Understanding JAVA — The Basics Of Android App Development
Android is the most prevalent mobile operating system in the world, with 85% of the mobile market under its dominance. Thus, if businesses want to create products and services that have the widest reach, they must get into android app development.
Then the question comes up, how do you develop for Android OS? The answer is simple for all the uninitiated in the world of mobile app design and development. Android OS uses JAVA as its core development language, known for its speed, reliability, and security.
JAVA is a versatile language, as it can be used for scientific application as well as game development. Hence to leverage Android, you must know the fundamentals of JAVA.
Therefore here are the fundamental basics of JAVA that will help you better understand the process of android app development:
Programming Environments
A programming environment is a piece of software that provides the tools and aids in the development of android applications. There are three main programming environments in JAVA, namely:
- JDK — Is short for JAVA Development Kit. It is a prime tool for android app developers. This powerful programming environment provides developers with JAVA Compiler, JAVADOC, Jar, and JAVA Debugger.
- JRE — Is short for JAVA Runtime Environment. JRE is an important part of android app development, as it contains the libraries that run the user required files for smooth operations.
- JVM — Is short for JAVA Virtual Machine. JVM is a virtual machine runs specified runtime environments in which certain JAVA bytecode can be executed.
Syntax
In programing, all languages have a certain set of rules that define and guide the process of development. The syntax is an essential part of a developer’s vocabulary as it defines the core guiding principles of coding in any particular language.
Comments
In programming languages like JAVA, comments are a component that enables the code to become more readable to humans. If used in its proper function, comments can help in easing maintenance, finding bugs in the code, and speed up the overall android app development.
Variables
Variables have a very different connotation in JAVA when compared to mathematics. In JAVA, a variable refers to the basic unit of data storage in a development environment.
Data Type
In JAVA every independent variable has a corresponding data type. A data type in a JAVA development environment is a marker that provides operational requirements of each variable in an android app development environment.
Reserved Words
Also, known as keywords, reserved words in JAVA refer to words that are used to name certain predefined actions within the language. Hence, these words can’t be reused to name any variables, as it may lead to error in code-compilation.
Operators
Operators are fundamental drivers of the core functionality of all programming languages. In JAVA, an operator is defined as a symbol that helps in the formation of certain mathematical and logical computations on operands.
Control Statements
A control statement is used to manage the flow and order of execution of code in JAVA development environment. This management of executions is done according to predefined-conditions in an android app development environment.
Decision Making
Just like in real life, decision making is exactly what it sounds like. It is the process in programming where you define how a specific piece of code or the entire application behaves when certain requirements are met.
Loops
In programming, loops refer to a feature that enables the execution of certain set of actions/functions repeatedly when prompted by a predefined condition.
Concluding Thoughts
We would like to say that the information presented above is a very basic breakdown of the JAVA programming language and its applications. We do hope that this basic introduction of JAVA might have interested people. Motivating them to learn JAVA and develop products and services for Android.
