Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Building Apps for Android

By Erika Smith-Jones


Google made available the Android operating system so virtually anyone together with the right skills can create software programs to operate on an Android cell phone or tablet. Google's solution to developing smartphones is basically opposite to Apple Inc, who prefer control over the applications that people can install on their iPhones. The open nature of Android makes sure that you can build whatever you fancy and people may download and install the software. Many developers have jumped ship from iPhone applications to developing applications for the Android due to the flexibility it gives them.

When you build an application for the iPhone it's passed to a reviewer who decides if your application is good enough to be sold on iTunes or if it is suitable for the app store. Many apps do not get published due to Apple's censorship procedures. On top of this, research firm, NDP Group said one half of all smartphone purchases are for Android cell phones. By the end of 2010 Thirty-two million handsets were running the Android OS. Not suprisingly everyone is looking at the right way to build Android applications.

Android applications are programmed in Java. You will have to know this language or hire a developer who does. The next task is to download and install the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) from Google. The SDK includes classes, libraries, examples plus an interface to test out your brand-new Android software. You may also download the Google APIs Add-On extension, this includes libraries specific to Google's various web services.

You would generally create the interface in Adobe Illustrator and save in vector format. Although, it is actually advisable to use a skilled designer to develop the UI. The libraries in the SDK also have some standard vector graphics you can use when building an Android application. If the app generates data that should be saved and referenced later like a weight management tracker that you input your weight and track trends on a graph or chart over time you'll need to hold the data within a SQLite database. You will additionally need to write the necessary code to create, insert, delete and retrieve data from the database. data from the database.

Taking your completed app from your pc to your Android phone is a tad complex as it has to be converted, compiled and deployed. Android works with a system known as Dalvik Virtual Machine. Your Java Class files must be converted to .dex files utilizing a tool called DX. Once this is done it needs to be packaged in to an .apk (Android Package) file by using something called the Android Asset Packing Tool. Only when this is successfully done can the application be installed on an Android handset.

Luckily one can find vast libraries of openly available code on the Android developers website and on third party sites which provide lessons on how to get cracking creating your first Android app.




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