Android apps are an integral part of our lives (that is, if you carry an Android phone). They make phones smart and interesting, and they’ve changed and completely transformed how we function today. Programmers around the world are busy designing and building apps and you could be one of them too.

Here are a few android development fundamentals you should know about:

 

a laptop connected to a monitor

Master the Language

Android development uses Java and XML. Mastering these languages is a prerequisite for developing a robust, elegant Android App.

For Java, you’ll have to learn a few fundamentals, including:

  • Java packages
  • Objects & classes
  • Strings, numbers, generics
  • Inheritance and interfaces
  • Concurrency
  • Collections

Becoming Familiar with the App Development Tools & Environment

If you’re just starting off with android development, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the development tools and integrated environment before you can build your app.

Android app studio IDE or Eclipse are both great tools that will help you learn the basics and improve your code.

Also, familiarize yourself with source control concepts and tools like Git.

Understanding Application Components

Application components are integral parts of android app development. Each component has a specific role and a distinct life cycle. The basic components are:

Activities

Activities represent a single screen that shows a user interface, e.g., one activity can show the login page of an email app, another activity can show a list of new emails and another for composing emails.

All activities work together to form an integrated user experience.

Services

This is a background component that runs remote processes, and doesn’t have a user interface.

Content Providers

This component manages application data that are either stored in the file system, on the web, or in an SQL database.

Broadcast Receivers

Broadcast receivers make system-wide announcements. They don’t have a UI but can create status bar notifications for alerts.

Parameters to Consider

When creating an android app, you should consider a few important parameters, including:

  • Performance & responsiveness
  • Lags that are over 100ms will be noticed
  • Limited resources like wake-locks should be used sparingly

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