Introduction to Android and Android Studio

Hello Developers, when you start your android journey, here are a few questions that emerge;

• What is android?

• From where I should start?

• What is the perfect roadmap for android app development?

• What is the best IDE for android app development?

Let's get answers to all your questions through this blog. Hope you are excited for this amazing experience.

What is Android?

Android is an open-source and Linux-based operating system for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Android was developed by the Open Handset Alliance, led by Google, and other companies. 

The first android version was launched in 2009 and the current android version is android 13 which was launched in 2022. The below table shows all the details of android versions with names & API levels.

 

Version	API/SDK	Name	Year
Android 13	Level 33	Tiramisu	2022
Android 12	Level 32	Snow Cone	2022
	Level 31		2021
Android 11	Level 30	Red Velvet Cake	2020
Android 10	Level 29	Quince Tart	2019
Android 9	Level 28	Pie	2018
Android 8	Level 27	Oreo	2017
	Level 26
Android 7	Level 25	Nougat	2016
	Level 24
Android 6	Level 23	Marshmallow	2015
Android 5	Level 22	Lollipop	2015
	Level 21		2014
Android 4	Level 20	KitKat	2014
	Level 19		2013
	Level 18	Jelly Bean	2013
	Level 17		2012
	Level 16
	Level 15	Ice Cream Sandwich	2011
	Level 14
Android 3	Level 13	HoneyComb	2011
	Level 12
	Level 11
Android 2	Level 10	GingerBread	2011
	Level 9		2010
	Level 8	Froyo	2010
	Level 7	Eclair	2010
	Level 6		2009
	Level 5		2009
Android 1	Level 4	Donut	2009
	Level 3	CupCake	2009
	Level 2	Petit Four	2009
	Level 1	--	2008

 

In the next section, the basic features of the android studio are provided.

Introduction to Android Studio

Before creating the android project, let’s first learn about the platform where we create android apps.

Android Studio is an official IDE(Integrated Development Environment) for android app development. Android Studio is based on IntelliJ Idea which is a powerful code editor.

Android Studio Features:

Each android studio project contains below main modules

• Android app modules  
• Library modules
• Google App Engine modules

Android app modules:

Each app module consists of the following folders:

• Manifest: It contains an AndroidManifest.xml file. This file is used to manage the permissions of an android app. This file includes nodes for each of the Activities, Services, Content Providers, and Broadcast Receivers that make the application, and using Intent Filters and Permissions determines how they coordinate with each other and other applications.
• Java: This folder contains Java & Kotlin source code files. These files contain the main logic of the program.
• Res: This folder contains all non-code resources such as XML layouts, UI strings, and bitmap images. The Res folder contains the following default folders. Drawable folder contains images and resource files that are used in the app.  Layout folder contains .xml files that contain UI corresponding to the activity of an app. Mipmap folders are for placing your app/launcher icons (which are shown on the home screen) only. Values folder contains the files for colors, strings & themes used in the app. The colors used in the app are defined in the colors.xml file.                     

Additionally, we can also create folders in the res folder like menu, raw, anim for various purposes.

• Gradle: The build.gradle file is located in the app module of an Android project and is used to configure the build process for that specific module. The file consists of a series of blocks that are used to configure different aspects of the build process, such as the build tools to use, the dependencies for the app, and other settings.

Android Studio User Interface:

1. Toolbar
2. Navigation Bar
3. Editor Window
4. Tool Window Bar
5. Tool Windows
6. Status Bar

Conclusion

Summarizing the blog, here I have listed the basics of android and android studio. In my next post, learn to install & setup android studio.