Introduction of How Android Works for Java Programmers

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Introduction of How Android Works for Java Programmers

Android development is current buzz in Java programming world. It's the
Android, which keeps Java in the fore front from
last couple of years. Now, How
important is to understand or learn Android for Java programmers? Well it
depends, if you
like application development and want to reach mass, Android
offers that opportunity to you. Millions of Android phones are
available and
they are keep increasing, with pace, much higher than IPhone or iOS. What all
these means is, it does make
a lot of sense to learn Android programming for
Java programmer, and this article is about that, but this is also a one of
the
good reason to learn Java programming.
This tutorial will give you basic idea of How
Android works? not detailed but a
good overview. One distinct advantage
Java programmers has over others is that Android API is much like Java API,

though Android doesn't support all classes available in J2SE SDK, it supports
critical ones. Another advantage is that, you
can use same tools e.g. IDE like
Eclipse to develop Android applications, Google provides Eclipse plug-in for
Android
development. On opposite, if you want to go for iOS development, A steep learning curve with
Objective C and iOS SDK
waits you. I think it make more sense for a C++
programmer to do Objective C and iOS, than a Java Programmer. So
classic battle
of Java vs C++ still continues with Smartphone application development. Any
way, let's come to the topic of
How Android works internally. . If you are
looking for some good books to start with Android, you can also check out
Professional Android 4 Application Development and Ian F. Darwins Android Cookbook.

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As I said Android uses Java for application development. So you can code
your
Android apps using Java API provided by Google, and it compiles into class
files.
Similarity ends here, Android doesn't use Java Virtual machine (JVM) for

executing class files, instead it uses Dalvik

virtual machine, which is not a true
JVM and doesn't operate on Java byte
code. In order to run on Dalvik Virtual
machines, class files are further
compiled into Dalvik Executable or DEX
format.
After conversion to DEX format, class files along with other
resources are bundled
into Android Package (APK) for
distribution and installation into various
devices. Key thing to know is that,
Dalvik VM is based on subset of the Apache
Harmony Project for its core class
library, which means it doesn't support all J2SE
API. If you are using Eclipse
IDE for coding Android Apps, then you don't need to
worry much because, it will
help you with code completion. Now let's see How
Android Application runs on device?

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How Android apps runs on Device

If you are familiar with Linux and concept of process, then it's easy to
understand how android applications runs. By default,
Each Android application
is assigned a unique user id by the Android operating system. After starting
android application,
they run on there own process, inside there own virtual
machine. Android operating system manages starting and shutting
down the
application process, whenever required. This means, each android application
runs in isolation with other, but
they can certainly request access to hardware
and other system resources. If you are familiar with mobile application

development, may be in J2ME, then you may know about permissions. So when an
android application is installed or
started, it request necessary permission
required to connect internet, phone book and other system resource. User
explicitly
provides grant these permissions, or it may deny. All these
permissions are defined in manifest file of Android application.
Unlike Java
Manifest file, Android manifest is an XML file, which lists all the
components of apps, and settings for those
components. Four major components of
Android application development is Activities, Services, Content

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Providers and Broadcast Receivers. Activity is most common of them, as it represent a single
screen in Android

September
(
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Application. For example, in an Android Game, you can have

multiple screens for login, high score, instructions and game
screen. Each of
these screen represent different Activities inside
your app. Similar to Java, good thing about Android is

August
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that it manages certain

task on behalf of developer, one of them is creating activity object.
Activities are managed by
System, when you want to start an activity, you call startActivity() method
which takes an Intent object. In response
to this call, System can either
create new activity object or reuse an existing one. Just like Garbage collection in Java,

manages a critical task or reclaiming memory, Android manages starting,

stopping, creating and destroying of apps by
themselves. You may think it's
restrictive, but it's not. Android provides life-cycle events, which you can
override to interact
with this process.
That's all on How Android works.
Android is definitely worth learning for Java programmer, as it uses
Java, you can reuse
your existing knowledge of Java programming techniques, design patterns and best practices to code a good
android app.
Of course, you need to adapt some Android specific things like,
but those will come along. So, what are you waiting for, go
and explore more
about Android and write an Android HelloWorld application. Finally you can also
take a look some of the
best book to start with Android development, Professional Android 4 Application Development and Android Cookbook by
Ian F.
Darwin.

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http://javarevisited.blogspot.sg/2013/06/introduction-of-how-android-works-Java-programmers.html[8/23/2014 9:38:37 AM]

Introduction of How Android Works for Java Programmers

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KC
said...

April
(
18
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Good introduction for Android.

I think now on wards we can discuss about Android also on this blog

March
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June 20, 2013 at 9:08 PM

January
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February
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AlexanDerrhode
said...

2012
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If you are acquainted with Linux system and idea of process, then it's clear and understandable how android os
programs operates. By standard, Each Android application is allocated a unique user id by the Android os.

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June 24, 2013 at 1:35 AM

alliancetekinc
said...

Thanks for share with us....

Android application has surfaced in the industry in the recent past. As a matter of fact, there are some strong
reasons attached to this. Android is an open source platform and allows the developer to gain an edge over his
competitors. The developers community is constantly working on different applications and feeds it with some
of the latest technical and sophisticated advancements. This ensures that the Android platform is less
vulnerable to breakdowns

June 26, 2013 at 5:15 AM

Chatur
said...

Please post some more articles on Android and game development in Android.

References
Java API documentation JDK 6
Spring framework doc
Struts
JDK 7 API

June 26, 2013 at 7:24 PM

MySQL

Unknown
said...

Linux

Excellent intro to Android. Thank you for sharing.

February 17, 2014 at 3:24 PM

YourGeek Fellow
said...

Eclipse
jQuery

Nice Overview
Java is also architectural neutral unlike C++ and other languages

March 1, 2014 at 8:37 AM

Mainak Goswami
said...

Excellent article Javin. Looking forward for more articles on Android. If you can highlight more on the game
development side of it then it will be really helpful.

April 9, 2014 at 5:15 PM

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