[Q] Developing for the Android, where to begin?

[chacham]

I am toying with the idea of developing for the Android. It's mostly for fun and to see where it goes. I am a programmer, but do not know Java specifically. If i was to learn Java, i would need to learn it from scratch, but for a programmer, not for a newcomer to the programming field.

I downloaded Android Studio and can follow the guides, but i wonder: Is it better to learn Java first and then Android? Or is it better to learn Android first? And regardless of which, is there a level of basic learning that is "enough" to foray into the other. I ask this because it seems that guides for Android expect one to know Java already. Then again, someone told me he learnt how to do Android, and found Java snippets on the web as he went along.

If there is no specific answer, please lend your advice or personal experience. I am very interested in hearing what other have to say about this.

 

[wayzel]

Do both together

Hey there,
I was a bit worse off than you because the only "programming" experience I had was MS Excel formulas but with some effort now feel pretty good about getting even relatively complicated things working in Android. Basically, I would recommend you learn both Java and Android at the same time.

Here's why:
- you need to get the Android Studio tool set up anyway, and it will do a great job showing you syntax issues and recommending changes as you go. In this way you can rely on Android's developer tools to help you learn basic Java.
- the Internet is chock full of sample code for Android. You can use that as a base, deploy it to a device, change it around, deploy it to a device (or emulator) again, and so on. It will give you both hope and eventual confidence when you're able to see the changes you make in Java actually reflected in an app. It makes it more fun too.
- in the end the majority of your time will be learning the Android SDK frameworks, and I was often able to use the Android documentation examples themselves to teach myself both Java and the Android platform's ins and outs.

Dive in and enjoy!