Lots of Details

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!