TimePicker & DatePicker with keyboard edit problem

Problem: When using the TimePicker & DatePicker objects in an AlertDialog (and probably anywhere else), the time & date seem to not to update when the user is editing the value using a keyboard (or soft keyboard).

Solution: Before calling the functions to get the date & time from the objects call TimePicker or DatePicker clearFocus() method.

I found few threads talking about this problem without a solution. I found the solution when I looked at the TimePickerDialog source code which did not suffer from this problem.

Android SQLite Alter Table

When upgrading SQLite database sometimes you need to change the tables scheme. The problem is that SQLite Alter Table SQL format does not support all the options you might need (specifically - dropping columns, changing column types, renaming columns).

One way around this issue is to create a new table & copy the data to the new table. There are few options here, but the best way (I think) is as follows:
1. Create new table in the new format.
2. Copy the data.
3. Drop the original table
4. Rename the new table

For example:

BEGIN TRANSACTION;
CREATE TABLE t_new(a,b);
INSERT INTO t_new SELECT a,b FROM t;
DROP TABLE t;
ALTER TABLE t_new RENAME TO t;
COMMIT;

IMPORTANT: As far as I know 'execSQL' of 'SQLiteDatabase' will NOT run multiple commands. You should run each SQL command in a separate 'execSQL' call (the transaction can be handled from the SQLiteDatabase, not need for explicit SQL commands).

Build.VERSION.SDK_INT on Android 1.5

It won't be long before all Android 1.5 devices will disappear, until then it's a good idea to support them. The problem is the 'Build.VERSION.SDK_INT' was introduced only on Android 1.6, and before that there were only string values.

Here's a work-around this issue - it will return the correct value for Android 1.5+:

public static int getSdkInt() {
   if (Build.VERSION.RELEASE.startsWith("1.5"))
       return 3;
 
   try {
       return HelperInternal.getSdkIntInternal();
   } catch (VerifyError e) {
       return 3;
   }
}

private static class HelperInternal {
   private static int getSdkIntInternal() {
       return Build.VERSION.SDK_INT;              
   }
}

Note: the internal class is required since the Java virtual machine checks if a class is valid before loading it. In our case, a java VM running Android 1.5 will not be able to load Build.VERSION.SDK_INT and will crash.

UPDATE: Added VerifyError catch to prevent exceptions on some weird Android 1.5 devices.

Finding Android screen orientation

There are multiple way to get Android screen orientation (landscape/portrait), however some of them are problematic:
this.getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay().getOrientation()
Is depricated

this.getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay().getRotation()
Works only from Android 2.2

I Found this to be the best resource until now, since it's exists since API 1 & it's not deprecated, yet:
this.getResources().getConfiguration().orientation

Compare it with:
Configuration.ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE
Configuration.ORIENTATION_PORTRAIT
Configuration.ORIENTATION_SQUARE

Spinner.setSelection doesn't work correctly

Problem:
There are a lot of posts around regarding a problem with Spinner.setSelection(i) function. I encountered this issue when I've tried to replace the adapter in the Spinner and select a new item. The setSelection function seems like it's not working, but when I click the spinner the selected item was the correct one.

Solution:
Use Spinner.setSelection(i, true) instead

Multiple substitutions specified in non-positional format

Since Android SDK 2.3 there's a new error:
error: Multiple substitutions specified in non-positional format; did you mean to add the formatted="false" attribute?

Description:
This error indicates you're using a string resource with %s in it. See how to use it here under 'Formatting strings'. In general, instead of:

Hello, %s! You have %d new messages.

Should be:

Hello, %1$s! You have %2$d new messages.

Can not find adb.exe after Android SDK update

After updating the Android SDK I got the following message when I opened Eclipse:
Can not find C:\Program Files\Google\Android SDK\tools\adb.exe
Please check the Android plugin's preferences

And when I checked the adb.exe was really missing!

Solution:
Update the Android add-ins for Eclipse, in Eclipse: "Help" -> "Check for Updates".

The reason for this error (in my case) was that since SDK 2.3 the 'adb.exe' was moved to:
C:\Program Files\Google\Android SDK\platform-tools\adb.exe

UPDATE: ddms.bat does not work as well (can not find adb.exe). The work-around I'm using until I'll find a better solution is adding the platform-tools folder to the environment PATH variable.