Android development a basic overview
Are you planning to start your android dev journey? We see a lot of apps on mobiles, tablets, smartwatches, smart TV, and car OS. The number of apps uploaded to different app stores like Play Stores, Amazon app stores, and other app stores cannot be predefined. So, what is android development all about? This article is all about giving you all a quick overview of it.
What is android development?
Saying in simple terms it is the process in which an app is designed, developed, tested, and bring in android platforms and use in different devices like mobile, tabs, smart watches, Android TVs, and Car OS.
Is an Android beginner Friendly?
Technically speaking it's a clear no. Mobile dev is not as beginner-friendly as Web dev. The main reasons for it:
- First of all, the user needs a better laptop because it requires lots of space and memory i3 can be used for normal development but it also shows many problems which are tiring.
- To run the app you have to download an emulator which consumes space another option you should need a smartphone.
- You should need programming knowledge at least about java.
Types of Mobile Apps
There are 3 types of mobile apps.
- Native Apps
An application created for particular operating systems. For example, Android OS apps cannot be mixed with IOS or Blueberry apps like this and vice versa.
Languages: Java, Kotlin, Python, Swift, Objective-C, C++ and React.
2. Web Apps
Similar to native apps but are accessed via web browser on your mobile device. You don't need to download and install code on your device. They are responsive websites.
Languages: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby, and other web programming languages.
3. Hybrid Apps
Web apps that look and feel like native apps. They have a home screen, icon, responsive design, fast performance, and can function offline. Combination of web and native APIs.
Languages: Objective-C, Swift, HTML, and others.
IDEs For Android Development
When it comes to IDE for android there are multiple options. So you can decide on IDEs based on
- Programming language supported
- developer of Android IDE
- Targeted OS(Operating System) in addition to android
- Target audience
- IDE which has the most stable release
- Price for IDE
- License
- Features of IDE
So based on this you can choose any IDE from the following
- Android Studio (Commonly used)
- Jetbrains IntelliJ IDEA
- Eclipse
- Visual Studio(Xamarin)
- Droid Script
- Cordova
- PhoneGap
This is not the end of the IDEs list. There are several other IDES. Most commonly used is Android Studio. My blogs will be based on Android Studio.
Programming language For Android Development
when it comes to programming language there are plenty of options. Language selection is based on the type of app we want to build
- Java
The first official language of Android but now replaced with Kotlin. It is only replaced but it still supports Java. Used for building native applications.
2. Kotlin
The official language of android as of 2019. Cross-platform language. The main advantage of Kotlin, when compared to Java, is that it reduces code size and removes Nullpointer Exceptions and many other features.
3. HTML, CSS, JavaScript
Apps are created with these HTML, CSS, and JavaScript using the PhoneGap framework by Cordova. It helps to create hybrid apps that are shown through WebView but are like apps.
4. Dart
Used for developing client-side applications. Its syntax is similar to Cand supports object-oriented programming. It is an emerging language that is mostly used in the Flutter framework for cross-platform development.
5. C++
Uses the Android Native Development Kit(NDK). But the app cannot be fully created using C++ itself. But it is more difficult to set up and less flexible.
6. C#
Used in Xamarin. Quite similar to java. C# has a simpler and cleaner syntax which makes coding easier.
7. Python
Native python developments are not supported in android. The use of the “Kivy” library helps to develop apps faster.
This is a quick glimpse of the android app development. Check out the blog for the next section.👋👋👋👋👋
