30+ Short, professional tips on how to be a better Android developer,
I can’t give you a shortcut to becoming a successful developer, but if you’re willing to put in the work and the heart, you can get there.
At your request, here are some concise, professional tips based on your own experience on how to be a better Android developer. So if you’ve decided to get into Android development or have been doing it for a while, you’re in the right place.
So without further ado, let’s get started.
1. Further familiarize yourself with the Android framework
I don’t mean familiar with its documentation, but with the framework code. Many developers are afraid to get inside the Android framework to understand how it works and how the pieces fit together.
If you want to take Android to the next level, get inside the Android SDK and befriend it.
2. Overcome fOMO
Android is big, very big. You can’t learn it from cover to cover in a month or two. The more you learn, the more new things you’ll find to learn. As a beginner, it’s normal to worry about what you’re missing.
But to overcome this fear, it’s enough to learn what you need from the app you’re currently developing, and then slowly expand your horizons.
3. Start reading more code
Many developers don’t take the time to read other people’s code and spend most of their time writing what they already know.
But that won’t help you grow, and it won’t increase your knowledge. You should start reading other open source apps and libraries. Reading code for 30 minutes a day is a good start. You’ll be amazed at how much you don’t know.
Tip: Start with these best open source apps.
Consider learning more languages
I’m not asking you to learn Spanish or Chinese, but to learn a new programming language. You should keep up with the industry and not be stuck with Android forever.
This will broaden your horizons and help you dramatically improve your Android development skills. Resolve to learn a new programming language at least once a year, but instead of learning it in a week and throwing it away, dig deep.
Hint: Read this awesome article to help you make better decisions. (Spoiler alert – Javascript)
5. It’s time to learn the Java design pattern
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of design patterns in your Android development career. In general, whenever you have a tough programming problem, design patterns can really help you come up with an elegant solution.
In addition, you need to be on the same channel as other developers so that when they talk about factories, decorators, facades, you immediately know what they mean.
Vow to learn a new design pattern every week.
Tip: Here’s a great resource. If you like books, you must read this one.
6. Start contributing open source code
If you develop something useful and use it in your own app, consider open-source it. This process will teach you a lot.
If you don’t have anything to open source, consider finding another open source project you like and working on it to fix bugs, improve documentation or write tests.
Even the smallest contribution can go a long way toward keeping the project running and the maintainer.
Tip: Here’s a good guide to help you start contributing to open source projects.
7. Be familiar with the IDE
Spend more time getting familiar with the IDE you’re using -Android Studio. It can do more than you think. There are a lot of cool features and shortcuts hidden in the IDE that most developers don’t know about or have even tried.
Make it a habit to explore new features and better ways to use your tools to increase your productivity.
Tip: Here’s an article to help you master Android Studio like a pro.
8. It’s time to build the app properly
Most of the time we put code in activities and fragments in general (and you can blame me for that, too), causing them to become giant “God objects” that are almost impossible to maintain and test.
It is important to have a good architecture for your app, such as MVP, MVVM, Redux, etc. Consider separating your app’s business logic, view interaction, and data exchange into different layers to make them easier to manage and test.
Tip: Take a look at Google’s templates to make building your app easier.
9. Learn the Android compact code specification
This is a problem that cannot be ignored. It’s hard to work with people who don’t even follow basic Android development code specifications.
It’s not too difficult to learn basic Java and Android coding specifications in a matter of hours. And it’s not a one-time deal, it’s a lifetime benefit as a developer.
Tip: Here’s an excellent resource for getting started with standard coding specifications.
10. Take time to learn Android best practices
To give yourself an edge over other developers and build apps that look good and work well, you need to start learning some Android development best practices.
There are a few DOS and don ‘ts on the road to becoming a better developer that can make your app stand out.
Tip: Here’s a collection of some best practices.
11. Use your free time more productively by listening to the radio
When you’re commuting to work, going to the gym, driving, cooking, your smart brain isn’t really doing much. Use that time to listen to some Android radio.
Tip: Fragmented Podcasts and Android Developers Backstage are two great stations to start with.
12. Don’t be an engineer. Be realistic
It didn’t just happen to me, it happened to several of my colleagues. It’s okay to think before you start, but over thinking and over analyzing leads to nothing but unnecessary confusion, worry, and procrastination.
Just do what’s right for the current project and adjust it later as needed.
13. Try learning about design
It’s understandable as a developer to focus on writing better code. But if you want to be an all-around developer, you should start learning and understanding UI and UX every day.
This will completely change the way you look at the app you’ve been working on. Try to communicate with UI or UX designers on your team to gain a deeper understanding of app design.
Hint: If you’re interested in understanding how design works, read this book.
14. Become a perfectionist
This is a subjective topic, because what I consider “perfect” is not necessarily what other people think. But in general, try to make the best product you can.
Don’t be complacent. Don’t do things just to get the job done. Be passionate about what you do and do it better than anyone else. This will allow you to grow and eventually become a successful developer.
Persistence is the key to success
If you want to be a successful developer, you need to be consistent.
Doing things for a few days or weeks and then quitting won’t yield much. Figure out what kind of Android developer you want to be in the next few years and stick to it no matter what.
It is easy to start something, but after a long time it is difficult to continue with the same passion.
16. Start small and start small
As a developer, you should try to break down complex problems and features into small, simple, independent modules that are easier to understand and then solve quickly with relative ease.
Don’t let the sheer size and complexity of a project overwhelm you at first. Anything can be done with the right approach. Start small and work your way up, step by step.
17. Always have a practice project in hand
Having a hands-on program can completely change the way you learn things. If you come across something new, make it a habit to try it out in the practice program.
For example, if you find an interesting open source project, you should start playing with it in a hands-on project instead of skimming through documentation and apis. This will give you a much deeper understanding of the library.
18. Start writing more tests
I can’t stress enough the importance of testing. You can’t claim a feature is complete if you haven’t written detailed tests. Testing can help you build confidence in your code.
Don’t make the mistake of ignoring tests and treating them as dispensable, leading to bugs in the future. Remember, code without tests immediately becomes legacy code.
19. Consider adopting Test-driven Development (TDD)
When you’re developing an app, think about building it in a robust and efficient way so that it passes testing.
Start following TDD’s “red-green-refactoring” cycle pattern. First, you write a test that might fail (red), then write some actual code to make the test pass (green), and then further optimize and simplify the code (refactoring).
Test-driven development is a way to manage anxiety during programming. Anxiety can make you very tentative. Anxiety makes you not want to communicate. Anxiety makes you afraid of feedback. Anxiety makes you cranky. — Case from TDD
20. Configure an appropriate automatic publishing mechanism
As a developer, spend as little time as possible on things that should be automated, such as app quality checks and release.
You should use tools like CheckStyle, PMD, Lint, FindBugs to do quality checks. It is necessary to run all unit tests and real machine tests before merging into the main branch.
When all of these checks pass, you’ll get a green signal to publish your APK to the Play store or distribute it to other channels (like Crashlytics Beta).
Tip: Play Store automatic publishing can use this tool.
Embrace responsive programming
If you want to further improve your skills, you should definitely consider embracing responsive programming. This forces you to change the way you think about building your app.
Programming in a responsive way definitely helps in writing interactive apps, and also makes daily development a lot easier.
Tip: Here is a good series of tutorials for learning the basics of RxJava.
22. Learn to use Kotlin for Android development
Kotlin is one of the most loved and discussed languages in Android development right now. It is now the official support language for Android app development. This simple language is a breath of fresh air in the Android world.
It’s the perfect gift for anyone tired of old, clunky, error-prone Java. Give it a try, and you’re sure to find some lost development fun again.
Tip: Learn more about why you should start learning to develop Android with Kotlin:
23. Go to meet-and-greets to socialize more with other developers
We developers tend to be introverted, sitting in front of a computer in the corner, immersed in our own personal world.
But try to get out of your comfort zone and talk to other developers. You can learn a lot by going to developer meet-and-greets, networking events, and talking to other developers with similar interests.
Hint: This is a great place to find meet-and-greets that interest you.
24. Be familiar with keyboard shortcuts
Try to get into the habit of using the mouse as little as possible. Almost all Android Studio actions have shortcuts.
This will significantly reduce your development time and increase productivity. While memorizing these shortcuts may take some time at first, it will help you get into a true mouseless workflow in the long run.
Tip: If you don’t want to remember shortcuts the old-fashioned way, there’s a great AS plugin that can help.
25. Learn at least one new Android knowledge a week
There’s a lot to learn in the wide android world, and it can be intimidating at first. But if you commit to learning just one Android knowledge point per week, things get easier.
Make a list of everything you don’t know and tackle it one week at a time with a set priority. In a few months you’ll find yourself miles away from where you started.
26. Automate anything that eats your time
Developers are inherently lazy and always want to find an easy way to do boring work.
So if you’re doing something repetitive and boring several times a day, consider automating it. You can save a lot of time over the course of the week, which can be used for other useful things.
Tip: Check out this amazing tool that helps you connect everyday tools with automated communication.
27. Consider running two versions of Android Studio
Always use a stable version of Android Studio for important daily tasks. But install a Canary or beta version of Android Studio as well. Sometimes these releases come with a lot of new features that you might like to try out early.
28. Check third-party libraries from time to time
We all like to use third-party libraries when we need them, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But get in the habit of occasionally checking all third-party repositories and removing the ones you no longer need.
If you only use a small part of a library’s functionality, consider extracting that part rather than using the entire library. Also, checking occasionally will help you keep track of urgent library updates.
29. Learn better ways of refactoring legacy codebases
Don’t refactor a large legacy code base at once.
It’s better to refactor what needs to be done right now and then slowly expand to other parts as needed. Also, consider writing tests for refactored pages before making changes to code that might affect existing functionality.
Tip: This book revolutionized the way I deal with legacy code. You should read it, too.
30. Always test on low-end devices
If you want to develop like a professional developer, never make the mistake of testing your app on high-end devices. Developers tend to be high-end flagships, so use them to test apps. But that’s something you need to refrain from.
Buy the cheapest, lowest end devices you can find on the market and get in the habit of building apps on them. You will see many problems that you never encountered before.
Buy the best work equipment you can afford
Don’t ruin your daily development experience by making the mistake of buying a low-end device.
Consider developing on the Mac(over Windows) and you’ll love its simplicity and stability.
Well, consider the best specs you can get if you’re buying a MacBook, a few hundred dollars won’t make much difference, and you’ll always thank yourself for that decision.
Hopefully these tips will help you become a better Android developer. I suggest you also read, should also understand the meaning of them, it is time to put them into practice, only in this way you can feel their real power.
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