Book Image

Android Studio Essentials

By : Belén Cruz Zapata
Book Image

Android Studio Essentials

By: Belén Cruz Zapata

Overview of this book

<p>Android Studio is an IDE that is based on the JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA. It gives developers a unique platform to develop and debug Android apps using various developer tools. It has a wide array of features such as live layout facility, Gradle build support, and template-based wizards, which makes it a preferred choice for developers.</p> <p>Starting off with the basic installation and configuration of Android Studio, this book aids you in building a new project by helping you to create a custom launcher icon and guiding you to choose your activity. You then gain an insight on the additional tools provided in Android Studio, namely the Software Development Kit (SDK) Manager, Android Virtual Device (AVD) Manager, and Javadoc.</p> <p>Finally, it helps you to familiarize yourself with the Help section in Android Studio that enables you to search for the help you might require in different scenarios.</p>
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
Android Studio Essentials
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Understanding an APK file


Android applications are packed in a file with the .apk extension. These files are just compressed ZIP files, so their content can be easily explored. An APK file usually contains the following:

  • assets/: This is a folder that contains the asset files of the application. This is the same assets folder that exists in our project.

  • META-INF/: This is a folder that contains our certificates.

  • lib/: This is a folder that contains compiled code, in case it is necessary for a processor.

  • res/: This is a folder that contains the application resources such as images, strings, and so on.

  • AndroidManifest.xml: This is the application manifest file.

  • classes.dex: This is a file that contains the application's compiled code.

  • resources.arsc: This is a file that contains some precompiled resources such as binary XML files.

Having the APK file allows the application to be distributed and installed on the Android operating system. Android applications can be distributed as you prefer...