Android application programming courses. Free Android course

As you probably noticed, more and more programming courses are being released, and of dubious quality. And so that you don’t stumble upon such a course and waste your time, we decided to collect for you a selection of popular free mobile development courses from world famous sites such as Coursera, Udemy and Udacity.

iOS development

About the course: The course covers the basics of developing iOS applications in the Swift language. You'll learn how to use Xcode, design and evaluate your interfaces for usability, and integrate camera, photo, and location data into your applications. In the final project, you will be asked to create a photo editing app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

About the course: During the course, you will create an iPhone app that will record a conversation between you and your friend, and then change your voices to those of a chipmunk and Darth Vader.

About the course: A step by step guide to iOS app development. The course is intended for those who have no experience in creating iOS applications or using Objective-C. You'll start by learning the basics of Objective-C and then dive into development. After completing the course, you will be able to create full-fledged applications for the iPhone or iPad.

Android Development

About the course: The course has been in development for more than two years and incorporates the best that professionals with over 20 years of experience in developing mobile applications and teaching people could offer. You will start by learning Java and move smoothly to Android development. At the end of the course, you will be able to publish your app on Google Play, and you will also receive some tips for a successful interview for an Android developer position.

About the course: The course is part of the Android Basics Nanodegree by Google program and is intended for those who have little to no programming experience, but would really like to learn how to create applications for Android. By the end of the course, you will have written two simple yet complete Android applications.

Many programmers want to get into Android app development. But few imagine what steps to take here. This compilation is designed to help beginners in mastering Android development.

Beginning of work

Beginners in programming ours will help.

For new to android Google has made a good introduction to Android on their website. There is also a great Android crowdsourcing guide. In addition, there is a course from Google on Udacity.

If you are having android problems, it is highly recommended that you check StackOverflow first. It was created to answer technical questions and is even a .

You can always find it on our website.

FAQ

I want to start developing for Android. Where do I begin?

The first and most important step in Android development is learning Java and XML. Once you are more or less familiar with both, study the official Android Documentation and go through a few tutorials until you feel confident enough to create your own projects. Good luck!

Do I need an Android device for development?

You can write applications without any Android device using the included emulator (or the enhanced Genymotion). However, there is no substitute for testing on a real device to account for hardware requirements.

Which IDE should I use?

android studio is an officially supported IDE for Android development. It is she who is used in modern manuals and videos, including those from Google.
Eclipse has been the main IDE for Android development for many years, so most of the outdated tutorials, resources, videos, and screenshots are based on it.
IntelliJ IDEA was an alternative to Eclipse, but nowadays it makes more sense to start with Android Studio. Android Studio is a fork of IntelliJ IDEA, so you'll get all of its benefits plus Android bonuses.

Maybe I should forget about Java and start learning Kotlin?

Google now officially supports Kotlin as a development language for Android, but this does not mean that Java support can be forgotten. In the near foreseeable future, documentation, tools, new features of the platform will support both Kotlin and Java. Although Kotlin is a younger language with some nice features, you can still build great Java applications. The choice is up to you, but if it doesn't matter to you or you are a beginner, then it might be better to opt for Kotlin.

Resources

Here are the main resources for learning Android development in English. This is not a complete list, but enough to get you started.

Official Android Resources

Design

Beauties for Android - inspiration for creating graphical interfaces for Android.

Newsletters

Android Weekly is a great newsletter to keep up to date with the latest developments in Android.

Library collections

Tools

Genymotion is an extremely useful and functional emulator.
Android Asset Studio is a great collection of tools for creating/editing icons, images, and more.
Codota Plug-in for Android Studio - great code samples right in Android Studio.

Examples of open source applications

Application Ideas

So, you have an idea for an app… People write about it every day. But before you ask for help in the implementation of the project, you need to answer the following key questions:

What is my budget?

If you're serious about launching your product, you need to think about your budget. Even in the case of a simple application, you need to think about several thousand dollars. At least.

What is my marketing strategy?

Are you going to use the usual word of mouth or are you willing to pay for fame?

What is the list of tasks for this project?

Also, what are the limitations? How many developers do I need?

Where will the data come from/where will the data be stored?

Also, how will they be used? Do I have an appropriate privacy policy?

Is there a goal to make money?

If yes, how are you going to achieve it? Through ads, IAPs, subscriptions, paid apps? All of the above?

How will you pay your developers?

Do you have capital or are you going to pay them after the application starts to generate income? Often, independent contractors require a portion of the total cost upfront. Most developers are not interested in revenue sharing, except when they themselves invest in the application.

What will be the testing method?

What type of device are you going to install it on? How many iterations do you need? What kind of people do you want to involve?

How soon do you want to publish the application in the store?

This will definitely affect the final income.

Will you require or offer registration/social media integration?

Consider implementing this functionality.

What is your target audience?

Is it a niche application or can it be distributed everywhere?

Has my idea already been implemented?

If so, how can I improve it or what is missing from it?

What to do with app ideas if you're not a developer?

You may be looking for developers to join your team to implement the application. If you have money and can pay a developer or a company, then everything is simple and clear. Next, we'll talk about what to do if you don't have enough money to pay someone.

Realize that your idea may not be unique, and development requires significant effort.

draw design your application (appearance and functionality). It can be rough and drawn on paper. But it should be specific enough, not vague.
Make a list of your skills associated with the idea.
Make a list of what you will invest into your idea.

Realize that development takes a lot of effort. Imagine that a developer works full time (8 hours) for 2 months to create your application. And you also work full time. What are you doing at this time? If your work, according to your ideas, ends earlier, then you need to reconsider the idea. In this scenario, the developer does most of the work and you are, frankly, useless. What you can give after the application is finished doesn't really matter and won't motivate the developer to finish the product.

Revisiting your idea

If a developer does more work than you, you need to rethink the idea to distribute the work more fairly. This will give you the benefits of working together. Look at your list of skills and think about how you can apply them. It's okay if the application differs from the original idea. Review it until the amount of your work and that of the developer is at least equal.

Distribute work as fairly as possible.
Focus primarily on your skills.
Your download should be approximately equal to 2 months of full-fledged work. For simple applications, the download can of course be less. You can ask the community (for example,

What is the Android development process like? Let's highlight a few basics:

In Java files, you describe the program logic - what you want your application to do.
In XML files, you design layouts - appearance.
Once the application is written, a build tool must be used to compile all the files and package them together into an .apk file that can be run on Android devices and/or published to Google Play.
All utilities and files that are used to create an Android application are combined into an integrated development environment (IDE). An IDE is a program that you open to edit your code files and compile and run.
Previously, Eclipse was the standard IDE for Android development, but now it has been replaced by the more functional Android Studio, a product of Google.

You will of course find deeper processes going on behind the scenes of the above steps. For example, advanced users will want to know the role of the Dalvik virtual machine. At the end of the article, links to useful resources that every Android developer should be familiar with will be listed. The first one is the official documentation from Google.

Download and install Android Studio.
Learn about running and testing applications on Android devices and emulators.
Let's create a simple Android application that displays the inscription "Hello World" on the screen of a mobile device.

At the end of the article, you can find useful recommendations for novice developers from the company.

Installing the Android Studio development environment

It's really tempting to start reading documentation and writing code to find out what the platform is capable of. And we will do it soon! However, to get started with the Android platform, you need to set up a development environment.

For newcomers to Android programming, it is especially important to take your time and follow each step methodically. Even if you follow the steps correctly, you may need to fix a small issue with your environment setup depending on your system configuration or product version. To do this, use the search services. The StackOverflow resource can be especially highlighted.

It is important not to let any pitfalls get in the way of your ultimate goal of learning Android programming. It is known that even professionals sometimes experience certain problems with setting up a working environment. In such cases, knowledge of the command line is important. If you'd like to get more familiar with this tool, there's a link to a good introductory one at the bottom.

Along with syntax training, it's important to train yourself in the mindset of a successful programmer that won't accept a file X not found error message as the final verdict. Such thinking is easily trained by you in cases where you do not give up and look for a solution to a problem that has arisen.

Go to Android Studio developer.android.com/studio/index.html and find the button to download the latest version for your platform.

Click on the download button and you will be asked to read the terms and conditions for using the software product. After careful reading (as you always do) and acceptance, the download begins. It will probably take a few minutes. After that, you can install Android Studio just like any other program. The initial download page contains installation instructions for Mac and Windows.

Now that you've installed Android Studio, let's get it up and running! Launch Android Studio. The program will ask if you want to import your settings. Since you are starting from scratch, just select the second option and continue.

You should see a nice Material Design loading screen.

Upon completion of the download, you will be taken to the welcome screen.

Even if you just downloaded Android Studio, you may not have the latest version. To avoid future version issues, click the "Check for updates now" button and, if necessary, follow all the instructions to get the latest version. Sometimes Studio will automatically inform you that there's an update with a screen like this:

In this case, always select Update and Restart. Great! We have successfully completed the installation of the development environment.

Creating the first Android project

It's time to create the first project. Let's start simple. It is customary for programmers to call the first program "Hello World". Let's follow this tradition and then make a few small changes to make the app use your name for greeting. At the end, you can download it to your device and show it to your friends. Android Studio has a small step by step tool to help you build your project. Click "New Project" on the start screen:

Fill it out like this. Feel free to replace "example" in the package name with something else to remove the warning at the bottom of the screen. You can also set the project location by pointing to any folder on your hard drive

For drop-down SDK versions, note the Description section at the bottom of the dialog box. It explains what each setting is for.

Install the minimum required SDK as shown in the screenshot. This sets the minimum Android version required to run the app. Choosing this value for your own projects is a matter of balancing the SDK features you want with the devices that will be supported.

For more information about API versions and their usage, there is a dedicated Dashboards page on the Android developer site https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html.

After selecting a version, the start template selection screen appears. You can create an app that already interacts with the google maps api and renders the map. In our test example, select the Empty Activity and click the "Next" button.

And now you are at the last step of the application creation process. Before clicking "Finish", there are a few things to note. Here, for the first time, you come across mentions of the main architectural components of any application.

- this is the first, but not the last mention of the word Activity. In the context of Android, an Activity is usually thought of as a "screen" in your application. This item is very flexible. When Android Studio creates the MainActivity class, it inherits it from the Android SDK's Activity class. Those who are familiar with object-oriented programming understand this concept, but for beginners, this basically means that your MainActivity will be a custom version of the Activity.

Layout Name- the layout of what will be shown to the user is defined in a special kind of Android XML. You will soon learn how to read and edit these files.

Click Finish. It will take some time to create and load the project. After a while, Android Studio will complete the build of your project. Of course, the project is still empty, but it has everything you need to run on an Android device or emulator.

After loading the project, you view the XML layout file. Before moving on to Android programming, let's talk about how we can run this application. It's time to say "Hello world!".

Running the application on the emulator

Now it's time to say a few words about the emulator. Android Studio comes with software capable of emulating an Android device for running apps, browsing the web, debugging, and more.

This feature is provided by the Android Virtual Device (AVD) Manager. Optionally, you can set up multiple emulators, set the screen size and platform version for each new emulator. This functionality is very useful because it saves developers from having to buy several devices for testing programs.

Click on the Run button in the form of a green arrow.

You will have to wait a while for the emulator to load and once it is ready you will see something like this:

Congratulations! You have made your first Android app!

And so… Why and how did it work?

To start making changes and adding cool features, you need to have a working knowledge of what's going on behind the scenes. Take a look at the Android Studio project section with files and folders on the left side of the screen. You may need to click the small tab at the edge (see below) if the project explorer is not visible at the moment.

Look through the folder structure for a few minutes and double-click on files to see their contents in the main window. If this all looks cryptic, don't worry!

Android project structure: Team

Every good team is made up of people who fill their assigned roles. Do you want to get the job done right? You need the right team. There are several key elements in Android projects, and each of them has a role to play:

Java: Professional

This is the part of your code that is responsible for the application logic. Your code will be in the src\main\java directory in the main project folder. To learn Java, you can recommend Bruce Eckel's book "Java Philosophy";

Resources: Artist

It's not enough to just make an Android app, it has to be stylish too. Your app will never stand out if it doesn't have crisp icons and images, well-designed layouts, and maybe even smooth animations.

When initialized, the folder contains the following folders:

drawable, which holds the icons. Now there is only a standard application icon.
layout with XML files that represent screen designs.
menu with XML files of lists of elements that will be displayed in the action bar.
values with XML files containing sizes, colors, string constants, and styles.

AndroidManifest.xml: Boss

This XML file informs your system of the application's hardware and software requirements and contains its version name and icon. The manifest also contains information about all the activities in the application. Do you need work done by your application? Talk to your boss first.

Alteration

Go to res/values/strings.xml and double click on the file. When you open the file, you will see two string resources in the XML.

These resources are used in different places, but it's very convenient to have all the text used in your application in one file. If you need to translate it, or if your marketing colleague asks you to remove any redundant links, it will be easy to make all the changes here.

Change the hello_world string that the application displays on the screen. Change its content to something more personal, such as using your own name. You will get something like:

Matt is learning Android!

Click Run. The application should restart and you will see a personalized message:

We congratulate you - you have made your first project and learned how to edit the source code. The first step in Android programming is done. We wish you good luck on this difficult, but insanely interesting path! If you need professional Android application development, please contact Infoshell specialists.

From the author: Hi all! Today we will talk about how to become a mobile app developer for Apple and Android. The number of applications on services such as the Apple Store and Google Play is growing every day. These applications can perform a variety of functions. Some of them allow you to process photos thanks to trendy retro filters and all sorts of effects. Others help to learn foreign languages, others help to download and read e-books. You can even install a metal detector or building level. In general, applications ready to make our lives easier are now in abundance.

Some of them are free to download, some are not, in any case, free apps will contain ads and paid content. But we are currently interested in a slightly different aspect. The fact is that you can earn money on the development of mobile applications, and quite well.

How to start learning to develop applications for mobile devices?

Becoming a mobile app developer is much easier if you already have an understanding of programming. Then you can safely skip this section. But, as you know, repetition is the school of the artist, and in our case, the programmer. In addition, it is possible that you will have to do some of the work related to graphic design.

If you have no idea about programming, it's okay, because this can always be learned. Moreover, the Internet contains a lot devoted to the study of programming.

Those who want to delve into the field of web programming in general and want to "get to the bottom" of everything; those who are interested in programming not only as a craft, but also as an art, can be advised to study CSS, and maybe even jQuery, if you want to really test yourself and your inquisitive mind =)

Is a diploma really necessary?

There is a stereotype that the best programmers - those who graduated from programming schools - have certificates and diplomas, supposedly confirming their skills and abilities. But this is sometimes far from the truth.

Both among professional programmers and in the self-taught environment, there are people who really find themselves in their place, who have a penchant for programming. But there are those who simply consider themselves masters of their craft, although, in reality, they would be more suited to web design or something else more related to creativity.

And, oddly enough, among graduates such a picture is observed more often than among those who studied programming on their own. This is because those who really want to master this profession are actually studying and constantly applying knowledge in practice, and not just attending classes and waiting in line for a diploma.

What does a mobile app developer need to know?

Using modern programming languages that are used to develop mobile applications for Android or iOS, it is quite possible to create your first creation in a month.

Just imagine: in just a month you will become a mobile application developer. Learning the profession of a programmer, of course, is far from being exhausted by this. Yes, you can develop some simple games and even make a profit from them after monetization.

Go to Google Play or the App Store: most of these applications are there, especially among games. According to the statistics of such applications, nine out of ten. This is what the average mobile application developer does. But where do you start your learning if you don't want to stop there?

In order not to be that same average developer and create something really original, you need a quality foundation. Experienced programmers recommend starting with computer science, data structures, classical algorithms, hash tables, and so on.

It is necessary to understand the basic concepts that are used in programming, regardless of the language and device. It will be useful to know the basics of C ++ here, despite the fact that many already consider it obsolete. Perhaps so, but these are the foundations of the foundations, without which Java and PHP would not have arisen. It will be useful to learn about data protection, encryption, network protocols, and the Unix kernel.

So far, we have only talked about the technical part of the issue, but this will not be enough for success. Truly high-quality software is not only a program that works without errors. High-quality software implies a well-thought-out interface that would be understandable to the user (and not just the developer), the logic of the program, taking into account all possible scenarios. Paying attention to details and finding interesting, non-standard solutions is the responsibility of every developer.

Feel like a trend maker

As strange as it may seem at first glance, a mobile application developer should be not only a good programmer, but also an astute marketer.

It is important to understand what is currently in demand among users, and then rush to occupy the niche that has not yet been occupied by your competitors. You do not need to chase what is popular now or was popular once.

Of course, the new is the well-forgotten old, but successful programmers do not adapt to modern trends. They themselves take responsibility for creating these same trends.

In addition, one should not forget about learning English, because program codes are written in it. By writing these codes, you can only learn technical English, but you will have to deepen your knowledge to communicate with English-speaking customers. In addition, it will become a useful practice not only for application development.

Only if you harmoniously develop the skills of a programmer, designer and marketer, you can achieve success in the field of mobile application development.

Finally

When you acquire the necessary knowledge, you can safely offer your services to customers, which you can find in abundance on freelance exchanges. You should not expect that success will fall on you immediately after registration and filling out a portfolio with your achievements.

At first, you will have to fulfill small and simple orders, but if you do not stop there, over time you will be able to develop really impressive projects for customers not only in your own country, but all over the world.

JavaScript. Fast start

Learn the basics of JavaScript with a practical example of building a web application

The rapid development of technology and the rapid reduction in the cost of wearable gadgets no one doubts our mobile future. If more recently a tablet or smartphone was bought in addition to an existing desktop, today an increasing percentage of users are limited to these gadgets. After all, most of the existing digital needs can already be satisfied without this big noisy box under the table.

This means that today no one should doubt the need for a presence in the mobile segment. If you have a website, then there must be a mobile version of it, if there is a service or service, then there must be a corresponding mobile application. Therefore, today the demand for relevant specialists is greater than ever. In this article, we will tell you about online programming courses for iOS and Android platforms, and very soon we will talk about mobile app builders.

Lynda

Lynda.com is one of the most well-known names in educational web resources. It offers thousands of courses on a wide range of topics. There are many courses for Android and iOS developers as well. However, I want to immediately draw your attention to the fact that the courses are paid. You'll have to fork out $25 a month to use all the features, including video tutorials.

Harvard University

Another interesting project in the field of online learning. It offers several courses for Android and iOS developers. For example, the basic Android course starts from the very basics and takes you all the way to creating a finished program. The course for iOS is built in approximately the same way.

Stanford University

This famous university also did not stand aside from the passion for distance education and opened some of its courses for free attendance. In the context of this article, we may be interested in the course for iOS developers CS 193P. Fans of the Android platform will also find something to study. The CS193a course covers almost every aspect of mobile app development, from prototyping to the finished APK.

The New Boston

If you've ever searched YouTube for programming tutorials, you've definitely come across this title. Among other things, there is a huge list of video tutorials for developers that help to solve both very narrow specific problems and cover general topics. Here is the list for Android, and here is for iOS (slightly smaller).

Of course, we could not leave aside this most popular online learning platform. It contains links to free courses from the world's leading universities, including programming courses. iPhone owners can take a break, but for Android developers, search brings a good catch.

Tuts Plus

The closest competitor to the aforementioned Lynda, this site is best known for the quality of its online courses. Here you will find several courses for iOS programmers, including those for the latest iOS 7. But the Android platform is practically not represented here.

And, of course, we couldn't miss Google's proprietary developer resource. However, it is worth considering that this is a fairly advanced course that will require you to know the basics, at a minimum. So, you should first try to get trained on one of the previous resources, and then improve your skills on the Google website.

While this is the end of our list of useful resources, there are many other useful sites that offer tutorials for mobile developers. Do you know them and have you ever used them? Please add your findings to this post in the comments.