HarmonyOS Learning: DevEco Studio User Guide

Introduction

DevEco Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) launched by Huawei for HarmonyOS application development, providing developers with a one-stop application development solution. Mastering DevEco Studio is crucial for efficient HarmonyOS application development.

Official Resources Introduction

Huawei officially provides detailed DevEco Studio installation and usage guides at: https://developer.huawei.com/consumer/cn/doc/harmonyos-guides/ide-software-install

Detailed Explanation

Origin of the IDE

DevEco Studio is a professional IDE tailored by Huawei for HarmonyOS ecosystem development. Built on IntelliJ IDEA, it inherits powerful code editing and debugging features while being deeply optimized for HarmonyOS development.

Key Uses

1. Project Creation and Management: Offers rich project templates to quickly create HarmonyOS application projects.
2. Code Editing and Intelligent Suggestions: Supports intelligent completion, syntax highlighting, and error checking for HarmonyOS-specific APIs.
3. Debugging Tools: Integrates a powerful debugger with breakpoint debugging and variable monitoring capabilities.
4. Emulator: Built-in HarmonyOS emulator for application testing without physical devices.
5. Packaging and Publishing: Provides one-click packaging and signing functions to simplify the application release process.
6. Built-in AI Tools: Free access to DeepSeek-R1 code intelligent assistant to improve coding efficiency.

Usage Notes

1. System Requirements: Ensure the development environment meets officially recommended configurations to avoid performance issues affecting development efficiency.
2. Version Updates: Keep DevEco Studio updated to the latest version for new features and bug fixes.
3. Plugin Management: Install only necessary plugins; excessive plugins may slow down the IDE.
4. Cache Cleaning: Regularly clean IDE cache to resolve potential异常问题.
5. Shortcut Learning: Familiarize yourself with common shortcuts to significantly improve development efficiency.
6. Emulator Usage: Official website does not provide emulator for Mac Intel chips.

Practical Suggestions

1. Customize Interface Layout: Adjust window layout according to personal habits to optimize development experience.
2. Use Code Templates: Utilize IDE-provided code templates to quickly generate common code structures.
3. Configure Code Formatting: Unify code style to improve team collaboration efficiency.
4. Utilize Version Control: Integrate Git and other version control tools for proper code management.
5. Participate in Community Discussions: Seek help on Huawei Developer Forum when encountering issues.

Summary and Outlook

As the core tool for HarmonyOS development, DevEco Studio's functionality continues to improve and optimize. With the development of the HarmonyOS ecosystem, mastering DevEco Studio will become an essential skill for developers. In the future, we expect DevEco Studio to provide more intelligent features to further improve development efficiency.

Building Your First HarmonyOS Application (ArkTS)

The following are complete steps to create a basic HarmonyOS application using DevEco Studio, based on the official quick start guide :

1. Project Creation Process

1. Open DevEco Studio and click File > New > Create Project
2. In the template selection interface, choose Application > Empty Ability and click Next
3. Configure basic project information:
   • Project Name: MyFirstHarmonyApp
   • Bundle Name: com.example.myapplication (must be unique)
   • Save Location: Choose an appropriate directory
   • Compile SDK: Select the latest HarmonyOS SDK version
   • Model: Stage (recommended application model)
   • Language: ArkTS
4. Click Finish to complete project creation

2. Project Structure Analysis

After creation, the core directory structure is as follows:

MyFirstHarmonyApp/
├── entry/
│   ├── src/main/ets/
│   │   ├── entryability/
│   │   │   └── EntryAbility.ts  // Application entry
│   │   ├── pages/
│   │   │   └── Index.ets        // Main page
│   │   └── app.ets              // Application configuration
│   └── src/main/resources/      // Resource files
└── build-profile.json5          // Project build configuration

3. Writing Basic UI Code

Open the pages/Index.ets file and replace it with the following counter application code:

@Entry
@Component
struct Index {
  // Define state variables for automatic UI updates
  @State count: number = 0
  @State message: string = 'Hello HarmonyOS'

  build() {
    // Vertical layout container
    Column() {
      // Text component
      Text(this.message)
        .fontSize(30)
        .fontWeight(FontWeight.Bold)
        .margin(20)

      // Button component
      Button('Click me')
        .fontSize(20)
        .width(150)
        .height(50)
        .onClick(() => {
          // Click event handler: update state variables
          this.count++
          this.message = `Clicked ${this.count} times`
        })

      // Conditional rendering example
      if (this.count > 5) {
        Text('You clicked many times!')
          .fontSize(18)
          .fontColor(Color.Red)
          .margin(10)
      }
    }
    // Container style settings
    .width('100%')
    .height('100%')
    .justifyContent(FlexAlign.Center)
  }
}

4. Running the Application

1. Running with Emulator:

   • Click Device Manager in the toolbar and select or create a HarmonyOS emulator
   • Click the Run button (▶️) or use the shortcut Shift+F10

2. Running on Physical Device:

   • Enable developer mode on the device and enable USB debugging
   • Connect the device via USB and select it in DevEco Studio
   • Click the Run button to deploy the application

5. Code Analysis

• @Entry: Marks the current component as the page entry
• @Component: Declares a custom component
• @State: State variable decorator that automatically triggers UI updates when values change
• Column: Vertical layout container for organizing UI elements
• Text and Button: Basic UI components
• onClick: Button click event handler

6. Extended Exercises

Try modifying the code to implement the following functions to deepen understanding:

1. Add a reset button to reset the counter to zero
2. Change text color based on the number of clicks
3. Add an image component (using the Image component)

After completion, you will master the basic process of HarmonyOS application development, ArkTS syntax basics, and state management mechanisms. You can refer to official documentation to learn more components and APIs.