Apps are what make smart. Without them, they only are ordinarily phones. Apps have transformed how we conduct different activities nowadays. Many app developers are busy creating apps with awesome features to make work easier. If you are an app enthusiast and want to create great Android apps, here are 5 fundamentals you need to know about before you start creating Android apps.
1. Master the Language
First of all, there are two main programming languages used in Android App Development developing? These are Java and XML. Mastering these two programming languages will allow you to make efficient Android apps. For Java, some of the terms that you need to know are packages, objects & classes strings & numbers, generics, concurrency, Inheritance & interfaces, and collections. If your purpose to master these two programming languages, you will have an easier time developing elegant and robust android apps.
2. Familiarity with the Right Development Tools and Environment
Developing android apps requires the right tool and environment to make them successful. You need to familiarize yourself with automation tools and integrated development environment. Some of these tools include Android app studio IDE and the Eclipse. They help developers learn the basics in developing android apps among other things to help you improve your code. For build management, you can use tools like Apache Ant, Apache Maven, or Gradle. These are powerful tools to manage your build. Another set of tools that shouldn’t be ignored are source control tools and concepts. You need to learn the git to create the gift-source repository. You can do this by creating an account with GitHub or Bitbucket. The Git Pocket Guide will help you understand the basics and how the platform operates.
3. Knowledge of the Application Components
The essential building blocks of android app development are what we call Application components. The components have different points that the system uses to enter the android app. However, not all of them are entry points and they exist as different entities but play specific roles. Some depend on each other. App components are divided into 5 different types, each used for a different purpose. They also have a distinctive life circle that defines how they are created and destroyed. They include:
- Activities
Components that represent a single screen with the user interface are called activities. For example, email apps have one distinctive activity of showing lists of new emails. Other activities include reading emails and composing emails. For cohesion, activities will work together to enhance the user experience. They, however, stand on their own as an independent.
- Services
This component runs in the background performing remote processes or long-running operations. It doesn’t have a user interface. For example, a component that plays music in the background while another app is displayed on the screen simultaneously.
- Content providers
This component manages a set of app data. This component allows data that is stored in the file system, on the web, or an SQLite database to be modified or queried. The component is also used for reading and writing private app data that is not shared.
- Broadcast receivers
Broadcast receivers component responds to system-wide broadcast announcements. Majority of them come from the system. They don’t display a user interface but create a status bar notification alerting users for broadcast events. It has a minimal purpose and it’s a gateway for other components.
- Activating component
Referred to as intent, it activates 3 out of 4 components as a synchronized message. These include services, broadcast receivers, and activities. They are also used to bind components to one another during runtime regardless of whether the component is in your app or not.
4. Awareness over Fragmentations, Android Application, Threads, Loaders and Tasks
An android app developer should know that android has many distinctive devices and operating systems versions. A device that supports more devices or versions requires tests and maintenance which incurs the cost and vice-versa. Proper fonts, layouts, and assets are also needed to give out the bad experience in different screen characteristics. Other important tools include android support sensors and UI tools. In all android apps, there are one or more fragments, one or more activities, and an application class. You can have services that run in the background continuously sometimes. For an awesome and smooth user interface, the thread should never be blocked. Long operations should run in the background asynchronously. That is why you need to update yourself with the Java language concurrency tools.
5. Making the Right Choice over Needed Tools
When developing an Android app, some of the simplest tools needed are Mac and Windows PC, ADT Plugin, any type of Linux and Eclipse, and the Android SDK. These tools are freely available and you can go through the installation guide on Google. It has documentation on how to set a development environment and everything else needed. There are also unique parameters in Android that require consideration when writing an app. These are:
Performance and responsiveness – User input needs a response time to about 5 seconds or the operating system will stop responding leaving you with no choice but to force close your app.
Users will notice lags of more than 100ms – Therefore, the UI thread must not get blocked.
Limited resources – Wake-locks are elements that force devices to perform certain functions regardless of being put to sleep by the battery manager. They should not be used all the time.
Conclusion
About 4 billion of the world’s population own Smartphone’s and apps are what run these phones and make them “smart”. There are many opportunities in the android app development industry due to billions of apps being deployed annually. If you want to expand your career as an Android app developer, ensure that you familiarize yourself proper programming languages, development environment, and development tool.
About the author
This article is a guest post by Naman Modi. Naman is a Professional Blogger, SEO Expert & Guest blogger at NamanModi.com, He is an Award-Winning Freelancer & Web Entrepreneur helping new entrepreneur’s launches their first successful online business. Naman is active on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.
