Books that I’ve read over the years while an Android developer
In this article, I want to share some of the books I’ve read as an Android developer over the years. However, we know things in the Android ecosystem change at a fast pace we can be afraid of using books to get some knowledge because we think that they can be deprecated easily over the years. However, I think that books are still great assets to the learn about the core fundamentals and structure of Android development, and more importantly great sources of knowledge to learn code great practices and patterns (that are transversal to everyone that writes code, so is always a plus to get this knowledge).
1. The Pragmatic Programmer
Written by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas, this book is a classic for every software developer, it covers a wide range of topics, passing you some knowledge of how you can become a more efficient and adaptable developer. The main focus of the book is on the code “craftsmanship”, and how you can write cleaner, maintainable, and flexible code. While touching on many other topics like automation, choosing the right tools for your end-solution, and many others.
Link: https://a.co/d/0es5TRtw
2. A Philosophy of Software Design
Written by John Ousterhout, this book dives deep into the core principles of software design. It’s less about specific technologies and more about the mindset and strategies behind designing robust software systems. If you already have the chance to work on large and messy projects or are familiar with the term “spaghetti code”, I think this can be a good book for you to read, because touches on some key points like complexity management, modular design, and many others interesting points.
Link: https://a.co/d/09lur0tu
3. Android Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide
Written by Bill Phillips, Chris Stewart, and Kristin Marsicano, for me this is THE BOOK if you want to know all the basic principles and concepts behind Android development. It takes from the basics of Android development to more advanced topics.
It has an interesting approach of a hands-on book, trying to bring emphasis on how you can build an actual app on Android, showcasing and explaining real-world projects, industry best practices, tools and libraries to use, and many many more topics.
In my opinion, even if you are already familiar with Android development, I think that this is always a go-to read book, you will always learn something new or get a new perspective on some concepts.
Link: https://a.co/d/00cRgqjT
4. Kotlin Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide
Written by Josh Skeen and David Greenhalgh, this book like the previous one, is the book that you want to read if you work or want to work with Kotlin.
It’s not focused on Android, but on Kotlin programming, from the basics to the more advanced topic, focusing on all the basic concepts behind the Kotlin programming language, syntax, interoperability with Java (what for me what a key factor for Kotlin adoption that we have today in the Android projects), and in many other Kotlin specific subjects.
Link: https://a.co/d/01fNFHXt
5. Androids: The Team that Built the Android Operating System
Written by Chet Haase, this is the only non-technical book, nevertheless, I still think that it’s a book that is worth it to read if you are an Android developer. The book tells the history of the behind-the-scenes at the creation of the Android operating system, providing valuable insights into the challenges and triumphs of the Android team.
As an Android developer and someone who always wants to understand how something works or something is done, I think this book combines all of that, understanding how everything started and grew from a simple idea to something that we use daily on our mobile devices, cars, TVs and many more.
Link: https://a.co/d/0gY6cvba
I plan also to make a new article about the books that I’ve read related more how to create a business or a product based on a mobile app. If you are interested in that please leave a comment :)
