We can't imagine our lives without Android apps. Over the past two years, the number of mobile phone users has grown rapidly, and the number continues to grow. With this boom in the industry, the demand for Android developers is also growing rapidly.
Most people use mobile devices to surf the internet. The development of Android apps has attracted a lot of attention from the general public. Therefore it’s worthwhile to learn how Android applications are developed!
Today, I will share the tools and resources you will need to learn Android development with you. After going through these resources, you will be able to start building Android applications from scratch. So, let's get started:
1. Tools
Firstly, I will be mentioning which language you should choose. There is Java, Kotlin, and Flutter in the market for Android development. Java and Kotlin are native that you can select to develop App for one platform at a time. Flutter is a hybrid language you can use to develop applications both for Android and iOS phones.
As a beginner, I will suggest you learn Java for Android because if you are a beginner, then Java will be a great first language for you plus, if you know Java, you can easily switch to Kotlin whenever you feel like!
2. XML And Java/Kotlin
If you guys are well familiar with web development, you must be knowing that HTML & CSS are used for designing the layout of your website. JavaScript enables the frontend logic on a website.
In a similar way, XML is used for designing the layout of your application on Android. To apply the logic behind the app, we use Java.
3. Tips From My Experience
- Use a laptop with 4GB+ RAM - It’s recommended to have a laptop having 4GB plus RAM. It will be better to use 8GB, but you can use a 4GB one if you can't afford it.
- Use a Laptop with an SSD - What does an SSD do? Basically, SSD reads the files from the hard drive very fast, and it provides an amazing performance boost to you.
- Use an actual phone instead of AVD - In the Android Studio, you can create an AVD (Android Virtual Device), but if your computer is seeking more resources, you can use your mobile phone in developer mode instead of AVD.
4. Free Learning Resources
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Android in One Video - If you understand Hindi, this is an amazing video that is uploaded on the CodeWithHarry YouTube channel. It will be perfect for you to get your hands dirty and start Android development. It will give you great enthusiasm, and you will learn a lot about the Android Studio as well: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu0W_9lII9ahKZ42vg2w9ERPmShYbYAB7.
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Android development fundamentals - This is the platform developed by Google, and it got two courses: Fundamental and Advanced. Google has created this course, so no doubt that this will be a nice course for you to get hands-on experience in Android Development: https://developer.android.com/courses.
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Android Development Playlist - This is a detailed playlist that has been uploaded on the CodeWithHarry YouTube channel. It will cover almost all the major topics you will need in your Android development journey: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu0W_9lII9aiL0kysYlfSOUgY5rNlOhUd.
→ Note: Learning basic Android development by using the above resources would take you around 15 days.
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Udacity's Developing Android Apps - This is a great course, and it’s quite long also. Also, it will cover more advanced topics along with basics like Notifications, Camera Controls, etc. This course will be beneficial if you want to upgrade and learn advanced Android development: https://www.udacity.com/course/new-android-fundamentals--ud851.
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Official Android Documentation - After reaching a certain level, you won’t be relying on any video for fixing errors in your application. You will be visiting documentation or StackOverflow. You will be using API documentation to fix basic issues yourself: https://developer.android.com/samples.
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Android Launcher Icon - This is a web-based platform that helps you to render the launcher icon in a very friendly format for your app: https://romannurik.github.io/AndroidAssetStudio/icons-launcher.html.
5. How To Make Money From Android Development?
Let’s come to the part of the blog, most of the people would be eager to read about - How to earn money?
There are a lot of ways to make money from your Android Development skill. Few of which includes:
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Freelancing - There are many websites that you might be aware of, like freelancers, Fiverr, Upwork. You need to be patient once you get started, as you might still not get the work in the beginning. But many people manage to make a good amount of money from it. All you need is to establish your authority on one of such platforms, after which your reviews will speak for the quality of work you deliver!
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Playstore + AdMob - In the Play Store, you can publish the app according to its guidelines, plus to upload the app, you have to spend $25. After that, you can upload as many apps as you want. With the help of AdMob, you can show ads on your application which will help you make some passive income on the go!
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Playstore + In-App Purchase - You must be wondering what an In-App purchase is? Suppose you make an application which is a game, and you want to add custom features like getting an armor. Your users can get it after completing a few levels or you can make something like an in-app purchase which will offer your users this armor after paying Rs. 50. Similarly, you can program your application such that if your users pay some money, they will get more features on this app.
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Job/Internship - There is a lot of opportunity in the field of Android Development when it comes to internships, so if you are in college and you know Android development, then you can easily get an internship and job in the field, and this can be your best target to achieve as a college student.
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Social Media - There are many Android Developer groups on the social media platforms, where people seek out some help in their app. You can pitch your idea and make an offer to help them out. This way, you can make a good amount of money and this upgrades your personal skills too!
6. Other Advice
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Version control - To become a successful Android developer, it’s essential to learn git because if you are doing an internship or job in a good company, all the contributors contribute through version control. So this makes it mandatory to learn a version control system like git.
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Database - You should know about working with Databases as an Android developer. To store data on the user’s phone, you will require to learn a database like Room or SQLite. If you want to host your app, Firebase is a perfect tool. I will recommend you to get a good enough knowledge of both these Databases.
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Admob API - AdMob API can sometimes be a little complex; you will need to read its terms and condition. It would help if you do some research on its monetization programs before monetizing your application.
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Building A Game - Most of the students are very curious about whether I can make games like PubG or GTA?
The answer is Yes, you can, but you can't make it exactly the same as GTA and PubG. Making such an app would require a very high level of setup. You will need a different team for a specific task, but as a beginner undoubtedly you can make a similar game up to some extent. You will be needing a game engine for developing such a game. I will suggest you go for the Unity game engine and C# will be needed for the programming part.
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Ds & Algo - As an Android Developer, data structures and algorithms is a very beneficial skill to have because you will be having clarity on what tasks require how much time. You can calculate time complexity, analyze various processes, etc. Having Ds Algo in your skillset is definitely a plus.
Conclusion
This was the complete roadmap that helps you become a pro in Android Development. I have mentioned all the points that were needed. All you have to do is add an ingredient in the hard work recipe, and the dish cooked from this recipe will perish you so much.
If you want to learn about any other technology or want to learn Android development, don’t forget to visit my channel for some great content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeVMnSShP_Iviwkknt83cww
Thank You.