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Saloni Gupta
Saloni Gupta

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How to get started with Android Development?

Android development is a very vast and interesting field. If you have decided to start with android, then, first of all, check the configurations of your system, because, there are some requirements that your system needs to satisfy to run some IDEs, for example, Android Studio.

Which language to choose?

You can code in Java as well as Kotlin if you are going for native apps for android.
There are many more resources available for app development in Java as compared to Kotlin, as Java is older than Kotlin. But Kotlin makes your code short and simple.
So, according to me, first, learn android development in Java, then switch to Kotlin.

Which IDE to choose?

  1. Visual Studio – Xamarin
  2. Android Studio
  3. IntelliJ IDEA
  4. DeuterIDE
  5. Eclipse IDE

If you are a beginner, then go for Android Studio. After completing your learning process, you can switch to Visual Studio.

Now, moving on to the question, how to get started.
Begin with the following topics:

  1. User inputs - This topic will cover all types of inputs that you can take in your application. For example, usernames, password, text input, email input, etc.

  2. Multiple Activity - Here, you will get to learn about how to switch to next activity/screen. For example, when you click on the login button of Instagram(Let's say), you get to see another screen.

  3. Internet Connectivity - In this topic, you will get to learn how to connect your application with the internet, how to get extract data from APIs, and use it in your application.

  4. Data Storage - There are several options for data storage eg. MongoDB, MySQL, Firebase, and many more. For a beginner, I would suggest going with Firebase as it is very easy to use. After that, you can switch to MongoDB or MySQL, these two databases are too interesting and wide. You have to give enough time to them to understand properly.

And congrats, you are a beginner/medium level android developer (depending upon your learnings).
One more thing I would like to add is, please focus more on UI designing, because I personally feel that in android development, the front end should be more attractive.

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Top comments (2)

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33nano profile image
Manyong'oments

I dont know, this article seems ancient. Java and Kotlin in 2020? Surely, i'm missing something...

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salonix__ profile image
Saloni Gupta

Yes, there are many easy ways to make app, one of them is Flutter. But if you want to have good knowledge in Android dev, then I think you should know how to code in java or kotlin. Otherwise, if your intention is just making basic apps, then try Flutter.