Android Studio is an IDE(Integrated Development Environment) provided by Developer Google for Android Application Development. In this tutorial, we shall learn some of the basic Android Studio features and windows that help design the UI and write code for user interactions with the Application.
Android Studio IDE
The base of Android Studio is IntelliJ IDEA. If you have already worked with IntelliJ IDEA, then most of the Android Studio would be familiar.
Android Studio provides Menus and ToolBars to run android applications, debug android applications, modify project structure, manage Android Virtual Devices, manage SDK, code editor in Text and Design modes etc.
Android Studio Main Window Overview
Android Studio Main Window contains
- Menu Bar
- Tool Bar
- Project Window
- Code Editor Window
Android File Menu
Some of the useful and regularly used items in File Menu are
- New – Creates new Android Application
- Open – Opens existing Android Application
- Open Recent – Shows the list of recently opened projects and clicking on one of them would open the project.
Android XML Design Editor
In addition to Text Editor, Activity Layout files could be edited using XML Design Editor. The UI elements could be drag and dropped to the Layout at center. You can also select the device, API, Application Theme, etc. When you select a UI element, its properties could be modified in the Attributes window.
Android Tool Bar – Run, Debug
There are many useful actions provided in the toolbar. Some of the most frequently used are :
- dRun
- Debug
- Android Virtual Device Manager
- Android SDK Manager
When you click on the Run button, if there are any android devices connected to your PC in debug mode, they would appear under ‘Connected Devices’. Virtual devices that were created through AVD Manager appear under Avaialable Virtual Devices.
Conclusion
In this Kotlin Android Tutorial, we have learnt the basics of Android Studio IDE and different windows/options Android Studio offers.