Hi there,

We are happy to announce an Android Workshop for Beginners. Beginners in Android that is. You need an intermediate level in Java or general Object Oriented (OO) programming to get the most out of this workshop. Don't be afraid to join if you are lacking in this area, we'll help you out before or during the workshop.

We will begin with a general presentation on Android architecture and key concepts. Then it's up to you to walk through a series of four labs (on your own laptop) to reach the goal of creating a complete Android app. There will be a couple of experienced Android developers walking around to answer your questions or help you out when you get stuck. We will give you some hints and tips on useful Android tools and you'll get the change to win print books or e-books and other swag.

Important notice: You can RSVP here, but you have to buy a ticket via the official Appril workshop page! The entry fee for this workshop is €30 and includes coffee / tea, drinks, snacks and pizza.

The schedule:

16.30: Walk-in with coffee / thee, drinks and snacks.
17:00: Presentation Android architecture and key concepts

17:30: Workshop lab1 & lab2
18.30: Pizza break

19.00: Workshop lab3 & lab4
20.30: Drinks & snacks

21:00: End

Prerequisites (important!)

To be prepared you need to install the following software and execute the Android Lab primer. This to simply test your Android development environment and because we cannot guarantee we have a good Wifi connection at the workshop location (and downloads can be several hundreds of megabytes). If you have any trouble or questions on any of the installations below let me know and we'll work it out together.

Java Development Kit (JDK) 6 (download)

You can develop Android apps in a couple of languages, but for most apps Java is the preferred language. You need a Java Development Kit (JDK) to develop Android apps. A Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is not sufficient.

Android Software Development Kit (Android SDK) - release 21 (download and install)

The Android Software Development Kit (SDK) is the base kit you need to be able to be able to build and package Android apps. Apart from the Android Framework (where you build your Android app against) the SDK provides you with a lot of tooling to run and test your app on your development system. For instance the SDK comes with an Android emulator which you can use to emulate all kinds of hardware. For the workshop you need to configure at least one Android Virtual Device (AVD), as these emulated devices are called, or you can simply develop apps on your own Android smartphone or tablet (and please, do bring them along!).

After downloading the Android SDK it is important that you at least install 1 Android platform (see "Adding Components"). For the workshop we use the latest platform (Jelly Bean 4.2.2 API 17) and maybe an old smartphone version (2.3.3) just in case, but the app should run fine on any platform, since we will be using the very basic stuff. Tip, also install the platform-tools, documentation, samples and the source code. These will come in handy when you want to know how Google has solved things in the framework itself.

Eclipse 4.2 (Juno) (download)

Eclipse is the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) which is best suited for Android development, and which we will be using for the workshop. Simply download the latest (4.2 a.k.a. Juno) Eclipse IDE for Java Developers and you are all set.

Eclipse Android Development Tools (ADT) plugin - release 21 (download and install)

This is a plugin for Eclipse which basically makes the Android tools from the Android SDK available in Eclipse and makes your job as Android developer a lot easier. We will spend some time on the tools available in the ADT plugin in the first exercise.

Test your setup

Finally we want to ask you to create a simple "Hello, world" Android project in Eclipse to test your setup. You can use the Android Lab primer, which is a shorter (and hopefully easier) write up of the "Build Your First App" tutorial by Google, but both should do the job. If you have a running "Hello, world" app you are all set for the workshop!

Final notes

• The Android Workshop is aimed at intermediate Java developers with little to no Android knowledge. If you are lacking Java or general OO programming skills this workshop will be a real challenge. We still think it will give you a jump start if you really want to start Android development. A couple of experienced Android developers will be walking around if you have any questions during the workshop.
• Please bring all your Android devices, books and other cool stuff you would like to show off or use during the workshop. And if you won't be using them maybe your workshop neighbor is interested in using them during the workshop.

This workshop is part of the Appril initiative. Hope to see you in Appril!

Johan Pelgrim

P.S. Yes, this is the same workshop we have given last year at Appril, so feel free to attend again, but you probably won't learn anything new ;-)