I never said it was "hard", just that I was surprised that the simple task of "get me this URL" required me to work with some abstract classes for "async tasks". Strikes me as overengineering. The networking classes could easily encapsulate the threading stuff and let me just stay on the UI thread, as every other networking library I've ever worked with has done.
I've found other places in the Android SDK when, rather than simply using callbacks to encapsulate asynchronous work, I'm required to deal with the threads myself (see GLSurfaceView). You can accuse me of being "confused and ignorant" but I feel I am making a valid critique of the API design.
AsyncTask does encapsulate the threading stuff though.
The HTTP APIs aren't Android specific - they're just the standard Java API and Apache's HttpClient. I suppose Google could create another API on top of these APIs (and all the other ancient and poorly designed Java APIs), but since Java's "callbacks" are objects with methods you override, you aren't really saving yourself much.
>You can accuse me of being "confused and ignorant"
It isn't an accusation or an insult: Every developer on the planet has recurring periods where they are confused and ignorant. I can't make any such a claim in this case, but can only point out that such public displays often grow from such temporary roots.
However yes I cede a thousandfold that Android has an endless array of quirks and nuances that seem...non-optimal. Parts of the API show their Google lineage, while other parts draw from the Java norm. And on the "quirksmode" thing, couldn't agree more.
It was the "Android Tools Are Horrendous, OS Is Hideous" bit that caught my eye: I can't imagine someone seriously developing for something they consider hideous, with horrendous tools, especially when they have shown themselves to be principled.
I've found other places in the Android SDK when, rather than simply using callbacks to encapsulate asynchronous work, I'm required to deal with the threads myself (see GLSurfaceView). You can accuse me of being "confused and ignorant" but I feel I am making a valid critique of the API design.