5 things you need to know before you develop your first Android app

I recently read a post Praneeth VT posted on Reddit about how he developed his first Android phone app-a GPA calculator. It can be seen that he is a novice in this programming world, so I would like to delve into how he did it, so as to facilitate learning and learn from them.

Before I do, I'd like to introduce Praneeth VT first.

• Graduated from Computer Engineering major
• In fact, he's learned a 6-month programming lesson altogether.
• After the introduction of the two CS course, he learned the Java language
• During the summer vacation, he decided to apply his own knowledge and develop an Android application.

I had a conversation with Praneeth VT about how to set sail in this area of Android, and I've tidied up this conversation (the problem is bold italic).

Finally I summed up 5 basic skills that are extremely important for beginners.

Can you tell me more about the skills and programming language you need to use at each stage of your Android application?

Building an Android app can boil down to two main skills/languages: Java and Android systems. Java is the Universal programming language for Android, but Android also includes learning the XML language for app interface design, learning about Android concepts, and applying these concepts from a Java programming perspective.

After learning Java and XML, use the Android concept to connect the two together.

I have also shared some knowledge of Android related to learning activities and fragments in Reddit. My favorite is "Big Nerd Ranch" series books, because when we encounter problems in the development process, can be inspired in the book to find the answer.

If a beginner wants to develop an Android app, what do you suggest to learn first?

For a beginner, my advice is to be sure to learn java. Don't think of any shortcuts, Java is a must.

In addition, I recommend video tutorials on YouTube to learn how to install eclipse (the integrated development environment for Java development) and the Java Development Kit (JDK) basic approach. This also helps to understand the basic methods of Java development, such as looping statements and if statements.

But after I've made these basics, I strongly recommend that you abandon the YouTube video tutorial and turn to the arms of books and lecture series. YouTube tutorials tend not to focus on some very important concepts that I think are of 100% importance to programmers who want to develop Android apps.

What exactly is Eclipse and Android studio? Is it not essential to develop Android apps?

Android Studio and Eclipse are an integrated development environment, the IDE (Integrated development environments). Of course you can also use other tools to write Java, but because I personally not very familiar with those, so it is not easy to recommend.

Unlike other applications, which require writing code to compile and write code to run, compiling in the IDE runs the code with just a click of a button. However, you will have to install the Android SDK in Eclipse, and all the installation processes can be found on a dedicated Android development site.

How much time do you spend on programming every day/week?

It took me almost two months to finish my first app with a sleepless day.

At first, it takes about 4 hours a day to see Big Nerd Ranch, and then follow the tutorial exercises. When I really started to write programs, even if it was a small problem, such as storing data, I had to spend a lot of time to fully understand.

But I have a lot of time, because I was on the summer vacation, and nothing else to do.

What would you do if you had to ask for help and ask questions?

Usually I use Google search. But because I'm still a novice, it's going to take me a lot of time. The best option is to go to Stack Overflow. If stack overflow still doesn't have a clue, I'll post on/r/androiddev subreddit on Reddit, and community members are usually very enthusiastic.

Thank you very much for PRANEETHVT's unique insight on the issue of building the first Android application. Let me summarize,

5 things to know before developing your first Android app:

1. The Java language is an essential skill.
2. The app design in Android needs to involve XML, please understand the concept of Android and how it is programmed.
3. It is recommended that beginners use the IDE (PRANEETHVT prefers Android Studio compared to eclipse).
4. This is a long process, need to keep insisting, if you just to perfunctory, then this article is not suitable for you.
5. When you get into trouble, you can ask for help from stack overflow. Or not, then try the Android subreddit community.

Do you have anything to add? Welcome to the review, with June mutual encouragement.

Original: learntocodewith.me translation: codeceo– Xiao Feng

5 things you need to know before you develop your first Android app