Android Development : Development process

ANDROID DEVELOPMENT

ANDROID DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Android Development is a process in which apps are developed for the Android OS. The process of development consists of a number of steps. It is not an easy process one has to consider many things. In this post we will be discussing all those things which a developer has to consider.

We will try to cover all the basic things that a newbie should consider in order to start his Android Development journey.

ANDROID AND SOCIETY

As we all are familiar with the position of Android. Android is a simple, easy to use and most importantly open source operating system. Everybody is using an Android phone. We can see Android operating system being used in most of the things. The world is progressing rapidly. It is the era of smart phones, along with smart phones another thing is introduced to the world that is known as Smart watches. Smart watches are also running Android operating system. Even the Television sets are running the Android operating system. Whenever we talk about the Android operating system we are talking about endless capabilities. We are being introduced to the new features of our Android smart phones everyday. Our smart phones are serving multiple purposes, we are using our smart phones as camera with all the features that a good camera may have. We are using our smart phones as maps we can use them for accurate navigation. We are using our smart phones as audio players or mp3 players in order to listen songs. We are using our smart phones as video players we can watch movies, songs and much more. We can access the Internet, watch videos on Youtube, get connected via the social networks. I wonder when will our smart phones stop amazing us. We are being introduced to new applications, new functions and new features everyday. The smart phones have endless capabilities. No wonder why the most of the people are addicted to smart phones. It's such an amazing thing that any one may get addicted to it.     

WHAT DOES OPEN SOURCE MEAN

"Android is an open source operating system" you may have heard this sentence many times. But what does this mean? It is a very important feature due to which the Android operating system has its unique position among all the other operating systems.
Android operating system is based on code from Android Open Source Project (AOSP). This means that anybody, whether you or me, no matter whoever you maybe you can take the source code and create custom operating system from it. 

Well thats quite a thing that Android is offering.

ANDROID DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Now that you are familiar with the Android operating system lets talk about the Android Development process after which an Android application comes into existence. The process of Android development is not that much easy one has to go through many phases in order to develop an Android application. We will be discussing each and every phase in this post. 

1. Requirements phase

The first phase in developing an Android application is to understand the requirements that are provided to you by the client or service provider. You should concentrate and try to understand what the objective of the application is, what is the requirement of the application and what services will the application serve. It is easy when you know your objectives, when you know what exactly you are going to do. Make a clear picture in your head. Now you are ready to go.

2. Blueprinting

The second phase in developing an Android application is the Blueprinting. Its for the developers own convenience. The developer should make a blueprint of the structure and design of the application. You should know what platform, features and specifications your application would possess. Blueprinting is done only in order to check whether you are going in accordance to your requirements or not.

Further we have three same old development phases that you may have seen everywhere. 

3. Designing

The third phase is the Designing phase. This will be the official start of your application. In the Design phase we officially define the application keeping in view the requirements provided to us. All the requirements should be considered and fulfilled. All the main things such as designing, functionality, features, budget and deadline are considered.

4. Development

The fourth phase is the Development phase. In this phase the coding is done the user interface is designed the databases are connected. Several techniques and procedures are implemented. The transfer of data between the activities is checked and a complete application is formed.

5.Testing

It is said that car manufacturers hire professional thieves and ask them to unlock or hack their fresh manufactured cars in order to check the quality, consistency and security of their car. Same is the case with applications when an application is developed it is sent for testing. Testers perform different testing processes on the application in order to test or check it. These tests are performed to ensure the quality of the application so that there may be minimum errors.

6. Android Market

The next phase in development process is publishing the application to the Android market, App store or  Play store. The application after being designed and tested, when it fulfills the requirements is uploaded or published to the app store so that it could be available to maximum people.

After submission of the application to the Android Market. The developer is free. Many clients require advertisement for business purposes. In order to advertise the applications marketing has to be done. Social media is playing a very important role in serving the marketing purposes.