Programming and design expertise are essential for creating Android apps. It typically helps to break down new technology into smaller components when encountering it for the first time. Although developing applications for mobile devices sometimes requires knowledge of several more subtle ideas, if you are an experienced web developer, many of the concepts and technologies involved will be related to those you already know. Mobile device developers must maintain code flexibility and consider various user interface situations due to the smaller displays, simpler CPUs, and –in the case of Android – a wide range of manufacturers.
What skills do you need to become an Android developer in India? Here is the data you need to know, according to some of our community’s sharpest developers.
JAVA
Java serves as the foundational language for all Android development. There may be a learning curve when switching to the Java programming language for the first time for people who have obtained most of their programming knowledge in languages like JavaScript and Ruby.
Java is object-oriented, like JavaScript and Ruby, but it is also stricter about how data types are handled. Defining the sorts of data that their mobile apps will function with and more carefully allocating limited memory resources need developers to be considerably more cautious in their coding.
Veteran Android developer James Traver teaches the Software Engineering Immersive at Georgia Tech. “You can’t afford ambiguity in a mobile environment, and Java makes sure that there’s no mistake about what each component of your programme is attempting to achieve,” he says. “Even though you write less code, it’s more elegant and exact.”
XML UNDERSTANDING
Data encoding standards for internet-based mobile app were established with the creation of XML. It is a structured markup language similar to HTML, including angled brackets, the opening > and/closing> tag types, and deep element nesting.
In a nutshell, it enables the transmission of consistent information across devices. In the realm of Android, programmers design layouts using XML, which acts as the fundamental UI specification for Android apps.
In the same way, web developers use JavaScript to change the components in their websites during runtime. Developers may likewise create Java code that updates layout elements after launching the Android application. The ability to understand the fundamentals of XML, however, is crucial for Android developers.
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 suitcase full of surveillance equipment. Developers have access to features on mobile devices like the Camera and accelerometer thanks to the Android SDKs, which are Java modules.
The Gradle library is one of the Android SDK’s essential parts. Imagine you wish to connect your app to a social networking site like Facebook. To ensure that your code remains well-organized throughout the compilation of your application, you would download a code library (or SDK) from Facebook and then notify Gradle that you are using it. Learning how to assemble an Android application using the multiple SDKs for Android will take significant time for new Android developers.
The official documentation for each Android SDK has several examples that make it simple to comprehend what each package does and how to integrate it into your programme, even if this will take some time.
GOOGLE STUDIO
Android Studio is the preferred integrated development environment (IDE) for Android developers. The well-known IntelliJ IDE is the foundation upon which Android studio is based, and it offers excellent out-of-the-box support for many of the most popular Android SDKs.
Many of the functionality that developers look for in a fully functional IDE are also included in Android Studio. As you write, auto-complete recommendations are made using code completion. You may walk through your code using code debuggers to find the error’s root cause.
Even more sophisticated tools, such as memory and CPU monitors, are available to developers to ensure that their code will run efficiently on mobile devices. Both inexperienced and seasoned Android developers alike must have Android Studio.
APIS
You’ll probably wish to communicate with many additional services as an Android app developer. For instance, you could want to provide stock market or calendar access for your customers through a third-party source.
An Android app development business will often give APIs and explain in detail how to securely and consistently access them for data. You can communicate with any existing API, but Google also makes it incredibly simple for your Android app to connect to its APIs.
For instance, it’s simple to utilize Google APIs to track your customers’ whereabouts, allow them to look for nearby things to visit, and make use of maps within your app. It would help if you got used to researching the subtleties of various APIs and understood that no two APIs are precisely comparable.
BASES OF DATA
Most of the data your app handles may not be on your smartphone at any given moment if it deals with a lot of data. Instead, your app will communicate with the database that exists elsewhere than on your phone. Simple APIs are available from cloud providers like Firebase or Parse to store data in the cloud and make it accessible from many devices.
Additionally, these platforms often include Java libraries you may integrate into your app, making it simple to cache specific data on the user’s device. If you want to allow users to access the app when they are offline, the data between local storage and the remote database must be synced.
Android has built-in support for utilizing SQL to communicate with a SQLite database, another option to save data locally. Regardless of how you decide to manage data, you’ll need to learn about databases, how to query them, and how to utilize that data in your programme.
DESIGN OF MATERIALS
Compared to rivals like Apple, Google has generally not maintained a uniform visual style throughout its products. Those circumstances have altered recently. Google has published a set of cutting-edge interface standards and principles dubbed Material Designs that is being used across all its products.
These guidelines advise how to stack different components on the screen and use certain styling elements like drop shadows. You’ve undoubtedly seen Material Design in action if you’ve used the new Google Drive app or the new Inbox by Gmail app on a mobile device.
Google advises Android developers to utilize these recommendations as a starting point for their user interfaces. However, it’s not required. An excellent fundamental grasp of Material Design ideas may be obtained in the online documentation.
Conclusion
Like any other product you create, successful execution depends on the project you are working on being something that consumers will find valuable. Take the time to write down your assumptions before developing any mobile applications. Who will use your app, and what issue will it solve?
Then, use a programme like Sketch or Balsamiq to wireframe your application and demonstrate it to users in your target market. Utilizing the platform to get tips, get their opinion on the concept, and show that you are eager to iterate. As a android app developer in India, you should learn to overcome your fear of criticism and prepare for iterative developer as you create your first Android apps.
