Thursday, 31 January 2013

Path to Building Apps for Android

By Mark Paine


Google developed the Android OS so that any individual together with the right know-how can develop software programs to operate on an Android phone or tablet. Google's approach to developing smartphones is basically opposite to Apple Inc, preferring control over the software that users can add to their iPhones. The open design of Android makes sure that you may literally build anything you want and individuals will be able to download and install the software. A large number of coders have jumped ship from iPhone applications to creating apps for the Android due to the freedom it provides.

When you develop an app for the iPhone it's at the disposal of a reviewer who decides if your app is good enough to be sold on iTunes or if perhaps it is suitable for the app store. Many programs never get released due to Apple's censorship rules. In addition to this, research firm, NDP Group said that 50 % of all smartphone purchases are for Android cell phones. By the end of 2010 Thirty two million handsets were running the Android operating system. Not suprisingly everyone is checking out the way to create Android applications.

Android apps are programmed in Java. You will have to know this language or use a coder who does. Next you need to download and install the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) from Google. The SDK has libraries, classes, examples as well as an interface to test your Android application. You could also download the Google APIs Add-On extension, which has libraries specific to Google's various web services.

You'll typically create the gui in Illustrator and save in vector format. However, it is really wise to find a skilled designer to develop the UI. The libraries in the SDK also have some standard vector graphics you can use when creating an Android application. Should your app generates records which needs to be saved and referenced later like a weight loss tracker in which you key in your weight and plot trends on a chart over time you'll want to store the data within an SQLite database. You will also need to compose the necessary code to create, write, delete and retrieve data from the database.

Getting your completed application from your personal computer to your Android phone is a bit complex given it has to be converted, compiled and deployed. Android works with a system known as Dalvik Virtual Machine. Your Java Class files need to be converted to .dex files utilizing a tool known as DX. Once this is accomplished it must be packaged in to an .apk (Android Package) file using something known as the Android Asset Packing Tool. Only when this is completed can the application be deployed to an Android handset.

Thankfully you will discover huge libraries of openly available code on the Android developers website and on third party sites which provide lessons on how to get cracking developing your first Android app.




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