Often, as soon as students who start learning Android have practical assignments, they have to turn to android homework help from experts like Getcodinghelp. This is because many students cannot absorb the material and cope with coding tasks independently. Let’s find out if learning Android is really that difficult and how to make the process easier.
Android vs. iOS?
Mobile development is conducted on the two most popular platforms: Android and iOS. Let’s look at why many people choose Android.
- The entry barrier on Android is lower than on iOS – both for the user and the developer. You can buy an Android phone for $50 or even cheaper. How much does a new iPhone cost? A developer may not even have to buy a gadget to work on an app. You can do it with the Android emulators on your computer. This is how many newbies start.
- Android is widely used not only on smartphones but also in smart things (IoT): from cars to smart irons and washing machines.
- The world of Android is very complex and diverse. The iPhone only has a couple of dozen models, but there are thousands of Android devices. It’s interesting to know that your app will be used on thousands of different devices! The words “optimization” and “performance” are still not forgotten in Android development. Millions of people in Africa and Asia use super cheap devices, and your app should run consistently on any Chinese phone. The world of Android devices constantly throws developers new challenges and new tasks. Of course, this is not only interesting but also difficult. You should always be prepared that the application will stop working on the next untypical smartphone model.
- Android is an open-source platform. The code on which it is written is available to everyone. You can always look deeper and find out how the system itself is designed and works.
How do Android developers work on applications?
Students often get assignments on simple Android app development. The main stages of development look something like this.
- First, the Android developer must understand the context of the task:
- target audience of an app;
- app’s purpose;
- app’s UI and UX;
- functions.
- Typically, at the beginning of the work, there is a ready layout of the UX / UI and its general description. The basis of the program is the UX (User Experience – the project of interaction between the user and the interface). It looks like the layout of the screen of the future program, the outline of how the user works with it. Then the project is put on the initial UI interface, and the finished design is given to the developer. Experienced developers take part in creating the application at the first stage, the UX layout design. After all, there are always technical limitations, and it is better to be aware of them at the design stage.
- Developers (often with the help of business analysts) write use cases — the main sequence of actions in the app. In small startups, the initial work on the application can be interspersed with the work on the UX / UI.
- The main development is carried out screen by screen. Screens are important sections of an app that are created separately. For example, three screens are divided among the team, and then they are combined. If the developer does not know how to write this or that bit of code or add some program component, they usually google and research it or seek advice from team members. You can never stop learning in this industry.
- The app is ready once you have finished all the screens. Test-takers are responsible for checking that everything meets the requirements. However, the developer starts the testing. You have to check and make sure that the app works properly. Sometimes, the developer writes automated tests for testers.
- The final step is the release of the app on Google Play. In small companies, the developer uploads the application to the store. It is not difficult to do. You just have to press a couple of buttons. But in large companies, dozens or hundreds of apps are uploaded to the store, so other people do this.
- When an app is ready and has appeared on Google Play, the developer’s work is not over. They have to maintain, change, and improve the program.
Here is an example of a typical task. UI designers moved the button to another place in the interface and changed its color. The developer should change the layout of an app. They also have to make sure that the button is properly positioned at different screen orientations, and when you click on it, it correctly changes color, shade, and position. You remember that there are a lot of Android devices, right? So you need to make sure that the button will be properly positioned and displayed on screens of different sizes and resolutions.
Of course, the job is simpler for a newbie who is still studying Android. There will be no multiple algorithms and complicated functions.
What tools does the Android developer use?
- Android Studio. This is the official IDE (integrated development environment) for Android, created by JetBrains and Google. It is used to write the code.
- Git. This is where the written code is stored.
- Smartphone or Android emulator on the computer. The programs are tested on them at the time of launch.
Today most Android developers write code in Kotlin, but a couple of years ago, everything was written in Java. These two languages are similar (both belong to the JVM group), so it is not convenient to switch from one to the other. Kotlin is the same as Java, only slightly prettier and more appealing. Today Kotlin is one of the official languages for Android.
As you can see, learning Android is a challenge. Certainly, students who are new to Android will not be given difficult tasks that they can’t handle. However, many of them have difficulties with the most basic assignments. That is why students often ask for help or order it online.
