Designing and Programming expertise is essential for creating Android applications. It typically helps to break down new technology into smaller components when approaching it for the first time. Most of the ideas and technologies used by Android app development companies would be comparable to those you already know if you are an experienced web developer.
Nevertheless, creating mobile applications for devices frequently calls for understanding a number of subtle ideas. In addition, mobile device developers must maintain code flexibility and take into account various user interface scenarios due to the smaller screens, simpler CPUs, and – in the case of Android app development – a wide range of manufacturers.
So, what qualifications are needed to become an Android developer? What you should know is as follows.
1. JAVA
Java serves as the foundational language for Android app development. However, there may be a learning curve when picking up Java for the very first time for those who obtained the majority of their programming expertise in languages like Ruby and JavaScript.
Java is object-oriented, like Ruby and JavaScript, but is more rigid about how data types are handled. As a result, programmers must write much more carefully thought-out code, specifying the kinds of data their mobile applications will function with and carefully allocating limited memory resources.
2. XML UNDERSTANDING
Data encoding standards for internet-based mobile applications were established with the creation of XML. It is a structural markup language with numerous similarities to HTML, including angled brackets, the opening> and /closing> tag types, and deep element nesting.
In short, it enables the transmission of consistent information across devices. In the world of Android, programmers design layouts using XML, which acts as the fundamental UI definition for Mobile applications.
Once the App is up and running, developers can still modify the layout by writing Java code. Similarly, web designers employ JavaScript to make runtime changes to the website’s parts. However, knowing the XML fundamentals is necessary for Android app developers.
3. Android SDK
Software Development Kit, or SDK, is only a fancy moniker for a collection of pre-packaged code, despite its potential to conjure up thoughts of a briefcase full of surveillance equipment. Developers have access to features on mobile devices such as the accelerometer and camera thanks to the Android SDKs, which are Java modules.
The Gradle library is one of the Android SDK’s essential parts. Consider the scenario when you wish to link your App to a social media site like Facebook. To ensure that your code remains well-organized throughout application compilation, you could download code libraries (or SDK) via Facebook and notify Gradle that you are utilizing them.
Novice Android developers will invest a lot of time learning the various Android SDKs that may be assembled in multiple ways to produce an Android application.
The official documentation for Android SDK contains numerous examples that make it easy to comprehend what each module does and integrate it into the program, even though this will take some time.
4. ANDROID STUDIO
Android Studio is an excellent integrated development environment (IDE) for Android app developers. It is constructed on top of the famous IntelliJ IDE and offers reasonable out-of-the-box assistance for several widely used Android SDKs.
Android Studio includes a lot of the features that programmers search for in a fully operational IDE. For instance, code completion helps by suggesting auto-complete options as you type. Code debuggers also let you examine your code to identify the error’s primary cause.
To ensure that the code will function effectively on mobile devices, developers have access to even more complex tools, including memory and CPU monitoring. As a result, Android Studio is a requirement for all Android developers, skilled and novice alike.
5. APIS
You’ll probably want to get in touch with an Android developer who offers a wide range of extra services. For instance, you might wish to enable your users’ stock market tracking or calendar access.
Typically, an Android development company will provide APIs and thoroughly describe how to reliably and securely query them for data. However, Google also makes it exceedingly easy for your Android app to access its APIs. Of course, you are free to communicate with any existing API.
For instance, it’s simple to use Google APIs to track the whereabouts of your users, give them the option to seek up nearby attractions, and enable them to use maps inside your App. First, however, you should get used to investigate the specifics of different APIs and realize that no two APIs are precisely equivalent to one another.
6. DATABASES
If your App manages a lot of data, the majority of it won’t be on your mobile at any given time. As an alternative, your App might speak with a database that is housed elsewhere. Information can be stored in the cloud and accessed from a variety of devices using simple APIs from cloud service providers like Firebase or Parse.
Additionally, you may easily cache some information on the user’s device, thanks to the fact that these platforms typically come with Java libraries you can incorporate into your Application.
This data synchronization between storage devices and the remote databases is crucial if you want customers to be able to utilize the Application when they’re not connected to the internet.
As another method of locally storing data, Android includes built-in support for using SQL to interface with an SQLite database. Whatever way you choose, you’ll have to learn about databases, how to query them, and how to use the data they contain in your software.
7. MATERIAL DESIGN
Unlike competitors like Apple, Google has typically not maintained a consistent visual style across all of its products. But recently, those circumstances have shifted. In order to address this issue, Google developed a set of leading-edge interface guidelines and standards known as Material Design, which is now applied to all of its products.
These guidelines offer advice on how to arrange various items on the screen and make use of specific stylistic features like drop shadows. If you’ve used the new Google Drive or Inbox by Gmail apps on a mobile device, you’ve probably witnessed Material Design in action.
Although it’s not essential, Google suggests Android developers adopt these suggestions as a reference point when designing their own user interfaces. An excellent resource for getting a deep understanding of Material Design ideas is online documentation.
Conclusion
There are many options available for creating Android apps, including Java, Kotlin, C, C#, and JavaScript. Naturally, the best decision will rely on your sensitivities and goals.
But, whatever you choose, you’ll discover that learning how to code is a rewarding experience that gives you access to a lot of opportunities. And the best way to get started is by learning to code for Android.
