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Lots of Details

11/15/2014

 
Writing and publishing an Android App is an interesting process with lots of little details. I started doing this because I enjoyed coding and seeing how the code turns out. I love an elegant solution that is clear and easily understood. But I soon discovered that writing code is a small part of creating and sharing an Android App.

Creating a basic Android App consists of many parts: 
  • Installing, understanding, and using the IDE  (Eclipse or Android Studio) 
  • Understanding how to use the IDE's emulator
  • Understanding the Android environment (phones and tablets to start), including the lifecycle of an App 
  • Coding in Java
  • Understanding and using multi-threading in the Android Java environment 
  • Coding in-app purchasing
  • Coding application data backup through Google's Android backup service 
  • Understanding and using data encryption for app files 
  • Writing and modifying XML
  • Understanding the difference between using Android resources and assets  
  • Being comfortable navigating and using developer.android.com
  • Being effective in debugging your App
  • Being effective in researching issues in stackoverflow and other resources
  • Creating artwork for the app. Games require lots and lots of artwork. My deficiencies in this area soon became very apparent! 
  • Ability to use the Google Play Developer Console to publish alpha, beta, and production releases 
  • A website for your "organization" and perhaps for each App 
  • A privacy statement for each app
  • Finding or creating sounds / music for your App
Once I had the necessary knowledge and skill, the major areas that take up most of the time in writing an App seem to be (based on my limited knowledge and experience!): 
  • Designing the App (and not winging it!) 
  • Writing the Java code 
  • Creating artwork / creating the interface 
  • Adding sounds / music 
  • Publishing the App
Writing my first App was not be a quick and easy process, but I found it to be rewarding. As I learn more I expect the process to become quicker and, indeed, I wrote the Ay Caramba! app in a single week (of course I had already written the content years before and I only had to write a container App to display it to the user). I look forward to knocking out Apps as often as I care too!

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    David Freitag - 
    Someone who enjoys programming and software development.

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This website documents my love of programming.  I hope it is useful and entertaining for you to read. 
An old programmer learning new tricks... 
(c) 2017 David A. Freitag, all rights reserved.