Mobile Application Development [22617] CO-6-I

Unit I
Android and it’s Tools

INTRODUCTION TO ANDROID

Android is an open source and Linux-based Operating System for mobile devices such as
smartphones and tablet computers. Android was developed by the Open Handset Alliance, led by
Google, and other companies.
Android offers a unified approach to application development for mobile devices which
means developers need to develop only for Android, and their applications should be able to run on
different devices powered by Android.
The first beta version of the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) was released by
Google in 2007, whereas the first commercial version, Android 1.0, was released in September 2008.
On June 27, 2012, at the Google I/O conference, Google announced the next Android version,
4.1 Jelly Bean. Jelly Bean is an incremental update, with the primary aim of improving the
user interface, both in terms of functionality and performance.

OPEN HANDSET ALLIANCE

The Open Handset Alliance (OHA) is a consortium of 84 firms to develop open standards for
mobile devices. Member firms include HTC, Sony, Dell, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, Texas
Instruments, Google, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, T-Mobile, Sprint Corporation, Nvidia,
and Wind River Systems.
The OHA was established on 5 November 2007, led by Google with 34 members, including
mobile handset makers, application developers, some mobile carriers and chip makers. Android, the
flagship software of the alliance (first developed by Google in 2007), is based on an open-source
license and has competed against mobile platforms from Apple (iOS), Microsoft (Windows Phone),
Nokia (Symbian), HP (formerly Palm), Samsung Electronics / Intel (Tizen, bada), and BlackBerry
(BlackBerry OS).
As part of its efforts to promote a unified Android platform, OHA members are contractually
forbidden from producing devices that are based on competing forks of Android.

ANDROID ECOSYSTEM

Ecosystem in Market terminology refers to the inter-dependence between demand and supply.
In the Android ecosystem this translates to inter-dependence between users, developers, and
equipment makers. One cannot exist without the other.

AIETP Computer Engineering Department Prof.D.R.Cholke

 Mobile Application Development [22617] CO-6-I

NEED OF ANDROID
There are so many reasons you should choose Android platform for mobile application development.
Zero/negligible development cost
The development tools like Android SDK, JDK, and Eclipse IDE etc. are free to download for the
android mobile application development. Also Google charge a small fee $25, to distribute your
mobile app on the Android Market.
Open Source
The Android OS is an open-source platform based on the Linux kernel and multiple open-
source libraries. In this way developers are free to contribute or extend the platform as necessary for
building mobile apps which run on Android devices.
Multi-Platform Support
In market, there are a wide range of hardware devices powered by the Android OS, including
many different phones and tablet. Even development of android mobile apps can occur on Windows,
Mac OS or Linux.
Multi-Carrier Support
World wide a large number of telecom carriers like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, AT&T
Mobility, BSNL etc. are supporting Android powered phones.
Open Distribution Model
Android Market place (Google Play store) has very few restrictions on the content or
functionality of an android app. So the developer can distribute theirs app through Google Play store
and as well other distribution channels like Amazon’s app store.
FEATURES OF ANDROID

AIETP Computer Engineering Department Prof.D.R.Cholke

 Mobile Application Development [22617] CO-6-I

Tools and software required for developing an android application:

Basically it depends on how you want to use or in which language you are expert. If you are
good in java , then you use Android Studio. If you are good in C#,Visual C, then you use Xamarin
Studio. Also for testing you may need emulators(Virtual android device in PC) . For this you can
use Genymotion. For the studio you need to have the Android SDK. If you download then whole
Android studio downloader package then it will have SDK . Else you can manually download it . For
Xamarin studio , you need to download the Andorid SDK manually.

ANDROID ARCHITECTURE
Android operating system is a stack of software components which is roughly divided into
five sections and four main layers as shown below in the architecture diagram.

Linux kernel
At the bottom of the layers is Linux - Linux 2.6 with approximately 115 patches. This
provides basic system functionality like process management, memory management, device
management like camera, keypad, display etc. Also, the kernel handles all the things that Linux is

AIETP Computer Engineering Department Prof.D.R.Cholke

 Mobile Application Development [22617] CO-6-I
really good at, such as networking and a vast array of device drivers, which take the pain out of
interfacing to peripheral hardware.
Libraries
On top of Linux kernel there is a set of libraries including open-source Web browser engine
WebKit, well known library libc, SQLite database which is a useful repository for storage and sharing
of application data, libraries to play and record audio and video, SSL libraries responsible for Internet
security etc.
Android Runtime
This is the third section of the architecture and available on the second layer from the
bottom.This section provides a key component called Dalvik Virtual Machine which is a kind of Java
Virtual Machine specially designed and optimized for Android. The Dalvik VM makes use of Linux
core features like memory management and multi- threading, which is intrinsic in the Java language.
The Dalvik VM enables every Android application to run in its own process, with its own instance of
the Dalvik virtual machine. The Android runtime also provides a set of core libraries which enable
Android application developers to write Android applications using standard Java programming
language.
Application Framework
The Application Framework layer provides many higher-level services to applications in the
form of Java classes. Application developers are allowed to make use of these services in their
applications.
Applications
You will find all the Android application at the top layer. You will write your application to
be installed on this layer only. Examples of such applications are Contacts Books, Browser,
Games, etc.

AIETP Computer Engineering Department Prof.D.R.Cholke

 Mobile Application Development [22617] CO-6-I

ANDROID VERSIONS

Supported
Internal Version Initial stable release
Sr.No Name (security API level
codename number(s) date
fixes)
1 Android 1.0 N/A 1 September 23, 2008 No 1
2 Android 1.1 Petit Four 1.1 February 9, 2009 No 2
3 Android Cupcake Cupcake 1.5 April 27, 2009 No 3
4 Android Donut Donut 1.6 September 15, 2009 No 4
2 October 27, 2009 No 5
5 Android Eclair Eclair 2.0.1 December 3, 2009 No 6
2.1 January 11, 2010 No 7
6 Android Froyo Froyo 2.2 – 2.2.3 May 20, 2010 No 8
Android 2.3 – 2.3.2 December 6, 2010 No 9
7 Gingerbread
Gingerbread 2.3.3 – 2.3.7 February 9, 2011 No 10
3 February 22, 2011 No 11
Android
8 Honeycomb 3.1 May 10, 2011 No 12
Honeycomb
3.2 – 3.2.6 July 15, 2011 No 13
Android Ice Cream Ice Cream 4.0 – 4.0.2 October 18, 2011 No 14
9
Sandwich Sandwich 4.0.3 – 4.0.4 December 16, 2011 No 15
4.1 – 4.1.2 July 9, 2012 No 16
10 Android Jelly Bean Jelly Bean 4.2 – 4.2.2 November 13, 2012 No 17
4.3 – 4.3.1 July 24, 2013 No 18
4.4 – 4.4.4 October 31, 2013 No 19
11 Android KitKat Key Lime Pie
4.4W – 4.4W.2 June 25, 2014 No 20
Lemon 5.0 – 5.0.2 November 4, 2014 No 21
12 Android Lollipop
Meringue Pie 5.1 – 5.1.1 March 2, 2015 No 22
Android Macadamia
13 6.0 – 6.0.1 October 2, 2015 No 23
Marshmallow Nut Cookie
New York 7 August 22, 2016 No 24
14 Android Nougat
Cheesecake 7.1 – 7.1.2 October 4, 2016 No 25
Oatmeal 8 August 21, 2017 No 26
15 Android Oreo
Cookie 8.1 December 5, 2017 No 27
Pistachio Ice
16 Android Pie 9 August 6, 2018 No 28
Cream
17 Android 10 Quince Tart 10 September 3, 2019 Yes 29
Red Velvet
18 Android 11 11 September 8, 2020 Yes 30
Cake
19 Android 12 Snow Cone 12 October 4, 2021 Yes 31
Presupporte
20 Android 12L Snow Cone v2 TBA Q1 2022 32
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AIETP Computer Engineering Department Prof.D.R.Cholke