Have you ever wondered how apps are made for the phone and tablet? Wonder no longer: This Skill Path will teach you how to do it yourself! Welcome!
- Learn (or review) the basics of Java.
Here, you will learn how to make simple Android apps using the Java programming language. Don’t know Java yet? We’ve got you covered! We’ll teach you enough Java to jump right into app development. Not only will you have confidence with your Java skills, but you’ll also develop the programming fundamentals that will empower you to quickly learn any other programming language you want!
- Get started with Android Studio.
We’ll also add a powerful new tool to your toolbelt: Android Studio. This is the IDE for designing Android apps. This is how you code your app and how you create its visual layout. This isn’t one of those online coding courses where all your programs do is print out text. Your apps will have buttons and visuals, just like all the apps on your phone right now. With Android Studio, you will learn how to design for real devices.
- Master Android development fundamentals.
Every application platform employs unique coding concepts in the fundamental structure of its programs. Soon, you will master Android Activity objects, View objects, and create awesome layouts using both XML and Android Studio’s layout editor!
- Use your new skills to create a fully functional Android App.
As you acquire these new skills, you will apply your knowledge by building a fully functional Android app—bit by bit. The app is Unquote, a fun trivia game that you will be able to actually play on your Android phone or device!
In the past 10 years, the popularity of mobile devices over traditional computers and desktops has skyrocketed. In fact, many developing countries have skipped laptop and desktop technology altogether by adopting mobile devices as their main form of accessing the internet.
Apps like Facebook, Gmail and YouTube are among some of the most used pieces of software in the world, and they’re all primarily being used on a mobile phone.
Every year these devices sitting in our pockets get a bit more powerful, people spend a bit more money on them, and a new collection of popular apps is released for them. In fact, in 2018 alone the total revenue for Android apps was just under $25 billion, which represented a $5 billion increase from the previous year.
Most people know how to use a smartphone, they can download apps, make calls and share things with friends. In addition, more and more of our everyday devices are becoming smart and have the ability to access the internet. These internet-of-things devices as they’re often called, things like smart thermostats, refrigerators and doorbells, are becoming increasingly popular, and there are predicted to be over 70 billion of them within the next 5 years.
Beneath the surface of these devices, however, is an entire ecosystem of operating systems, programming languages, developer tools, and a community of software engineers. In this interactive course, we’ll take a deeper look at the operating system that powers nearly 90% of these devices—Android.
Android is the name of a mobile operating system that is owned and currently maintained by Google. Android acts as the brain for the mobile device, while also serving as a platform and set of developer tools that mobile developers can use to build software experiences for phones, tablets, TVs, watches, and more.
The Android Operating System is free and open-source software, which means that any individual or organization can use it without paying Google. For this reason, Android has become the most dominant and fastest-growing operating system in the world.
Currently, Android runs on more than one hundred million smartphones in 190+ countries. The Google Play Store, which is the official Android App Store, has over 3 million officially supported apps.
Now that we have a basic understanding of what Android is and how it fits into the smartphone ecosystem, let’s talk a bit about Android devices.
Android devices come in all different shapes and sizes and can vary greatly in both quality and price. It’s this wide array of device types and features that has solidified Android as the top dog when it comes to mobile operating systems.
Despite their differences, however, all android devices share two components in common, hardware and software. The hardware is the physical “hard” parts of the phone like the screen, battery, and processor. The software is the brain of the operation that controls everything and runs the apps, this is the Android operating system itself.
Because Android is open-source software, hardware manufacturers are able to combine it with their proprietary hardware to create the amazing array of devices available today.
When developing for Android, it’s important to have an appreciation for the various types of devices out there, and know the common characteristics they all share.
Click the video below for more info:
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Hardware - The physical “hard” components of the phone like the screen, battery, processor, and motherboard. Users interact with the device using the hardware, whether by pressing the various built-in buttons or interacting with the screen through common touch gestures like swiping, tapping, pinching and long pressing.
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Software - The intelligence that operates the hardware, manages all of the input/output, and runs the apps. It’s the brain of the device, in this case, Android.
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Smart device manufacturers can choose to combine any hardware elements with the Android Operating system, which often requires custom modifications to the Android source code.
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Most Android devices have 3 utility buttons: the home button, app management button and back button.
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The look and feel of apps are determined entirely by the app designer which means just about all apps will look a feel a bit different, regardless of the device.
Developing Apps for Android is the focus of this course, and luckily for us, there is an entire suite of software libraries, specialized text editors and technologies out there designed to make that process easier.
Most Android development is done using a specialized text editor often called an Integrated Development Environment or an IDE. The IDE used for Android Development is called Android Studio and is maintained by Google.
IDEs are useful because they provide a whole array of functionality on top of just allowing developers to write code. Android Studio, in particular, gives developers several useful features like syntax highlighting, where the code is colored making it easier to read, code autocomplete, and an entire suite of debugging and build tools.
Android apps are developed using either the Java or Kotlin programming languages, along with Extensible Markup Language (XML). In order to build an app, developers use the Android Software Development Kit (Android SDK), a collection of software libraries and functionality that gives developers a way to build user interfaces, handle user input, and ultimately create the apps people use every day.
Click the video below for more info:
- The Android Software Development Kit (Android SDK) is a collection of software libraries and functionality that allows developers to write code that will live comfortably on an Android Device.
- Android Studio is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) created by Google which is used to develop Android apps.
- Android apps are written using the Java or Kotlin programming languages along with Extensible Markup Language (XML).
- Emulators are virtual Android devices developers can test their apps on.