What is the initial step to start with android? How does java programming help?

Question

I am a Java professional. Now I'd like to write an application for the Android platform.

• What is the initial step I need to take?
• How does my Java programming experience help in this case?

Answer 1

Android applications are written in the Java language but does not use the JVM - instead it runs on the Dalvik.

Download the Android SDK - it has examples and an emulator.

Answer 2

android dev forum has detailed instructions on how you can start with it. Download eclipse and android forum gives instructions on how to set it up with its plugins. The plugin includes an emulator and is very easy to use. Try it out!

Answer 3

Android Resources help me a lot to learn android programming.

Answer 4

You might find this question helpful.

Answer 5

Dev Environment

Sitting up a dev environment goes something like this:

• Download the Android SDK and unzip it
• Download Eclipse (There are several downloads on the Eclipse site. I think I downloaded the one called "Eclipse IDE for Java Developers")
• Install Eclipse (basically just unzipping it)
• From within Eclipse, install the Android Plugin
• Tell Eclipse where the Android SDK is
• Setup an emulator image (AVD)
• To start a new Android Project, go to File/New/Android Project

You can find the details here: http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/eclipse-adt.html

Websites

There are several websites including:

• developer.android.com -- official reference and tutorials.
• anddev.org -- has forums and tutorials

Books

• Anddev.org is working on “a non-commercial book to learn programming for Google’s Android” called andbook.
• Worx has a book called Professional Android Development. You can download the first chapter for free from their website.

Videos

• One thing that helped me understand Android conceptually was the Androidology videos that Google produced.
• There are several videos on the Android developers site and also on YouTube

Answer 6

Take a look at developer.android.com from there you can download and install the sdk (detailed instructions to do so here) they recommend using eclipse for your IDE. I used it this summer and was very impressed. Take a look at the dev guide there is a lot of stuff that can get you up and running.

Answer 7

What is the initial step I need to take?

Covered nicely in other posts.

How does my Java programming experience help in this case?

Your Java experience will mean you can focus on the Android framework and how to do things the Android way without getting confused about what is the framework and what is Java. I have worked with people who started with Android w/o experience with Java and they were forever trying to tell them apart. "Is this a Java thing or an Android thing?" was a common question. You will be a step ahead of them.