With sophistication the mobile development field presents its own complexities. If you are an amateur in developing applications then you might be wondering which platform to go for. You may get puzzled while choosing a programming language that you’d go with. In this article I present you some tips for beginners for creating Android applications.
Android being an open source platform is the most popular platform used for developing mobile applications. Powering thousands of devices, this platform helps your application access hardware including cameras, GPS, digital compasses etc. While its open source tools save many a penny in your pocket, Android offers a number of functionalities. After the application process is completed, you need to get it approved for sale on Google’s Android Market. However, publishing it on the market is not free of cost. A one-off registration fee is charged by the Google Android market. Whereas Apple’s application store checks each application and puts it on the store to post a quick review process.
Android apps developers have various advantages over developers of other platforms.
Google provides Android Software Development Kit or SDK for operating systems including Windows, Mac and Linux and this eliminates the need for a brand new hardware for writing apps.
Developers who are proficient with Java programming language have completed half the coding at the beginning of the development process as SDK is built on Java.
Once your application is up on the android market it is available to download for a number of users. You needn’t just rely on the store for sale of your application but you can publish the app on your own website or blog. Recent developments suggest that Amazon has plans to launch its own Android app store.
Technology is never constant. It goes on changing. To keep in pace with the technology, SDK documentation gets refreshed with new resources. This helps the developers to utilize high end technology and be ahead in competition.
Installing Android SDK and Eclipse
Eclipse is the most recommended environment when it comes to developing applications for Android. With Eclipse the installation of Android Development Toolkit or ADT plugin is required.
After Eclipse is installed, you need to start writing applications. But before you do this you have to download the SDK platform for Android smart devices for which you need an application to be built. Each platform makes use of a different version of the Android SDK which has to be installed on the users’ smart devices. Android Open Source Project and Google are the two platforms available for Android version 1.5 and above.
