Android Development Essential Training: Your First App with Kotlin

Learn how to create a simple app built with the Android SDK and Kotlin. Master the fundamental tools for building Android apps. This beginner course is the first in a series.

Explore the world of Android app development. The Android Development Essential Training series walks beginners through the process of developing, designing, managing, and distributing Android apps. In this course—the first installment in the series—David Gassner steps through how to create your very first Android app using a mixture of programming languages, including XML and Kotlin. Learn how to configure Android Studio, the Android SDK, and emulator software, and explore the different files in a typical Android app, including build scripts and the app manifest file. Finally, learn how an app is built from the bottom up, with screens, activities, and layouts. Check out later courses in the series to continue building your app development skills.

Introduction

• Build a simple app with Kotlin
• What you should know

1. Android Development Fundamentals

• Explore the history of Android
• Explore the Android app framework
• Program for Android with Java and Kotlin
• Install Android Studio on Mac
• Install Android Studio on Windows
• Manage Android Studio updates
• Manage components in the SDK Manager
• Install HAXM software for the emulator

2. Getting Started

• Create your first Android app
• Upgrade the Kotlin plugin
• Explore Android Studio
• Create virtual devices for testing
• Install device drivers on Windows
• Set up debugging on a physical device
• Use Android command-line tools
• Find answers in the documentation

3. Explore Android Projects

• Check out the exercise files on GitHub
• Explore the project structure
• Manage Gradle build scripts
• Manage the app manifest file
• Use dependencies and support libraries
• Explore Android Jetpack components
• Troubleshoot Android Studio projects

4. Android App Architecture

• Define screens with activities
• Implement designs in XML layouts
• Use the View and ViewGroup components
• Display an image in an activity
• Convert PNG and SVG image files
• Start new activities with intents
• Send an action to a new activity
• Send data URIs and extras with intents
• Handle shared data with an intent filter

Conclusion

• Next steps