10 commandments for better android development
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This document provides 10 commandments for better Android development. It recommends choosing a minimum SDK of 16 or higher to reach a wider audience. It advises against writing boilerplate code and instead using libraries to handle tasks like view inflation and click handling. It also recommends understanding build configurations, using Intents over permissions when possible, consuming REST APIs with libraries instead of AsyncTasks, and following effective Java practices. The document encourages leveraging open source libraries, attending meetups, and following experts on Twitter to continue improving skills.
10 commandments for better android development
- 1. 10 Commandments for Better Android Development Trey Robinson
- 2. Thou shalt pick a reasonable min sdk version. (9 is not reasonable) (14 isn’t either)
- 3. Choosing a Min SDK
- 4. Choosing a Min SDK ● Froyo + Gingerbread + ICS = 8.7% ● Users with older OS versions download fewer applications. ● Newer features and better phones often mean faster time to market with a better product.
- 5. So my Min SDK should be…. 19(Seriously) (If you must go lower.. 16)
- 6. Thou shalt not write boilerplate code. (Ain’t nobody got time for that)
- 7. ● View inflation ● OnClick, OnItemSelected.. etc etc ● Saving state ● Parcelables Things you should understand..
- 8. Never write them again... Old WayNew Way
- 10. Icepick and Saving State..
- 11. Parcelables
- 12. Automatic Parcelables ● Parcelable Plugin ○ https://github.com/mcharmas/android-parcelable-intellij-plugin ● Auto Parcel ○ https://github.com/frankiesardo/auto-parcel ● Parceler ○ https://github.com/johncarl81/parceler
- 13. Know thy IDE You companion on the path to speed and agility
- 14. ● Control + R ● Control + D ● ⌘ + Shift + O ● ⌘ + Shift + Up/Down ● ⌘ + Option + Up/Down ● ⌘ + Shift + f Useful Hotkeys
- 17. Thou shalt not consume REST APIs with AsyncTasks (Unless you are a masochist)
- 18. Retrofit vs Volley vs AsyncTask
- 19. Thou shalt read Effective Java.
- 20. Some useful stuff.. ● Factory vs Constructors ● Builders ● Singletons ● equals and hashCode ● toString ● Class accessibility ● Mutability ● Composition vs Inheritance ● Interfaces vs Abstract Classes ● Generics ● Lists vs Arrays ● Enum vs int constants ● Overloading ● Javadoc ● loops ● String concatenation ● Exceptions ● Concurrency
- 21. Thou shalt not ask permission when an Intent will do. (or how to avoid upsetting your users)
- 22. <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.SEND_SMS" /> Example: Sending an SMS Option One: Option Two: Intent sendIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW); sendIntent.setData(Uri.parse("sms:" + telephoneNumber)); sendIntent.putExtra("sms_body", x); startActivity(sendIntent);
- 23. Thou shalt understand your builds. (and make them faster and more useful)
- 24. ● Manifest Mergers ● A little bit of Groovy ● Sweet debug settings Things to Learn
- 25. For example.. <application android:vmSafeMode="true"> Added to the manifest in debug/src/AndroidManifest.xml
- 26. Environment Variables buildTypes { debug { buildConfigField "String", "BASE_URL", ""https://myserver-dev.herokuapp.com";" } qa { buildConfigField "String", "BASE_URL", ""https://myserver-qa.herokuapp.com";" signingConfig signingConfigs.debug } support { buildConfigField "String", "BASE_URL", ""https://myserver-support.herokuapp.com";" signingConfig signingConfigs.debug } release { minifyEnabled true proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-project.txt' buildConfigField "String", "BASE_URL", ""https://www.myserver.com";" } }
- 27. (a what?) Thou shalt use an activity alias for your launcher
- 28. <activity android:name=".Launcher" > <intent-filter> <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" /> <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" /> </intent-filter> </activity> Like so.. <activity-alias android:name=".Launcher" android:targetActivity=".ui.MyNewLauncher" > <intent-filter> <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" /> <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" /> </intent-filter> </activity-alias> <activity android:name=".ui.MyNewLauncher" />
- 29. Thou shalt stand on the shoulders of giants. (Or how to increase your knowledge in 3 easy steps.)
- 30. 1. Attend meetups! (DONE) 2. Leverage cool libraries and techniques for fun and profit. 3. Follow people on twitter. So Easy...
- 31. Cool Libraries ● RXJava ● Dagger / Dagger 2 ● Picasso / Universal Image Loader / Glide ● Design Support Library ● Pocket Knife ● Realm ● Stetho
- 32. Twitter Follows ● Jake Wharton @JakeWharton ● Dan Lew @danlew42 ● Chet Haase @chethaase ● And many many many more... https://twitter.com/rdrobinson3/lists/android
- 33. THE END