CIT 4404 Mobile App Development
Topic1: Introduction to Android Platform
Dr. Fullgence Mwakondo
Institute of Computing and Informatics
Technical University of Mombasa
[email protected] CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Introduction to Android Technology
Meaning of Android
Android Versions
Android Architecture
Android Devices
Android Studio Installation
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
What is Android?
Open software platform for mobile development
Originally developed by a startup company named
“Android”
2005 Google purchased the startup
Powered by Linux operating system and Java
technology
Most of Android code is open source under the
Apache 2 license i.e. an open Handset Alliance (OHA)
project
A complete stack – OS, Middleware, Applications
Comes in many versions
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Android Versions
1.1: Feb 9, 2009; 1.5: April 30, 2009, Cupcake
1.6: Sep 15, 2009, Donut; 2.0/2.1: Oct 26, 2009, Eclair
2.2: May 20, 2010, Froyo; 2.3: Dec 6, 2010, Gingerbread
3.0/3.1/3.2: Feb 22, 2011, Honeycomb
4.0: Oct 8, 2011, Ice Cream Sandwich
4.1: July 9, 2012, Jelly Bean
4.4: Oct 31, 2013, KitKat
5.0: Nov 12, 2014, Lollipop
6.0: Oct 5, 2015, Marshmallow
7.0: Aug 22, 2016, Nougat
8.0: Aug 21, 2017, Oreo
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Android Architecture
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Linux Kernel
• Works as a HAL
• Device drivers
• Memory management
• Process management
• Networking
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Libraries
• C/C++ libraries
• Interface through Java
• Surface manager – Handling UI Windows
• 2D and 3D graphics
• Media codecs, SQLite, Browser engine
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Android Runtime
• Dalvik VM
– Dex files
– Compact and efficient than class files
– Limited memory and battery power
• Core Libraries
– Java 5 Std edition
– Collections, I/O etc…
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Application Framework
• API interface
• Activity manager – manages application
life cycle.
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Applications
• Built in and user apps
• Can replace built in apps
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Android Devices in the Market
SmartPhones
Tablets
Smartwatches
Internet TVs
Automobile
E-Reader Devices
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Android Development Tools &
Installation
Android Studio:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
Android SDK
Java SE Development Toolkit 8:
www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk8-
downloads-2133151.html
As of 2021, the Android SDK and Java Development Kit
(JDK) are a part of Android Studio
As a result, once a developer downloads Android Studio,
it can function in the background, and they don’t have to
take the pain to download two separate applications
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Start Android Studio so that the Welcome screen is visible. Click Start a New
Android Studio Project. You see the Create New Project Wizard.
Set up a HelloWorld project. Type Chapter1Helloworld in the Application Name field
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Set target Android devices. Accept default, click next
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Add and Activity to Mobile. Accept default, click next
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Customize the Activity. Accept default, click next
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
After clicking finish, shows the open Android Studio IDE
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Creating Android Virtual Devices
Android Studio offers an emulator for testing of Android apps
Steps in creating AVD
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Launch the AVD manager by selecting Tools => Android => AVD Manager.
Click the +Create Virtual Device button to create a new AVD
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
AVD configuration: select the Nexus 5x hardware profile and click next
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
System image: select and install the latest option. Click the x86 Images tab,
select N from the list of images, then click Next
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Accept default, click Finish
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Launching your first Android App
By default, when you create a new application in Android Studio, it
creates a Hello World application.
Steps on launching the app
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
Select Run ➪ Run app from the Android Studio menu bar. You should
see the Select Deployment Target dialog shown below:
Select the Nexus 5x API N. Wait for a
while for the emulator to show up.
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
CIT 4404: Mobile App Development
