Android x GDG Manchester Autumn Meetup

Android Manchester is proud to host GDG Manchester this autumn!

Join us for a night of exciting talks, networking and all things Android and Kotlin.

• We'll look at the latest trends and innovations in Android development.
• There will be a series of lightning talks from experienced local engineers.
• Food and drink to be provided by our amazing hosts at the Auto Trader offices.

Agenda (Subject to change):
18:00 - Doors open, networking & socialising
18:30 - Welcome and talks
19:20 - Break
19:30 - Remaining talks and wrap-up
20:00 - Networking & socialising
20:30 - Close

Talks (In no particular order)

Getting to grips with Gradle
By Steve Stanton

Most Android developers use Gradle for their build tool, but some of us find it a bit mysterious, or slightly scary. This talk seeks to give a bit of background and context to where Gradle has come from, where it is going and how to use it profitably, especially on multi-module projects.

Points covered:
- Very brief history of Gradle - why it triumphed over other tools
- Why Android developers can find it mistifying - copy-pasting snippets instead of deep understanding.
- Anatomy of a Gradle project - tasks, dependencies, configurations
- Benefits of using Kotllin rather than Groovy.
- How to keep Gradle tidy and structured (avoid copy-pasting, instead write a "convention plugin")
- Is Gradle the future for Android build tools? (a discussion on Amper and Declarative Gradle)

Designing for Purpose: Lessons from Building Palmtree
By Brandon Milambo

This session dives into the journey of Palmtree, an app built with the mission of making it easier to discover and support Black-owned businesses. You'll learn how we navigated complex design challenges and technical decisions while prioritizing social impact. Discover how we approached everything from feature design to architecture through the lens of purpose, and gain practical lessons for developers who want to ensure their products truly serve a cause.

Skipping recomposition skipping
By Jamie Vickery

How to improve performance by deferring state reads to avoid recomposition of intermediate Composables

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This event is the perfect opportunity to connect with the community, share your knowledge, and learn from others. After the talks, we'll have networking where you can meet other developers from around the area, share ideas and make connections.

For any dietary or access requirements please contact [fauziya.johnson@autotrader.co.uk](mailto:fauziya.johnson@autotrader.co.uk)