How to Develop a CRUD Android Application Using Java?

overview in this tutorial, you will learn how to build a fully functional crud (create, read, update, delete) application for android using java we will use back4app as our backend to easily manage data this guide will walk you through setting up a back4app project, designing your data schema, and coding crud functionalities in an android environment initially, you will establish a back4app project titled basic crud app android that provides a reliable backend solution you’ll then define your data structures by creating the necessary classes and fields manually or by leveraging back4app’s ai driven schema generator next, you’ll explore the back4app admin app—a user friendly, drag and drop interface that simplifies data management finally, you will connect your android app to back4app using the parse android sdk, enabling secure crud operations and user authentication by the end of this guide, you will have developed a production ready android application that handles essential crud operations along with secure user management essential insights build an android crud application integrated with a robust backend understand how to structure a scalable backend and connect it with your android app utilize back4app’s admin app to effortlessly manage create, read, update, and delete operations learn secure data handling and user authentication in an android context requirements before you begin, ensure you have a back4app account with a newly configured project need help? visit getting started with back4app https //www back4app com/docs/get started/new parse app an android development setup use android studio with java support and ensure you have at least android api 21 basic knowledge of java, android app development, and restful apis review the android documentation https //developer android com/docs if needed step 1 – setting up your project establishing a new back4app project log into your back4app account select “new app” from your dashboard name your project basic crud app android and follow the instructions to complete the setup create new project after your project is set up, it will appear on your dashboard, ready for further configuration step 2 – crafting your data schema defining your data structures for this android crud application, you need to create several classes (collections) within your back4app project the examples below illustrate the main classes and their essential fields for supporting crud functionality 1\ items collection this collection stores details about each item field data type purpose id objectid system generated unique identifier title string name or title of the item description string brief overview of the item createdat date timestamp when the item was added updatedat date timestamp for the latest update 2\ users collection this collection handles user credentials and authentication details field data type purpose id objectid automatically assigned unique id username string unique username for the user email string unique email address passwordhash string securely stored password createdat date account creation timestamp updatedat date timestamp for account updates you can create these collections and their fields directly from the back4app dashboard create new class to add a new field, simply select the desired data type, enter the field name, set a default value if needed, and indicate whether it is required create column using the back4app ai assistant for schema creation the integrated back4app ai assistant can automatically generate your schema from a brief description, expediting your project setup how to use the ai assistant access the ai assistant in your back4app dashboard, find the ai assistant under the project settings describe your schema enter a detailed description of the collections and fields you need review and confirm the ai assistant will propose a schema review the details and confirm to implement the changes example prompt create two collections in my back4app project 1\) collection items \ fields \ id objectid (auto generated) \ title string \ description string \ createdat date (auto generated) \ updatedat date (auto updated) 2\) collection users \ fields \ id objectid (auto generated) \ username string (unique) \ email string (unique) \ passwordhash string \ createdat date (auto generated) \ updatedat date (auto updated) this ai assisted method saves time and ensures your data schema is optimized for crud operations step 3 – utilizing the admin console for data management getting to know the admin console the back4app admin console provides a visual interface for managing your backend data without writing any code its drag and drop features make it easy to execute crud operations such as adding, modifying, and removing records enabling the admin console open the “more” menu in your back4app dashboard choose “admin app” and then click “enable admin app ” create your admin credentials by setting up your primary admin account this process will also create system roles (like b4aadminuser ) and system classes enable admin app once activated, sign in to the admin console to manage your data admin app dashboard managing crud operations via the admin console within the admin console you can add new records utilize the “add record” button in a collection (for example, items) to insert new data view and edit records click on any entry to review or update its details delete records remove entries that are no longer needed this interface greatly simplifies the process of backend data management step 4 – connecting your android application with back4app with your backend prepared, the next step is to link your android application to back4app option a using the parse android sdk include the parse android sdk in your project add the following dependency in your build gradle file implementation 'com github parse community parse sdk android\ parse 1 26 0' initialize parse in your application class create an initializer (e g , parseinitializer java ) // parseinitializer java import com parse parse; import android app application; public class parseinitializer extends application { @override public void oncreate() { super oncreate(); parse initialize(new parse configuration builder(this) applicationid("your application id") clientkey("your android key") server("https //parseapi back4app com") build() ); } } implementing crud operations in your android app for example, create a service class to manage item data // itemsservice java import com parse parseexception; import com parse parseobject; import com parse parsequery; import java util list; public class itemsservice { public list\<parseobject> fetchitems() { parsequery\<parseobject> query = parsequery getquery("items"); try { return query find(); } catch (parseexception e) { e printstacktrace(); return null; } } public void additem(string title, string description) { parseobject item = new parseobject("items"); item put("title", title); item put("description", description); try { item save(); } catch (parseexception e) { e printstacktrace(); } } public void updateitem(string objectid, string newtitle, string newdescription) { parsequery\<parseobject> query = parsequery getquery("items"); try { parseobject item = query get(objectid); item put("title", newtitle); item put("description", newdescription); item save(); } catch (parseexception e) { e printstacktrace(); } } public void removeitem(string objectid) { parsequery\<parseobject> query = parsequery getquery("items"); try { parseobject item = query get(objectid); item delete(); } catch (parseexception e) { e printstacktrace(); } } } option b using rest or graphql if the parse android sdk isn’t suitable, you can execute crud tasks through rest calls for instance, to retrieve items via rest import java io bufferedreader; import java io inputstreamreader; import java net httpurlconnection; import java net url; public class restclient { public static void getitems() { try { url url = new url("https //parseapi back4app com/classes/items"); httpurlconnection conn = (httpurlconnection) url openconnection(); conn setrequestmethod("get"); conn setrequestproperty("x parse application id", "your application id"); conn setrequestproperty("x parse rest api key", "your rest api key"); bufferedreader reader = new bufferedreader(new inputstreamreader(conn getinputstream())); stringbuilder response = new stringbuilder(); string line; while ((line = reader readline()) != null) { response append(line); } reader close(); system out println("response " + response tostring()); } catch (exception e) { e printstacktrace(); } } } integrate these api calls within your android classes as required step 5 – securing your backend implementing access control lists (acls) ensure your data remains protected by configuring acls for your objects for instance, to create an item that is only accessible to its owner import com parse parseacl; import com parse parseobject; import com parse parseuser; public void createsecureitem(string title, string description, parseuser owner) { parseobject item = new parseobject("items"); item put("title", title); item put("description", description); parseacl acl = new parseacl(); acl setreadaccess(owner, true); acl setwriteaccess(owner, true); acl setpublicreadaccess(false); acl setpublicwriteaccess(false); item setacl(acl); try { item save(); } catch (exception e) { e printstacktrace(); } } setting class level permissions (clps) in the back4app dashboard, adjust the clps for your collections to ensure that only authenticated users can access sensitive data step 6 – implementing user authentication in your android app configuring user management back4app uses parse’s built in user collection for managing authentication in your android app, implement registration and login as follows import com parse parseexception; import com parse parseuser; public class authmanager { public void registeruser(string username, string password, string email) { parseuser user = new parseuser(); user setusername(username); user setpassword(password); user setemail(email); try { user signup(); system out println("registration successful!"); } catch (parseexception e) { e printstacktrace(); } } public void loginuser(string username, string password) { try { parseuser user = parseuser login(username, password); system out println("logged in as " + user getusername()); } catch (parseexception e) { e printstacktrace(); } } } you can also implement additional features such as session management and password resets as needed step 7 – conclusion and future enhancements great job! you’ve successfully created a basic crud android application using java and integrated it with back4app in this tutorial, you set up a project called basic crud app android , defined collections for items and users, and managed your data via the back4app admin console moreover, you connected your android app using the parse android sdk (or rest/graphql as an alternative) and implemented strong security measures next steps expand your application add new features like advanced search, detailed item views, or real time notifications enhance backend functionality experiment with cloud functions, integrate third party apis, or set up role based access deepen your learning visit the back4app documentation https //www back4app com/docs for more tutorials and best practices happy coding and enjoy building your android crud application!