With the advancement of Mobile Technology, Mobile phones, especially Smartphones, has become the essential and inseparable partner of our life today. There are several Operating systems in the market for Smartphone Operating System for Mobile devices, But the One which we are going to learn about is Android which is currently the Leading Operating System for Mobile phones having vast numbers of users around the world. Android is the world’s most popular mobile platform. According to the latest report, there were over 2.5 billion active users of Android, and this figure is rising quickly. As Android dominating the smartphone market, Careers regarding the software developers and others working on this platform has also been increased, and if you are willing to have a career in android development, then this is the right time and right place to get hold of this subject where we are going to learn Android Programming Step by Step.

Before jumping ahead and learn Android programming step by step, it is needed first to have some knowledge about Android.

To make it extremely simpler for you, I have divided the tutorial into several segments and feel free to jump into the division as per your interest.

So without further due, let’s start our tutorial.

Learn Android Programming Step By Step

What is Android ?

• Android is a mobile operating system which is a modified version of the Linux.
• It was initially developed by the Android Inc, but later in 2005, it was purchased by Google.
• Android is an open source platform. The Android Operating System is based on code from the “Android Open Source Project” or AOSP, it means anyone who wants to use the core Android Source code they can download it and can create custom Operating Systems as per their requirements.
• Android was developed and designed primarily for Touchscreen mobile devices such as Smartphones and Tablets, but now it can be seen on Android TV as well as Wrist watches and many other electronics.

History of Android

• So Everything Started in 2003 and before Android was even bought out by the Google. It started out as Android Inc and was founded in Palo Alto, California by four founders Rich Miner, Nick Sears, Chris White and Andy Rubin.
• In 2005 this is when Google bought out Android and Andy Rubin and the other co-founding members continued to work on Android under their new owners.
• In September 2008 we got the very first Android Smartphone, The T-mobile G1 also known as HTC dream.

Versions of Android

• Since it’s inaugural release to today Android has gone through quite a number of updates.
• With every update, Android has been enhanced and improved with new features visually, conceptually and functionally.
• Let’s have a look at the brief history of Android Versions.

ANDROID VERSION	RELEASE DATE	CODE NAME
1.0	September 23,2008	September 23,2008
1.1	February 9,2009	Noname
1.5	April 30,2009	Cupcake
1.6	September 15,2009	Donut
2.0/2.1	October 26,2009	Eclair
2.2	May 20,2010	Froyo
2.3	December 6, 2010	Gingerbread
3.0/3.1/3.2	February 22,2011	Honeycomb
4.0	October 18,2011	Ice cream Sandwich
4.1	July 9,2012	Jelly Bean
4.4	October 31,2013	Kitkat
5.0	November 12,2014	Lollipop
6.0	October 5,2015	Marshmallow
7.0	August 22,2016	Nougat
8.0	August 21,2017	Oreo
9.0	August 6,2018	Pie
10.0	September 3, 2019	Android 10
11	September 8, 2020	Android 11

•  The initial two versions of Android 1.0 and 1.1 had no official code names.
• Each Android versions are named after a dessert name with any new version arrived in alphabetical order.

So this was the concise description of the Android Operating System, and now let’s have a quick look at the essential tools and skills that we require to learn Android Programming Step by Step.

Basic Skills and Tools Require to Learn Android Programming Step By Step

Java or Kotlin

• The first skill that you need to learn is a programming language, and you need to know one of these programming languages either Java or Kotlin. These are the two programming languages that you could build apps for Android natively.
• You could either start out learning these programming languages under own, or there are various resources available online to get expert in these programming languages.
• I highly recommend after learning any one of these programming languages you should start out with any project to get a better knowledge of putting those pieces of information to that project and that will benefit you considerably in building apps for Android.

Android Software Development Kit (SDK) and Android Studio

• After you master any one of those programming languages the next tool that we require is Android SDK ( Software Development Kit) and the most beautiful thing about it that we can download the Android SDK free-of-charge.
• This kit includes all the tools and resources that you need to build the apps for Android. This consists of the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) which is Android Studio the official IDE for Android app development.
• It includes all the virtual devices that you can test your code and all the components necessary to build your app.

XML (Extensible Markup Language)

• The next skill that we need to learn is XML, which stands for eXtensible Markup Language.
• In Android, XML is primarily used for designing the user interface of the Application and mastering XML is quite easier than learning either Java or Kotlin.

Although these are not the only tools and skills we need to learn for mastering Android development But to get started with it, these are the essential tools and skills we must have.

Now let’s have a quick look at the System requirements for Android app development.

System Requirements for Android App Development

The Software that we require to install for Android App development is none other than Android Studio, which is the official IDE for Android App development and in this Article we will also learn how to install Android Studio properly.

Google provides Android studio for Windows, Mac, Chrome OS, and Linux Operating Systems. Before downloading and installing Android Studio, make sure that your system meets the following requirements otherwise it will take a lot of time to load the Application, virtual devices and that is going to be very frustrating. According to developer.android.com following are the System Requirements for different platforms.

For Windows

• Microsoft Windows 7/8/10 (32 or 64 bit).
• Minimum of 4 GB RAM, 8 GB recommended.
• 2 GB of available disk space minimum, 4 GB Recommended (500 MB for IDE + 1.5 GB for Android SDK and emulator system image).
• 1280 x 800 minimum screen resolution.

For Mac

• Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) or higher, up to 10.13 (macOS High Sierra).
• Minimum of 4 GB RAM, 8 GB recommended.
• 2 GB of available disk space minimum, 4 GB Recommended (500 MB for IDE + 1.5 GB for Android SDK and emulator system image).
• 1280 x 800 minimum screen resolution.

For Linux

• GNOME or KDE desktop
  Tested on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, Trusty Tahr (64-bit distribution capable of running 32-bit applications).
• 64-bit distribution capable of running 32-bit applications.
• GNU C Library (glibc) 2.19 or later.
• Minimum of 4 GB RAM, 8 GB recommended.
• 2 GB of available disk space minimum, 4 GB Recommended (500 MB for IDE + 1.5 GB for Android SDK and emulator system image).
• 1280 x 800 minimum screen resolution.

For Chrome OS

• Intel i5 or higher (U series or higher) recommended.
• 8 GB RAM or more Recommended.
• 4 GB of available disk space minimum.
• 1280 x 800 minimum screen resolution.

Android Studio Installation Steps

Prerequisite

Before downloading and installing Android Studio, the Software that we require is the Java Development Kit (JDK). Java Development Kit provides us tools for developing Java Program. It includes Java Runtime Environment(JRE), Java Compiler and additional tools needed to build java Applications.

If you are already having the latest version of Java Development Kit then you are welcome to skip and if you are not then follow the installation properly.

Installation of Java Development Kit

• Go to Google.com and search for Java Se development kit and click on the link of the official website of Oracle As shown below.

• After you enter the website, you need to accept the Licence Agreement and then select the required file to download as per your Operating system configuration.

         Note – Sometimes it may ask you to Login to the Oracle Account and after that you can proceed to download.                               

• After you have finished downloading the file, then you need to open it to move through the installation process. As soon as you open the file, the setup window will be opened, click on the next button to proceed further.

• In the next window, it will ask you for the folder where you want to install the software. I will recommend you to leave it as default and click on the next button.

• After that, it will take some time to install the software.

• In last step just click on the close button to finish the installation process.

• Once you have successfully installed the Java development kit on your system, the next thing you need to do is to set the path in Java to make it work.

Setting Path in Java

• Go to the directory where you have installed the Java ( C:\Program Files\Java\jdk<your version>\bin).
• Copy the path and make sure that you have copied the exact path as shown above. In my case it is…

• Once you have copied the file now go to Control Panel > System and Security > System and in this window click on Advanced system setting.

• Now click on the button Environment Variables that is placed in the bottom of the window.

• Now click on the New button that is placed under the System Variables section.

•  Now In variable name type path and in variable value paste the path you have copied as shown in the below image.
• Finally, press OK to apply the changes and you are done.

• To test whether you have successfully set the path or not you need to open the command prompt ( windows key + r, then type cmd and hit enter) and type

• If you are getting the following result as shown in the below image, then your installation of JDK is successful, and you can proceed further to install Android studio.

Installation of Android Studio

• In this step, We will see how to install Android studio in our System.
• Go to Google.com and search for “download Android Studio” and then go through the official website of Android developer to download Latest Version of  Android Studio.
• You will see the following page.

• Once you click on the Download button, you need to accept the terms and condition to follow up the downloading process.

• Once you download the file, then open the file and click on the next button to start the installation process and make sure that you have enabled the internet on your system because between installation process Android studio will download some essential components to finish up the installation.

• In next step tick mark on the Android Virtual device and click on the Next button.

• In the next step, it will ask you for the location where you want to install the Android Studio. I will recommend you to keep it as default and click on the Next button.

• In the next step, click on the install button.

• After you Click on the Install button, it will start to install the Android Studio in your system.

• After the installation is complete click on the Next button to proceed further.

• Next, click on the Finish button and start the Android studio.

• Next, it will ask you to import Android Studio setting from previously installed Android studio But since we are installing it for the first time click on “do not import settings” and press OK button.

• In Next step, click on the Next button.

• In the next step, it will ask you to choose the installation type whether you want the standard version of Android Studio or customized. I will recommend you to select the standard version and then click on the Next button.

• Next, it will ask you for the user interface Theme, and you can choose it as per your taste.

• In Next step, Click on the Finish button, and the Android studio will start to download some essential components. Make sure that you have enabled the internet connection.

• After you click on the Finish button Android studio will start to download the components, and it will take some times as per your speed of the internet connection.

• After it completed downloading, click on the Finish button.

• Once you click on the finish button, a new window will be opened and from there click on “start a new Android Studio project“.

• In the next window, Android Studio will ask you to choose from a variety of project templates and as for now select Empty Activity and click on the Next button.

• In the next window, you need to fill up some fields and choose some options according to your project.

• Let’s have a look at the details of those fields.
  • Name is the name given to your Application.
  • Package Name is a unique name given to identify a specific application. Generally, it is in the form of domain.company.application but it is entirely up to you to choose the name.
  • In Save location, it asks you for the location where you want to save your project.
  • In Language section, it asks you to choose the language either Java or Kotlin to build your application.
  • In Minimum API level basically, it asks you to set the minimum Android version for your application to run.
  • This project will support instant apps is a feature that lets end users use that app without fully downloading onto their phone.

• Once you filled up all the information according to your project requirement, just hit the finish button, and the Android studio will start to build your application. For the first time, it may take several minutes or hours as per your internet connection to successfully build your application since Android studio downloads some components.

Conclusion

Finally, we have come up with the conclusion that it is not that much difficult to install Android studio in your system if we follow the right steps.

So guys, I am wrapping up this tutorial and feel free to drop us a comment if you find out any difficulty while installing the Android studio on your system.

You can also check my tutorial Login form in Java Swing With Source Code.