Android development is a promising direction. Employers need programmers, and they are willing to pay them. There are a lot of training materials available for beginners, and a strong community of experienced colleagues will always help with advice. You can study on your own, but to simplify and speed up the process, it is better to seek help from teachers and start with courses.
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The training plan may vary depending on the tasks and background of the beginning developer. Next we will describe the basic knowledge and skills that will be needed in any case.
Basic knowledge of HTML and CSS
Learn language syntax and terminology to formulate questions correctly and find answers faster. For example, it is more effective to search on Google not for the rounded corners of a button, but for the cornerRadius - the search engine will return more relevant answers.
XML Basics
This is a markup language that does not contain operating logic or algorithms and is designed for convenient data storage. It’s worth learning to mark up the user interface, set the location of buttons and text fields, and other application elements. XML allows the use of multilingualism; strings in different languages are written into XML files.
How HTTP and REST work
These are protocols for the interaction of applications with the outside world - other applications and services, for example, servers on the Internet. They need to be mastered in order to understand how the application interacts with other services and receives information from them. Difference between programming languages. The computer does not distinguish what the program was written in - it executes machine codes. Programming languages were created for developers. They have a lot in common - almost all have functions, variables, classes, arrays. If you know how to use them in one language, you can switch to another if necessary. The language needs to be chosen to solve a specific problem, for example, for mobile development the standard is Java. General principles of development. To write clear code that colleagues in large shared projects can read, you need to learn:
- how to name functions and variables;
- divide program text into files;
- insert hyphens and spaces.
You won’t be able to master everything at once during training; skills will come with practice and will be constantly improved. Fundamentals of object-oriented programming. One of the main ideas of Java development is as follows. All objects or phenomena of the real world can be represented in a program as a set of their properties and actions performed. It’s easier to develop a program when you understand: an application is an object, any window in it is an object, properties are height, width and background color, methods are drawing an image, adding elements. Git and Github. Git allows you to view the history of the project, all the changes, who made them and when. You can detect an error in the system and rollback it. Github is needed for complex projects that several developers work on simultaneously. When one of the developers posts code, the entire team can review and edit it. At the same time, it is possible to work even on the same section of code in parallel, without interfering with the work of another developer.
Explore the Android Environment
Application graphic elements. When creating an application interface, you do not need to write code from scratch; it is enough to use ready-made blocks - View. There are different types of blocks:
- to display text;
- to display images;
- to place other elements on the screen.
For the first applications, ready-made blocks will be enough for you; later you will learn how to develop your own. Android file system. You need to master it in order to optimize the operation of the application and teach it to start each time not from scratch, but to save its state between restarts. The file system also allows you to exchange data with other applications, for example, download photos from the gallery. Life cycle of an Android application. While the user is working with your application, a call may come in, an SMS may arrive, or another application will display a notification on top of the window. For such cases, you need to specify the behavior of the program, for example, minimizing the window, pausing, saving the current state, or reducing the sound volume. If you don't configure the application lifecycle, it will be inconvenient to use. Android technology solutions. Many applications perform the same actions, such as requesting information on the Internet, performing searches, or storing large amounts of data. To avoid writing code for these actions from scratch, learn to use libraries - standard solutions. These are pieces of code that work well and can be inserted into your application. Navigation between screens. Most applications have multiple screens. In order for the user to move between them, minimize or close them, you need to develop a navigation system and write an algorithm of actions for each navigation method. Working with sensors and touchscreens. Master the SensorManager class to teach the application to interact with sensors on your smartphone - accelerometer, gyroscope, distance and light sensors. Application performance. To prevent your application from consuming a lot of resources and causing your smartphone to freeze, learn how to test and improve its performance. All of the above are just the basics of Android development. You will also have to master code libraries and learn to work with different versions of the Android OS. When you write your first application, understand the essence of the development stages from studying documentation to testing and debugging, release, technical support and updating. Studying at an online university: course “Android developer from scratch”
Master development tools
The main application development tool is Android Studio. The program consists of two parts: Visual editor. Here you can set the location of graphic elements of the future application manually, for example, drag and drop buttons. Code editor. It says what needs to be done when you press a button, enlarge or reduce the screen, or scroll. You can write code in any language, for example, Java or Kotlin. For detailed video instructions for downloading and installation, see here:
https://developer.android.com/studio/install
Where to start a career
Solve problems in Java. You can find them on the Javarush thematic website, in the quests Java Syntax, Java Collections, Java Core and others. Work on the tasks daily to master the language. Move on to more complex projects - develop labyrinths, snakes, dictionaries and publish on GitHub. This way you will collect a portfolio and can show it to the employer. Publish applications from GitHub to Google Play. Even if the programs do not have thousands of downloads, links to them can be included in the resume. Research job openings and see what libraries companies use. Master Glide, Retrofit, Room, Fabric - many employers work with them. Choose a potential employer and go for an interview as a Junior. If you are not hired right away, they will recommend what to study and what gaps in knowledge and skills to fill.
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