“The constant happiness is curiosity.”
― Alice Munro
A wise man once said, “To be wealthy, accumulate all those things that money can’t buy”.
My enthusiasm for Android has never waned over the past decade and probably it will only grow stronger. Especially during the past few months, the Google-owned OS has been dominating my tech universe.
It all started when I first became a Java developer three years ago. Java fascinated me with its almost limitless versatility, and it paved my way for a deep understanding of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). Utilizing the language, not only can you create web apps with frameworks, like Spring, but also you can build embedded systems, enterprise apps, desktop software, and mobile apps.
When I first started learning Android app development through online e-learning materials, such as YouTube videos and Udemy instructions, I was really thrilled to see the limitless possibility of what I could accomplish with the language and the OS. Over the course of my interactions with Android app development, not only did I learn the very basics of the Android framework, but also it helped me learn deeply about the language and its fundamental OOP concepts.
While you can build a local database with Android Room, you can build a cloud-based app with Firebase. A database is essential to building an app, and the Android development system offers you multiple selections to build your original systems. You can, for example, build a diary app or a virtual study group app. On the other hand, REST API allows your app to expose functionality and data to other programs over the Internet in a consistent format and allows you to build, for example, a transportation tracking app or a weather app. But those are just the tip of the iceberg. If you have some knowledge in mechanical robotics, like Arduino, you can build a radio-controlled machine, using your app as a remote controller. Or Arduino even enables you to build your own Smarthome system, instead of purchasing Google-home or Amazon-echo products, and your embedded Android app will be your home equipment controller.
Imagine a situation where you accomplish all of those skills I mentioned above and think about what you can accomplish with them. The Android’s limitless imagination, the accessibilities to Google-offered databases, and flexible integrations into the external systems take you on the endless journey of technologies.
Additionally, Android development generated my technical creativity and paved my way for curiosity in the mobile development world. Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been working on building a budget spending tracking app, and it was supposed to be released on Google Play Store by the end of June according to my initial schedule. But my creativity and technical perfectionism told me not to. There was still a lot of room for improvement, and I’m more than happier to recreate some of its systems into better ones. And what is most interesting about an app development process is the moment when you accomplish bringing your ideas to take shape. Although Android apps are physically intangible, they definitely exist digitally. And the process of app development is quite similar to that of Lego block building. Probably my project may take another couple of months to finish, and I’ll keep working on it. And releasing it o the Play Store is not the end of my journey with the project, because I will keep updating the app, adding new features that make the app even more usable.
Sorry for the geek talk too much; I just wanted to share my relentless enthusiasm toward Android development and this ever-fascinating OS. And I have to mention that Android app development is just the tip of the iceberg of Android’s fascination. If I keep writing it, probably it will take forever, so let’s talk about it some other time.
Keep coding, keep learning.
Android FOREVER!!
