All of us are aware of the fact that the Android Market gets flooded with thousands of new apps every day. But most of us are not all that familiar with the Android operating system. So the question arises; where are these apps coming from?
Most of us are laymen and do not know how to develop apps for android. So how do the ‘non-programmers’ make apps for android?
There are a few options that are listed below to help you make apps for android.
App Inventor is a tool made by Google that allows all the novices who have an android device, a computer and some know-how about programming to make apps for android. The process to create an App Inventor app starts in the browser. This is where the initial design of the app is conceived and then other pieces of the puzzle, such as the behavior of the app, the graphical quality, etc. get slowly juxtaposed to form the final app, which transfers to your android device, while it is connected to the computer.
Another method that makes developing of apps for android very easy is known as the AppsGeyser. It is free to use. All you need to do is to visit the AppsGeyser website and then click on the ‘Create Now!’ button. Once you do that, you get three options, which are:
- Web Widget App: Here you need to put in the HTML code for some web widget and it result in a mobile app that is an exact copy.
- Mobile Website App: Putting in the URL of a chosen mobile-formatted website, will result in the formation of a simple, yet completely functional android app.
- Web Page Content App: It can turns parts of web pages into android apps.
Once the apps are made, you can either upload it on Android Market and make some money out of it, or you can download it to your android device for personal use. AppsGeyser is a great option for those who know how to make widgets, but do not want to learn the process of making an android app.
Android SDK is the primary method to create apps for android. In order to start making apps for android through Android SDK, one has to download and install it.
It is important to remember that Java programming language is used to write android applications and that one needs to use a custom virtual machine such as Dalvik to test and run the newly created apps
Provided below are a number of links that will help you understand the working of Android SDK and thus give you the necessary know-how to make apps for android.
- http://code.google.com/android/intro/index.html – This module will help you get started with explanations about the tools, the anatomy of the apps, etc.
- http://code.google.com/android/toolbox/index.html – This module will assist you in writing the correct code for making android apps
- http://code.google.com/android/devel/index.html – This gives you information about android’s core libraries that make testing, debugging, etc. easier
- http://code.google.com/android/samples/index.html – Here you can access the various sample codes for android apps
- http://code.google.com/android/reference/index.html – This will give access to all relevant reference material related to making android apps
