Introducting Andriod Programming for programmers

Introduction to Android Programming

Before jumping over to actual programming lets first talk about a brief introduction to android programming. In this tutorial I will give a short overview of android which include topics like history, features and different versions of android.
Note: For learning android programming tutorials you must have at least basic knowledge of Java Programming.

Introduction to Android Programming

What is Android?

Android is a Linux based and an open source operating system for devices such as smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, etc. It is the most popular mobile operating system in the world.
Android was developed by Open Handset Alliance(OHA) led by Google. Open Handset Alliance is a consortium of 84 companies such as Google, HTC, Dell, Motorola, Sony, Samsung, etc.
Although some other langauges can be used but Java is the official language for Android development.

History of Android

Andy Rubin founded Android, Inc. in Palo Alto, California in October 2003.
In July 2005, Google acquired Android Inc. and key employees including Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Chris White and Nick Sears.
On November 5, 2007 Google revelead about development of Android OS.
HTC Dream was the first android smartphone which was launched on October 22, 2008.
Android is the nick name of Andy Rubin which was given by his coworkers because of his love for robots.

Features of Android

Android has so many interesting features that makes it most popular mobile OS in the world. Few of them are given below.

• User Interface – It provides very beautiful user interface.
• Connectivity – Android supports various connectivity technologies like GSM/EDGE, WiFi, Bluetooth, CDMA, etc.
• Storage – SQLite is a very light weight database which is used for storage purpose in android.
• Messaging – It supports SMS and MMS.
• Multitasking – Android supports multitasking feature which lets you to run multiple applications simultaneously.

Categories of Android Applications

There are various categories of android applications. Below I have listed some top categories.
Entertainment, Personalization, Tools, Communication, Productivity, Media and Video, Music and Audio, Social, Travel and Local etc.

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Android Code Name, Version and API Level

In past few years so many android versions are launched. Below I have listed android code name, version and API level from newest to oldest. API level is an integer number assigned to each android version.

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Code Name	Version	API Level
Lollipop	5.1	API level 22
Lollipop	5.0	API level 21
KitKat	4.4 – 4.4.4	API level 19
Jelly Bean	4.3.x	API level 18
Jelly Bean	4.2.x	API level 17
Jelly Bean	4.1.x	API level 16
Ice Cream Sandwich	4.0.3 – 4.0.4	API level 15, NDK 8
Ice Cream Sandwich	4.0.1 – 4.0.2	API level 14, NDK 7
Honeycomb	3.2.x	API level 13
Honeycomb	3.1	API level 12, NDK 6
Honeycomb	3.0	API level 11
Gingerbread	2.3.3 – 2.3.7	API level 10
Gingerbread	2.3 – 2.3.2	API level 9, NDK 5
Froyo	2.2.x	API level 8, NDK 4
Eclair	2.1	API level 7, NDK 3
Eclair	2.0.1	API level 6
Eclair	2.0	API level 5
Donut	1.6	API level 4, NDK 2
Cupcake	1.5	API level 3, NDK 1
(no code name)	1.1	API level 2
(no code name)	1.0	API level 1

So this was a brief introduction to android programming. If you have any doubts regarding above tutorial then feel free to ask by commenting below.