Android Studio Tutorial

Android Studio is a tool that enables work on android development, a software project, and Linux based operating system for mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones. The main goal of the android project is to create a successful real-world product that improves the mobile experience for end-users. Java language is mainly used to write the android code even though other languages can be used.

Architecture:

Android software stacks are divided into 5 parts:

• Linux kernel: It is considered the heart of android architecture. It exists at the root of android architecture. Linux kernel is responsible for power management, device management, resource access, and device drivers.

• Native Libraries (middleware): WebKit, OpenGL, FreeType, SQLite, Media, C runtime library (libs), etc are examples of Native libraries. The WebKit library is responsible for browser support; SQLite is used for maintaining databases; FreeType is used for font support; Media for playing and recording audio and video formats.

• Android Runtime: There are core libraries and DVM (Dalvik Virtual Machine) which is responsible for running android applications in android runtime. DVM is like JVM, but it is optimized for mobile devices. It consumes less memory and provides fast performance.

• Android Framework: Android framework is placed on top of native libraries and android runtime. Android framework includes Android APIs such as UI (User Interface), resources, telephony, locations, package managers, and content providers (data). It also provides a lot of classes and interfaces for android application development.

• Applications: There are applications that are placed on top of the Android framework. All the applications such as contact, home, games, settings, and browsers are using the android framework that uses android runtime and libraries. Android runtime and native libraries use Linux kernel.

Android Activity Life Cycle:

Seven methods of the android. app.Activity class control android activity lifecycle. The android Activity is the subclass of ContextThemeWrapper class.

Activity is a single screen in android. It is more like a window or frame of Java. With the help of this activity, developers can place all the user interface components or widgets on a single screen. These 7 lifecycle methods of activity describe how the activity will behave at different states.

Android Activity Lifecycle Methods:

• onCreate: it is called when activity is first created.

• onStart: it is called when the activity is becoming visible to the users.

• onResume: it is called when the activity will start interacting with the user.

• onPause: it is called when the activity is not visible to the user.

• onStop: it is called when the activity is no longer visible to the user.

• onRestart: it is called when the activity is stopped, before the start.

• onDestroy: it is called when the activity is destroyed.

Android Versions:

The very first android mobile was released with Android version 1.0 of the T-Mobile, which is HTC Dream. The first Android version which was released in numeric order format was Android 10.

• Android version 1.0 to 1.1: No codename

• Android version 1.5: Cupcake

• Android version 1.6: Donut

• Android version 2,0 to 2.1: Éclair

• Android version 2.2 to 2.2.3: Froyo

• Android version 2.3 to 2.3.7: Gingerbread

• Android version 3.0 to 3.2.6: Honeycomb

• Android version 4.0 to 4.0.4: Ice Cream Sandwich

• Android version 4.1 to 4.3.1: Jelly Bean

• Android version 4.4 to 4.4.4: Kitkat

• Android version 5.0 to 5.1.1: Lollipop

• Android version 6.0 to 6.0.1: Marshmallow

• Android version 7.0 to 7.1.2: Nougat

• Android version 8.0 to 8.1: Oreo

• Android version 9.0: Pie

• Android version 10: Android Q

• Android version 11: Android 11

Features of Android 11:

• Conversations: put all the messages in one place. 

• Accessibility: perspective apps help us to control and navigate the phone using voice commands.

• Device controls: Android 11 allows the user to control all the connected devices (IoT) from a single point.

• Content capture: Android 11 comes with a screen recording feature that captures the phone’s current screen activity.

• Predictive tools: by predicting the habits and patterns of working, it suggests accordingly.

• Privacy and security: Android 11 gives more security and privacy fixes to smartphones straight from Google Play.

• Media: Music can be played from other devices connected to the phone.

Core Building Blocks:

• Activity
• View
• Intend

1. Start the service
2. Launch an activity
3. Display a web page
4. Display a list of contacts
5. Broadcast a message
6. Dial a phone call etc

• Service
• Content provider
• Fragment
• AndroidManifest.xml
• Android Virtual Device (AVD)

Features:

• Gradle-based build support.
• Android-specific refactoring and quick fixes.
• Lint tools to catch performance, usability, version compatibility, and other problems.
• ProGuard integration and app signing capabilities.
• Template-based wizards to create common Android designs and components.
• A rich layout editor that allows users to drag-and-drop user interface components, option to preview the layout on multiple screen configurations.
• Support for building Android wear apps.
• Built-in support for Google Cloud Platform, enabling integration with Firebase Cloud Messaging, earlier known as Google Cloud Messaging and Google App Engine.
• Android Virtual Device, Emulator, to run and debug apps in the Android studio.

Installing Android Studio:

The simplest technique to install required software for android applications. It includes:

• Eclipse IDE

• Android SDK

• Eclipse Plugin

If Android Studio is downloaded from the site, eclipse IDE is not needed, Android SDK, and eclipse Plugin because it is already included in Android Studio. If Android Studio is downloaded, under it, go to eclipse IDE, and start the eclipse by clicking on the eclipse icon. No extra steps are needed. 

System Requirements:

• Operating system(32-64 bits)

• Random Access Memory(RAM) : 4 GB RAM; 8 GB RAM

• Free digital space: 4 GB

• JDK: Java Development Kit 8

• Minimum screen resolution: 1280*800

About This Course:

Android Studio is a platform that provides a unified environment where developers build apps for android devices. Structured code modules allow dividing the project into units of functionality that can independently build, test, and debug. This Android Studio tutorial will walk the subscriber through the application, explain the structure of the project, and guide you with the installation. This course also has a sample project explained providing you a walk-through for understanding the platform better.