Fundamentals of Mobile App Development
Let’s see the essential fundamentals of mobile app development:
The mobile application development industry is growing significantly today. No one can deny the bright scope of mobile app development. Mobile app development is trendy because anyone can develop an android app without hassle. It never demands a large budget or much information and experience. But, app development only requires following the proper rules.
Some basic rules are essential to follow while developing your mobile app. These rules help you to create a unique and user-friendly app.
To develop the best app, you must select the best application development engine that allows you in application development. These engines or software offer many tools that make your mobile application attractive and effective.
Mobile App Development Fundamentals
We will discuss the top 5 elements of mobile app development that you should understand before you start programming an Android application:
1. Master The Language
XML and Java are the two main programming languages that are used in the development of Android Apps. So, understanding and proficiency in these programming languages are necessary for developing an Android app. Some rules for the Java programming language include:
- Packages
- Objects and Classes
- Interfaces and Inheritance
- Generics, Numbers, and strings
- Collection
- Concurrency
A proper understanding of XML and Java will help you develop the best and most user-friendly android app.
2. Knowledge Of The App Components
Application components are the basic building blocks for the development of mobile apps. Each component is different from the others and performs a specific role. Some of them are dependent on each other.
There are five different app components, each performing a specific function that is distinct from the others. It includes:
Services
This component operates in the background to perform work for remote processes or long-running functions. It never provides a user interface (for example, it can play music in the background while the user is using a different app).
Activities
This element represents a single screen with a user interface (for example, an email app might have one activity that shows a new email list, another activity writing emails, and another reading email). Activities work together and give the user a better experience in the app. However, each of them is not dependent on the other.
Content providers
This is the essential component that organizes a shared pack of app data. Via this component, the data you store either in the file system or on the web, an SQLite database, can be changed. This component is also valid for writing and reading private data to your app.
Broadcast Receivers
This is the component that reacts to system-wide broadcast statements. Most broadcast receivers develop from the system and do not show a user interface; they can make a status bar notification that alerts the user when any event occurs. Generally, it is a pathway for the other components and only does little work.
Activating components
A synchronous message directed as to intent activates 3 of the four components (i.e. services, activities, and broadcast receivers). Its purpose also binds the particular components to each other at runtime, whether the component belongs to your app or not.
3. App Development Tools and Environments Familiarity
Before stepping into Mobile or Android App development, you must introduce yourself to the build automation tools and the incorporated development environment before your app development.
You can use the Android app studio IDE or Eclipse as tools. They will help you learn the basics things that help improve your code. You can also learn Apache Ant, Apache Maven, and Grade because they provide vital tools to help organize your builds. You must also introduce yourself to source control tools and concepts.
4. Awareness of Fragmentations, Mobile App, Loaders, and Tasks
If your device supports more devices or versions, it will need more maintenance and protection and related costs. It is also true that you also require appropriate fonts, layouts, and assets, which help in securing that the best possible experiences in the different screen aspects are given.
It would help if you also considered the display, including android supported sensors or UI facilities. All android apps contain an application class, having one or more activities and one or more than one fragments. Sometimes, you might have services for background tasks that should operate continuously, but second times you may not.
If you want to deliver an excellent and straightforward user interface, always ensure that the threat is never blocked. Therefore, the extended operations should be run continuously in the background. This is why it is necessary to understand the Java language concurrency facilities.
5. Making The Right Choice Of Needed Tools
To develop an android app, you should use some simple tools like any Linux, Mac, or Windows PCEclipse, the ADT Plug-in, and the Android SDK free. You should follow its guidance because it provides documentation of everything needed. Android has some unique parameters you should consider while developing a mobile app. It includes:
- Limited Resources: Do not unnecessarily poll hardware (e.g. GPS) because it will drain the battery very quickly.
- The client will notice lags of more than 100ms: As discussed above, the UI thread should never be blocked because it is only one.
- Performance and Responsiveness: You should consistently respond to user input within five seconds; otherwise, the operating system will ANR you (ANR means the application not responding).
Conclusion
Mobile app development is an easy task, but it also requires a lot of time and patience. We have discussed some best app fundamentals of mobile app development. With the help of this article, you can select the best engine for developing your mobile app.
We hope this article might benefit you and that you can develop the best android app by using suitable engines or tools.