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You can learn more about the two options here by reading our guide to Kotlin vs Java for Android. Finally, you also need to consider your Minimum SDK.

This is the lowest version of Android that you want your app to support. The lower you make this number, the broader your potential audience will be. Keep in mind that there is a relatively low adoption rate for the latest versions of Android, so sticking with the latest update will prevent a lot of users from trying your creation. However, you will only be able to access the latest features of Android if you target a more recent version.

I remember the first time I tried Android app development. I loaded up Android Studio and was immediately baffled by what I saw. There are just so many different files, multiple types of code, folders, and more! This was worlds away from the single blank file I was used to working with in Python or even QBasic anyone remember QBasic??

The file that is open is MainActivity. This is the main logic file for the activity that is going to define how your app behaves. The folders used are important for Android app development, as they help Android Studio and Gradle to find everything and build it correctly more on Gradle in a moment.

The role of this code is to tell Android where the associated layout file is. This defines the way that an activity looks, and lets you add things like buttons, text, and browser windows. Double click on this file and it will open in the main window where you edit your code.

Notice that you can switch between the open files using tabs along the top. There are buttons to switch mode in the top right. In the design view, you can actually drag and drop different widgets onto the screen.

The code view shows you a load of XML script. When you add new widgets via the Design view, this script will update. This is a bit of a headache, but it actually simplifies the process in the long run. Or read this guide for more about the different views and what they each do. Learn more. Get the latest updates from AndroidDevSummit and discover new features to help you succeed on our platform, including tools for trust and safety, app quality, and monetization. Developer Guides Find training classes that describe how to accomplish a specific task with code samples you can re-use in your app.

Perform network operations using Cronet. Transferring data without draining the battery. Reduce network battery drain. Transfer data using Sync Adapters. Bluetooth Low Energy.

Wi-Fi infrastructure. Discover and connect. Runtime API reference. Web-based content. Android App Bundles. Google Play. Play Asset Delivery. Play Feature Delivery. In-app reviews. In-app updates. Google Play Instant.

Get started with instant apps. Get started with instant games. Integrate with Firebase. Play Install Referrer. Play Install Referrer Library. Application Licensing. Android GPU Inspector. System profiling. Analyze a system profile. GPU performance counters.

Frame profiling. Analyze a frame profile. Frame Profiler UI. Customize or port game engines. Process input events.

Support game controllers. Achieve proper frame pacing. Frame pacing in Vulkan. Integrate Android Performance Tuner. Output audio. Manage memory. Use prebuilt or turnkey game engines. Develop with Defold. Develop with Godot.

Develop with Unity. Use Android Performance Tuner. Game best practices. Maximize device availability. Art assets. OpenGL and Vulkan. Game Mode. Best practices. Building effective unit tests. Google Developers Guide for Android. Ever since Google announced Kotlin as the official language for Android development at Google IO in , programmers who want to become Android developers have a dilemma. The big question in front of them is whether they should learn Kotlin or Java. The first and foremost thing is that Android development is not everything.

As a programmer, you may be starting your career with Android development. But if you start with a well-established language like Java, you become a part of the bigger Java community and market, which directly means more job opportunities.

The second and more important thing is that there is a huge community of Java programmers, which means you can find answers when you are stuck. This is very important because, as a beginner, you will face a lot of technical problems and you might not know where to head when you are stuck. When you search Google with a Java problem, you are bound to get answers. But the same cannot be said for Kotlin, which is still a new programming language.