Ok, so I guess you have figured out Why you want to learn more about Android platform. If not I will suggest you read my earlier post.
What is Android
Android is a Mobile Platform and one of the most Popular one. It’s an Open Source platform built on Linux.
So when you buy an Android Smartphone it means your device will be managed and controlled by the Android platform which is a set of Software Libraries.
Tell me something about Android Apps – Like the ones I download from the Google Play Store
Ok, so what you download from the App Store is a File – also known as an APK file. Its comprised of some class files and XML’s.
If you are familiar with a Java based application then you can relate this to a JAR file or a WAR file. Packaged and compressed software.
These are generated by the Android Platform.
Ok, so what is an App ?
A typical App is developed using Java Classes and XML files. XML is used in android for Appearance. Like how the UI will look like. Buttons, Text Fields etc.
Java powers the Functionality. So once you click on a button what happens behind the scene is coded using Java.
In the next lesson we will take a look at the Android Platform.