How I learned Android Programming
About me
I am a 23 year old Web Application Developer that both takes pride in his work and enjoys the challenge of creating both simple and complex solutions to real world problems through technology. I have learned a multitude of programming languages both in scholastic and professional environments and hope to help those who are interested in honing their development skills.
Why I wanted to learn Android Programming
Android Programming is an interesting mix of Java and XML which I had very little experience with in the past however follows the same principles as MVC technologies in web development. Not only is this field of programming challenging but also has the opportunity for independent development that can be easily pushed on to the google play store for free and potentially monetized. Previously I had always coded for computer programs however as technology is evolving and the computing power of smart phones is pushing out the need for laptops/desktops developing for smaller screens and responsive designs will become ever more important.
How I approached learning Android Programming
I started as a senior in college for which my group and I had developed a budgeting application that stored images of receipts to set financial goals and track those goals through out your set timeline. We created the app penny pincher on the play store as a novice attempt to introduce ourselves to the different capabilities of android programming and have been tinkering with new skills in this area ever since.
Challenges I faced
Some of the most difficult challenges were having to deal with linking data sources such as firebase or even local sqlLite databases to our applications as displaying and storing the information reliably is very meticulous and at times can be difficult to debug. Another challenge was the strongly typed Java language which is altered for android programming and having to learn the new intricacies took some time to get used to.
Key takeaways
- You can learn anything if you have proper help and resources to guide you to the finish line.
- The time you spend improving your skills will always pay off as long as you pay attention to what you're doing.
- Perseverance can allow you to overcome any obstacle now matter how frustrating it may seem the feeling when you receive the anticipated response is always worth it.
- There is no substitute for hard work. If you don't put in the work you will never achieve your goals.
Tips and advice
There is a separation from what you see on the display and the back-end code doing the work. This is difficult to conceptualize at first but after working with it a little and figuring it out the work becomes much more straight forward. The foundation is the most important part so start by learning the different kinds of views and how these views are fed information and what their purposes are.
Final thoughts and next steps
This was a great challenge that I'm glad I pursued as it taught me a lot not only about android programming but mobile applications in general. They may seem complicated and hard to conceptualize but anyone has the ability to learn. My next step is to create my own application after refining penny pincher aside from my group members in order to learn better more modern themes, make use of different plugins, and potentially create a monetized service.
