Create Android Apps - Hello Android


Say Hello to Android !!

Cheezycode - Hello World Android App Setup
Cheezycode - Hello World Android App Setup


Getting started with Android is easy. Android Studio creates all the boilerplate code you need to get started. Once you create a project using Android Studio, you will have a simple Hello World App created for you.

In Android, for each android application, you need to have a separate android project.
ONE APP = ONE PROJECT

Steps to create Hello World Android Application 


1. If you are setting up an Android Project for the first time, Select "Start a new Android Studio Project" or Go to File -> New ->  New Project.

2. Type the Application Name and Package Name. Package Name is unique across all android apps and used to distinguish one app from another. Application Name gets displayed on Google Play. Choose the project location or leave it as default. Click Next.

3.  Since we are targeting only Phones, check the first option and select API Level 15 - Ice Cream Sandwich from the drop down and  Click Next. Now what is Minimum SDK ?
  • Minimum SDK is the minimum version of Android you want to support.
  • So if you set the Minimum SDK as API 15 - Ice Cream Sandwich, then your app will not run on devices having Android version lower than API 15. In simple words, your app will not run on HoneyComb or Froyo etc.
4.  Select the Blank Activity as it will be easy to start with. Click Next.

5.  Leave everything as is and click Finish.

At this stage, you will have a Working Android App that says Hello World.

Oh!! But why we chose API Level for something that says Minimum SDK ? They are similar and are used interchangeably.

There are various version of Android. For each version there is an associated API Level. Remembering these version numbers and API Level is not easy. So each version has a name that is easy for us to remember like Lollipop, Jelly Bean etc.

API Level means a particular set of APIs that are provided for us to use and create apps. This set of APIs is known as SDK i.e. Software Development Kit. Lets look at the way how these are linked -

Version    API Level   
Name
1.53Cupcake
1.64Donut
2.05Eclair
2.28Froyo
2.39GingerBread
3.011HoneyComb
4.014IceCreamSandwich
4.0.315IceCreamSandwich
4.116JellyBean
4.419KitKat
5.021Lollipop
6.023MarshMallow

In between various upgrades are provided. For example - Jelly Bean has three version and each version has new API Level i.e. 4.1 is API Level 16, 4.2 is API Level 17 and 4.3 is API Level 18. Uh-Oh - So many versions and names to remember. No problem.

Take our word - set the minimum version as API Level 15 (Ice Cream Sandwich). You apps will target 90% of the Android users :)

Let us know if you have any query. Happy reading.

You can follow our video tutorial series as well to understand it better





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