Introduction - Lecture 1

Types of Application

Native App - Created for a specific platform or OS.

Web App - Created to only run on a browser.

Hybrid App - A mix between Native and Web app, that runs on native code and will have all other attributes associated with an application.

Android API

Android API (Application Programming Interface)

• Set of software tools and resources provided by Google

• Enables developers to build applications for Android devices

The Android API consists of multiple layers:

• Application Framework - User interfaces, data storage, system resources, notifications, location services, multimedia playback.

• Android Runtime - Core libraries and the Dalvik Virtual Machine (DVM) or ART (Android Runtime) that executes the compiled code of Android applications.

• Libraries: Graphics rendering, database access, networking, encryption, Firebase, Google Play Services.

• Native Development Kit (NDK): Allows writing parts of applications in native languages (C, C++).

• Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL): Interface between Android framework and hardware.

Using the latest version has issues:

• Limited phone access

• Library compatibility