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:
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!