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views:

159

answers:

4

Hi ,

I have pretty good skills in PHP , Mysql and Javascript for a junior developer. If I wanted to try my hand as Android Development do you think I might find it tough ?

Also what new languages would I need to learn ?

If any one could provide links to a beginners guide or something similar that would be much appreciated

Thanks

+5  A: 

Hi!

You'll need to learn Java.

Personally I think you should just try it. Google gives you a very good guide for your first steps: http://developer.android.com/guide/index.html

It's very easy to get first results.

Arthur
Thanks I will give it my best try
Oliver Bayes-Shelton
+1 for a link go get started and saying "just try it"
Chris Ballance
A: 

Programming for Android is done in java. Well, it actually gets compiled to Dalvik bytecode, but the syntax is essentially java.
Anytime you pick up something new, there will probably be something that you find tough, but if you know javascript and php, you should be able to get the hang of java fairly fast.

nstehr
Bit of a noob question but what is the difference between Java and JavaScript ?
Oliver Bayes-Shelton
@Oliver: To quote someone else, Java is to Javascript as Car is to Carpet. They are entirely different languages with superficial similarities in syntax.
Larry Lustig
@Larry so do they start with Java because of the similar syntax and thats were the line ends ? Also were would java typically be used ?
Oliver Bayes-Shelton
Mostly "Java" was a popular brand when JavaScript was coming out and they were trying to ride that popularity wave. JavaScript is really just a dialect of ECMAScript (as are JScript, ActionScript, etc): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECMAScript
fiXedd
A: 

Programming for Android is done in Java. If you're never done Java, I wouldn't recommend you start with Android just yet.

If I were you, I'd learn Java first, and then move on to Android. All you need is a basic understanding of the language though, for which you can find millions of tutorials on the web (Sun tutorials, etc). I also think getting an actual book is always worth it. It'll save you lots of time searching for stuff on the Internet. You can get used Java books for a buck on half.com.

Once that is done, then moving to Android should be much easier. For one, you'll know what is part of Java and what is part of the Android framework, and if later you need to do something in pure Java, you won't be looking for Android framework classes or idioms.

For Android, the first step would be to do the Hello World tutorial, and then the Notepad tutorial.

After that, lots of code snippets can be found under Sample code.

I also highly recommend this website, which provides lots of tutorials.

JRL
I'd actually recommend against it. There's a lot of generally accepted coding patterns in Java that are discouraged in Android.
MattC
@MattC: Well then that argument can be turned around. If he learns the Android way first, he'll be irreparably skewed to doing it a way that is discouraged in regular Java. All I'm talking about here is learning the basics, not going into design patterns and such.
JRL
I still disagree... one of the best ways to learn a new language/platform is to just build something you're interested un building.. If he ever moves in to "traditional" Java development he should be able to pick up the differences pretty quickly.
fiXedd
A: 

I say - go and subscribe to Mark's Murphy commonsware.com (I'm not affiliated with that site but that's how I learn a lot of my Android). It's really-really good! And as mentioned in previous answers you have to learn some Java

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