android-development
Knowledge is shared best, when shared free! A knowledge that can change your life, and take your career to new heights. All you need to do is think out of the box! If you haven’t already guessed it. Today we are going to talk about the most sizzling topic of the mobile world today, Android. Through this article we try to enlighten you how to make your way to an exciting and cool career in android development. Howbeit, our advice comes with a word of caution. You can’t transform yourself to an Android developer overnight! So, we recommend your discretion on that front no matter how much this article inspires you.
What is the reason for the trending popularity of Android today? An ever updated environment at the cost of a penny. And this craze has given android developers umpteen reasons to rejoice. An android developer is never out of work, courtesy the growing demand of various companies to design sustainable android apps and offer end user support. Android development is ever evolving.
The Basics.
It mostly about Java. It is the base of android app development. Developers should be well versed in this very dynamic language. However, android development is no rocket science. Thus, anybody with programming know how, hands on experience on Java and Eclipse (IDE), Android SDK ( available free for download) and ADT plugins can get you into the boots of an Android developer. Specially, since all the resources, tools, documentation are available online for free. And if you have been hanging around with the tools for a while and wish to know if you have what It takes to be an android developer you can also contribute to the Android Open Source project through their website.
Resources:
These resources can help you learn more about Android App Development.
1. Android Application Development for Dummies (2nd Edition) – For learning the Basic of App Development if you are completely newbie.
2. XDA Development Forum – For great Tutorials and Support.
3. Stackoverflow – For all the Programming related queries.
4. Android Development Basic Terminologies – You can learn the common terms used in Android world such as Bootloader,ROM etc. (Thanks to XDA Member Diablo67)
Set Up Your Development Environment.
Begin with downloading the Android SDK Tools. The installer takes you through the rest of the steps to have it on your PC. Choose a default directory for the SDK tools and save the workspace. Next install the Eclipse Plugin, which serves as your IDE. You may choose to run Android SDK Manager if you are using another IDE. Now that you are all set. It would make sense to actually create a dummy hierarchical structure of an Android project in the form of a wizard.
1. Create a new project in Eclipse and click next.
2. Choose Android Project, give it a name and proceed.
3. You are asked to select a build target. This is your standard android platform, Choose one that you think will suit most of your development needs.
4. Finish the wizard and view the project structure in the Explorer window.
There are various important nodes under the project structure each with a specific function.
Getting Your Apps to the Public.
You can label yourself as an Android developer only when you have created some test apps, debugged and fixed UI issues. For this you need to make your Apps available to the general public for them to review and report issues. It is easy and you can register yourself as an Android Open Source developer at https://play.google.com/apps/publish/signup. You are charged a mere 25% as membership fees but the benefits you enjoy are peerless . Not only you get your hands on some superior development tools. You are even offered assistance. These tools are available round the clock. Once you have designed and tested a rich android app, publish the same on Google Play either free or at cost and keep it updated from time to time.
The future of Android development is extremely well poised with opportunities galore. So its well worth to look into this field as career opportunity if it interests you.
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