good mobile app. But it doesn’t mean you have to write a lot of code. Square offers a free, open-source library called Retrofit that makes integrating with a web API a breeze. This course explains how to use Retrofit to connect an Android app to the cloud. Instructor Jon-Luke West—an Android product engineer—reviews the basics of web communication with REST APIs and the methods for reading and writing data to the cloud. He shows how to define your data models and write API-related code for a sample project using popular packages like GSON. He also covers the configuration options that are available, such as customizing the data converter and serializing multipart HTTP requests.

Learning objectives
REST API basics
Methods for reading and writing data
Defining data models with Retrofit
Implementing an API interface
Getting data with a Retrofit call
Authorizing requests
Putting, deleting, and posting data
Customizing the data converter
Working with the request and response headers

Skills covered

Android DevelopmentAndroidMobile DevelopmentGoogleProgramming LanguagesSoftware DevelopmentDeep Dive (X:Y)

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Android, the web, and Retrofit
02 - What you should know

1. HTTP APIs

03 - REST APIs
04 - HTTP methods
05 - Methods for reading
06 - Methods for writing
07 - Formats, models, and converters

2. Get Started with Retrofit

08 - Review the sample project
09 - Include required packages
10 - Define data models
11 - Implement an API interface
12 - GET data with a Retrofit call
13 - Handle failed requests
14 - Use query parameters

3. Finish the Sample App

15 - Manipulate the URL path
16 - Make a HEAD request
17 - Include a header
18 - Authorize every request
19 - PUT a star on a Gist
20 - DELETE a star on a Gist
21 - POST a comment
22 - Test the sample app

4. More Configuration Options

23 - Change the names of properties
24 - Customize the data converter
25 - Form URL encoding
26 - Use a query, header, or field map
27 - Make a multipart request
28 - Use ProGuard with Retrofit

Conclusion

29 - Next steps