Mar 25, 2020
If you want to start your adventure as an android developer, but you don’t know how, find out theses 5 basic steps!
First of all, you should buy the most expensive smartphone you will find for at least 1000$… Naaaaaah. I’m just kidding! :D All you need for now is willingness.
1. Official Android Site
Visit the official Android Developer website. To be honest, it is really important to read the whole website to understand the ecosystem and variety of solutions, ideas, and technologies linked with Android. Obviously, you won’t understand and remember everything, but you will know where to look for in the future.
2. Get Familiar with Material Design
Material Design. The most beautiful Google’s child.
The same rule as above — scan the whole site to understand how it’s built and what’s the idea behind it. Try to feel it. Be the material. Think like material. Behave like material.
3. Download Android Studio IDE
Download Android Studio (not Eclipse).
It’s unquestionably the best IDE for Android and it’s from Google.
If it is a new IDE for you — don’t be afraid. I also started from Eclipse, ’cause I know it already. One day I installed Android Studio and from that day, I will never install Eclipse again for Android purposes. You know, it’s like in a relationship. Eclipse is your first. You love her but you go to Stanford and she goes to Yale. It’s hard decision to break up but you are so young. You have to think about your future. Bla, bla, bla. You know what I mean. Just download Android Studio, install it, learn how to use it for your glory!
4. Write some code
It’s time to look a bit at the code and write something. Practice together with a theory is one of the best ways of learning.
Go back to the official Android website and this time go to Develop. There are two the most important sections:
- Training — you can find there a lot of helpful examples. Go through all these lessons before you start programming for real.
- API Guides — I know it will be hard to go through all these texts, descriptions, examples and so on but it’s worth it. Trust me. This section is very important.
5. Stay up to date
Our journey comes to an end. Before I leave I will give you a couple more links:
- Subscribe Android Weekly — every week a lot of amazing Android content — articles, libraries, events. Don’t miss it.
- Subscribe AndroidDev Digest — like on Android Weekly, every week a lot of interesting articles and more.
- Fragmented Podcast — Android podcast hosted by Donn Felker and Kaushik Gopal where they are talking about becoming a better Android developer with a lot of very interesting people from the Android world.
- Android Developers Backstage podcast — hosted by developers from Android engineering team from Google.
- Participate in Android thread on Reddit — information, news, code, observations and more directly from Android developers all over the world.
- Read official Android Developers blog — very interesting texts written by Android people from Google.
- Subscribe official Android Developers YouTube channel — a large dose of knowledge straight from the Android Developers from Google.
Don’t stop!
So that’s it. But remember — it’s really just a beginning. I hope that this article was helpful. Stay tuned — we are preparing another article for Android beginners. Good luck!
