20 points take away about Android App development

Mobile app development holds its own significance given the fact that an app unlike a website exists on a phone- the place where people spend over 63% of their time. Now, close to 85% of the users across the world use Android as a platform in their smartphones. This does not make iOS App development any less important but it definitely does stress out on how crucial Android app development is. It simply means that if one is looking at launching an app in the market, even if the budgets are meagre, the preference has to be given to Android app development only because that is where most of the market would lie.

A natural implication of this is the fact that android app developers will always be in great demand and given the lucrativeness of this domain, the competition is going to be extensive too! However, one has to start from somewhere and even after a headstart has been achieved, excelling is something that cannot be ignored. Thus, in this blog we will talk about 20 key tips one has to keep in their mind if they want to pursue and excel in Android App development as a career path.

1. Make Yourself Familiar with the Framework internals

A major part of Android app development is based out of the developer’s knowledge of not just the documentation but also the actual Android framework code. Deep diving into the framework helps one understand not just what all could be done but also why and how everything works- a know how which can help one curate something very distinctive and original.

2. There will always be too much Left

One needs to understand that Google has its Android developers work continuously to improve the entire framework. With the ecosystem getting updated daily, it is practically impossible to learn all of it-no matter how regular one is.

However, that should not make you feel under confident while developing your android app. Remember that you will do great and there is a reason why the app development allows for continuous updates!

3. Absorb some code Daily

To make sure that you have some of the best android app developments done, you need to not just ace your skill well but also know what other developers are working on. Reading more about others’ work helps one build their knowledge and skills. On the open-source forums, a lot of developers post hacks as well, you never know how much these could help you!

4. Go Global-Language Wise

While English is the most commonly used language for android app development, yet it is just 20% of the world’s population which is comfortable with it. It makes absolutely no sense to restrict yourself to English only since China and almost all of the European nations use Android too, just that they use these apps in their native. 

And, making a base for your work in these nations will only be an added advantage for your career growth.

5. Learn and Master JAVA

There is literally no way out of this. If you want to make a career in android app development, it has to be through learning Java or Kotlin programming and design patterns. Even if you want to be at par with the other designers, you will have to know well about Factory or Decorator or a Facade Pattern because that is how most of them would be found interacting.

6. Contribute to Open Source

Open source your apps, the multiple discussions that will happen upon it will help you improvise upon your app as well as learn new hacks. If you are just beginning, check the other similar open source projects to know which all bugs to fix and what all documentations to do. 

7. Make your IDE work for you

Start spending more time on and in understanding the Android Studio. Constant working on it will help you discover many more ways and tools to boost your productivity and improve your workflow.

8. Architect Your App Well

Always adopt a good architecture for your app. MVP, MVVM, Redux are some of the good ones. Make sure you consider the app’s business logic, view interactions and data interactions into separate layers so that they can be easily managed and tested.

9. Keep the Coding Guidelines on Your Fingertips

It can become really difficult to manage your app in the future if you do not write a clean code including at least the basics of the coding guidelines for an android app development. It isn’t as tough either to learn but to make sure that these guidelines are included will require commitment and sincerity.

10. Learn about the Best Android Practices

There are multiple do’s and don’ts which help one score over the huge lot of android developers. Make sure you are thorough with them respective to your industry of work.

11. Pay Heed to the Development Podcasts

Listen to some good podcasts daily or at least twice or thrice weekly. Every developer has their own experiences to share and their own issues to discuss about. Remember that app development isn’t all about your experiences, it is also about learning from others’ experiences as well.

12. Be Realistic

Always make a flowchart before you start and keep adding to it. Keep things on paper because when you will start developing, thoughts will keep striking you all the time and believe it because we say this from experience- not all of those thoughts would be worth implementing.

13. Pay Attention to UI/UX design

No matter how great an app you develop, if the ultimate user doesn’t find it attractive or easy to use, all the functionality goes down the drain.

14. Work Towards Perfection

A pretty generic to say but always give your best and improve from there on. Developing an android app isn’t a child’s play and there are multiple half hearted attempts lying waste on the play store. Hopefully, you aren’t looking at being one of those

15. Be Consistent

We had mentioned about preparing and maintaining a flowchart for a reason. This is because things keep changing in the android ecosystem and hence if you really want your app to do well, you will have to keep working on it continuously to not just update but also upgrade it.

16. Start Small

Once you know what you would want to create, break it down into several small segments which would be easy for you to work on. A bigger problem could be overwhelming but the sense of achievement which would come up with solving the multiple smaller problems will help you not just build up on your confidence but also help you reach your larger goal faster 

17. Always have a playground project in hand

Having a playground or side project in hand can significantly speed up your learning in the field of android app development. For instance, if you come across something new in the Android ecosystem, make sure that you practice it on your side project.

18. Start writing more tests

Testing helps you to know that your app is working fine and if not then what the issues are. It isn’t something “optional” because if ignored now, it would be a great trouble later when everything is done.

19. Consider adopting TDD

Always look at developing an app which is robust enough to survive the changing technologies. Of course there would be continuous upgrades but following the “Red-Green-Refactor” cycle of TDD would be of great assistance. [ Red here stands for fail, Green is for a go ahead post test cleanups and better codes- the step called Refactor]

20. Setup a proper automated release mechanism

Why was the coding done in the first place- to automate things or in other words, reduce human effort. As a developer, you should strive for the same during your app building process too. Tools such as Checkstyle, PMD, Lint, Find Bugs etc can be of great help in this pursuit.