Android app development may seem like a daunting task at first, but it can open new and different doors for you. You could be the person to produce the next popular application, you could write a program that will make your job easier, or gaining software skills that could lead you to that dream job.

Regardless of your purpose, if you can understand the difference between the parts of your software and have a road guide with you, developing an Android application will not be as difficult as you think. This post is your road guide!

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Coding

Step 1: Download the programs you need to develop Android applications

First of all, you will need to download some necessary programs for Android application development. Here they are two programs named “Android Studio” and “Android SDK“. Android Studio is an Integrated Development Environment, that is, an interface where you can enter your code (primarily Java or Kotlin) and access all the different tools necessary to develop it.

However, do not forget that there are different program options to develop your Android application. For example, Unity is a very powerful tool for cross-platform game development that also supports Android. Similarly, Visual Studio and Xamarin are suitable programs for this.

Android Studio is the best place for beginners, especially since it can provide most of the additional tools and resources needed in one place. Installing the program will also be quite simple when you follow the instructions in order.

You Can Install Android Studio Program From Here

Step 2: Start a new project!

Now that you have Android Studio on your computer, you can start a new project. But first you need to make some decisions that will affect the progress of the Android application.

Follow the File > New > New Project steps in order. Now you need to choose a project template. The word “Activity” means the screen in your app. Therefore, the project without activity will be empty. In other words, “ Basic Activity ” will create the start screen for your application. This is a common element in many Android apps.

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However, we will choose “ Empty Activity ” as there is a risk that things will get more complicated when you first start, it will create an activity and some files but not add much code. Type the application name you have specified in the ” Package Name ” section for your new application, this name will be seen by the downloaders when your application is installed. You also need to decide where you want the files to be saved and whether to encode them in Java or Kotlin.

Java and Kotlin for Android Software Development

One of the biggest decisions you will have to make will be choosing which one to learn between Java and Kotlin languages. Both languages ​​are supported by Google and Android Studio, but the two have some distinct differences.

Java

Java is one of the most in-demand programming languages ​​in the world and would be an excellent choice for anyone looking to start an application development career. Java, the oldest Android programming language, has slightly more support than Kotlin.

Kotlin

Kotlin, on the other hand, has become Google’s preferred choice for developing Android and is set by default when launching a new app. It is likely to become more common in the future. If you are a complete beginner, it will be easier for you to deal with Kotlin. Therefore, if you are a learner for fun, Kotlin may be your first choice, but if you are aiming to be a professional developer, learning Java will make more sense.

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Minimum SDK

Finally you need to consider your Minimum SDK, this is the lowest version of Android you want your app to support. The lower we keep the number of this version, the more audiences we can serve. If we leave the version as default (Android 10), we only support 8.2% of devices. However, in order to access the latest Android features, you should aim for a new version.

Step 3: Recognize the files

The first encounter with Android Studio can be a little intimidating; You’ll notice that there are many different files, multiple code types, and more. The open file is “MainActivity.java” or “MainActivity.kt”. This file is the main logic file that defines how your application behaves.

The folders used are important for Android app development because they help Android Studio and Gradle find everything and build it correctly. You will notice that there is already a code called “ boilerplate code ” on the homepage. This code is required for basic functions to work in different application projects. You may find yourself typing boilerplate code over and over! One of the advantages of Kotlin is that it requires less boilerplate code, which means you’ll have less code on your screen.

Introduction of layout files

The role of this code is to tell Android where the corresponding layout file is. The layout file is slightly different from Kotlin and Java files. This defines how an event looks and lets you add things like keys, text, and browser windows. You can find this file at MyApplication > app > src > res > layout

The name of the file will be “ activity_main.xml ”. Note that filenames stored in the Resources folder cannot be capitalized, and underscores are required to distinguish different words. Double-clicking on this file will open the main window where you edit your code. You can switch between open files using the tabs at the top. You can also see this file with “ code ” and “ design ” mode, or with these windows split side by side. At the top right, there is a button to access these modes.

In design mode, you can drag and drop different widgets onto the screen. Code mode exposes it as an XML script. This script is updated when you add new widgets with a design view. Similarly, you can set the properties of the widgets here and see them reflected in real-time via the code view.

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In the vast majority of applications, whenever you want a new activity, you must create a new Java or Kotlin file and a corresponding XML file. This indicates that you have to learn Kotlin or Java and XML. This can be a bit of a hassle, but it actually simplifies the process in the long run.

Other files and folders

As you can see, there are other files and folders here, but what does it all do? Actually, you don’t need to know all of them here, here are some things to know:

• Android Manifest: It is an XML file in the “ resource ” folder that defines important features of your application. It includes the promotion of the app, the events you want to be included in, and the version.
• Drawable: This folder is also in “ resource ” and this is where you will add things like images you want to add later.
• Values: This “ resource ” folder is a useful place to store attributes that you will generally use in your application. For example, it contains color codes or strings (words). You define these attributes in individual XML files, for example colors.xml.
• Gradle: Gradle is a tool that encapsulates all your files and packs them into a suitable APK file for testing. It is also useful for creating previews. If you want to add a “ dependency ” this is the place to add it. Support files are libraries that allow you to access additional functionality from your own code.

Step 4: Test your app

The first thing you should do when learning any programming language is “ Hello World. (Hello World.) ” to create an application. Already here, if you look at the XML file, “Hello World!” You will see that label that says

If you look at the control keys at the top, you will see a small green play key. To the left of it is a menu called phone. When you installed Android Studio, it should have installed an Android system image along with the virtual device manager.

In other words, the Android-like thing is already set up and you’re ready to go! By clicking this green arrow, you can launch and test your application. This will also allow you to use the simulated phone like a real device.

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You can change the screen size, Android version and space of this virtual device by following the Tools > AVD Manager instructions. You can download new system images here. Make sure your virtual device meets the minimum SDK you originally set.

Alternatively, you can try plugging a physical device into your computer and using it to test your new application. However, you need to enable “ Developer Options ” and “ USB Debugging ”.

Step 5: Do something!

The best way to learn Android application software is to try it. This means that you need to edit the code in front of you to see if you can do something new.

Enter your XML file and click “Hello World!” message that says “Howdy World!” You can change to . But if you want to add creativity, you can ask the person who will use the app to decide on this name. First of all, you need to paste the following line inside your “ TextView ” tag inside your “ activity_main.xml ” element :

android:id=”@+id/helloButton”

android:onClick=”onHelloButtonClick”

This code names the tag “helloButton” and specifies that the “onHelloButtonClick” method will get this look. We will add this code soon. Now you can add the following code to your main activity. If you see any text appear red as you type, it means you need to import the code from the Android SDK.

Click on the red text. Then press Alt + Enter and Android Studio will do this for you automatically. In short, you have referenced the library that is part of the Android SDK.

(The example below is written in Java.)

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {TextView helloButton;@Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);helloButton  = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.helloButton);} public void onHelloButtonClick (View v) {helloButton.setText(“Howdy World!”);}}

In this code example, we first create an object called “helloButton”. Inside the “oncreate” method (everything inside the curly brackets) we are telling Android that this object represents the button in our layout file. The code you write here is what will run first when you start the application.

Next, we create a method that runs when someone presses the button. Once that happens, we can change the text on that button. Launch the app and now you will notice that the text changes when you press a button.

We showed app development with this simple exercise!

This is a very simple app but we have shown the basics of how Android App development works. Generally, you will create new screen elements in the layout file. Then you will define how you want it to behave in the associated Java or Kotlin file. As you improve, you need to start controlling and storing data. To do this, you must use variables that contain numbers and words.

Once you have a basic idea of ​​how Java works, all that’s left is to learn how you can apply these skills to Android app development. Choosing a project and working on it later would be a great strategy.

The point is not to try to learn how to develop any type of Android app. It is realistic and focused on one project. You will continue to learn as you add new features and want to do new things. Having a goal will make your learning fun.

Would you like to create your own android application development? Contact Enkronos team today.