Many smartphones and mobile computing devices run the Android platform. This allows users to download and install Android apps from the official market. The market offers apps for many different purposes, including business, productivity, communication, entertainment, and reference. According to Reinvently.com, If you want to create Android applications on your own, you need a variety of software tools. You can acquire the necessary tools for free, but you need to buy an Android Developer account to release your apps through the market.
Development of resources
To develop Android apps, you need to get development resources on your computer. You can download the Eclipse integrated development environment from the Eclipse Foundation website. Android apps use Java, so you’ll also need the current Java Development Kit available on the Oracle website. The official Android development tools include the Android Software Development Kit and the Android Developer Tools plug-in for Eclipse, which you can download from the Android site.
Android projects
To create Android applications, you can start a new Android project in Eclipse. Before you start creating Android applications, familiarize yourself with the application framework, an overview of which you can read on the Android Developers Guide website. One more thing that is strongly advised for any company that plans on developing its application is to do idea validation. This step helps saving money and later on can significantly speed up the process of development, you can read more on this topic. Android apps use activities to model individual screens within user interfaces as well as Java class declarations to implement any logical processes required. Using the available Android code components, you can do the processing necessary for your project. In addition to activities, Android apps use background action actions, application data management content providers, and Broadcast receivers to respond to system events.
User Interfaces
User interface design within Android involves layouts. The XML files in an Android project define the layout for each part of a program. A layout determines how the visible elements of each activity are displayed, as well as including interactive components such as buttons, text fields, and drop-down lists. You can also create and use digital images in your Android apps by including them in your project folders and linking them to your layout files.
Test
In Eclipse, you can run and test your Android apps on virtual devices, says experts from GeekyAnts. Android Virtual Device Manager allows you to define a set of one or more virtual devices to run in the emulator. This means you can see how your apps will perform on devices with different hardware and software configurations. In Eclipse, you can also export Development versions of apps you are working on so you can copy these onto any actual Android devices you have access to test them.
Release
To release apps through the official Android Market, you must sign up for a developer account. Once you have an account, you can sign in to your Developer Console through which you can upload new apps, as well as upgrade existing apps. To do this successfully, sign and version your apps properly. The signature involves the use of an encryption key within Eclipse, which must be the same for upgraded versions of an app. For versioning an Android app, you must include the increase rendering numbers in your application manifest XML file. The version number is to increase with each program upgrade.
